Phoebe Walsh is in Florida to do two things: clean out her dad’s house and finish her dissertation on true crime literature. Not on the list: improve her relationship with her brother, adopt a cat, fall in love with the neighbor. She knows that the second you stop being vigilant, that’s when the criminal (or genuinely nice guy next door) gets you, and she’s determined to get out of Florida in possession of her heart, but Sam’s going to make that really difficult…

I was kind of primed to dislike this book - I was a longtime true crime lover who began to realize the really problematic aspects of the genre a few years ago, which I talk about a little more in this review. And do I wish that Thompson had taken some of her thoughts about true crime a little further? Yeah. But did I have a fantastic time reading this book? 100%!

My overall sentiment towards the book is really just “see it through,” honestly. I would have liked to see Phoebe’s relationships with her parents fleshed out a bit more, I would have liked to see some more meat to Sam, I would have liked a little more critical thinking about true crime and the way it affects the way aficionados build relationships, but this is a debut, and it is a great one. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC!