A Tour to Die For: A Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mystery by Michelle ChouinardSeries: The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco #2
Publication Date: September 23, 2025
Pages: 336
Add on: Goodreads
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rating: ★★★★
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Publisher: Minotaur Books / Macmillan
In Michelle Chouinard’s A Tour to Die For, Capri Sanzio is back, giving a true crime tour her guests won’t soon forget.
A tour guide who specializes in serial killers knows better than most that San Francisco is a city with killer charm.
Capri Sanzio knows that when you give serial killer walking tours for a living, unexpected situations are more common than San Francisco's famous fog. So, when one of her guests claims to see a woman being attacked during a tour, Capri remains unphased. The police search the apartment in question and find no evidence of anything amiss, so they chalk it up to a false report from a true crime fanatic looking to be a part of a case. And Capri thinks they might be right, since lately her tours have been attracting even more obsessives than usual--as it turns out, finding the actual serial killer who committed the "Overkill Bill" murders didn't stop the constant questions about her grandfather's supposed crimes, it only intensified them.
But Capri would never forgive herself if someone is in trouble and she walks away. Plus, something about the whole situation has every one of Capri's investigative journalist instincts going haywire--why would someone lie about seeing an attack? So Capri starts to dig, and when her questions lead to a body, she finds herself at the center of another murder investigation.
REVIEW
Michelle Chouinard’s A Tour to Die For is a wickedly clever whodunit that makes the most of San Francisco’s shadowy corners and infamous past. Capri Sanzio, a tour guide with a knack for snark and a family history that’s more curse than blessing, her grandfather was a serial killer, leads true crime tours through the city’s most notorious sites. But when one of her tours takes a deadly detour and a participant claims to have witnessed an attack, Capri is suddenly in the middle of a murder investigation that’s as tangled as her personal life.
Capri is a standout lead: sharp, flawed, and refreshingly honest, with a voice that crackles off the page. Her awkward flirtation with detective Petito adds just enough warmth to balance out the chills, and the supporting cast is full of memorable, believable characters who keep the story grounded even as the twists pile up.
Family secrets, inherited guilt, and the search for identity weave through the plot, giving the story a psychological edge that lifts it above your average cozy mystery. Chouinard knows how to keep things moving; her writing is lively, her dialogue crisp, and her love for San Francisco history shines through without ever slowing the pace. There’s no graphic violence to worry about, just a steady stream of suspense, laughs, and a few poignant moments that hit surprisingly hard.
The book’s biggest strengths are its unforgettable heroine, lively setting, and that perfect mix of humour and tension. If you like your mysteries with a bit of bite and a lot of heart, A Tour to Die For is a ride worth taking.
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5
