We love a good romantic comedy. How about adding a little dash of spice to that sugar with something a bit darker? Dark romance is all the age these days, so it’s no surprise that romance readers are hungry for a big streak of black amid the pastels of their happy-ever-after. Whether it’s a killer on the loose (who might be kind of hot) or a crime in need of solving, here are eight romantic comedies with some darkness at their hearts to give you some late-night thrills!
Love in the Time of Serial Killers
True crime is the in-thing right now, and nobody knows that better than Phoebe Walsh, the protagonist of Alicia Thompson's Love in the Time of Serial Killers. She's so obsessed with the genre that she's dedicated her PhD to it. But being stuck in Florida all Summer, cleaning out her childhood home and mourning her complicated father, has left her with a sticky bout of writer's block.
Perhaps her hot new neighbor, Sam Dennings, can take her mind off things. The only problem? She's just a teeny bit convinced that Sam is a serial killer. Or worse: He's a perfectly nice guy who can pierce her armor and fall hard for Phoebe!
4 Bodies and a Funeral
Carlotta Wren has family problems, just like everyone else, but they've gotten a whole lot worse since her father was accused of murder. He's on the run and hoping Carlotta can help him prove his innocence. Doing so will require her to team up with her former fiancé. She must also deal with the cops trying to trail her father, her brother Wesley's gambling debts, and the Charmed Killer—a serial murderer who is reigning havoc across Atlanta. The cops think her dad’s the culprit. Surely he’s not that bad…
Til Death
Nearly 20 years after he was wrongly convicted of setting the fire that killed his father, Lincoln Fox has returned home to Rebel Ridge, Kentucky, deep in the heart of the Appalachian mountains. He wants to uncover the truth and the real killer. His plans take an unexpected turn when, in the midst of a blizzard, he rescues Meg Walker from her wrecked car. She's his former high school sweetheart and the only woman who ever believed in his innocence.
Together, perhaps they can prove to the world that Linc is no criminal. Soon, the people of Rebel Ridge start to pick sides, and Meg becomes collateral damage as the fight for truth becomes deadly.
Killer Sensations
After a messy break-up from her cheating ex, Thea is in desperate need of a vacation. Perhaps a holiday fling will help her get over her troubles. Alex seems like the ideal candidate, even if he does radiate total bad boy energy. What's the worst that could happen?
How about her fling being the Kingpin of a serial killer secret society that happens to be meeting this week? Thea should run, but this sociopath turns out to be something special and she just can’t help herself. Well, she did ask for a bad boy, didn’t she?
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
Finlay Donovan is a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist who has yet to actually write the novel she's been promising her agent totally exists. Her life is far less exciting than the high-stakes suspense novels she writes, but when she's overheard discussing the plot of her latest story, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to kill off someone's husband. The money is good, and soon Finlay falls into an accidental life of crime. It's all way more complicated than her books make it seen.
Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman
Maggie Lee is a hitwoman, even though she's never actually killed anyone and can barely keep herself alive. After hitting her head in the car accident that killed her sister, her new best friend is a talking lizard, because life was apparently too simple! She's desperate to help her injured and orphaned niece get the best medical care possible, hence a new life of crime. Her target: the monstrous son-in-law of a local mobster.
Paired with Patrick Mulligan, a charming murder mentor (who happens to moonlight as a police detective), Maggie must find the skills and nerve to bump off a total stranger. If only she could stop thinking about Paul Kowalski, the sexy beat cop who could throw her ass in jail if he finds out what she's up to.
Butcher and Blackbird
Everyone needs a best friend, even serial killers. When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find that a unique friendship blossoms between the black-hearted pair. The two hunters are some of the most dangerous killers in America, and their combined talents make for something truly special. But their friendship soon grows into something more, and now they're discovering that they might actually have souls beneath their bloodstained exteriors. Even psychopaths crave a happily-ever-after, apparently.
Grounds for Murder
Lana Lewis lost her dream job as a journalist and is now back in her hometown of Devil's Beach, Florida, and running her family's coffee shop, Perkatory. She's hoping to revive their fortunes by winning the Sunshine State Barista Championship, but then her best employee quits to work for the enemy. When he's found dead the next morning under a palm tree in the alley behind Lana's café, she becomes the prime suspect.
Now, she'll need to use all her reporter skills to exonerate herself and find the real killer. Perhaps the dreamy local police chief can be of assistance, if he doesn't believe she’s the true murderer…
