Review: I Kill Killers (Dark Crime Series #1) by S.T. Ashman

    

Print Length: 331 pages

Publisher:  S.T. Ashman (October 10, 2023)

From Goodreads.com: When a genius pianist turned hunter of serial killers finds herself connected to her latest victim by an eerie twist of fate, her world spirals into dark chaos. Caught in a relentless game of cat-and-mouse with a tenacious FBI agent, she is also thrust into a dangerous face-off with a serial killer whose lethal cunning could rival her own.

"I Kill Killers" is a pulse-pounding journey into moral ambiguity, blurring the slippery line between heroes and villains.

Trigger warning! This book contains sensitive content, including detailed descriptions of murders.

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My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

I am a huge fan of the Dexter series (both book and TV show). And I mean I am the kind of fan who notices character and plot inconsistencies that other people completely miss. So when I saw a book centered on a serial killer who kills other serial killers; and she’s a woman? I was all in. This sounded like it was going to be right up my alley.

Unfortunately, I was bored. Yes, the crimes themselves were described in graphic detail, but everything surrounding them felt like it dragged on forever. The tension never quite built the way it should have, and instead of being unsettling or thrilling, large chunks of the book just felt like filler.

And then there’s Richter. Don’t even get me started. At one point, he’s complaining about how much he hates summer while sitting in a van doing surveillance… only to later mention that the temperature dropped so much he could see his breath. I’m sorry, see his breath? In summer? 

But the bigger problem, I think, is that while we as readers are fully aware of who’s behind things, it should have been just as obvious to Richter, especially given the events that occur and the behavior of one particular character who was basically waving a red flag with his actions. I mean seriously? He was able to connect the dots with Leah as thin as they were, but somehow missed what was happening right under his own nose? That didn’t make him seem complex or conflicted (which he was when it came to Leah), just oblivious.

The showdown in the woods was the biggest letdown of all. It felt like a total cop-out and was once again the direct result of Richter’s inability to see what was blatantly in front of him. That death, in particular, really made me mad because it was so preventable. Instead of feeling impactful, it just felt lazy.

That said, I’m actually still curious enough to continue with the series. Mostly because I want to see how this new partnership plays out. At first glance, it’s giving me shades of what Dexter and Debra might have been if they’d met as adults and not grown up together as adopted siblings. Whether that potential actually goes anywhere remains to be seen, but for now, curiosity is winning out over frustration.