This was such an interesting read. From the get go there was such a playfulness that was also masked in a way that was just a little bit sinister which get me hooked and did not let me into the end. Despite knowing that this was a romance, because of the way it was written it was full of a lot of twists and turns that I did not expect and made this a really unique love story. I absolutely adored the chemistry and banter between Jake and Dolores and loved the addition of Cat and the dynamic between the three of them in the second half of the book. Overall, a really enjoyable read that I gobbled up in a matter of hours.

This book was not what I expected. Based on the title and blurb, I went in anticipating a thriller, but instead, it’s a dark romance packed with tropes. If you’re a fan of “Love Letters to a serial killer” then this may be more up your street

Dolores “Dodi” dela Cruz, a true crime obsessed office worker, is convinced the new temp, Jack Ripper (I see what you did there), is a serial killer. Their antagonistic dynamic soon turns into something more, and while the book teases crime elements, the focus is on their slow burn romance rather than actual suspense. The serial killer aspect never fully materializes until the end, which felt misleading given how the book was marketed.

The story leans heavily into romance clichés, and while there’s dark humor and a quirky cast, the plot doesn’t quite deliver on the tension I was hoping for. I’ll admit when I expected a thriller and got this I was a little disappointed.

DNF @ 31%

Honestly, this book is not what I'd expected it to be - from what the blurb said, I thought it would be a thriller but it's more of a dark romance which is not my kind of thing. I found both of the MC so unlikeable and unhinged that it put me off wanted to continue.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I don't like insta-love, and that's exactly the impression I got from the main characters' relationship. I would like to see this reluctance/suspicion/lack of trust between them for longer - but that's my personal preference. I liked the secondary characters - especially Jake's aunt. The characters' behavior definitely matched the book's atmosphere, the dialogues were weird here and there, but in that good weird way. The plot was quite predictable, although there was a twist that surprised me. I liked it, maybe it wasn't the best, it didn't draw me in that much, but for the author's debut it was bearable.

Dizzyingly Unique...
Dolores and Jake may well have something in common. As their dark and oddly mysterious office flirtations progress it soon becomes clear that they have way more in common than they could ever have expected in their wildest dreams. Have they actually each found their soul mate? With a unique spin on the office romance scenario comes a twisted romcom with the most deadly of intentions and with a pair of protagonists that leap from the page and are, most strangely of all, both credible and utterly compelling.

I saw a booktok creator with an arc copy of this book and I couldn’t get to Netgalley quick enough as it looked right up my street. It is kind of strange but captivating at the same time. Very dark seeming but actually not all as it seems. I found the characters interesting and likeable. A must read.

I honestly don’t know how to categorise this story; is it a romance, a murder mystery, a dark comedy, probably all of the above. I did guess early on won the murderer was, but didn’t guess how the ending would come about. There is a distinct Wednesday Addams feel about this book, which I absolutely loved. The ending was very satisfying, and the story was very well paced, so that even though it wasn’t action packed, the reader didn’t lose interest in the flow. I loved this book, and am sure others who love a deliciously dark yet surprisingly safe book will do too. I’d heartedly recommend

Liked it . Due to health issues cannot not but will write a proper review at a later time
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

serial killer games was such a twisty (surprisingly), sweet, funny and sometimes downright depressingly good romance novel with such a bitter sweet twist.

I loved the whole premise and idea of the book from the start, being so unique with plenty of suspense.. and the writing was so easy to read and very gripping, the way things were described and the intentional hiding of certain parts of the book in plain sight was so skilfully done. I pretty much read this book in one sitting with revelations and twists coming one after another.

I loved dolly and jake's relationship so much, the way the boned over things that would not normally be considered in a romance book was both delightful and funny to read about. I also loved learning about certain aspects of their lives and what motivated them to do things, I could really imagine and understand the characters created.

Overall, I loved this book so much more than i was expecting and it really exceeded my expectations! The ending and the plot twists right until the last page made this book enjoyable and funny even in the worst of situations!
All in all, a stunning debut novel from Kate Posey.

Thought this was going to gripp me more but alas. It was a nice and fun book. But it didn’t gripp me like I though it was. Dodi was intriguing and mysterious and with a tragic past. Her mind was fun to follow. Then we have jake. Jake confused me a bit but was intriguing and I did love his mind, his cold and detached personality like of a sociopath. They’re chemistry was nice but it was missing the spark. The whole murder going on was what did the book but think it could have more details.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books for this ARC.

One day, Dolores de la Cruz, or Dodi, notices a new male temp at her office. His name is, I kid you not, Jake Ripper, and Dodi who is very into true crime, think he's the epitome of a serial killer. He notices her too, and they start a love/hate relationship.

I don't even know where to begin with this book because the blurb is entirely misleading and the title just gives you the wrong impression what the story is about. It is a romance but with dark vibes, and those serial killers never really materialise until the end when the identity of the Paper Pusher is revealed. The first few chapters confusingly are from Jake's POV which I didn't realise at first. After that the two POVs alternate with names given.

There are tons of romantic tropes which the author lists at the end. I won't repeat them as most of them are plot spoilers. How can you spoiler a romance plot, aren't they predictable? Not when they at the same time contain tons of twists and turns about the main character's past and present lives.

Every person in this book is interesting in a twisted way, from Jake's rich housemate Grant who is into sex dolls, Laura the undertaker and Grandad Billy. Even dog Princess is a personality, oh and there's a Cat also. Uncle Andrew however is infuriatingly awful and traumatising for his entire family.

This is a romance between two very damaged characters trying to come to terms with trauma, that waits until the last minute for a HEA. But fear not, it comes, and in the sweetest way. There is a lot of dark humour, especially when Dodi tries to lose her money in Las Vegas casinos and fails spectacularly, or when dismembered sex dolls spark frantic theories by a cop that are entirely true, but no one believes him.

This is a bizarre, darkly funny, twisty read about characters you learn to love and care for. Just don't expect too much about serial killers! Considering this is a debut novel, this is assuredly written with a lot to say about corporate culture but you go in with false expectations so maybe a different title and blurb would have been advisable.

3.5 stars

This book is interesting, but if I’m being honest… I do not like Dolores🙅🏽‍♀️. She and the other character are always talking about being bored😕, but really, she is the boring one for me.

It’s one of those books that isn’t bad👎🏼—actually, it’s good👍🏽—but I just don’t have much to say🗣️ about it. It does what it needs to do, and I’d still recommend it to people who enjoy this kind of story.

It actually reminded me of the Webtoon The Guy Upstairs, so if you liked that, you might vibe with this one too.

Thank Netgalley and the author.

I will be honest, this was a slow start and I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the writing style, for example here is a very small excerpt from the first page "THERE’S BEEN ANOTHER MURDER. “It was a hundred-foot drop,” Kara-from-Accounts says as she presses the door close button at the end of the day. “One fifty, at least,” says Stanley-from-IT." luckily this was resolved very quickly and it is explained that the MMC Jake uses this kind of processing pattern to catalogue information about his colleagues.

There were quite a few twists and turns throughout this novel, some of which I predicted very early on such as the identity of The Paper Pusher, the identity of another male character and a medical condition.
However whilst I did predict them I did enjoy the way the twists were revealed to the characters and the audience throughout the novel.

This wasn't what I was expecting when I saw the description "What would you do if you thought your coworker was getting away with murder—literally?

Dolores dela Cruz has been dying to spot one in the wild, and he fits the mold strangler gloves, calculated charm, dashing good looks that give a leg up in any field . . . including fields of unmarked graves.

The new office temp is definitely a serial killer.

Jake Ripper finds a welcome distraction in his combative and enigmatic new coworker. He hasn’t come across anyone as interesting as Dolores in a long time. But when mere curiosity evolves into a darkly romantic flirtation, Jake can’t help but wonder if, finally, he’s found someone who really sees him, skeletons in the closet and all.

Until Dolores asks Jake’s help to dispose of a body . . ."

I was expecting something darker but I was pleasantly surprised, it does have dark undertones to it, characters isolating themselves in order to protect themselves and others, a serial killer, an emotionally abusive partner, dismembered body parts, but there is also a levity and hopefulness throughout topped off with found family, this really is worth a read.

I wouldn't class this a dark romance, maybe moderate thriller comedy with romance.

On the topic of romance, this isn't a spicy novel, there is one scene with mild sexual content, however there is an undercurrent of wanting and desire throughout the novel- a "will they, won't they?" Situation


This is Kate Poseys debut novel and if this is anything to go by I am looking forward to seeing what else she has for readers.

Thank you NetGalley and Atlantic Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book it was not at all what I expected and I loved it.

The banter and chemistry between the 2 main characters was amazing and I ate it up with all of their snippy back and forth. It felt like a very unique premise with the nod to true crime throughout and definitely gives romcom vibes. There was so many points in this book where I was not expecting at all where the book was going next and it kept me hooked and engaged throughout.

I can't wait for more books from this author as if this is her debut book I'm so excited for what could come next.

Wow wow wow

I don’t think I could have anything less in common with the two main characters, they were complete nutters, you couldn’t make them up, but man they were so REAL.

I absolutely loved this book and everything about it, I had to re read a few paragraphs but that’s only because I was so engrossed and wanted to soak in every detail.

I laughed so much, especially at the confusion with ‘the cat’! I don’t want to give anything away but there was a twist that I wasn’t expecting.

This is definitely my favourite read so far this year.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a confusing read for me. After reading the description of this book, I expected it to be like a funny thriller vibe, but it ended up just being a romcom.

Our main character Dolly is obsessed with true crime, and wants to find a serial killer in real life. When she meets the new temp in her office building she suspects he might be one, and attempts to find the (literal) skeletons in his closet.

I actually had a really great time with this part of the book, their back and forth was very entertaining to read about, and the suspense was built up nicely. Kate Posey's writing is very bingeable, and the first part of the book was very dark, quirky and mysterious.

The problem I had with this, was that after about 1/3 of the book the mystery and intrigue just vanished. It just turned into a romcom, focused mostly on the relationship between the two main characters. And though the relationship became the main focus, I feel like it wasn't really fleshed out enough. A lot of time was spent on the intense emotional turmoil these characters go through in their personal lives, which was just not a direction I was expecting this book to go in.

This feels a little like two books stitched together, because of the pretty intense tonal shift. I think I would have enjoyed this way more if I had known what I was getting myself into before reading. From the blurb I was expecting a dark and funny mystery, but this book really isn't that.

Nevertheless, this is a very creative debut novel, and I'm excited to see what Kate Posey comes up with next.

Thank You to Atlantic Books and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was amazing!! Literally couldn’t love it more
It was such a fun read so much banter! I laughed out loud a few times and even cried !
I adored Dolores and Jack they had the best chemistry the creepiest relationship ever
I read this in 2 sittings it was so hard to put down
It will forever live rent free in my mind
I’ve never read anything like this it was such a unique masterpiece.