Katie the Book Reporter

You know when you pick up a book, and you realize YOU are exactly the target audience it’s been written for? I had that moment when I read the back cover and the first epigraph of How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Australian debut author Shailee Thompson. 

“I suppose I think about murder more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives.

– Not The Holiday”

The Holiday is a Christmastime staple and one of my favorite movies . As soon as I read the murder-y twist on Iris’ line – and laughed out loud inside the bookstore – I was sold.

I’ve been a fan of the slasher genre since college, when I fell in love with the Scream franchise, and I’ve always been a romance lover; having the two genres combined into one story, with a hefty dose of humor, immediately won over my interest. 

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates follows Jamie Prescott, a film PhD candidate, as she and her best friend Laurie attend a device-free speed dating event at a labyrinthine Brooklyn nightclub. While the women enter the night worried about dud dates being a mood killer, they’re soon faced with an actual killer when one of Jamie’s dates has his throat slashed. The night quickly descends into chaos, with more deaths rapidly following. 

Locked inside the massive building (which is mapped at the front of the book for readers), the survivors forge makeshift weapons, split into reconnaissance groups and try to find a way to escape or call for help while dodging the killer — with mixed success. 

Luckily for the other (initial) survivors, Jamie’s PhD focus is in both slashers and romcoms; while the rules for surviving a slasher cited in Scream (1996) seem the obvious knowledge necessary to survive the night, Jamie’s understanding of romcoms becomes equally important as the killer’s motive becomes clear. 

Like a true heroine, Jamie uses her knowledge to the benefit of all parties and tries her hardest to get as many people to safety as possible. 

Even as she dodges a killer wearing a mask with hearts for eyes, Jamie still finds time to make heart eyes of her own at fellow speed dater Wes — because sometimes the threat of imminent demise just makes a romantic connection more intense, ya know? 

Wes and Jamie have immediate chemistry from the moment they lock eyes during their speed date, and that initial spark deepens into trust and understanding as they work together to save themselves and the others, revealing small details about themselves and discovering shared values along the way.

Mild spoilers, but this was the second book I read in a row where the love interest gets the FMC off in a closet (here’s looking at you, First Time Caller!), and it’s not necessarily weird that it happened twice, but man, what different circumstances for two closet trysts! 

One of my favorite moments between Wes and Jamie happens after their hook up. 

Jamie (briefly) panics after realizing she’s broken slasher survival rule #1 – don’t have sex – with a virtual stranger. Jamie must have read my mind, because while sexy, I was mentally yelling, “Jamie, you don’t actually know this man and there’s a killer on the loose!” throughout their tryst. She voices her anxiety and the two sweetly share facts about themselves. While they may not know many details about each other yet, it’s clear there is an undeniable connection between them and a shared hope they’ll survive to explore the connection more. 

While the burgeoning romance between Wes and Jamie is exciting, the foundational relationship of the book is the friendship between Laurie and Jamie. 

The women’s love and care for each other was fleshed out well within the constraints of the plot. There was a clear realism to their friendship that shone through to me; the jokes made, the moments where they bickered, their mutual protectiveness, the unspoken exchanges they shared in both lighthearted and serious moments all rang true. Laurie and Jamie’s friendship helps anchor the book and serves as a nice foil to the many new relationships in the book. 

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates was a great time and delivered on its cross-genre premise, weaving together slasher, romance and comedy elements throughout. 

I laughed out loud so many times, whether it was at an ironic joke before the killing started or a funny description, such as “A scream echoes from above, and eight heads jerk up like it’s the beginning strains of ‘Mr. Brightside.’” 

“God, to think I was babbling about how the very scenario we’re living out would be the worst way to end our night. My manifestations about my career and love life never come to fruition, but I utter the words ‘speed date’ and ‘killer’ in the same sentence once and speak it into existence?”

I appreciated how Thompson played with pacing and tension throughout the book, sometimes giving us a rapidly unfolding chase scene and other times ratcheting up the suspense by slowing things to a simmer. 

At roughly the story’s midpoint, Jamie, Laurie and a third speed dater, Jennifer, race away from the knife-wielding killer after Jamie witnesses him stab someone to death. They duck into a darkened corner behind a bar and freeze, hoping to avoid discovery, only to realize a martini glass is teetering above their hiding spot, jostled during their flight. The fear and tension that passes between the women as they anticipate the glass shattering and revealing their hiding place is palpable.

Thompson worked in one of my favorite slasher genre elements throughout How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates: the meta reference. One of the things about Scream that won my love was its acknowledgment of genre conventions and tropes, like through the famous survival rules shared by Randy Meeks. In Thompson’s slasher-romcom, the references include nods to both genres: slashers and romcoms. 

The meta references throughout Thompson’s book range from the obvious, like the book’s title and the films and plot lines Jamie references, to the (slightly) more subtle, like the names used. Many of the characters’ names have origins in the horror genre: 

• Jamie and Laurie: Jamie Lee Curtis is known for her role as Laurie Strode in the Halloween franchise. 
• Wes: Wes Craven is a famed horror director, best known for the first four Scream films, as well as films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes. Bonus: the former name of the nightclub was Cravin, like the filmmaker’s last name. 
• Billie: Billy Loomis is Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend in Scream, and one of the original Ghostface killers 
• Stu: Stu Macher is one of the original Ghostface killers in Scream
• Campbell: Neve Campbell is one of the most famous final girls, starring as Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise
• Jennifer: Jennifer Love Hewitt became a scream queen after starring in I Know What You Did Last Summer 
• Marion: Marion Crane is a prominent character (and victim) in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
• Prescott and Carpenter: the last names for Jamie and Wes, respectively. Prescott is the last name for Scream protagonist Sidney Prescott, while Carpenter is the last name shared by Tara and Samantha Carpenter, the protagonists of Scream (2022) and Scream VI. 

The romcom references come most prominently in the form of epigraphs – a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest its theme – featuring quotes from popular romcoms, which Thompson gave a slight twist, changing one or two words to make each quote murder themed. The epigraphs were both funny and perfectly captured the premise and vibe of the story. 

Now, not all elements of the book were executed perfectly. I think some of the building exploration scenes could have been diversified, as there was quite a bit of slow hallway creeping. Late in the book a group of survivors is discovered barricaded in a room, but ultimately very little is done with them and I think they were underutilized. I also would have liked to know a little more about our villain, their backstory and the ‘why’ behind it all. But very minimal complaints. 

I was utterly charmed by this book and will absolutely reread it one day. If you’re a fan of pop culture or the slasher genre — or just like fun books! — I think you should give How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates a chance. It’s hands down the most fun I’ve had reading a book so far this year. Thompson had a clear vision for her debut and I think she delivered on it well. 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

P.S. Speaking of meta horror references — and coincidences — I need to know how Thompson feels about her killer sharing a moniker, Heart Eyes, with the killer in Heart Eyes (2025). The match up with the film made me laugh because what are the odds, and I rewatched the film in the course of editing this blog post. I do think fans of that movie would like this book!

P.P.S. For fun, I compiled a list of all the movies referenced throughout the book.