Hey, it’s Diego.

Last week, I read My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.

And it made me realise that even if I don’t look for them, I’ve read some good serial killer books this year.

Here are my top picks.

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Serial Killer Psychological Thrillers

The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey

I keep recommending this one as my top read of 2025 (at least so far). In The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey, a girl goes missing, and another shows up dead after a group of girlfriends witness the sexual victimization of a teenage girl.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, as you can tell by the premise, but it’s definitely worth it. We follow one of the girls dealing with the possibility of a serial killer coming to their town, but that’s not the only threat they’re up against.

The Good Lie by A.R. Torre

I love the premise of The Good Lie by A.R. Torre: Dr. Gwen Moore, a psychiatrist specializing in violent tendencies, helps Robert Kavin, a defense attorney whose teenage son was one of the serial killer’s victims, defend the man accused of being the serial killer. Talk about juicy!

I got drawn into the story straightaway as we follow Dr Moore work with violent patients, then the thread of the serial killer comes up, and at that point, I was all in for the ride. This is my second-best read of 2025. (I hadn’t even noticed my top two favourite reads have serial killers in them until just now.)

Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead

In Broken Bayou by Jennifer Moorhead, we follow a child psychologist who gets tangled up in the hunt for a serial killer when she hides in her child's hometown after an embarrassing stunt.

This one took a bit longer to get into. The start of the book seems quite random and a bit out of place. That said, once the thrills start, it’s a good one. It also has some romance in it, which was a good change of pace from other reads.

And for number four, let me introduce you to today’s review:

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing – Review

Millicent and her husband look like the perfect suburban couple. Two kids, a beautiful home, and a marriage that still has spark. But that spark comes from something darker than anyone suspects. They share everything—including a secret hobby that involves stalking, kidnapping, and murder. When their twisted routine starts to unravel, one of them breaks the rules, and their carefully built life begins to fall apart fast.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing is a domestic thriller set primarily in a small gated community.

Downing’s writing is invisible, putting the story front and center.

We follow the husband as the only point of view character, alternating between the current events and flashbacks that flesh out the relationship between the couple.

The start was slow, and I kept reading because I was drawn to the point of view of a serial killer. The second half of the book picks up a lot of pace, and we do get thrills and more action.

There is very little in terms of mystery or twists; the story focuses instead on fleshing out the relationship between the serial killer couple, how they ended up where they are now, and how their decisions may cost them dearly.

Although we get to peek into the beginning of the relationship between the characters, there is no romance. And although the husband uses sex to lure their victims, there are no sexual scenes. Even though the book covers dark themes, the language is clean, and there are no scenes of graphic violence in it.

So, what about the ending? (No spoilers obviously)

The ending didn’t hit the notes I was hoping for. I did enjoy it, but I was hoping for a different resolution. I appreciated the short denouement where we get to see what the characters do after the events.

Similar Books to My Lovely Wife

• We Play Games by Sarah A. Denzil

• A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

This Week’s Finds

• As if you needed another excuse to pick it up, The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey is currently marked down, so if you’d like to read a kick-ass domestic thriller about serial killers, now is the time!

• More from Jess Lourey, as her last book, The Laughing Dead (book 3 in a series), came out this week. The case of three teenage girls found dead in central Minnesota, each with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin, is closed. Decades later, cold case agent Evangeline “Van” Reed is called to the scene of a crime where the victim wears that same horror-movie smile.

• In line with the Serial Killer vibe we are going with, a reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer was released in mid-July to mixed reviews. I’ll watch it anyway, even if just for the nostalgia.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

— Diego Dunne

P.S. Let me know how I did today by replying to this email.