Love and Other Killers

Love and Other Killers is the latest short story to be checked off my to be read list. It is the latest from author Brynne Weaver. After reading the Butcher and Blackbird trilogy, I was totally hooked on her writing, and super excited to see this be released.

This is a short story that takes about an hour or so to read, and it can also be listened to, which I highly recommend. The audiobook version really brings these characters to life. It ranks right up there with when Andy Serkis narrated the Lord of the Rings series.

This post contains affiliate links

I didn’t realize that Brynne Weaver was coming out with another trilogy after Butcher and Blackbird, but now I’m impatiently waiting for it. I want it released now. I don’t care how, I want it now, kind of impatience. But I have to wait, like everyone else.

Have you read Love and Other Killers? Come on in and let me tell you about it!

About Love and Other Killers

Serial killers versus serial killer in a hot and twisted novella about family games, true love, and competitive carnage by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ruinous Love Trilogy.

It’s the annual hunt for Sloane and her vigilante family of serial killers. Track the most cold-blooded psychos imaginable and take them down. This summer’s prey is Allan Munster, a churchgoing chicken farmer who slaughters more than fowl. The rules of the game: Divide into teams, devise a strategy, and make a move—the more cutthroat the better. May the best team win. The players are closing in. All eyes are on Munster. But there’s a hitch in the family sport this year. Someone might be watching them.

Content and Trigger Warnings

Love and Other Killers can be read as a standalone novella, but it is also a bridge story between the end of the Ruinous Love Trilogy and the beginning of the Seasons of Carnage Trilogy. So if you want more of this dark and disturbingly funny world, check out the Ruinous Love and Seasons of Carnage series!

As much as Love and Other Killers is a dark romantic comedy (a short one!), and will hopefully make you laugh throughout the carnage, it’s still dark! Please read responsibly.

Chickens eating things they probably shouldn’t.
References to abduction and forcible confinement.
Eyeballs. Of course. Apparently I can’t stop doing this to either of us (don’t worry, they gross me out too).
References to accidental cannibalism! Full circle moment!
References to a certain flavor of ice cream, too, and I’m still not sorry about it.
Explicit language.
Vague references to childhood trauma/child sexual assault (not depicted).
Dismembered bodies.
Ill-advised use of household appliances and furniture.
Skin ornaments and bone baubles.
DIY sewing projects, but make them murdery.
Detailed depictions of sexual acts.
Weapons and gruesome murder. It’s a novella about a family of vigilante serial killers living their best lives, after all!

Book Playlist

Chapter 1: Specter

“Postcard from Purgatory” by The Dears
“Orca” by Wintersleep

Chapter 2: Scales

“Ain’t That the Truth” by Matt Mays
“Weighty Ghost” by Wintersleep

Chapter 3: Kintsugi

“Breathe” by Jim Bryson
“Stop and Start” by The Sadies
“Days of Oblivion” by Metric

Chapter 4: Divergence

“Waves” by Wintersleep
“I Know What You’re Thinking and It’s Awful” by The Dears

Chapter 5: Araneoidea

“Middle of Nowhere” by Hot Hot Heat
“Bad Luck Again” by The Rural Alberta Advantage
“Money City Maniacs” by Sloan

Chapter 6: Lavish

“Who Would You Be for Me” by Metric
“Champions of Red Wine” by The New Pornographers

Thoughts on Love and Other Killers

“With one last kiss, we fall asleep, two monsters wrapped in each other’s arms. Right where we’ve always belonged.”
Brynne Weaver, Love and Other Killers

After reading Love and Other Killers, I went straight to pre-order Tourist Season. Next, I’m going to go back and read the Butcher and Blackbird trilogy all over again. If you haven’t listened to these on audiobooks, I highly recommend that you do, because it really brings the characters to life more than most audiobooks can.

There are few audiobooks that are amazing all by themselves. But the Lord of the Rings series that was narrated by Andy Serkis was one, and the Ruinous Love Trilogy was another one. It really is just that good. It is also really rare that a novella can inspire me to return to a series and read it again, but that is exactly what happened here.

This was such a fun short story to read, because it was hilarious, and referenced some of my favorite moments in the series. Plus we got to see Barbra again, and she constantly cracks me up with her attitude and antics. Who knew a pet raccoon could be that hilarious?

This was a story that you could tell Brynne Weaver enjoyed writing. You know how the “secret” ingredient in your grandmother’s cooking was love? You could feel and taste it in each meal. It’s the same thing with this story, it can be felt by the reader.

Final Thoughts on Love and Other Killers

I’m calling Love and Other Killers a five star read. It was only a short story, but it was an amazing one that let me step back into the world of some of my favorite serial killers and their lives.

If you haven’t read the Ruinous Love Trilogy from Brynne Weaver, and you like dark romantic comedies that make you laugh out loud, you need to be reading these books. They are so much fun, and this was just another part of that. I’m so very glad that she wrote this story.

Discussion

Have you read Love and Other Killers or any other writing from author Brynne Weaver? Are you a fan? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

About the Author

Brynne is a fan of velociraptors, the Alien movies (well, most of them), red wine, and wild adventures. She can relate nearly anything you say to a line from the movie Hot Fuzz. She has been trying unsuccessfully for years to convince her husband that they should acquire a pet mink to add to their menagerie of animals (what could possibly go wrong with that plan?!).

When not busy writing, Brynne can be found with her husband and son on their family farm in NS, Canada, or enjoying her other passions which include riding horses, reading, motorcycling, and spending time with family and friends around a raclette and a bottle of wine.

Acknowledgments

First of all, thank you to YOU, dear reader, for taking the time to read Love and Other Killers! So many of you have asked for a little more time with the Kane brothers and the incredible women of the Ruinous Love world (and I can’t forget Barbra!), and this was such a fun treat to write. I had a blast, and I hope you did too!

Huge thank-you to my agent, Kim Whealen. I’m so eternally grateful to have you by my side for this wild journey through the publishing sea. You’re so funny, passionate, and dedicated to what you do. I’m lucky to have you in my corner, and I appreciate your support more than I can ever adequately express.

To my team at Montlake, particularly Lauren Plude, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to create something so FUN! I had such a great time writing this novella and getting a chance to play with the intersection of the Ruinous Love and Seasons of Carnage worlds. I am so grateful!

To my amazing friends, thank you for always providing your love and support through all the ups and downs of this crazy life. Extra special thanks to HD Carlton and Santana Knox, who are always so willing to soundboard ideas. I love you both so much!

And lastly, to my incredible boys, my husband, Daniel, and son, Hayden. THANK YOU. I couldn’t do any of this without you, Daniel, you always make sure I have time to write. You take care of me when I forget to take care of myself. You talk through my zany ideas. Your life and support keep me going and I love you forever. And, Hayden, if you’re reading this, you’d better have just celebrated your 243rd birthday, because you’re not allowed to read my shit before then. But I love you always, more than you could ever know, until the end of all the world and beyond.

Purchasing Love and Other Killers

If you are interested in buying the Kindle version of Love and Other Killers, click here.
Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

Amazon Notice

The Reading Wife is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com, at no added cost to you.

Love and Other Killers