Serial Killer Support Group

January 13, 2025
In the underwhelming first novel from poet Schaefer (Beautiful After Breaking), a young woman tries to avenge her sister’s death by infiltrating a clandestine support group for serial killers. Marketing coordinator Cyra Griffin’s sister, Mira, was just starting to find success as a fine art photographer in New York City when she was murdered by an unknown assailant. The police’s sluggish response spurs Cyra to investigate on her own. Soon, she realizes that Mira’s body was posed in a manner similar to the victims of several other unsolved murders across New York. Suspecting that Mira and the others were murdered by the same person, Cyra turns to her friend, Eli, who works in the NYPD’s records office and informs her of an underground weekly meeting where serial killers can “casually chat about their crimes.” After contacting the group’s gatekeeper on the dark web and completing a difficult initiation process, Cyra ingratiates herself with its members, and starts digging for clues about whether one of them killed Mira, or knows who did. In the meantime, she makes uncomfortable discoveries about her own capacity for violence. Despite an intriguing setup and a title that implies the proceedings have a dash of wit, Schaefer plays things frustratingly straight, with little suspense and less humor. This misses the mark. Agent: Amy Giuffrida, Belcasto Literary.