Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: One for Sorrow
SERIES: Magpie Rhyme #1
AUTHOR: Louise Collins
PUBLISHER: Evernight Publishing
LENGTH: 307 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 6, 2019
BLURB:
The press nickname him “The Countdown Killer”, branding his victims with a number, but Chad knows him as Romeo. Captured by the killer he’s hunting, Chad’s situation seems dire, but Romeo doesn’t want to kill him because Chad doesn’t fit his pattern.
Instead, he’s keeping Chad for two months, hiding him away where no one will find him, making sure Chad can’t reveal who he is. Romeo is not going to hurt Chad; he’s going to let him go—but only once he’s claimed number one.
But in two months with only the killer for company, a bond begins to grow. They’re not detective and killer, but Chad and Romeo. It’s wrong, but in their messed-up situation, it feels right.
Still, Chad is a detective, and his duty is to the public, to keep them safe. And if that means betraying the man he’s learned to rely on, then so be it…
REVIEW:
I’m a sucker for dark characters in my romance books, and Louise Collins has fast become a reliable source of darkness. I loved her collection of stories set inside prisons, and when I saw that she was releasing book with a serial killer main character I was totally on board. But firstly, let’s clear up some details. This is the first book in a series. When I initially read One for Sorrow I was unaware of that fact, and the ending left me wanting to lose my shit. Had the story of Chad and Romeo ended here I would be thoroughly dissatisfied with this book. So yeah, this book does not have a HEA, in fact, I wouldn’t even call it a HFN, but luckily, Two for Joy has already been released so anyone interested in having a read can dive straight into the second book. Which has a much more satisfactory ending.
So, Chad and Romeo…how fucking awesome are these characters. Well, to be honest Chad is great and all but Romeo is the true star of the show as far as I’m concerned. Romeo, aka The Countdown Killer, is an actual, legit, not to be understood serial killer. While some authors prefer to water down their killers by making the victims bad people, or by providing abusive childhoods, or even blaming mental illness and incorrect medication – Louise Collins has gifted us with Romeo, the product of a wonderful childhood with two loving parents, charming, attractive and killer of totally innocent victims. Romeo is a good old-fashioned psychopath who feels nothing for any other living thing and has no issue with killing, but only five times. He has been waiting his whole life to be able to feed the monster inside of him and is only allowing himself five kills to satisfy the hunger. I enjoyed trying to understand Romeo, even though it was a struggle that would probably never happen. I loved how the author engineered the forced proximity between Romeo and Chad while providing a credible reason for Chad to remain alive.
I did have some misgivings about this book. For one, the relationship between Chad and Romeo felt more like a case of Stockholm Syndrome to me rather than any real romantic development. While the author did a nice job of creating a situation where Chad softened towards his kidnapper, I just didn’t believe the strength or durability of their connection. And because the story was told solely from Chad’s POV I had no hope of understanding why Romeo, who tells us that he feels nothing for anybody, develops an attachment to Chad. If this had been a standalone book I probably would have rated it about 3 stars, but as the first book in a series, it does a commendable job of setting up for the books that will follow. I’m actually really excited to continue this series, especially after that rather vexing ending.
RATING: 
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