SWIPE RIGHT FOR MURDER
September 14th, 2021
Young Adult / New Adult
Paperback Price: $11.97
Kindle Price: $0.99/launch week, $3.99
DATING IS TOUGH. ESPECIALLY IF THE GUY YOU LIKE MIGHT BE A SERIAL KILLER.
After a devastating heartbreak and a string of short-lived, failed relationships, college student Georgie Itoyama has now decided to approach dating in the same way that she approaches everything else: methodically, logically, and efficiently.
Georgie downloads countless dating apps, determined to find the love of her life as easily as she orders jeans online. And while her love-at-first-sight aspirations don’t exactly come true, she does find someone she likes. Quite a lot.
There’s only one problem. Girls are going missing at Georgie’s university, and all the signs are pointing to . . . him?
But that’s ridiculous. What are the chances that she’s dating an actual serial killer?
Then she matches with Nate. Mysterious, intelligent, and oddly fixated on solving the local disappearances. As Georgie’s relationships deepen with each of her guys, she unwittingly finds herself caught up in the mess that is murder, intrigue, and the nightmare of online dating.
Review
A witty adventure chronicling the perils of online dating in the modern world.
I was lucky enough that Polly Harris reached out to me and offered me an ARC of this fun, witty, delightful contemporary thriller novel that expertly captures what it means to be single in the modern age and the horrors of dating. To say that I enjoyed this book is really an understatement. This book doesn't take itself too seriously, but still has a lot of depth.
The voice the author was able to give this character felt so down-to-earth and realistic I felt like I was reading a friend's diary. Every shocking twist and turn in the plot kept me intrigued and aching for more. The pages are full of pop culture references, witty retorts, and cynicism that perfectly depicts the woes of a modern single woman.
My coffee tastes like dirt.
Another thing I really loved about this book was how realistic it was. From the main character's personality, to the problems she was facing, and her sometimes less than kind thoughts that she would NEVER give voice to but lingered in the back of her mind.
FUN FACT: I remember the serial murders at LSU before they caught Derek Todd Lee. One of his first was in my small hometown, in fact. This novel really depicted the way I felt during the investigations from my past. Seeing the news headlines, thinking about how horrible it all was, never imagining that anything like that could happen to ME. Could happen in the small town I grew up in. This strange sort of denial that makes you numb to everything happening. It was so realistic in this book I had to put it down a few times.
Trauma doesn't pay the bills.
There were a few things that I didn't enjoy as much, mainly, the strange no-man's land this book falls into in terms of genre/audience. This is supposed to be a YA contemporary thriller... I think... but as it's set in college and because of the general age of the protagonists plus the situations they're overcoming, I think it would be more accurate to call this a NA Contemporary Thriller. At times it felt very YA appropriate when reading, which almost negated the realism I enjoyed so much... then at other times it was so clearly NOT YA. So, it falls into a grey area in between and I think the book is much more enjoyable if you sort of know that upfront.
I also really wanted more depth from the romance arc. It was definitely cute and I enjoyed it a lot, but it seemed to be mostly surface and I wanted some deeper stakes for the characters especially as we got closer to the end.
All in all, this book is definitely a great quick summer read that I think most audiences will enjoy immensely. I can't wait to see more from this author!!
Besides, aren't her books all about women falling in love with assholes?
Author Bio
Polly Harris is the author of six YA novels and runs her own editorial company where she works on books just like this one. When Polly isn’t writing or editing, she can be found cuddling her cat (professionally known as her editorial assistant), crafting, or swiping through dating apps.
Behind The Book- From the Author
We’ve all been there. You match with a cute guy on a dating app, you hit it off over text, and you arrange to meet up. Everything feels fine until you remember that awful story your aunt told you once at Thanksgiving—the one where a young woman was murdered by someone she met online. Or the horror stories she’s read about how creepy dating apps can be. So you do some internet stalking before meeting up with aforementioned cute guy, just to make sure he’s not too Ted Bundy-ish. I mean, better safe than sorry, right?
And as an unfortunate veteran of most of the dating apps on the market, I’ve had quite a few of those moments. Because we all want to find love. While avoiding creepy stalkers and murderers.
Naturally.
I wrote this book mainly because I was fed up with dating apps and wanted a platform to ruthlessly mock them (while also entertaining all those “what if?” moments when I’ve gone on a date with someone I probably shouldn’t have).
Anyway, I’m willing to bet that you relate. So go ahead and read the book. I promise it’s a fun time. ;)
Author Links
Twitter: @PaulineCHarris
Facebook: Facebook.com/PaulineHarrisEditorial
Email: harrispaulinec@gmail.com
Pull Quotes
“A THRILLING AND WITTY MURDER MYSTERY THAT WILL HAVE YOU THINKING TWICE BEFORE YOU SWIPE RIGHT!”
— KELLY GUNDERMAN, AUTHOR OF LIVING DEAD GIRL
“THIS BOOK HAS IT ALL – FRIENDSHIPS, COLLEGE LIFE, DATING APPS – AND MURDER!”
— JEN LOWRY, AUTHOR OF THE SUNDAY KILLER
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