The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard was a good read! I had the chance to read this ARC and enjoyed how the story played out.

Capri is a self-made tour guide, taking guests on a serial killer walking tour through the historic streets of San Fransisco. She is also the granddaughter of Overkill Bill, an infamous killer convicted of murdering women decades before.
When her mother in law is found murdered, Capri is pulled into the mess - because the murder is identical to Overkill Bill’s slayings. And she just might be a suspect.
In an effort to find the killer and potentially clear her grandfather’s name, readers are whisked through San Fran on a thrilling adventure that leaves no stone unturned.

I’ll be honest, I was hoping this was going to focus more on the Overkill Bill storyline, but I was content with how things played out. I enjoyed the descriptions of the setting, as it truly was a character in its own right. The best part was that I had no idea who the killer was until it was revealed!

Capri gives tours in San Francisco. These aren't your ordinary tourist trap, these all involve serial killers. Capri has a deep tie to one serial killer in particular, as she's the granddaughter of one.

Soon, someone from her past is killed, using the same methods that her grandfather was using and Capri has to figure out who the copycat is, before they come after her.
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This is a fine mystery, a smidge boring, but overall, it was a fun read. While Capri was the main character, San Francisco, the city, is where the real jewel is. The Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, etc are all described in rich detail, bringing the reader into the fog of the city.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book

This murder mystery, filled with family drama and a gripping cold case, is a captivating read. Capri, the smart and determined main character, throws herself into clearing her name. The unexpected twist of the killer's identity caught me off guard. The vivid descriptions of San Francisco and Alcatraz brought back fond memories of my visit. This book will surely appeal to readers seeking an engaging and thought-provoking mystery.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun little murder mystery with some family drama to go with it. I liked that there were the 2 mysteries to solve, and I feel like they concluded both really well.

Thank you SMP and MacMillan audio for the review copies! I enjoyed a lot of aspects of Michelle Chouinard's writing and storytelling: she offers a strong entry into the growing blend of true crime/internet sleuth/cold case genre with a character uniquely connected to serial killer lore and explores a range of complex family relationships and dynamics within the bigger mystery. I was a big fan of Capri, an interesting and vibrant character making the most, in a healthy and not exploitative way, of her childhood and her knowledge about serial killers; I liked that she was independent and smart.
What missed the mark for me though in both the book and the audiobook was an overall lack of suspense, I was never drawn into a feeling of tension with the writing, more feeling like I was walking through steps of a procedural and check marks on plot development, and never getting into a pace that really made me not want to stop reading. Some of this might be due to the general focus on a mystery that got a bit bogged down with writing that was fine but at times felt overly detailed as well as a plot filled with a range of different roles for Capri (mom, working a somewhat atypical job, dealing with being a murder suspect, handling her family and grief and strained dynamics... how many hours in the day was she on the go???).

This was really fun and campy. I liked the podcast element, I liked the characters, and overall I just had a really good time reading this. It's definitely a cozy mystery, but it's still got some more thrilling action-packed scenes. Capri was a pretty fun narrator, even if she did make a few really dumb decisions.

This was such a fun and thrilling read! This story felt like murder mystery x true crime podcast but it also had family drama and a tiny bit of romance!

I’m a big fan of the main character, Capri! While she was fun and loving, she was also smart and tenacious. Capri wanted to clear her grandfather’s name from a past case while trying to figure out information about the current copycat. I liked that, as a reader, we were along for the ride with her, learning new information at the same time she did.

I really enjoyed Chouinard’s writing style; it kept me wanting to know more and made me feel like I was peeking around a corner to see what surprises would be there. I really had no idea how everything would play out and was on the edge of my seat waiting for the next clue. When I thought I figured it out, something new came along to debunk my theory. I could see this being a fun tv series/movie!

If you’re looking for a fun and compelling mystery, I definitely recommend this book!

I loved the premise of this book, but was a little disappointed in its execution. The format could have been better outlined and I would have loved to see some of the podcast episodes actually included in the book while the main character is investigating the original serial killer murders instead of just being made in the background. The pacing could have also been improved as I found the descriptions of the web of business dealings hard to follow and there were also descriptions of things that weren't necessary to include, like her driving everywhere all the time. I think the book could have leaned into the cozy mystery aspect a bit more since that is what the cover is framing it as. Overall, this definitely felt like an amateur debut novel.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

You know when a mystery fully wraps up all the loose ends? *chef's kiss*

This was a fun book - I liked the dual mystery to be solved and the characters were all interesting and a joy to follow around. The idea of a cold case serial killer, a copy cat killer, and the OG serial killer's granddaughter investigating was so inherently readable! I had to know how all the threads lined up.

A well crafted mystery with a super satisfying ending and a rich, tangled family history.

I love a good "who-dun it" and being a fan of true crime myself this book resonated with me. What a clever and fun novel! Looking forward to reading more from the author!

This one started of strong and then it become very SLOOOW, which made it really hard for me to continue reading. mysteries tend to be slow, which I don’t mind at all but this one was just hard for me. The premise of the book is very interesting but it Just lacked execution, which is very unfortunate .

This book is so enjoyable! For anyone who has been to SF or hasn't and has wanted to this book will whisk you away on the adventure of a lifetime! I have always been interested in learning more about serial killers and their victims and why they did what they did (if there was even any sort of lame reasoning behind their madness)...this book was very interesting and was also funny yet dark of course as you would expect.

I enjoyed the journey and would read again/recommend to friends and family. I would also love to read anything else this author writes in the future as it seems her work is right up my alley!

Capri Sanzio is a tour guide in San Francisco and the granddaughter of a serial killer known as Overkill Bill. She's determined to clear her grandfather's name despite her father's insistence that she do nothing. But before she can work on that problem, she has to solve the murder of her former mother-in-law who was murdered in a copycat version of her grandfather's method.

As she looks into her socialite mother-in-law's life she finds all sorts of buried secrets. Somehow, the generations of San Franciso wealth have disappeared, and her mother-in-law has invested in some very chancy enterprises. Capri is suddenly looking into various internet frauds and trying to keep her daughter from being a suspect in the murder.

With an ex-husband who is lying about his whereabouts at the time of the murder and a daughter who is dodging the police for reasons of her own. Capri is having a hard time. However, she's dusting off the old journalism degree and looking into not only her grandfather's past but her mother-in-law's dealings too and sharing all that she finds with attractive police Detective Potito who isn't working fast enough for Capri's taste.

This was an engaging story filled with all sorts of San Francisco tourist attractions. I enjoyed the story.

*The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco* is a captivating mystery laced with family drama and dark humor. From the first page, it had me hooked with its unique blend of suspense and wit. A refreshingly original murder mystery—I highly recommend it!

Holy Moly! I couldn’t put this book down I’ve always been obsessed with true crime much like our main character but thats where our similarities end cause being related to one and suspecting he’s innocent and then living in a time when a copy cat starts? This book had so many twists and turns and kept me on my toes I need more books like this!

An enjoyable and suspenseful murder mystery. This is a fun mystery that managed to keep me entertained from beginning to end.

3.5⭐️

Capri Sanzio makes her living running true crime tours of San Francisco. Its been an interest she's had since a child, and she feels extra qualified since her grandfather was arrested and convicted of being serial killer 'Overkill Bill.' Capri always believed he was innocent but never had any proof. A recent murder in the news was thought to have been done by and Overkill Bill copy cat, bringing the original case back into the news. Since Capri's ex-mother-in-law recently cut off her daughter and refuses to pay for any more schooling, Capri begins researching to hopefully write a book or do a podcast to exonerate her grandfather and earn money. While the arguement about the college fund is happening, Capri's ex mother-in-law was found as the latest victim of the copy cat, making Capri a prime suspect.

This was an interesting premise for a relatively cozy mystery, but something rubbed me the wrong way with it. I did enjoy that Capri was the grandchild of a suspected serial killer and that history played into the way she interacted with both true crime and with the police. That being said, though, I always question when someone who has any kid of history with potential police corruption makes so many stupid choices while interacting with the police. There were so many things that Capri did that I'm confused how she was surprised she was a suspect. I also feel like a lot of characters outside of Capri felt pretty two dimensional and that they were just there to be suspects with no real personalities. Even the daughter who should have played a bigger part just felt like she was there to be suspicious.

My other complaint was that felt like the number of things that Capri did in a given day felt extremely unbelievable. She would talk about hours of helping her ex-father in law in his grief, hours 'investigating' this or that, another few hours preparing for her serial killer tours and then more hours doing the tour. There's only 24 hours in a day and it really took me out of the story that all of this happened over the course of a week or two with jam packed days that didn't feel possible. It was also amusing to me that Capri's assistant/tour driver, Ryan, is essentially a CIA level skilled hacker working at a site seeing tour and was there as a fill in to explain all these things that Capri found.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur for providing this ARC to me. In support of the Readers for Accountability boycott, this review will not be posted publicly until a resolution has been reached.

What a fun and entertaining story. Capri, the owner of a San Francisco tour company, was the perfect amateur sleuth who was determined to find the copycat killer of her mother- in- law and her mother-in-law’s friend and to prove her grandfather innocent of the original murders years ago that had been dubbed the “overkill Bill” murders. The history of San Francisco and the description of different locales that were featured in ‘noir’ movies like Vertigo and where serial murders took place were an added plus.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5* rounded down. With a title like that and cover looking like it does, I got myself ready for a cozy murder mystery. I couldn't be more wrong. This was a mystery thriller set in SF that still kept me eagerly reading and wanting to find out more. Is it a little too formulaic and "cookie cutter" thriller at times? Yes. Does the tour guide bits truly add anything to the story (or the genre for that matter)? No. Some plot elements were a little too convenient to be believable, and the secondary characters were paper-thin --especially if they're suspects, I want to believe their motivations by getting an understanding of who they are.

There are some inclusions in the novel (like the podcast idea) that I would have loved to see integrated more so than the little SF murder tidbits, but maybe that's more of a personal preference. This novel was trying to stand out on its own by including the tour highlights as separate chapters which didn't really stick the landing when instead, it could have played into the podcast script trope that is all the rage in thrillers right now (ie: Listen for the Lie, None of this is True).

Still, this was a very enjoyable read surely to please mystery thriller fans. It hits all the right notes and has a pretty little bow on top ending. However, will I remember it in years to come? Probably not.

3.5/5 The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco is a fun and quirky murder mystery with great characters and a lot of family drama. I really enjoyed the main character Capri but I wish there had been a more collaboration with the other characters. The pacing started off strong but then it slowed way down, that was my main issue with the book. If anyone is looking for an easy mystery with an interesting plot, I recommend giving this one a try. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.