Sweetpea

This wicked epistolary riff on American Psycho from Skuse (The Alibi Girl) follows an editorial assistant with homicidal tendencies in England’s West Country. Rhiannon “Rhee” Lewis, 27, longs for professional advancement at her small newspaper, a boyfriend who doesn’t cheat on her, and for her not-so-well-meaning colleagues to stop mentioning her weight. She also happens to be a vicious serial killer; a bit of an unbalanced Bridget Jones. While walking home on New Year’s Eve after a night out with her friends, she’s accosted by a man who followed them out of the bar. Though Rhee’s taken a three-year hiatus from killing, she can’t resist pulling a steak knife from her pocket and severing the harasser’s penis before pushing him into a river to drown. From that point on, she’s back on her game, targeting mostly pedophiles and rapists—resolving to do what “people only ever talk about doing” to the “lusus naturae of the community.” Presenting the narrative as a string of Rhee’s diary entries (with a list of potential victims and motives at the start of each chapter, from Miley Cyrus to an irritating grocery store employee), Skuse endears readers to her coldhearted killer almost immediately, and the fun of sussing out her next victim never lets up. Those who prefer their serial killer thrillers with a dash of acid humor will be delighted. (Oct.)