Katie Alender

While in Paris, France on a class trip, Colette Iselin enlists the help of her charming French tour guide to help uncover a possible connection between Marie Antoinette, a series of gruesome murders, and perhaps her own family history, and he also gives her insights into herself.

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

Not as hilariously campy as I wanted it to be based on the title, but it has its moments. An okay read, especially when you want something that doesn't make you think very hard. 

Danielle Raymond 

Noel

really weird, absolutely loved the ending. five stars clearly for comical reasons.

Kathryn 

I like this book Way more then I thought I would! it's nothing too incredibly special but it's definitely a fun quick read.

Cindy Lee

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer was a mystery story set in Paris. The whole Marie Antoinette thing was what made me interested in the story and I liked it. There were murders going on all over Paris and Colette had a feeling it had something to do with her.

This is a story of friendship and love. Colette had to choose her own friends and all the while going on mystery solving time with the charming French boy. The mystery part was really great and I didn't really know why Marie Antoinette was killing all these people. The book also had some French in it (which I understood). Looks like all the French lessons at school paid off haha.

Overall, this is quite a mediocore book but I would still encourage mystery fans to try it out.

Rating: C

Isobel Wren

Great read for Halloween, not necessarily spooky but it does get you in the mood.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Audiobook Review:

3.5 stars!

This being my very first Katie Alender book I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’ve heard really good things about her prior books, but I started reading not-so-favorable reviews for this one and got a bit nervous. It took a bit of convincing myself, but I decided to download the audio since I didn’t seem to have time in my review schedule to read this. And… success! I really enjoyed it, probably more than I would have reading it.

At first glance I thought this cover was awesome. And I think some of the problems people were mentioning about this book was that they expected it to be creepy and scary because of the cover. But I read a review on a blog (I wish I could remember which one, but my memory is so bad. ) and this particular review said how if you get past all of that, this book is actually pretty cute and enjoyable. And I have to agree… it was a cute story with a bit of a creepy, yet silly, murder side to it.

The fact that it took place in Paris was an added bonus. Katie Alender did a fantastic job of describing the atmosphere so we could experience it for ourselves. The smells, the feels, and oh, the tastes!! I could go for a croissant right about now. 

The characters in this story were great. Colette’s a senior in high school who jumps at the chance to go on a class trip with her friends in order to forget about the fact that her father recently left them. Her friends, Hannah and Pilar, are the cliched over-the-top rich, snobby girls. And though Colette was part of this group for a long time, she’s starting to see that maybe they aren’t the best of friends after all.

I loved Colette. She’s your typical teenager: snarky at times and a bit materialistic. Simply put, she’s flaxed. And I always like that in a character. She seemed very real to me. No, she didn’t always make the best decisions, or say the right thing, but she had a good heart, she meant well, and she learned a lot from her mistakes and how she would improve in the future. 

And, of course, we have the murders! People are showing up beheaded all around Paris. It’s a fun element to the story that keeps you on your toes. Yes, there are ghosts and a some-what paranormal aspect, but really it’s more of a cute story. So if you like contemporaries like I do, I think you’ll also enjoy this story more than someone looking for a creepy ghost story.

Deciding to go the audio route really worked out for me. The narrators were great, really bringing the characters and story to life. 

A story about friendship, family, and PARIS, this is one I unexpectedly really enjoyed. Cute, silly, and a lot of fun. I would recommend this book to others that enjoy a fun story with murder, ghosts, friends, boys, and a boatload of Paris! 

(An advanced copy was provided by the publisher for review.)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram

In what would seem to be a fast track to terrible literature: Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer proves us wrong in its unique story telling and vivid imagery. Don’t let the title fool you: Katie Alender sure has a knack for writing this creative story that could have gone horribly wrong if it’d been any other other.

It’s clever, it’s sweet, it’s thrilling and it’s just overall a fun read to take with you on a day off or to read in between time. It isn’t a retelling of a story like Pride & Prejudice & Zombies or Gossip Girl: Psycho Killer. Instead, it is a tail that tweaks with history and leaves readers in a swirl of shallow minded teenagers, historical secret societies, dark comedy, death and… love?

(It will, however, appeal to fans of those titles.)

And, of course, the setting is beautiful: Paris. Alender does a fabulous job describing the scenery to us, one can almost feel as though you are right there in the midst of it all.

Javiera

Colette is thrilled in Paris for the first time. But a series of gruesome murders are taking place around the city. The murder victims are all descendants of people who brought about Marie Antoinette's beheading. The queen's ghost has been awakened, and now she's wreaking her bloodthirsty revenge. And Colette may just be one of those descendants...

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer

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