Welcome, friend! My current read is Michelle Chouinard’s A Tour to Die For! This is the second book in The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco but like me, if you haven’t read the first book, it is still a fabulous book. I am enjoying this. My review is forthcoming but for now, I bring you my conversation with Michelle for you to enjoy. First, about the book:
A Tour to Die For
Michelle Chouinard | Goodreads
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.
Get to know the author: Michelle Chouinard
Hi Michelle! Welcome to Armed with a Book. To start us off, can you introduce yourself to our readers?
Let’s see, what can I tell you about myself? Since my pre-teen years I’ve had a true-crime obsession, and for the sake of sanity I choose to channel that obsession by writing fictional mysteries and thrillers. That has led to a police procedural series (the Jo Fournier thrillers), a standalone psychological thriller (The Vacation) and most recently an amateur sleuth series, The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco mysteries.
For readers new to Capri Sanzio, how would you describe her in three words?
Loyal, persistent, and independent.
A serial killer walking tour is such a unique premise! Where did the inspiration for Capri’s job come from?
During the pandemic, as I waited outside my veterinarian’s office for several hours while they saved the life of my serially suicidal cat (there’s nothing she won’t try to eat), I passed the time by listening to my go-to, true-crime podcasts. One about the Doodler (a not-yet identified San Francisco serial killer) had recently dropped, and as my mind went to all the locations I couldn’t currently visit, I decided someone needed to create a tour of the sites—and my brain ran with the idea.
Capri is constantly navigating her grandfather’s reputation and the shadow of past crimes as well as her fallout with her father. Was this family dynamic always a part of the series from its first conception or something that developed over time?
Whenever I create a character, the first thing I need to know is what ‘wound’ is driving their current psychological needs. In this case I asked myself what could have happened in someone’s past that would lead them to give true-crime tours for a living, and the idea of being related to an alleged serial killer, one that you desperately wanted to prove was innocent, jumped out at me. Then I asked myself why Capri wouldn’t have just solved the case long ago—she’s 49, after all—and realized there would likely be very complicated family dynamics surrounding such a situation. As I followed that through, the pieces fell into place.
One of the key threads in A Tour to Die For is Capri’s instinct not to let something go. Do you see her persistence as a strength, a flaw, or a bit of both?
From my perspective, it’s absolutely a strength. It drives her to work a case until she finishes it, and the problems that causes for her just create more interesting things for me to write about.
Capri is a tour guide who knows her history inside out. What kind of research goes into making her tours feel authentic?
Luckily for me, I love learning, I love history, and I love San Francisco. I’ve always loved exploring the city and I’m one of those geeks who can spend an entire day in a museum. So, I just go and walk and see what I run into, then I dive into the internet and dig as deep as I can about whatever cool stuff I find, then visit museums and read related articles and books. One of the big inspirations behind A Tour to Die For was when I discovered there is a little fleet of ships buried underneath San Francisco, in the landfill—I knew I had to build that into one of the books in the series.
I didn’t realize San Francisco has such a long history. What was the most interesting fact you learnt in your research?
So many! But I’d have to say it’s a tie between the ships buried under the city, and the fact that the tide waters actually ebb and flow daily in the landfill under the city.
If you could step into one of Capri’s tours as a guest, which San Francisco true crime case would you be most excited (or nervous!) to hear about?
Since the Doodler case is still unsolved, I’d love to see Capri raise public awareness about those murders.
This book touches on true crime fandom and obsession. What’s your own relationship with true crime media—do you consume it for fun, research, or both?
I’ve always been interested in why some people do horrible things to their fellow humans, and whether there’s a way to prevent that on an individual or societal level. That’s a big part of why I went into developmental psychology. While we figure those big questions out, I find hope in cases where the investigators get justice for victims, and I believe anything that can help stir up memories and uncover evidence is positive—as long as it’s done responsibly.
If you could design your own dream walking tour in any city—real or fictional—which one would it be?
I’m already doing it—that’s the beauty of writing these books, I get to share the city I love with the world!
Heather and Capri go way back and their banter is engaging, considering their long relationship. How has she helped Capri and their business of crime tours grow?
I believe a good friend gives you the confidence and safe space you need to succeed at anything—Capri and Heather do that for each other. So even though Capri’s the one who built up SF Killer Crime Tours, it was Heather who gave her the belief in herself to make it happen. I hope Petito’s smart enough to understand he’ll always come in third after Morgan (Capri’s daughter) and Heather…
What’s your favorite novel that is set in San Francisco?
A Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore (Goodreads)
Lastly, you’re a bullet journaler! I am too! How do you use your bujo for writing?
See, I knew I liked you for a reason! 😉 Seriously, bullet journaling has been so foundational for my writing. Writers have to self-motivate and keep on track for their deadlines, and my bujo lets me set up trackers and project boards that not only keep me on track for my projects, but help me integrate the different projects I’m working seamlessly so nothing falls through the cracks. For example, right now I’m about to go on my book tour for A Tour to Die For, start structural edits for the third book in the series (which I just finished writing in August), and am coming up with the concept for the fourth book. As I’m writing that fourth book I’ll be doing copy edits for the third book, etc.—without an organizational system to track it all, I’d go crazy! I actually have a video about how I use my bujo on my YouTube channel…
Has journaling impacted you as a writer?
See the above answer! 🙂 If you mean journaling in general, I’m a huge fan of morning pages for sparking creativity.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just a thank you for taking the time to read my book and for letting me come chat about it! I appreciate it more than I can say. 🙂
Thanks for joining us! Add this book on Goodreads. It is available wherever books are sold!
Learn more about Michelle on her website.
Many thanks to Hector at Minotaur Books for coordinating this interview and the review copy.
Be First to Comment