Arc copy for March 2025. Like the idea of the book. Having the main character sneak into a support group of killers to find information of her sister. You lean the backgrounds of each member slowly throughout the story. The twist had you keep thinking you know the truth until the end.

This was such a unique experience, I’ve never read anything like it before. I was so creeped out while reading it, it’s such a distinctive look at serial killers. The fact that they need a support group in itself very weird and our lead dives head first into it. She is smart and a badass, as she tries to find her sister’s murderer.

The premise of this book is great. The second I saw the title I was interested. Now this book definitely wasn’t perfect and I think it is lacking a bit in character development. I enjoyed the different POVs but those were only brief looks into each of their lives and could have offered more. Cyra also wasn’t someone I was necessarily rooting for, I wish she was a bit more likable as a character overall. Regardless of all of that, I did still enjoy the book. And I was genuinely surprised when the killer was revealed.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

4.5/5
There was a time in the beginning where I was not hooked, but it really picked up steam and the 2nd half was really enticing!
There is a clever twist at the end.
I agree with another reviewer who said “Cyra and Mira (not rhyming) are annoying sibling names”. I’ll add they feel unlikely.
This was a very interesting book to read right after “This will bury me”. Back to back thrillers, free ARCs thanks to NetGalley. Give this one a go!

This was a book that I had received from the author (Saratoga Schaefer), her publisher (PenguinRandomHouse), and the fine folks at NetGalley.

The premise of this tale is that shortly after her sister is found murdered by a serial killer. Her bereaved sister, Cyra Griffin, is dissatisfied with the lack of progress by the local police department, NYPD, in the investigation of the murder and develops a plan with the assistance of a lowly clerk (and a "friend" of her sister ... a fact that comes to fruition later in the book) to infiltrate a local chapter of a Serial Killer Support Group (to quote a phrase from the book "A twisted parody of an AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) group) by pretending to be a serial murderer herself in the hopes of finding the person who ended her sister’s life. Proving herself to this group of murderous reprobates comes at a cost, but it’s one Cyra is willing to pay in the name of revenge.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book and a support group for serial killers is an amazing idea. However, the writing never captured my imagination and I struggled to get into the book and the characters’ lives. This was one of those books that had attracted me based on the title and the simplicity of its cover (a phenomenon that I've coined "The Racoon Principle") but sadly the final product fell flat.

The protagonist, Cyra, is hellbent to find out who murdered her sister. That urge, and help from her sister's best friend's boyfriend Eli leads her to a group of serial killers who meet once a week to talk about murder. All she had to do to be in with the group was a 'favor' for them - getting rid of a mysterious package. From then on, the night before the meeting the group leader, 'Python' (because every murderer had a really lame nickname) would let them know that the meeting was on and where it was.

In the meetings, Cyra went by the nickname 'Mistletoe', and wore a full-on disguise and everything. She broke the rules as soon as they were told to her, essentially, by fraternizing with another group member, 'Lamprey', outside of group sessions. Each serial killer member had their personality and nickname- based on the names of invasive parasitic creatures and plants: 'Mockingbird' was the secretive murdering trucker, 'Pea Crab' was the murderous tweaker, and on and on it went. By the end of the book, Cyra soon became the monster she claimed to hate as she attempted to learn more about so she could solve her sister's murder.

On the standard five-star scale that I use to rate the books that I read, this novel would rate 3.25 stars as while this was an interesting idea and did have some very intriguing moments. However, I felt the execution to be a little lacking. I had no connection to the characters whatsoever. I was invested in the journey of revenge and grief. I believe that while there is a group of people who will love this one, it just didn’t hit the spot for me.

As with all my literary ramblings, this is just my five cents worth

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Cyra's sister, Mira, was murdered and Cyra makes it her life mission to avenge her sister's death no matter the consequences.

The author did a good job of telling the story and I thought it was a great spooky season read! I liked how each serial killer had their own chapter so we could get to know them more. It added to the story.

5 stars

Thank you, Crooked Lane Books for the copy of Serial Killer Support Group by Saratoga Schaefer. I loved the premise of this book and a support group for serial killers is an amazing idea. The writing never captured my imagination, though and I struggled to get into the book and the characters’ lives. Maybe it was how the book was organized, with some chapters devoted to a particular killer’s childhood. The killer’s childhood didn’t seem to have any relationship with what was happening in the present, and the usage of the killers' aliases and their real names was hard to keep track of. I got more interested near the end, but the actual ending was lackluster, but I can see why readers would love how unexpected it was. This book wasn’t for me, but you might love it if you like questionable characters and an interesting main character. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

A bunch of serial killers meeting up once a week? Count me in!

I loved the idea of this book! It felt so unique and fun, like the idea of serial killers getting together to discuss their, ermmm, passion? I guess that’s how you’d put it 😅

Also, the FMC hit way too close to home, with the feelings of grief and the panic attacks. Definitely relatable, and I understood her need for vengeance. Although I may not have taken the same approach 👀 I at least get it!

I feel like the way the story progressed was good, and I enjoyed the way it was written. I got through this one pretty quick, and I needed to know how it was going to end! Overall, definitely a good read for spooky season!

I would have enjoyed a little more development in the end, especially with everything the character goes through. But I did love the little twist the author threw in at the end! Honestly, it was overall enjoyable!

I was so excited to be chosen as an early reader for this book for NetGalley, as I was intrigued by the title and premise. Unfortunately, I only made it about 1/3 of the way through before I realized I felt no connection to any of the characters and no desire to find out who the killer was. I skimmed the rest of the book and was similarly disappointed. I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers and very rarely DNF because I feel the need to know the whodunnit, but I truly didn’t care with this book.

I found Cyra to be unlikeable, something I didn’t think would be possible considering she was the victim’s sister. I just found her to be too closed off and naive, and I didn’t feel any connection to her character. The serial killers were also very hard to keep track of, with their silly nicknames like Sand Fly and Pea Crab.

If you’re fine with unlikeable main characters and able to suspend disbelief, maybe you’ll enjoy this book!

The title and cover art got me interested in this book, but sadly the final product fell flat. None of the characters were fleshed out enough to feel real or to make me feel anything for them. The protagonist, Cyra, is hellbent to find out who murdered her sister. That urge, and help from her sister's best friend's boyfriend Eli leads her to a group of serial killers who meet once a week to talk about murder. All she had to do to be in with the in crowd was a 'favor' for them - getting rid of a mysterious package. From then on, the night before the meeting the group leader, 'Python' (because every murderer had a really lame name) would let them know that the meeting was on and where it was.

In the meetings, Cyra went by the name 'Mistletoe', and wore a full-on disguise and everything. She broke the rules as soon as they were told to her, essentially, by fraternizing with another group member, 'Lamprey', outside of group sessions. Each killer had their own personality - 'Mockingbird' was the secretive murderin' trucker, 'Pea Crab' was the murderous tweaker, and on and on it went. By the end of the book, Cyra became the monster she claimed to hate, claimed to want to learn more about so she could solve her sister's murder.

The action scenes towards the end of the book ALMOST made me like it more, but it really devolved into a mess for me. I didn't like any of the characters, the storyline fell flat, and, for a thriller, sadly, nothing felt all that exciting. While I think it could be a good book for someone, I am not that person.

Absolutely amazing book. Omg the continued guessing and puzzling the pieces together. The life of the characters as their story was told ❤️❤️❤️

It took me a while to get into this book and it took me until at least halfway to actually start enjoying myself while reading this book. But once I reached that halfway point I was hooked. I didn't like how at the beginning she seemed to join the group out of literal nowhere and the serial killers were all one-dimensional villains that I couldn't find myself caring about. However once it picked up I enjoyed it so much and couldn't put it down.

As much as I liked the premise and the title of the book, I wasn't intrigued into the story. The plot was too convenient in some places making it a bit unbelievable. I struggled with the pacing because it was slow which is generally not my preference.
Overall, the story eventually did get better towards the end but I feel the book simply wasn't the right fit for me.

Incredible. Amazing. Chilling. Page turning. I love love loved this book. It is a wonderful commentary on human evil and what makes a killer. As someone obsessed with wondering what causes someone to cross that line and take someone's life again and again to become a serial killer, this book is a wonderful thought experiment. Rhe twists and swerves and fights and murders are all top notch. The author also totally avoids romanticizing crime that I am very grateful for, but delivers slasher like excitement in a mystery/crime genre that could 100% in a city near you. And you'd never know. 10/10 will read again

I really enjoyed this book and the topics it covered, the only gripe I found was that a lot of the times when a character achieved something it just felt too easy. Overall the writing was solid and there was always a reason for me to turn the next page, something I wanted to figure out.
3.5/5 stars

Cyra Griffin is in the throes of grief following her younger sister's murder. Unable to process and furious with the slowness of criminal justice, Cyra takes matters into her own hands. After learning police suspect her sister's murder to be the work of a serial killer, Cyra sneaks her way into the scariest extra curricular: the serial killer support group. As Cyra infiltrates the group, she chips away at the mystery of her sister's death--and at herself as she once knew.

Serial Killer Support Group is a fun read, with horror elements, but nothing too gory. Some of the elements are cheesy, but it's full of camp and easy to read. 3.5 stars from me.

I pretty much devoured this book in one sitting wanting to find out what happened and who did it and I really enjoyed reading this book! Great for thriller, mystery, and suspense lovers alike. 4.25/5

This was a great idea and had some very intriguing moments. However, I felt as if the execution was a little lacking. I had no connection to the characters whatsoever. I was invested in the journey of revenge and grief. I think a lot of people will love this one, but it just didn’t hit the spot for me.

Cyra's sister gets murdered and the police suspect its a work of a serial killer but police are slow so Crya decides to take matters into her own hands, she gets insider information that there is a serial killer support group, which her sisters killer might be attending so she decides to infiltrate it by pretending to be one of them.
I could understand Crya's love for Mira since I also have a younger sister but she was way too cold inside, due to which it was very difficult to connect with her. I didnt like some of the decisions at all.
Talking about the support group, it was a literal support group with introduction, snacks and coffee stuff but the whole concept was very unique but the way she infiltrated the group was way too easy.
The twist at the end with who actually killed Cyra was good.
It was dark, fast paced and unique but it wasnt humorous.

"Serial Support Group" hooks you with a killer premise (pun intended): a woman infiltrates a support group for serial killers to avenge her sister. It's dark, sharp, and drenched in feminist rage, but sadly it only scratches the surface of its potential. Instead of digging into the twisted psyches of the murderers around her, the book focuses too much on Cyra, who isn't nearly as compelling as the murderers she's trying to outwit. The potential for something great lurks beneath the surface, but unfortunately, it never quite cuts deep enough.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.