Capri Sanzio sits down for a Q&A with dru’s book musings responding to twenty or more questions so we can learn more about her. Are you ready? Let’s get to know Capri.
What is your full name?
Most of the world knows me as Capri Sanzio, but thanks to the lingering effects of the Summer of Love on my mother’s psyche, my birth certificate knows me as Capricorn Sanzio. My brother, who was born in August, is named Leo—I’ll let you guess what month I was born in.
How old are you?
I’m staring down the barrel of fifty, clinging on to the last few months of my forties like a mountain climber hanging from a finger fissure.
What is your profession?
I pay my bills by giving true-crime tours of San Francisco. I’ve recently started a true-crime podcast, and am finishing up a book about my grandfather’s purported crimes.
Do you have a significant other?
My daughter Morgan is my most significant other, and my best friend Heather comes a close second. But if you’re talking about romance, well…I maybe might have a date with a gorgeous homicide detective planned in the near future. We’ll see where that goes…
What is their name and profession?
Dan Petito, homicide detective, purveyor of justice and single-dimpled grins.
Do you have any children?
I have one daughter, Morgan. She’s the love of my life and my greatest achievement. She’s smart and stable in a way that defies all logic given who her parents are.
Do you have any siblings?
I have one brother who currently lives in Texas. But he’s been hinting that he might move back to San Francisco.
Are your parents nearby?
Yes, they live in San Francisco. I visit my mother about once a week; when I do, my father hides in the garage until I’m gone. Let’s just say he’s less than thrilled about the book I’m writing about his father.
Who is your best friend?
Heather Chen. I met her in kindergarten and we’ve been a force to be reckoned with since—bring on the martinis and the hyperbole.
Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
Just the chorus of voices in my head.
What town do you live in?
San Francisco, City by the Bay.
What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I own a Victorian in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of the city. I grew up dreaming of owning my own Painted Lady, and I love her almost as much as my daughter. Just kidding. Mostly.
What is your favorite spot in your home?
My kitchen, because that’s where all my caffeine-related appliances hang out.
What is your favorite meal and dessert?
The extra-large Salerno’s special pizza if my favorite meal, and amaretti cookies have a special place in my heart. But when I’m stressed, you’ll find me chomping on sweet pickles directly from the bottle.
Do you have any hobbies?
Ten years ago when I divorced my husband, I turned my hobby—an obsession with true crime and serial killers—into a business. I’m one of the lucky people who make a living doing what I love.
What music do you listen to?
I’ll listen to anything that makes me smile or want to dance. I love blasting the radio in my car and singing at the top of my lungs.
What is your favorite color?
Red. Although the sage-green of my Victorian is a close second.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
As a single mother trying to get her own business off the ground, I haven’t been able to take too many vacations. But I do have two dream vacations I hope to go on someday: a Jack the Ripper tour of London, and an Aimee Leduc Tour of Paris.
Are you a morning or night person?
Life forces me to be a morning person, but if I had my way, I’d run with the vampires.
What is your idea of a really fun time?
Turns out, cracking codes that lead to treasure hidden inside a ship buried under San Francisco is pretty fun…
If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Diary of a Middle-Aged Murder Suspect
Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
I’m an accidental sleuth more than anything, and certainly not a professional.
What is a typical day in your life like?
In my typical day, I usually give 2-3 true-crime tours, spend a few hours digging into San Francisco history, check in with my daughter and my bestie, and try my best to avoid stumbling over any dead bodies.
A Tour to Die For – A Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: September 2025
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link
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.
About the author
M.M. Chouinard is the Edgar-Award nominated, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and San Francisco Chronicle bestselling author of The Serial-Killer Guide to San Francisco series, the Detective Jo Fournier thriller series, and the standalone psychological thriller The Vacation. She has a Ph.D in developmental psychology from Stanford University and was one of the founding faculty members of U.C. Merced. She enjoys caffeine in all forms, amateur genealogy, crafting, baking, and Halloween. She has three cats, a dog, and a husband who technically keeps her from being a crazy cat lady.