ARC Review: A Tour to Die For by Michelle Chouinard

A Tour to Die For
Author: Michelle Chouinard
Series: The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mysteries (Book 2)
Publication: Minotaur Books (September 23, 2025)

Description: In Michelle Chouinard’s A Tour to Die For, Capri Sanzio is back, giving a true crime tour her guests won’t soon forget. After all, 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.

My Thoughts: Capri Sanzio is an expert on murders in San Francisco. She even has a tour company that follows the paths of historical murderers. One evening, she's running her Barbary Coast tour when one of her tourists spots a woman being strangled in a lighted window. Capri calls 911 but the responding officers only find an empty, but lighted apartment. 

Lorraine, who is fifth grade teacher from a couple of hours away, is sure that she saw someone being strangled and encourages Capri to look into it. She even sends a scoop to the newspaper to try force Capri's hand. 

Capri is curious enough to explore more. She talks to the building's landlady who tells her that Leeya is a local artist who works with found materials. She also tells Capri that Leeya has a boyfriend along with a mother and a sister. Capri contacts, or tries to contact, all of them but none have seen Leeya. 

Then Leeya's body is found in a dumpster outside her rented studio and the disappearance soon becomes a murder. Capri's new boyfriend Homicide Inspector Dan Petito encourages her to keep her distance, but Capri is longing to resurrect a career as an investigative journalist that she set aside to marry and become a mother. 

This is Capri's second book. She's still dealing with the popularity she gained by solving the Overkill Bill murders. This led to a rift with her father, a successful podcast, and a book contract to write about Overkill Bill. 

She's investigating Leeya's murder while running a business, planning a new podcast, writing a book, and building a romance with a new guy. She's also dealing with her deadbeat ex who is trying to so some business with her daughter without telling her daughter that her ex is a deadbeat. 

This was an engaging story filled with all sorts of fascinating things about San Franciso. It was also a fast-paced mystery filled with suspicious characters and dangerous situations. I recommend it. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.