Love Letters to a Serial Killer

Well! Loved this book, raced through in two days (and that's progress at the moment), but absolutely loathed the narrator. I imagine - hope - that was the intention, and full points to the author for creating and carrying off such a despicable character, but I kind of wanted Hannah to fall prey to the eponymous serial killer. Her death would have been a mercy killing.

Hannah Wilson is in a rut. Her varied love life has fizzled out, she is stuck in a dead end job and her best friend only has time for her new boyfriend. The disturbing outlet she finds to occupy her time is an online forum dedicated to hunting down a serial killer. At first, Hannah convinces herself that she is concerned with the victims - and the author raises a lot of key show more points about how female victims are treated online ('First, they lament your death, and then, they count all the reasons why you deserved to die') and the dangers women face in everyday life ('historically, knowing a man is only ever a detriment to a woman’s safety'), not to mention the true crime community - but then the killer is caught and Hannah's focus takes a dangerous turn. She writes him a letter telling him what a monster he is and she hopes that he will suffer like the women he killed - only then the killer, William Thompson, writes back and Hannah's life is soon spiralling out of control.

Some books are carried by the characters, some by the plot. I usually prefer the first category, but I hated Hannah so much that only the discovery of the killer's motives kept me reading. The plot is so well paced, however, and the first person narration so effective, that reading wasn't a chore in this case. I would hate to be a woman who defined herself through the 'male gaze' and needed a 'boyfriend' - and this is a woman in her thirties - that badly, but Hannah does carry the story well, dropping clues about the killer (of course there's a twist) and revealing unhealthy truths about her own state of mind ('For all my feminist posturing, I can never fully get away from this desire to please men.')

I was engrossed by Hannah's slow descent into amorality via desperation and the equally dubious characters she encountered at the trial, from the killer's other 'fans' to the slippery Thompson family. Did I figure out the twist? Before Hannah, but still rather belatedly. I will never fathom why women find murderers so attractive, however - the author covers that Ted Bundy was allowed to have a relationship and father a child while in prison for killing 30+ women, which beggars belief. show less

I couldn't wait to plunge into "Love Letters to a Serial Killer," which was one wild ride!

I always wondered what drew women to men in prison for murder. I still don't think I completely understand the attraction, but Hannah gave me a witty and unhinged peek into her point of view.

Hannah becomes interested in William, a handsome lawyer awaiting trial for serial murder. Yes, you heard me right--she's writing letters to him, and he writes back! But that's not all. She's going all the way to Georgia to attend his trial. When he's unexpectedly acquitted, they dive headfirst into a life together as if nothing happened.

Slow down, Hannah! Don't you wonder if he could actually be guilty? And isn't there a tiny part of you that worries you could show more be murdered in your sleep? Talk about a complicated relationship!

Hannah makes a lot of terrible choices and might be off her rocker, but following her unpredictable journey is both hilarious and mesmerizing. It's like a trainwreck you can't look away from! Countless moments had me gasping, "What the heck are you thinking?!" And honesty, is William playing with a full deck?

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was fantastic—she kept me glued to the story from start to finish! This debut is a bit outrageous but so much fun! show less

If you’ve ever wondered what kind of person falls in love with someone like Ted Bundy...then Love Letters to a Serial Killer might just be the book for you. Hannah is sort of like the real life Carole Ann Boone... except she believed Bundy was innocent... and divorced him once he admitted the murders to her. I devoured this book in only two days...the main character Hannah is one of those trainwrecks that you don't want to look at... but can't look away from.

Tasha Coryell’s novel is a dark, twisted, unsettling exploration of obsession, loneliness, and what happens when your self-worth is so low, you set the bar in relationships at rock bottom. The story follows Hannah, a woman ghosted one too many times, working a dead-end nonprofit show more job, and absolutely starving for love. The book does a disturbingly good job of portraying her descent. With her best friend wrapped up in wedding plans, Hannah turns to true crime forums and strangers on the internet for connection. Her job suffers. Her reality frays. So what does she do? She finds purpose in working with strangers online trying to find the killer in a string of murdered women. But when that isn't enough to fulfill her, she starts writing letters to the accused serial killer. At first, she’s righteously angry (writing: “You're a sick person, I hope you get the death penalty!”) but when he writes back—kind, attentive, and emotionally available—she falls for him. Hard. They bond over their mutual love of Taylor Swift and talk about their dysfunctional families.

It’s interesting. It’s inappropriate. It’s unsettling.
And at times, it’s believable—which is the scariest part.

This isn’t a love story. It’s a cautionary tale with no redemption arc. Just the slow unraveling of a woman so desperate to be loved, she starts getting aroused by danger and confusing intensity for affection. Her spiral into bad decision after bad decision made me reflect about the dangers of isolation, the seductive power of getting attention, and how easy it is to form false intimacy in digital spaces—whether that’s with strangers on a forum… or with an AI who always listens and never leaves you on “read.”

Three stars for entertainment value.
Zero stars for healthy life choices.

Would I reread it? No.
Would I recommend it? Not really.
Am I glad I read it? Honestly… kind of. show less

I couldn't wait to plunge into "Love Letters to a Serial Killer," which was one wild ride!

I always wondered what drew women to men in prison for murder. I still don't think I completely understand the attraction, but Hannah gave me a witty and unhinged peek into her point of view.

Hannah becomes interested in William, a handsome lawyer awaiting trial for serial murder. Yes, you heard me right--she's writing letters to him, and he writes back! But that's not all. She's going all the way to Georgia to attend his trial. When he's unexpectedly acquitted, they dive headfirst into a life together as if nothing happened.

Slow down, Hannah! Don't you wonder if he could actually be guilty? And isn't there a tiny part of you that worries you could show more be murdered in your sleep? Talk about a complicated relationship!

Hannah makes a lot of terrible choices and might be off her rocker, but following her unpredictable journey is both hilarious and mesmerizing. It's like a trainwreck you can't look away from! Countless moments had me gasping, "What the heck are you thinking?!" And honesty, is William playing with a full deck?

I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was fantastic—she kept me glued to the story from start to finish! This debut is a bit outrageous but so much fun!

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Actual Rating: 3.5

Considering how popular true crime media is now, I felt like this was an extremely timely book and I was excited for the perspective it might offer through the eyes of someone who is obsessed with serial killers.

Love Letters to a Serial Killer follows Hannah, an aimless woman. She’s recently been ghosted by her ex-boyfriend who’s now seeing someone else, she’s stuck at her dead end job, and all her friends are moving on with their lives. And then she finds out about William Thompson, recently arrested for the murder of four women. It starts with a simple letter. But then William actually writes back, and the two begin their regular correspondence. Before she knows it, Hannah and William are in a relationship and show more she finds herself traveling to Georgia to support him during the trial — and meet him for the first time.

I think that my favorite thing about this book is that it establishes an unreliable narrator and utterly commits to it. Hannah is never going to become my favorite character or even be relatable, but her flaws and obsessiveness made her extremely compelling. For the same reason people enjoy watching the craziness of true crime stories, there’s something very captivating about Hannah’s downward spiral that makes it impossible to look away. And so, the book is mostly character-driven.

The story is at its best when it focuses on Hannah and when everything is sort of in this state of limbo and uncertainty. When it does switch its focus to the actual murder plot, it loses the feeling of unease and becomes more of a common mystery. It’s a little too predictable and wraps up too neatly, and while I understand why the book chose to complete this arc for literary reasons, I felt like it didn’t actually have to.

The book did reclaim the right tone by the end though, and I did enjoy how it was wrapped up. Ultimately, I think this was a great read for me. It definitely isn’t for everyone, but it was right up my alley. show less

Not happy where she’s at currently in life, thirty-something-year-old Hannah finds community in a true-crime forum that’s on a mission to solve the murders of four women in Atlanta. After a handsome lawyer, William, is arrested for the killings, Hannah begins writing to him - a perfect outlet for her pent-up rage and frustration. But then William writes back.

Hannah’s interest in the case turns to obsession and she ends up losing her job. With nothing keeping her where she’s at, Hannah drives down to Atlanta to attend the trail. There, she meets other true-crime junkies like herself. When a fifth woman is found murdered, the jury has no choice but to find William not guilty. As soon as he’s released, William calls upon Hannah show more and the two of them quickly fall into a normal, domestic routine. Well, as normal as one can be while still secretly investigating their partner for serial murder…

The entire time reading this, I kept thinking of the fact that Hannah was mentally unwell and she needed loads of therapy. I honestly kept reading to just see what she got herself into and how she would “justify” it. I also had pinpointed it to two characters pretty early on, and then narrowed it down to one shortly after.

I don’t know if I could tell you exactly why I kept reading this book, especially since I figured it out pretty early on. But in all honesty, I think it was the trainwreck that was Hannah. As much as she annoyed the crap out of me with her decisions (seriously, she gets fired from her job and then goes to the trail of the reason she got fired), I couldn’t help but to keep turning the pages.

I feel like there may be quite a few people that are turned off by Hannah, so this won’t be for everybody. But I enjoyed it and will be keeping the ARC of it on my shelf.

*Thank you Berkley and NewGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review show less

This book was phenomenal. I loved it and was hooked from the very beginning. It’s interesting to read about a character that I’m not sure we’re supposed to like. I was rooting for her while also thinking she wasn’t the best person. But she was believable and I could see where her motivations lied. The premise for this book is interesting and I feel like it was executed well. I think it was excellently written and I enjoyed it from start to finish.