What happens when you combine the breathless tension of Scream with the swoony chemistry of When Harry Met Sally? Shailee Thompson’s debut How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates answers that question with a blood-splattered, heart-pounding romp that’s equal parts terrifying and tender. This genre-bending thriller takes readers on a speed-dating event that transforms into a fight for survival, all while maintaining an unexpectedly romantic core that will leave you both clutching your chest in fear and swooning over unexpected connections.
The Perfect Storm of Dating and Death
Jamie Prescott isn’t your typical romantic lead. As a PhD candidate studying the intersection of slasher films and romantic comedies, she approaches her Tuesday night speed-dating event with academic curiosity and zero expectations. Accompanied by her best friend Laurie Hamilton, Jamie expects mediocre men, awkward silences, and perhaps some decent street food afterward. What she doesn’t expect is for one of her ten dates to have his throat slit during a blackout, transforming Serendipity nightclub into a blood-soaked maze where survival depends on knowing which horror movie rules to follow—and which to break.
Thompson’s premise in How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson is brilliantly executed. The speed-dating format provides natural tension and pacing, with each ten-minute encounter serving as both character development and potential threat assessment. The confined nightclub setting—a renovated factory with three levels of corridors, alcoves, and hidden rooms—becomes a character itself, reminiscent of the labyrinthine spaces in classic slashers but painted in velvet reds and gas lamp glow that screams romantic atmosphere gone horrifically wrong.
A Protagonist Worth Rooting For
Jamie Prescott stands out as a refreshingly complex protagonist who defies easy categorization. She’s neither the virginal Final Girl of eighties slashers nor the perfectly polished Leading Lady of romantic comedies. Instead, she’s a real woman with anxieties about being “too much,” a tendency to word-vomit about serial killers on first dates, and an encyclopedic knowledge of horror films that becomes her greatest survival tool. Her internal struggle between embracing the Final Girl archetype (jaded, resourceful, typically teenage) and the Leading Lady role (optimistic, romantic, fearless in love) drives both the plot and her character arc throughout How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson.
Thompson excels at making Jamie’s horror expertise feel organic rather than convenient. Her mental cataloguing of slasher rules—don’t split up, don’t have sex, always double-tap—becomes both survival strategy and dark comedy gold. When Jamie counts to three before making dangerous decisions or analyzes whether a situation calls for Final Girl pragmatism or Leading Lady risk-taking, it never feels forced. These are the genuine thought patterns of someone who’s spent years studying cinematic survival, now confronted with the terrifying reality that theory and practice are vastly different beasts.
The supporting cast enriches Jamie’s journey considerably. Laurie Hamilton emerges as the friendship MVP, providing grounded practicality to balance Jamie’s analytical overthinking. Their relationship—built on years of NYU cinema studies classes and club nights at the very venue now hosting this nightmare—forms the emotional backbone of the story. Wes Carpenter, the homicide detective who becomes Jamie’s love interest, brings both protection and genuine chemistry. Their connection develops through stolen moments between life-or-death decisions, proving that attraction under extreme circumstances can forge surprisingly authentic bonds.
Where the Killer Twist Cuts Deep
The reveal of the killers’ identities represents both How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson‘s greatest strength and occasional weakness. John, the seemingly perfect “Bill Pullman cute” date who shares Jamie’s love of Sandra Bullock films, transforms into an obsessive orchestrator who’s methodically eliminated five women before this night, searching for “the One” who can survive his twisted courtship. His accomplice Billie—bitter, cynical, jealous—wanted that role for herself, adding layers of romantic rivalry to the horror.
Thompson’s execution of this dual-killer dynamic works brilliantly when examining how toxic obsession masquerades as romantic devotion. John’s elaborate staging—rose petals, love notes, careful curation of survivors—parodies rom-com grand gestures while exposing their potentially sinister underpinnings. His belief in “fate” and “destiny” becomes genuinely chilling when backed by murder sprees designed to test worthiness.
The pacing occasionally wobbles in the middle section, where corridor navigation and regrouping, while tension-building, can slow momentum. However, Thompson’s commitment to realistic group dynamics—disagreements about strategy, personality clashes, fractured alliances—adds authenticity that compensates for any temporary pacing dips.
Meta-Horror Done Right
What elevates How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson beyond standard thriller territory is Thompson’s sophisticated understanding of both horror and romance genres. Jamie’s dissertation-in-progress about the “analogous structures” of slashers and rom-coms isn’t just clever framing—it’s the thematic heart of the novel. Both genres follow rules; protagonists who obey them win (survival or love), while rule-breakers meet gruesome or lonely ends.
Thompson plays with these expectations brilliantly. Jamie’s encyclopedic knowledge should make her safe, but real-life killers don’t follow screenplay logic perfectly. The meta-commentary never becomes obnoxiously self-aware; instead, it provides darkly humorous relief and genuine insight. When Jamie realizes John is casting her in both Final Girl and Leading Lady roles simultaneously—requiring both ruthless survival instinct and romantic vulnerability—the novel transcends pastiche to offer something genuinely fresh.
The prose style supports this dual-genre approach effectively. Thompson writes action sequences with kinetic energy and visceral detail that horror fans crave, while romantic moments between Jamie and Wes crackle with genuine chemistry. The dialogue sparkles with wit even amid carnage, capturing how humor becomes a coping mechanism during trauma. Jamie’s internal monologue maintains an engaging voice that’s self-aware without being precious, analytical without being cold.
Romance Amid the Ruins
Despite the body count, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson delivers surprisingly satisfying romance. The connection between Jamie and Wes develops organically through shared trauma and genuine compatibility. Their stolen moments—a closet confession, patching each other’s wounds, counting to three before dangerous decisions—build intimacy that feels earned rather than forced. When Jamie finally admits she’s “gonna fall in love with you, too,” it lands with emotional weight because we’ve watched them fight for each other as much as themselves.
Thompson wisely extends beyond the massacre itself in an epilogue set eight months later. We see Jamie, Wes, and Laurie navigating post-traumatic stress, therapy, and the complications of being forever linked by one horrific night. Laurie’s documentary project, Wes’s training trips, and Jamie’s acceptance that she’ll never fully escape that November evening provide realistic closure. The novel acknowledges that surviving doesn’t mean forgetting, and that healing is ongoing work rather than narrative convenience.
Final Verdict: A Killer Debut
How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson succeeds as both love letter to and deconstruction of the genres it celebrates. Thompson has crafted a debut that respects horror conventions while subverting them, delivers genuine scares alongside genuine swoons, and creates a protagonist who’s neither perfect Final Girl nor ideal Leading Lady but authentically herself. The novel stumbles occasionally with pacing and logistics, but its originality, sharp characterization, and emotional resonance more than compensate for minor flaws.
For readers who loved Ashley Winstead’s In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, Grady Hendrix’s The Final Girl Support Group, or Holly Jackson’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, this novel offers similar pleasures with its own distinct voice. Thompson’s debut proves that horror and romance aren’t distant cousins stuck in separate generational cycles—they’re siblings who’ve been sharing DNA all along, just waiting for the right author to expose their connection.
Whether you’re a horror enthusiast, romance reader, or simply someone who appreciates smart, subversive fiction that refuses to be easily categorized, How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson delivers on its provocative premise. It’s a blood-splattered bouquet, a slashed-up love letter, a reminder that sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is open your heart—especially when a masked killer wants to cut it out.
For Readers Who Loved
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson – For its blend of romance, humor, and true crime obsession
Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver – For its dark romance with serial killer elements
The Final Girls (2015 film) – For meta-horror awareness and female friendship
Scream franchise – For self-aware slasher tropes and clever subversion
Happy Death Day (2017 film) – For horror-comedy balance and likable protagonist