So this one is very different than what I normally read but, I enjoyed it. While this is a part of the series I definitely adding the series to my TBR.
35-year-old Carla Karolak runs a really unique successful business where she rents out cells to different aspiring authors to basically be in solitude for a preset number of hours per week. It seems like things are going really well until Carla finds Toonie murdered in her writing cell. Now, this along with the investigation gets a bit more complicated when more murders around the area start occurring along.
While Carla is upset over Toonie's murder, she is also concerned about how this murder is going to affect her business. While the Police, Amy, and Carla are trying to find out if the writer's retreat has anything to do with the string of murders. I love the mystery aspect and while I could see the ending coming I definitely enjoyed the ride!
This is not just a regular mystery. I loved the quirky wit of her writing! Thank you Dream Scape Media and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen and review this one!

This murder mystery is couched within layers of short stories. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about this format but I was so engrossed in the mystery that it ended up not bothering me. The short stories framed within the main added mood and tone to the story. It took a little getting used to but by the end I couldn’t wait to listen on for the next chapter!

Thanks NetGalley for the audio copy of this light and funny read.

Considering the content, it’s weird to call this light and funny but it really is! It’s exactly what I needed and I absolutely love it.

This is apparently book 3 in a series, but can be read as a standalone. I say that because I was halfway through it before I found out it was part of a series and I was doing just fine with keeping up with the story.

There are a lot of characters which is a problem sometimes. I found myself trying to remember who was who a few times but for the most part it was great.

Even though it deals with murders, it’s done in a light way - almost like a cozy mystery. The narrator was great too which always helps.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love a good mystery. I love a good who-done-it. but this book was genuinely so boring. even a great narrator couldn't save it. 2 stars because i finished it. 5 stars for the narrator.

Amy Among the Serial Killers by Jincy Willett

Thank you to @dreamscape_media for a chance to read thia #eARC !

Carla Karolak is the founder and operator of a successful and unique writing retreat center, Inspiration Point, I which writers reserve a cell in which they lock themselves away sans technology in order to meet their word counts. A series of bizarre actions and murders is set off when Carla’s therapist-in-exchange for board at the point is found dead in her cell with a lewd tableau. Instinctively, Carla dials an old friend and writing instructor, Amy. The two find themselves playing homicide detective to figure out the killer before it continues to hit close to home.

This was a fascinating and quirky story. It’s an interesting genre bending tale that pulls back the veil of the art of writing. I’d be interested to go back and read more about Carla, Amy and co now that I’ve discovered this series!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 - 3.5/5

Overall this was an interesting read/listen, with effectively surprising twists, fairly quick pacing, and well-realised characters. There were many threads to the mysteries at play here and moments of stories within stories and tangents - this often made it difficult to follow, especially in audiobook format without any visuals to really break up and distinguish sections. It’s likely something I would have enjoyed more reading in physical or ebook, but was still an enjoyable read.

This was my first “meeting” with Amy. I enjoyed this book and was caught odd guard with the twists and turns. Just when I thought I knew who the killer was the rig was pulled out from under me and I I’d to begin a new theory. Cannot wait t indulge in more Amy.

Dexter meets The Thursday Murder Club is how I would describe this novel. “Amy Among the Serial Killers” by Jincy Willet is a murder mystery where a group of writers comes together to solve the mystery. I thought with "serial killers" in the title it was going to be more of a fast past, mystery but it is ended up being dark humor, read for entertainment novel.

None of the chapters had names which when parts from story is written by different characters, made it hard to follow via audiobook. Would have been nice to have a key or image to start the book about the locations of the murders or a friend/connection tree.

2.5 stars for an audiobook - rounding up to 3.

I received a download of this audiobook from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting to me because I didn't really like it, but I can't really pinpoint why that is. I thought the writing was fine, the characters were vivid, and the plot was unique, but there was something about this book that I just couldn't get into. I felt like I was never connected with the characters and that too many things were happening.

Maybe it's because I picked this book up not realizing that, although it can be read as a standalone, it's part of a larger collection of whose characters I didn't know, and the characters would constantly reference people and events that happened that I was unaware of because I had not read the other books.

Overall, this book was very fine. Not good, not bad, just somewhere in between.

This book had a lot going on. So much so that there were times when I felt like I needed a serial killer map held up with pins on the wall (which is fitting). There were also times that I wasn't sure what I was listening to, with the tangents written in as stories by the group of writers the book centers on.

I pushed through and in the end, this was a cleverly written tale that really had it all (and then some more that we maybe didn't need). Coming of age, romance, horror, thriller, mystery, trauma. You name it! And yes, serial killer(s)? To be honest it's unclear how many! I am finding myself at a loss for words as I attempt to describe this, but if you love true crime "just enough" to also make fun of it a bit, this book is for you.

**The audiobook was well done and I think likely added to the story.

I gave up at 35%. I didn’t hate it but it annoyed me enough to stop. I thought all the characters had strange reactions to things and that ruined the whole story. The humor it tried to show throughout didn’t work for me either . I wanted to love this one but wanted to stop listening more.

Writing: 5/5 Characters: 4/5 Plot: 4/5 Enjoyment: 5/5

Great title, right?

The titular “Amy” is a 70-something author and ex-writing coach — a bit of a hermit but with a soft spot for some of the members of her last workshops. Carla — an ex-child star is now the owner of “The Point” — a writer’s retreat in La Jolla. Carla is quite possibly Amy’s favorite ex-student (possibly because she saved Amy’s life in the first book — I won’t spoil any more of that as I haven’t read it yet either!). When one of the Point’s writers turns up dead, the cops wonder if the murder is connected with a spate of other local killings — hence the serial killers (note the plural!) in the title.

This is not your typical mystery. It is funny in an insightfully wry style. It is a book by and about writers and writing and is FULL of back stories, stories in progress, story planning, random story thoughts, etc. — creating a kind of fractal story universe that is somehow never confusing. I put this down to some high quality writing — excellent pacing and structure and a truly delightful use of vocabulary and phrasing. Because the characters (who are writers) are often thinking or talking about writing, there are even some lovely and humorous discussions of words themselves which I enjoyed thoroughly. The mystery aspect is good — I did figure it out a little before the characters did, but it was certainly a surprise. The story was nice and twisty and kept me well entertained. Some interesting character reflections as well, not usually present in genre books.

Audio books take more time (for me) than reading the print would, and often that means I get a little bored in parts because I can’t skim. This did not happen at all during this x hour book which is saying quite a lot.

So what didn’t I like? While the narrator does a fabulous job with all of the different voices and her pacing and speech clarity were perfect, I did not love her natural voice — or at least the one she uses as the narrator in addition to slightly modified versions for most of the younger characters. It’s what I call a Millennial version of the old Valley Girl speak: lots of mid word tonal shifts and a slightly whiny feel. I think I’m just showing my age here because this does seem to be a popular speech pattern for younger people in some TV shows. I got over it because it was just so entertaining, but it did irritate me for a bit.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This book immerses you into a world of authors. You feel how they feel and understand their motives and creativity process. When a murder happens, I felt that I was playing along throughout the book to figure out who did it. I enjoyed this book and will read the others in the series.

A quirky cast, engaging story, and excellent narration make this a recommended purchase in all formats. Can be enjoyed without having read the previous titles.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I have never read a book like Amy Among the Serial Killers and I loved every minute of this book! This is technically the third book following one of the main characters, but I didn’t feel that they were a requirement to follow along. The Narrator was great, the story line unique, the plot was twisty and it was funny to read with hints of real life complicated emotions buried underneath. This book is technically a murder mystery but it feels like so much more than that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a rotating narrative between Carla— a 35 year old who runs Inspiration Point. A place for writers to come together, rent a “cell”, and get their work done without distractions. Amy is in her 70’s and is an established author who is suffering from writer’s block and doesn’t really enjoy peoples company, except for Carla of course. Carla has trauma and a complicated past and is seeing a therapist who surprisingly turns up murdered in Inspiration Point and Carla is the one to find the body.

Is there a serial killer loose? Is there more than one? Do they know this person? Is this killer a writer?

The renters at Inspiration Point are worried they might be next and it’s up to Carla, the local police, Amy and their friends to maneuver through the wake of the shocking news and save Inspiration Point at the same time.

Definitely recommend reading Jincy Willett, I will be reading more!

Amy Among the Serial Killers by Jincy Willett is the third Amy Gallup book. I listened to the audio book, which was narrated by Amy McFadden. Amy did an amazing job on the narration. Her characterizations, tone, and inflection definitely added to my enjoyment of the story.

I have not read the first two books in the series and I think that I would have a better understanding of the history between the characters if I had. I will go back and read them now as I would like to continue this series. The overall story was very interesting. The author includes many side stories that add depth to the characters, but don't relate to the plot in anyway. I was never bored by the side tangents as they were engaging and were interesting. The book switches point of view between Amy and Carla. Many characters from previous books seem to have made a return and they all seem to have a connection to Carla and Amy from the past books.

Although the story sort of meandered, I was never bored. The author leads us to a couple of suspects before the true murderer is revealed. There was varying degrees of tension in the story, but most tension is quickly resolved with humor and distraction.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the the audiobook.

Follow Carla Karolak as she enjoys the success of her writers retreat. That is, until one day, she checks in on one of the writers and discovers them to be murdered. Carla gets in contact with a former friend, Amy Gallup, and the two get caught up in a murder investigation spanning multiple cases.

Also, the dark humor in this book is the best I’ve ever seen.

Amy has finally retired from her job as a writing instructor when she hera from former student, Carla. It’s been several years since the women spoke, but now Carla is a suspect in a murder case after she finds her therapist, Toonie, dead as a doornail. Carla has been running a bizarre, but successful writer’s retreat where potential authors are locked into cell like rooms and not allowed out until they hit their daily word count. Carla’s predicament reunites other members of Amy’s old writing group as they gang set out to find a killer. Read the first two books in the series first in order to get some of the more subtle nuances and get the maximum enjoyment from this zany story

This was an interesting read! Not what I thought it was, but funny at times and enjoyable overall. I preferred the audiobook to the ebook.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I read and enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one less so. The narration seemed to illustrate the novel well, but the story itself was all over the place.