Sidney Walsh's predicament in this audiobook by Kylie Scott - narrated by Andi Arndt - is, on its surface, a comedy premise: her ex-boyfriend turned out to be a serial killer, and everyone in her orbit has opinions about what that says about her. She had no idea. He went to jail. She is now living with the social fallout. The novel's title, So My Ex-Boyfriend Is a Serial Killer, tells you exactly what register Scott is working in: darkly comic, genre-blending, aware of its own absurdity. But Scott's track record - she is a New York Times, USA Today, and Audible bestselling author - has trained readers to expect more than a premise joke sustained for six hours, and this book largely delivers on that expectation.
The setup, once Arndt establishes Sidney's voice in the opening chapters, is more layered than it first appears. The awkwardness of Sidney's situation is not played purely for laughs. Ten years have passed since her ex's arrest, and she has spent them trying to keep a low profile, managing the relentless attention of true crime enthusiasts, amateur online investigators, and a cop who cannot seem to let the case drop. Her personal life has effectively stagnated. Then Noah - tattooed chef, all-round thirst trap, as Scott's synopsis puts it - moves in next door and begins dismantling her carefully constructed smallness.
The romantic and suspense elements are deliberately weighted toward suspense. One reviewer noted a slight disappointment at wanting more Noah, and that is a fair read: the romance develops at a pace that places Sidney's internal processing of her past front and center, with Noah functioning more as catalyst than co-protagonist for much of the runtime. This is not a flaw, exactly, but it is worth knowing going in. Scott is more interested in what happens to someone who has spent a decade adjusting to an identity imposed by association than she is in constructing a conventional love story. The result is a tighter character study than the title implies.
The true crime angle is handled with more specificity than is typical for this sub-genre. Sidney's ex has fans - the kind of fan culture that currently circles real-world killers - and Scott does not romanticize that phenomenon. The intrusion of his fan community into Sidney's daily life is one of the more unsettling threads in the novel, precisely because it is grounded in recognizable contemporary behavior. It is the detail that keeps the book from tipping into pure dark comedy: this is a thing that actually happens to people, and Sidney's exhaustion at dealing with it is rendered with the kind of specificity that only comes from research rather than invention. Arndt's narration gives this thread its due weight without overplaying it.
What Stands Out
Arndt is an excellent match for Scott's first-person, present-tense style, and her track record across romantic suspense titles makes her a reliable choice for this kind of material. Present tense in prose can create a kind of breathless anxiety that suits suspense perfectly, but it can also feel relentless when read in a flat affect. Arndt calibrates the delivery to Sidney's specific personality: wry, self-deprecating, quietly exhausted, occasionally startled by her own feelings. The 6-hour-18-minute runtime moves quickly under her narration - this is not a book that drags.
Scott's epigrammatic humor surfaces regularly enough to cut the tension without deflating it. Sidney's observations about the social dynamics of being known as the woman who dated a killer are sharp and specific. Arndt handles the humor with the same restraint she brings to the heavier material, landing the jokes without telegraphing them, which is exactly right for this kind of tone. The character of the belligerent cop - who periodically resurfaces to remind Sidney that she has not been entirely cleared in everyone's mind - provides a recurring source of low-level menace that Arndt voices with a distinct register, keeping the listener slightly uncomfortable even in the lighter chapters.
What to Watch For in So My Ex-Boyfriend Is a Serial Killer
The pacing critique in some reviews is worth addressing: the third act does resolve several threads fairly quickly after a slower second-act buildup. If you are primarily here for the thriller mechanics, that acceleration may feel earned. If you have been waiting for the romance to take center stage, the final portion of the listen provides the payoff, but it comes later than romance-first readers might prefer.
The first-person present-tense narration is worth noting as a style choice that divides readers. One reviewer arrived skeptical of both choices and remained only partially converted by the end. If you dislike present tense in prose fundamentally, Arndt's skill will help but will not fully resolve the friction. Worth sampling the opening before committing to the full listen.
Best Suited For
This audiobook suits listeners who enjoy romantic suspense with a contemporary, self-aware edge - Kylie Scott's existing readers will recognize her voice, and fans of dark-comedy crime fiction will find the premise executed with more care than its title suggests. Listeners purely after a thriller without romantic threads will find the balance skewed; those who want romance front-loaded will need patience. Arndt's performance makes the 6-hour investment easy to sustain, and the Sidney-as-damaged-rebuilder arc is more satisfying than the elevator-pitch version of this story suggests. Scott's fans will be satisfied; new readers should sample the opening pages to gauge their tolerance for the tonal blend before committing.
- Narration: Andi Arndt captures Sidney's first-person present-tense voice with dry humor and convincing vulnerability - her performance is one of the main reasons the tonal balance between comedy and menace holds.
- Themes: Reputational damage by association, trauma resurfacing, reluctant new beginnings
- Mood: Darkly comic with genuine tension underneath
- Verdict: Scott's premise sounds like a punchline but the execution is more disciplined than the cover suggests - strongest as a portrait of someone rebuilding after a disaster she didn't cause.
Is this audiobook more romance or more thriller in its balance?
More thriller, with a slow-build romance subplot. Multiple reviewers noted the true crime and suspense elements dominate, with the romantic relationship between Sidney and Noah developing as a secondary thread. The HEA is present but earned slowly.
Does Andi Arndt's narration handle both the comedic and tense moments effectively in this audiobook?
Yes - Arndt is consistently praised for her ability to carry first-person female leads in contemporary fiction, and this performance demonstrates that range. She holds the dark-comic tone without letting either register cancel the other.
Is the audiobook suitable for listeners sensitive to true crime content and violence?
The violence is largely off-page, but the psychological weight of Sidney's situation - including fan culture around killers and the threat from her ex resurging - carries genuine menace. Listeners who find true crime adjacent content distressing should note the premise before starting.
