Swipe Right for Murder
by Polly Harris
Genre: New Adult Thriller
DATING IS TOUGH. ESPECIALLY IF THE GUY YOU LIKE MIGHT BE A SERIAL KILLER.
After a devastating heartbreak and a string of short-lived, failed relationships, college student Georgie Itoyama has now decided to approach dating in the same way that she approaches everything else: methodically, logically, and efficiently. Georgie downloads countless dating apps, determined to find the love of her life as easily as she orders jeans online. And while her love-at-first-sight aspirations don’t exactly come true, she does find someone she likes. Quite a lot. There’s only one problem. Girls are going missing at Georgie’s university, and all the signs are pointing to . . . him? But that’s ridiculous. What are the chances that she’s dating an actual serial killer? Then she matches with Nate. Mysterious, intelligent, and oddly fixated on solving the local disappearances. As Georgie’s relationships deepen with each of her guys, she unwittingly finds herself caught up in the mess that is murder, intrigue, and the nightmare of online dating.
The book will be $0.99 during the tour.
Excerpt:
“They found her body in a ditch. She’d been there for a couple days or so.” Shannon almost drops her precariously tall pile of books upon delivering this news to me. She shakes her head and starts shelving.
“That’s awful,” I say from a few shelves away where I’m trying to alphabetize the children’s section. Kids are not very good at putting books back from where they found them.
I’d heard the news this morning back at the dorms. I’d been in the bathroom doing my makeup with a few of the other girls on my hall, when the RA had come in and told us about it. Gossip spreads like wildfire at a small school, especially when it involves murder. I’d had a surprisingly numb reaction to it. Much like my reaction now. I keep expecting it to hit me. For me to feel sad, upset, afraid—anything. I actually only feel relief. Horrifyingly enough
Relief that it wasn’t me who found her. That someone else gets to carry that trauma and not me.
“That’s your school, isn’t it?” Shannon asks.
“Yeah.” I think back to finding Whitney in the stairwell. The image is strangely void in my mind—I remember walking down the stairs, discussing bacon flavored cupcakes with Olivia, I remember the heels of my sneakers squeaking against the linoleum. And then it’s blank. I do remember the feeling though. The denial. The blood rushing in my eardrums, my heartrate accelerating before I even understood why.
“So creepy,” Shannon comments, almost to herself.
With a jolt, I remember what Miles had said at the froyo place a few nights ago. How some girl from Altmar had gone missing. He didn’t mention a name, probably didn’t know it, but I have the feeling it’s this same girl.
A part of me wants to think like Amelia did when Miles first mentioned it. This girl was probably caught up in the wrong crowd. She probably knew some nasty people, was maybe even involved in something illegal. Anything to curb the nagging fear that’s rising up inside of me. The fear that this could happen to anyone. That I could be next.
But I think back to Shannon’s ramblings from a few minutes ago. She’d been such a sweetheart. Her parents said she never partied, never did drugs, was a perfect student. Who would murder such a girl? This perfect, sweet girl.
But none of us are actually as good as we seem, I think.
Author Interview:
1.What inspired you to write this book?
I was inspired by my own dating experience! While I (thankfully) have never dated a serial killer, I have had my fair share of bad or weird Tinder dates. And I thought it was perfect inspiration for a murder mystery setting, lol!
2. What, if anything, did you learn when writing the book?
Hmmmm … I think I learned that mixing comedy with thriller can actually work really well! I’m so excited about how it turned out. 😊
3. What surprised you the most in writing it?
I was surprised at how easily the book came to be! It almost wrote itself, lol!
4. What does the title mean?
The title was actually a joke title at first. I couldn’t come up with a good title, so my mom jokingly suggested Swipe Right for Murder. It was so funny to me, and also catchy, that it eventually stuck!
5. Were any of the characters inspired by real people? If so, do they know?
Oh, yes. Lol! Most of these characters (other than the really bad ones, lol!) are inspired by real people. My college friends who inspired Georgie’s college friends know these characters are based on them. As for the guys who inspired some of Georgie’s bad dates … yeah, they don’t know.
6. Do you consider the book to have a lesson or moral?
Not really. It’s just a fun read, lol!
7. What is your favorite part of the book?
Probably the end. 😉 I’m not going to give anything away, but it’s a fun time.
8. Which character was most challenging to create? Why?
Probably both of Georgie’s guys. It was hard to balance romance, intrigue, and suspicion.
9. What are your immediate future plans?
I’m currently writing another book in the same vein as SRFM. I’m super excited about it! All I can say right now is that it involves catfishing.
About the Author:
Polly Harris is the author of six YA novels and runs her own editorial company where she works on books just like this one. When Polly isn’t writing or editing, she can be found cuddling her cat (professionally known as her editorial assistant), crafting, or swiping through dating apps.
Twitter: @PaulineCHarris
Facebook: @PaulineHarrisEditorial
Email: harrispaulinec@gmail.com
https://www.paulineharriseditorial.com
Giveaway:
Thanks for hosting!
You’re very welcome. Thank you for stopping by.
Thank you for sharing the excerpt.
Sounds like a good book.
This sounds fun.