A Blend of Romance and Mystery in Morbidly Funny Office Romp

Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey

If you are looking for a book that has a bit of everything … then I highly recommend “Serial Killer Games.”

What did I just read? Was it a love story? A murder mystery? An anti-love story?

In summary, I’d have to say it was all of the above.

Kate Posey’s Serial Killer Games grabs you with intrigue. There is a serial killer on the loose. People are being pushed from office rooftops — or are they falling? People are dying, and … people are dying to keep their jobs. 

This is where we meet Jake and his “Serial Killer Smile.” Jake is the office temp; Jake blends into the background. He is nobody going nowhere. That is, until he meets Delores (Dolly), and he puts her on his list …

Playing Games with a Killer on the Loose

Jake and Dolly become intertwined in the most unlikely of circumstances — they start playing serial killer games with each other. At this point, the book becomes a story of their intertwining tales. We see the story from the alternating perspectives of Jake and Dolly, much like Nick and Amy Dunne in Gone Girl.

Jake is looking for love. Dolly has lost love. The pair play these games with each other until Jake books a last-minute work trip to Las Vegas, and their true stories start to unravel. 

Author Kate Posey has done a great job of creating two deep characters. Even the background characters have depth — or lack of it, in the case of Andrew. They are well fleshed out, they have idiosyncrasies and even tattoos. 

The story revolves around Jake and Dolly as they play a sort of “Hating Game” with each other (and, yes, it somewhat reminds me of Sally Thorne’s book). Jake does not have enough of a life, while Dolly has too much of one. The pair gets closer and closer as the book moves forward, and just when you think they’ve made it, one of them pushes the other away. 

Oh, and there is a serial killer who is pushing people off office rooftops…

An Enjoyable — Yet Deadly — Office Romp

There was a lot to love about Serial Killer Games. The whole will they/won’t they saga kept me guessing, as did the identity of the “Paper Pusher” serial killer. I was also intrigued as to why Jake made so little effort at making a life, and why Dolly was so keen to keep everyone at arm’s length.

Aside from the sojourn to Las Vegas, most of the story takes place in the office, Jake’s flat (that he shares with the vacuous Grant) and Dolly’s flat. And the author does a good job of spinning a story in an office building. 

I also appreciated some of the alliterations and a few nods to Easton Ellis’s character, Patrick Bateman — the original American Psycho. 

In summary, if you are looking for a book that has a bit of everything, an anti-love story and two protagonists who will frustrate the life out of you, then I highly recommend Serial Killer Games. It took me on an unexpected journey, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.