I really went into this thinking it would be kinda campy and meta, a little bit of dark/sardonic humor peppered in for good measure. But nope. It's very serious, not funny. Not at all campy or meta. I just don't think this one hit for me. It might have if I'd adjusted my expectations, but it was pretty middle of the road for me.

i read this book as an adult reader and to see if my students would like it, would they learn something about themselves or their world or ethical issues. For some of them that might be true. As an adult reader, I found it somewhat unbelievable and naive. I expected more as the premise was intriguing.

Before starting, Serial Killer Support Group seemed to have everything I could possibly want in a book. A woman main character dealing with psychological trauma, serial Killers, and twists galore. And I am pleased to say that it follows through on all of these promises.

Cyra is out for revenge after her sister is murdered by a serial killer. Thing is, she doesn't know which one. So she infiltrates a support group for serial Killers to figure out which one killer her sister. And she dives deeper, she begins to reckon with her own emotions, feelings, and tendencies to push those down.

This was a fast paced and intriguing story filled with a ton of surprises. However, I found Cyra's constant analyzing and internal monolaguing about switching personal to be distracting, and pulled me out of the story.

I ended up reading this for my October TBR after receiving this arc. I went into this book just on the title alone. I was surprised on how this book grew on me. Will definitely be buying this book as a trophy.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Posing as one of them, thinking like one of them, getting into character as one of them, Cyra infiltrates a support group for serial killers to seek out her sisters killer. It forces her to risk everything when she needs to confront these killers, but also at the erosion of her morale and humanity. Does she need to risk everything to not only find the killer, also not to become one of them?

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This novel had potential, with the very concept of a serial killers support group being almost camp (in a similar fashion to Grady Hendrix’ Final Girl Support Grouo). Instead, we had a character whose tone and motivations seemed to waiver, who was mostly unliveable and the depth of her character fairly shallow.

The positive aspect of this novel comes in the stories of the serial killers, which should have been further fleshed out.

A forgettable novel in comparison to others of a similar ilk.

A young woman infiltrates a serial killer support group to find her sister’s killer. The premise sounded fresh and new! Despite being a fairly quick and easy read, it didn’t fully live up to expectations.

The main issue for me was the tone – yes, a murder investigation could be thrilling, edge-of-your-seat stuff; however, given that a support group for serial killers does not sound at all realistic, I expected something darkly funny and light. The problem was it was neither especially dark nor funny and as a result the unbelievable plot was just that – unbelievable. There’s an audience for dark and gritty as well as for more comedic spins on murder but this novel seemed unable to decide and ended up stuck in the middle.

I did find it entertaining enough to read all the way through, but it would be hard to recommend given that the genre is so undefined.
Thanks, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this eARC.

This book was dark and twisted... but I could not stop reading it. Calling Cyra an overprotective big sister is an understatement. Cyra made sure that she protected her little sister, Mira without any regard for the consequences of her actions. When Mira is killed Cyra joins a Serial Killer Support Group which really sounds so far-fetched of an idea but I suspended reality to believe this could be possible. It was very interesting how the author spent chapters introducing each killer and their POV. At no point did I realize where this story was going which made it all the more enjoyable. My heart was racing in the final chapters. It was such roller coaster! Thank you Netgalley for this ARC - this book will keep me up at night in the best way possible.

I really wanted this book to be a little campy with some dark humor. A serial killer support group? That can't be something serious, right? In this book, it absolutely is. There's no humor, just cold, harsh serial killers killing. And I think the reader is supposed to be okay with that, almost cheering them on and justifying it all. I apologize ahead of time here that I will be spoiling some stuff.

The main character, Cyra's sister was murdered and she decides she's not waiting around for the cops to figure it out anymore, she's going to do it herself. Cyra is incredibly unlikable. And if you're not getting serious sociopath vibes from her right away, we may be reading different books. She uses a friend to get information from the police files and finds out about this group of serial killers that meet to "help support each other." She instantly thinks her sister's killer has to be this group, there's no way there's other killers in New York City, right? Ugh, clearly she just needs a group of people she can relate to for some support of her own. She somehow finds the group on the dark web, passes their "tests," and starts to attend meetings. And how does she pass the tests and act like the killers? Oh, she maybe kinda killed her sister's abusive boyfriend years before... accidentally. She fits into the group a little too well, obviously, creating a whole persona to dress up as. Only then she starts to feel like the persona is more real than Real Cyra. The whole time, one of the killers has found her out and they start working together to find a mole in the group and also find her sister's killer. And she's a little leery of working with this guy but then points him off to kill the mole once she finds him. Killers gotta kill, right? It's just a lot of grey area and maybe the killers aren't really bad guys and it's okay to kill as long as it's the "right" people for the "right" reasons.

Overall I didn't want keep reading after the first quarter of this book, I felt kinda gross with the moral dilemma that shouldn't be a moral dilemma. True crime and thriller books are a huge thing, lots of fans, myself included, but even comparing this to Dexter doesn't feel right. It was mentioned many times that the killers seem like normal guys, they even bring snacks to the meetings. So I will say this was definitely not for me, the ending solidified that fact, there wasn't a feeling of justice at all. Maybe other people will find it entertaining or interesting to see things from the other side of most thriller stories and this is the book for them.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! My main problem for this book is you have to suspend your belief a little too much. BUT I was never bored! I had a good time, a couple times my mouth was a gapped. On the other hand there were a lot of times I was rolling my eyes. Thanks for the read!

What an interesting, twisty tale of murder of the serial variety! I'm usually one to figure out the murderer pretty quickly, but the author is seemingly a master at their craft. I was incredibly wrong, and impeccably satisfied with this novel.

Great read!!!! Ever feel like you don't connect with the "normal" world around you? Sometimes you find comfort and acceptance in the most unexpected places. This book is a fantastic example of that. I loved the quirks for each character. I always gravitate to books where a relative is out for justice and revenge. It had twists hiding around each corner, and I had a difficult time putting it down. Highly recommend this one.

This book kept me up until 2 AM to finish it. The concept of this book drew me in right away. While Cyra is flawed and at times unlikeable I could not help but root for her. The cat and mouse games between Cyra and Lamprey kept me on my toes. I would be interested to read more about what Cyra does in the future if the author feels the need to continue her story.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Press, Saratoga Schaefer, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Serial Killers Support Group had so much potential, but unfortunately, it didn't come close to delivering on its promise. The concept of a support group for serial killers is wild and unique, and it could have been a brilliant mix of dark humor and psychological tension. Instead, it ended up feeling like a series of frustrating missed opportunities.

Every character in the group seemed more ridiculous than the last. Rather than being chilling or unsettling, they came off as cartoonish and devoid of any real menace. These were supposed to be killers, psychopaths, but none of them felt truly dangerous. They were more absurd than intimidating, which is the opposite of what I was hoping for. There was no tension, no real fear, and certainly no thrills—just a lot of cringeworthy moments that made the whole thing fall flat.

The plot itself also failed to deliver. The setup is intriguing, but it doesn't go anywhere interesting. Instead of digging deep into the complexities of being a serial killer—or even playing with the dark comedy angle—it just meanders and gets bogged down in pointless exchanges and unconvincing character development.

Overall, it’s a shame because this could have been something really twisted and compelling. Instead, Serial Killers Support Group turned out to be a boring, dumb mess with no real edge.

This had such an interesting concept that I just had to read it. I've never seen a book about serial killers who have a support group! It follows Cyra, whose sister was murdered and she is determined to find out what happened as the police investigation is slow. She comes across what some believe is a support for serial killers, so she decides to infiltrate it, hoping to find answers.
The story itself is good, again it's an interesting concept, but the main character Cyra is just so unlikeable. The deeper she gets into the group, the more her true colours show. I would think the author meant this but she was annoying and I much preferred the other killers that were part of the group. She has dark thoughts and by the end, you're kind of glad it's over.
I wish the author did more chapters of the killers themselves, you lean a little into their past but not enough as I was wanting more
Solid book, a good read and one you want to continue but the main character is frustrating and very unlikeable

Cyra's little sister is murdered on her morning run, and after realizing the police have leads, she taps an inside source for more details on what they know about her sisters killer. A tip that it may be a serial killer, and that they have a support group to trade insider information, sparks her to take a darker path to discovering who is responsible, and what she'll become in the process.

*******

I really wanted to like this book. However, it took ages to gain momentum. Other than an interesting conclusion, most of the novel felt flat and one-dimensional.

It starts out with Cyra in front of a less-than-enthused detective, who seems to be annoyed that the sister of his very recent victim is relentlessly interested in leads. From that point on, she's fully insistent that her sisters case will drop off of their interest. This was a hard point for me where the book started out vastly unrealistic. It's extremely odd that she assumes the police are doing nothing about a serial murderer, especially considering that we learn very quickly on that the FBI are also interested.

In general, I find it highly unlikely that the FBI, being aware of the support group, wouldn't be able to follow very simple rules to enter the group. They would absolutely dispose of materials of one dead person to infiltrate a support group of multiple serial killers, as well as easily prove death with a photo just like she did. This was a weird holding point that made the entire premise of the book tied to a single, very fragile thread. I understand we're supposed to think Lamprey made it harder for new members to be added, but even then, how was an official investigation not able to begin before that? Or with the same very easy fake that she made?

Suspending that belief, we spend the first 60% of the books drudging through Cyra talking about being cold and unfeeling, mixed with panic attacks, and then interspersed with her superior capabilities in MMA and learning knife skills online. Even believing her own adeptness, she's meant to be small and thin framed. These men can very easily overpower her, which drags into an unrealistic part of the conclusion as well, where she comes out on top while physically pinned by a strong man, much larger and heavier than herself, who is used to killing women with his bare hands. Also, the entire book was tied to her single-minded devotion to Mira, who was an unlikable character from the start. The desperate attachment Cyra had to her was one-sided and built on a misplaced protective instinct for someone who was actively using her. Which made me not really care if her killer was found.

It just kept coming up too unrealistic to really sink into the novel, especially when the parts that should have been daunting and pulled that "thriller" aspect were lackluster. The serial killers were so one-dimensional. The way they were presented was almost too relatable that they weren't scary at all. You didn't feel any gripping fear, more like a group of bumbling, impotent idiots who all thought they were the smartest man in the room, but desperately needed the attention of the others to feel elite. The random chapters from their perspectives could have been chilling, and Lampreys felt the most suited to the book, but the rest fell flat.

Around the 65-70% mark, the book started to pick up. Lamprey made her character more dynamic, however her constantly falling into her persona was almost too predictable. Her choice to deal with who she thought was the murderer before actually hearing them out immediately sealed that she chose the wrong individual. I enjoyed the conclusion and seeing who Cyra always was and became at the end. However, coming to the realization that the killer wasn't who she expected came so much earlier than she did, which made the book drag a bit to finally pull to that point. The mystery and twists were almost too predictable to be satisfying.

The conclusion was the vibe that I wish the whole book carried through. It had so much more personality, depth, and interest than any other point in the book. Witnessing the loss of her sister and finding retribution, encouraging her to spiral into who she's truly been - a serial killer with a God complex of killing to do the right thing - was a very satisfying conclusion

Overall, the book was okay. If other readers are willing to suspend logic and not be too interested in the development of any other characters, they'll most likely enjoy the book.

I loved the idea of this book and feel as though the plot started off really strong. However as we went through the story I found I was losing interest, wasn't able to keep up with the characters and ultimately felt less invested in the characters too - which was a shame!

Whew!!! This book kept me on my toes, BIG TIME! The story behind the title is all that and so much more. When you think you know, you don't! This was a breath of fresh air after reading a couple not-so-good books lately. I highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

The concept of this book was so cool but ultimately fell a little flat. A Serial Killer Support group, totally unhinged, much like main character Cyra. It took a while to become invested in this book because all of the characters were so unlikable for me. However, early on I formed some assumptions about how I thought the story would play out and honestly I wish I had not done that because almost none of them came true and I was disappointed. I kept waiting for a "gotcha, just kidding" moment but it never came. Was the premise cool? Yes. Do I regret reading it? No. Was the book my favorite? Also, no.

I was digging the vibes of this book! I’m totally down for a woman taking things into her own hands when incompetent males fail her 😅. But this book takes a dark turn fast, because, like the title implies, the FMC joins a support group… for *serial killers*. And this isn’t one where they’re meeting so they can help stop each other from committing murder. No, this is to encourage them to. Cyra joins this group, posing as a fellow serial killer almost effortlessly. And then what ensues is a dark thriller as she tries to uncover which one of them killed her sister.

Cyra is a dark character herself, and while she’s hard to love, I did immensely enjoy cheering her on. Even when she made some pretty stupid mistakes, which when you’re surrounded by other serial killers, is a definite no-no.

What I really enjoyed about the book was that some of it was a bit easier to predict, but I loved that prediction anyway. However, some of it was harder to guess, and so I felt like I was on my toes for the last quarter of the book or so. Overall a really fun read if you’re okay with a little darker vibes. You might be double checking your doors are locked before going to bed, though, and looking over your shoulder as you head home from running errands- juuusttt to make sure no one’s following you. 😈

4.5/5 rounded up