Alexandra grew up hungry. Hungry for food, hungry for safety, hungry for love. Which is why she’s worked so hard to have it a beautiful home, a gorgeous doctor boyfriend, and an ambitious job matching individuals with… unconventional emotional responses. Sure, her clients may sit somewhere on the psychopathy scale. But they’re not the dangerous, murderous kind. They’re doctors, lawyers, teachers, and everyone deserves love.

And that’s exactly what Alex thinks she’s found. Love. So she’s floored when she arrives to her dinner with her boyfriend, expecting a ring in a little box, and instead finding her best friend sat at the table with him. They have news. They’re together now. And apparently her birthday dinner is the best time to share the news.

Suddenly, Alex’s world implodes. She has lost the two people in the world closest to her, her only support. She’s utterly alone, her future in pieces. So when she unexpectedly bumps into a client, Rebecca, and Rebecca seems to want to be friends, it feels like a lifeline.

But then Alex’s now ex turns up dead, then more people around her seem to be dropping like flies. And she can’t help but wonder if this new friendship is a match made in hell.

I received an advance galley of this book courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

This was exactly the kind of mystery thriller I love. This is the second book that I’ve read by Tasha Coryell, and I loved it just as much as her first. She has a particular talent for writing deeply flawed and morally gray characters that still manage to charm you. It’s not easy to pull off a protagonist who makes questionable decisions and still feels like someone you want to root for, but she nails it. This book is smart, unsettling, and, surprisingly, pretty funny in a twisted way.

The premise is darkly delightful (just the way I like them). Alex, our main character, works for a matchmaking service that caters to clients on the psychopathy spectrum. Yes, you read that right. Not the stabby kind of psychopaths, but more like high-functioning professionals who maybe lack empathy but still want love. It’s the kind of setup that could go campy fast, but Coryell keeps the tone razor sharp.

At the start, Alex seems like she has it all: a solid job, a handsome doctor boyfriend, and a best friend who she loves and trusts with all her heart. Then, in one dinner-gone-wrong scene, it all crashes down. During her birthday dinner, Alex gets a surprise announcement—her boyfriend and best friend are now a couple. Happy birthday, indeed. And with that, the spiral begins.

From there, the book balances emotional chaos with an increasingly ominous sense that something darker is brewing. A new friend, Rebecca, shows up just when Alex needs a lifeline, and a one-night stand with a hot guy named Adrian temporarily takes Alex’s mind off things. But when Josh (the boyfriend) goes missing and body parts start showing up on Alex’s doorstep, you can’t help but side-eye every single character, wondering who’s pulling the strings and who’s next.

The character of Alex walks a fine line between unhinged and relatable, and it’s that careful balancing act that makes her so compelling. I understood her unraveling because I’ve felt pieces of it before, be it through betrayal, loneliness, or that low simmer of rage when someone takes advantage of you one too many times.

The plot is tight, and while I had some early suspicions about who might be responsible for the dismemberment, I definitely didn’t guess the motive. That twist worked for me. It felt earned without relying on an over-the-top reveal. What I appreciate is that Coryell seems more interested in examining emotional manipulation and blurred boundaries than shocking readers just for the sake of it. That doesn’t mean that there’s not plenty of WTF energy to keep you hooked, it’s just not twisty to be twisty. Everything works.

I did a tandem read on this one, and the audiobook—narrated by Sarah Mollo Christensen—is fantastic. She nails the tone of Alex’s voice, giving just enough edge without pushing it too far. If you’re an audiobook listener, I highly recommend giving this one a listen.

If you like your thrillers dark, with a streak of dry humor and characters who refuse to behave, this book is certainly worth picking up. It’s sharp, sinister, and weirdly delightful. Just the way I like it. And if you haven’t already read Coryell’s “Love Letters to a Serial Killer”, you’ll want to check that one out next. I’m officially declaring Coryell an auto-buy author.