A Killer Kind of Romance is an insubstantial yet satisfying piece of romantic suspense – good for easy reading!

Scarlett runs a podcast reviewing mysteries and thrillers. She works for her old friend, Celeste, but the business is struggling. When her job is in jeopardy (due to possible downsizing) Scarlett is given the chance to work the romance podcast as well, but she’s not into romance at all. Still, the idea of job security is attractive, so even though it’s not for her, Scarlett takes on the extra work, reviewing romances alongside the thrillers. For all her reading and podcast experience, Scarlett is a bit of a ditz, and her half-wittedness was unappealing to me.

Rafael Gray and Scarlett grew up together, but Rafael left town in a hurry – maybe he even went to jail. Nobody really knows, but in a small town full of gossips, everyone has an opinion. Now Rafael is back in Willowbrook and he and Scarlett meet at a masked dating event. Afterwards, they go out on the town, exchange lots of banter and feel a connection, but they don’t take their masks off and are pretending – or trying to convince themselves – that they don’t recognise each other. The next morning, Scarlett realises Rafael is staying in his dad’s old house next door. Of course he recognises her and just as the push and pull between them gets interesting, a new murder is committed that mimics one in Scarlett’s latest podcast episode.

Apart from the uncanny circumstance of the murder, Scarlett’s other big concern is for her younger brother, Ethan, who has been living with their grandparents since their parents died in a car crash five years previously. He’s still a teen and is going through all the teen things, so he’s uncommunicative and distant. Scarlett is juggling her attraction to Rafael, her new work with romance novels (she hates them), and trying to connect with Ethan, when another murder takes place. Rafael is very mysterious, not saying what his job is, or why he is back in town, so while Scarlett wants to trust him, can she really?

From here it’s all go, with Ethan’s complicated situation, the next murder being closer to home, Rafael’s coming and going and Scarlett frequently misreading the bleeding obvious, especially whe it comes to Ethan. Luckily for her, Rafael is a steady character; he’s a honey and he can explain things to Scarlett, befriend Ethan, be Johnny-on-the-spot when there is danger, and pick up the takeaway dinner. Who knows what he sees in Scarlett, because it wasn’t obvious to me!

Each chapter is named for a trope in romance complete with a dictionary-sounding definition. It’s interesting that the author chose romance tropes and not those for murder mysteries – I’d have loved to see both, or even alternating tropes. These chapter headings give the novel a self-consciousness which doesn’t completely work, even though they are charming. I enjoyed it overall; it boasts a neatly paced mystery, gruesome-ish murders, some danger for our protagonists, family drama and a delightful romance.