Hannah Wilson is one of those women who ends up writing to a total stranger in prison. Of course, she didn’t plan it; it just happened. Hannah has a fairly decent job, working for a nonprofit. She has a college degree, and some people actually call her pretty. But she is something of a loser when it comes to love and picking the right guy. (Case in point: she wrote letters to an accused killer.)

Hannah also is a dedicated crime junkie. So when her latest love interest dumps her, she becomes more deeply involved with an online crime forum focusing on William Thompson, who is accused of killing four women in Georgia. The case against him looks pretty solid, which makes the chatter among the junkies turn lively. A curious Hannah begins writing to him. Why had he done it? She wants to know. And surprise! He writes back. But his answers aren’t what Hannah expected. He sounds, well, nice.

"Tasha Coryell’s LOVE LETTERS TO A SERIAL KILLER is like no other book I’ve ever read. Hannah Wilson seems to be the most insecure protagonist I’ve encountered in a long time."

As William’s trial draws nearer, Hannah’s interest in him becomes more acute; it’s pretty much all she can think about. She neglects her work and misses deadlines, which of course her supervisor can’t help but notice. Hannah doesn’t appreciate the warnings from friends and coworkers until it’s too late, and she soon finds herself out of a job. But she convinces herself that she hated working there anyway, and now she’s free to really investigate William’s case. Totally obsessed with the killer and his upcoming trial, she puts everything in storage and drives to Georgia to sit in on the proceedings. After all, she has a special bond with William. He’s asked her to be his girlfriend.

Day after day in the courtroom, Hannah makes sure to wear her most alluring clothes and tries to sit strategically in hopes of making eye contact with William. She scrutinizes his family for evidence of the evil that her imprisoned boyfriend has written to her about. Sitting there, she dreams of touching and kissing him, and she wonders if he would kill her if they ever got together.

Each evening, after court adjourns, Hannah has nothing better to do than to stalk members of the Thompson family. They are a rich and prestigious bunch, and probably would frown on their son writing to the likes of her. Nonetheless, it’s a secret she can barely keep. Hannah finally has found the perfect boyfriend, a man who hasn’t dumped her and can’t walk away from her. She wants to tell everyone. She’s convinced that she knows more than anyone else what William is really like. But is he a serial killer? She vows to find the truth. Then a miracle happens, and he is set free. Wait a minute. That wasn’t part of Hannah’s plan. She loves William, right? Is he still a safe bet, or should she just back away?

Tasha Coryell’s LOVE LETTERS TO A SERIAL KILLER is like no other book I’ve ever read. Hannah Wilson seems to be the most insecure protagonist I’ve encountered in a long time. She is a needy lover, a woman who wants badly to be wanted but tends to fall short every time she enters a relationship with a man. That is, until she writes to a man behind bars who is safely trapped in prison. Take away from that what you will, but it’s a sad commentary on the state of love, at least for Hannah. Hopefully, she learned from her experience. It certainly was a spooky and complicated one, as is this book.