Episodes
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This week, Gare and Steph are both on the podcast and we all talk about books from our favorite thriller sub-genres! Gare shares serial killer thrillers, I share action thrillers, and Steph shares "am I going crazy" psychological thrillers.
Books We Talked About
Gare - Serial Killer Thrillers
Jar of Hearts
Please See Us
Bright Young Women
Kate - Action Thrillers
Alias Emma
Assassins Anonymous
The Recruiter
Steph - Psychological Thrillers
Bloodline
When She Was Me
Like It Never Was
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Today, I talk with Yasmin Angoe about her new domestic thriller Not What She Seems! We talk about the end of the Nena Knight series, how we both miss Nena, and how appearances not always being what they seem inspired her new novel.
Not What She Seems Synopsis
After years of self-exile, Jacinda âJacâ Brodie is back in Brook Haven, South Carolina. But the small cliffside town no longer feels like home. Jac hasnât been there since the beloved chief of police fell to his deathâand all the whispers said she was to blame.
That chief was Jacâs father.
Racked with guilt, Jac left town with no plans to return. But when her granddad lands in the hospital, she rushes back to her family, bracing herself to confront the past.
Brook Haven feels different now. Wealthy newcomer Faye Arden has transformed the notorious Moor Manor into a quaint country inn. Jacâs convinced something sinister lurks beneath Fayeâs perfect exterior, yet the whole town fawns over their charismatic new benefactor. And when Jac discovers one of her granddadâs prized possessions in Fayeâs office, she knows she has to be right.
But as Jac continues to dig, she stumbles upon dangerous truths that hit too close to home. With not only her life but also her familyâs safety on the line, Jac discovers that maybe some secrets are better left buried.
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This week, I talk with Kieran Scott about her dishy new thriller People Will Talk. We dive into her inspiration for the book, how she crafted three POVs, and what made her choose a chandelier as a murder weapon.
People Will Talk Synopsis
When the Frank family throws their annual clambake at their gorgeous beachside home on Cape May, the seafood is always delivered to white-clothed tables on fine bone china. And Peter Frank, the beloved son and perennial heartbreaker, will make the rounds, charming every woman on the guest list.
Top of that list this year are Maya, his tennis star girlfriend just coming off the high of winning Wimbledon; Catherine, his high school sweetheart turned wildly successful wedding planner and influencer; and Leanne, the fiercely protective aunt and legal guardian of his only son. When Maya, Catherine, and Leanne arrive expecting an extravagant feast, theyâre instead lured into a room together by a mysterious text to find Peter andâŠTilly.
Tilly, all golden blonde hair and perfectly tan skin, explains to the three women that she and Peter plan to get married that night, that Maya and Peter are through, that Peter will no longer be investing in Catherineâs company, and that Leanne must give up guardianship of her nephew. The enraged women attend the impromptu wedding, but when a chandelier falls and crushes the bride, suddenly theyâre three likely suspects with three perfect motives. Now theyâll have to work together to figure out who really did kill Tilly, and fastâbecause maintaining a good reputation in this crowd can be murder. -
This week, Audrey Egner ( @chapterandconverse ) and I share some of our favorite bingey summer thrillers!
Books We Talked About
Donât Believe It
The Weekend Away
You Can Trust Me
My Summer Darlings
Lie By the Pool
It Could Be Anyone
The Au Pair
A Flicker in the Dark
An Anonymous Girl
He Started It
All the Colors of the Dark
The God of the Woods
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On this episode, I talk with Heather Chavez about her newest thriller What We'll Burn Last. We dive into her desire to write a thriller with a wildfire, the complexities of three POVs at war with each other, and how much fun she had writing the wildfire as a POV.
What We'll Burn Last Synopsis
Three women.
When she was twelve, Leyna Clarke watched her older sister, Grace, walk away from their Sierra Nevada foothills home with her boyfriend, Adam Duran. Neither was ever seen again. Sixteen years later, a stranger who looks like Grace shows up at the restaurant where Leyna worksâand vanishes soon after. When it comes out that Leyna was one of the last people to have talked with the young woman, Leynaâs childhood crush Dominic, who is also Adamâs brother, pleads with her to do the last thing she wants to do: come home.
Three secrets.
But Leyna isnât the only one who hasnât been able to leave that fateful night behind. Her mother, Meredith, still lives in the familyâs old homeâeven if she claims to believe the policeâs theory that Grace and Adam were willing runaways. Down the street, Adam and Dominicâs mother Olivia has also stayed, determined to be there when her son finally returns. . . and to prove that Meredith and Leyna have been hiding something all these years. But the past isnât the only threat to the two families, or the missing girl. As a wildfire sparks, tempers flare and intentions turn deadly. Because someone in the neighborhood knows what really happened that nightâand just how good the forest is at keeping its secrets.
Who will you trust? -
On this episode, I talk with Gregg Podolski about his debut action thriller The Recruiter. We discuss how his job as a recruiter inspired the story, why we both love comedy with our action thrillers, and the fun of writing an action hero who isn't good at action.
The Recruiter Synopsis
When bad guys need good help, they call Rick Carter.
He's a criminal recruiter, searching for contract killers, cyber hackers, gun smugglers, and any other assorted villains-for-hire a European crime boss might need. But, when the family he left behind in New Jersey is caught up in a client's plot to monopolize the black market, Rick has to save them from two of his own top candidates: deadly assassins known only as Ghost and The Persian.
Fixing his own mess will require a set of skills he doesn't have--not a problem, as finding qualified help is where he excels. But stepping into action, becoming the hero his family needs, that's new territory. For a man who's spent the last ten years being the best at helping the worst, this may be his last chance to do something right.
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On this episode, I talk with John Fram about his genre-bending gothic thriller No Road Home. We dive into how he found inspiration for the story in his dad, his use of Biblical imagery, and the touches of horror throughout.
No Road Home Synopsis
For years, single father Toby Tucker has done his best to keep his sensitive young son, Luca, safe from the bigotry of the world. But when Toby marries Alyssa Wrightâthe granddaughter of a famed televangelist known for his grandiose Old Testament preachingâhe canât imagine the world of religion, wealth, and hate that he and Luca are about to enter.
A trip to the Wright familyâs compound in sun-scorched Texas soon turns hellish when Toby realizes that Alyssa and the rest of her brood have dangerous plans for him and his son. The situation only grows worse when a freak storm cuts off the roads and the family patriarch is found murdered, stabbed in the chest on the roof of their sprawling mansion.
Suspicion immediately turns to Toby, but when his son starts describing a spectral figure in a black suit lurking around the house with unfinished business in mind, Toby realizes this family has more than murderer to concealâand to fear.
As the Wrights close in on Luca, no one is prepared for the lengths Toby will go in the fight to clear his name and protect his son in this âgrand gothic story as enthralling as it is terrifying." -
This week, Gare is back! And we share some of our favorite reads of the first half of 2024.
Books We Talk About
Listen for the Lie
Kill for Me, Kill for You
An Inconvenient Woman
The Man on the Train
This Family Lies
The Hollywood Assistant
The Hunterâs Daughter
Love Letters to a Serial Killer
Bodies to Die For
How We Name the Stars
Rabbit Hole
Missing White Woman
Things Donât Break on Their Own
No Road Home
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This week, I got to chat with Sarah Easter Collins about her exceptionally emotional debut novel Things Don't Break on Their Own. She shares how the shifting nature of memory, sibling differences and the first dog in space inspired her book.
Things Don't Break on Their Own Synopsis
A heart-wrenching mystery about sisters, lovers, and a dinner party gone wrong.
Twenty-five years ago, a young girl left home to walk to school. Her younger sister soon followed. But one of them arrived, and one of them didnât.
Her sisterâs disappearance has defined Willaâs life. Everyone thinks her sister is dead, but Willa knows she isnât. Because there are some things that only sisters know about each otherâand some bonds only sisters can break.
Willa sees fragments of her sister everywhere â the way that woman on the train turns her head, the gait of that woman in Paris. If thereâs the slightest resemblance, Willa drops everything, and everyone, and tries to see if it is her.
When Willa is invited to a dinner party thrown by her first love, she has no reason to expect it will be anything other than an ordinary evening. Both of them have moved on, ancient history. But nothing about Willaâs life has been ordinary since the day her sister disappeared, and thatâs not about to change tonight.
Sarah Easter Collins has written an extraordinary novel about memory, lost love, and long-buried secrets that sometimes see the light of day. -
This week, I got to chat with Eliza Jane Brazier about her new erotic assassin thriller It Had to Be You. We dive into her inspiration for the book, and how she never intended for it to be taken as anything other than fantasy.
It Had to Be You Synopsis
Two contract killers, each with a hit out on the other, must fight their growing attraction as they face off in an epic game of lust and murder across Western Europe.
When Eva and Jonathan hook up on the sleeper train from Florence to Paris, they think theyâll never see each other again. Which is too bad, because neither has ever felt a spark like this for another person. But love isnât on the agenda in their line of work.
Six months later, they run into each other in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. This encounter is not by chance, because Eva has been hired to kill Jonathan. Sheâs a contract killer, but what she doesnât know is that he is too.
Their meeting kicks off a high-stakes adventure across Western Europe. There will be tourism. There will be bodies. Eva and Jonathan might even fall for each other.
As the two get closer to completing their assignments, it becomes clear that they are also being huntedâby something even more dangerous than love. . . . -
This week, I talk with Liz Keenan and Greg Wands about the inception of their new podcast Imposter Hour, a show that delves into the syndrome haunting creatives, impacting their lives and work. We dive into the origin story of the show and their plans for it in the future.
Subscribe to Imposter Hour on Apple or Spotify
Follow Imposter Hour on Instagram
Or check out their website ImposterHour.com for more info!
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This week I talk with Rachel Graham and Lee-Ann McGuire Whitlock, who as a writing duo make up pen name Rachel McGuire, about their super-bingeable destination thriller On the Surface.
On the Surface Synopsis
Sawyer Stone III and Dani Fox, a young couple who spend their time circumnavigating the globe aboard their 42-foot sailboat and documenting it for their fledgling YouTube channel Sailing with the Foxes, have anchored in Exuma, in the Bahamas. As they wait for the price of crypto to rebound so they can provision and continue their journey, theyâre partying and exploring with their fellow cruisers offshore. On the surface, everything looks perfect. But one night, Dani vanishes after a boat party, and Sawyer has no memory of her disappearance.
The search for Dani is initially fueled by concerns that she drowned during one of her daily ocean swims, but Dani's prescheduled video posts, recorded before she went missing, soon reveal a darker side to her relationship with Sawyer. Meanwhile, Royal Bahamas Police Force Inspector Veronique Knowles has her hands full trying to keep the investigation on course as the story of the American woman missing in the Bahamas goes viral and the internet sleuths unearth secrets from Sawyerâs past. Sawyer Stone is far from perfect, but is he a murderer?
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This week, I talk with May Cobb about her twisty erotic thriller The Hollywood Assistant.
The Hollywood Assistant Synopsis
Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidyâs moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.
The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.
When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts heâs written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy canât believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesnât know what she has. Maybe thatâs why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isnât around.
But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings arenât the perfect couple. Marisol isnât the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect. -
This week, I talk with Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh about their new thriller Echo Road, where they combine their Mercy Kilpatrick and Bree Taggert series into one mystery.
Echo Road Synopsis
During a vicious heat wave, a county maintenance worker stumbles upon two suspicious suitcases abandoned by the side of the road. Sheriff Bree Taggert responds to find two bodies stuffed inside the luggage. The press demands action. The community is on edge. Suddenly, Bree is at the center of a media firestorm.
In Oregon, a senatorâs daughter goes missing. FBI Special Agent Mercy Kilpatrick agrees to keep the politically sensitive case on the down-low. When she finds a link between the disappearance and a double homicide three thousand miles away, Mercy takes the next plane outâand lands right in the middle of Breeâs double homicide investigation.
To save the missing girl, Bree and Mercy must work together to stop a killer whoâs playing deadly games with the press and stirring up public rage. Hungry for notoriety, he dares Bree and Mercy to catch him before he kills again. -
This week, Halley Sutton is back and we talk about some of our favorite bookish characters!
Books We Talked About
Where Are You Echo Blue?
It Will Only Hurt for a Moment
No Road Home
Lay Your Body Down
How Can I Help You
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
The Man on the Train
Follow Her Home
Midnight is the Darkest Hour
Thursday Next Series
Over Her Dead Body
Must Love Books
I Didnât Do It
Vladimir
The Outlier
Kill for Love
Eight Perfect Murders
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This week, Steph Lauer and I share books that pair well with each other. If you liked the first one, you'll probably love the second one.
Books Kate Talked About
The Hollywood Assistant
The Force of Such Beauty
The Hunterâs Daughter : Blood Sisters
Pretty Things : On the Surface
Almost Surely Dead : Missing White Woman
Big Little Lies : The Other Mothers
The Lady Upstairs : Twisted
Books Steph Talked About
Do What Godmother Says
Like it Never Was
Ask for Andrea : Before You Knew My Name
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder : Thatâs Not My Name
Butcher and the Blackbird : The Girl in 6E
In My Dreams I Hold a Knife : The Girls Are All So Nice Here
Notes on an Execution : Don't Forget the Girl
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This week, I talk with Debbie Babitt about her new Hitchcockian thriller The Man on the Train. We dive into how she gets to know her characters, how she figures out plot and what she's working on next.
The Man on the Train Synopsis
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Haley is awakened early one morning by two police officers at the door. She has no idea that her husband has been living a secret life during his daily commute from Scarsdale into the city. Now Guy is the prime suspect in a brutal murder that could derail Lindaâs high-powered career and may be connected to a cold case.
And Guy has disappeared.
With a warrant out for her husbandâs arrest, Linda sets out to prove his innocence accompanied by an ex-cop who harbors a secret affection for her. Together, they travel to the scene of a forty-year-old unsolved murder and a night of violence that shattered the serenity of a small fishing hamlet just past the Hamptons.
But as the manhunt intensifies and she begins to uncover the shocking truthâand the past Guy has buried deepâLinda must decide if the stranger she married is innocent or guilty. And if he truly deserves to be saved.
Featuring tense, atmospheric suspense that moves at breakneck speed, this Hitchcockian thriller careens from a bedroom community just north of New York City to the picturesque beaches of eastern Long Island to a suburban train station, where a killer hiding in plain sight waits to exact a final revenge. -
This week, Halley and I share updates on our 1,000 Words of Summer challenge and dive into what we love about our favorite book covers. We also share what we've been reading, watching and listening to.
Books We Talked About
Almost Surely Dead
Stone Cold Fox
The Last Housewife
The Favorites
The Lies I Tell
The Force of Such Beauty
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This week, I talk with Rob Hart about his new action packed thriller Assassins Anonymous. We dive into how he came up with the idea for an assassin who swears off killing for moral reasons, why musicals and action movies are similar, and how he created an empathetically accessible assassin as a main character.
Assassins Anonymous Synopsis
In this clever, surprising, page-turner, the worldâs most lethal assassin gives up the violent life only to find himself under siege by mysterious assailants. Itâs a kill-or-be-killed situation, but the first option is off the table. Whatâs a reformed hit man to do?
Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his lifeâs work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind, and joined a twelve-step group for reformed killers.
When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of whoâs after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle. -
This week, Steph Lauer and I talk with Lori Brand about her insanely fun thriller Bodies to Die For. She shares her inspiration for the book, and her personal journey writing it.
To check out her article about why she wrote Bodies to Die For, click here
Bodies to Die For Synopsis
Popular fitness influencer Gemma has transformed herself from a Before into an After, complete with washboard abs, thriving business, and gorgeous husband. But social media can be deceiving. Offline, the cutthroat world of bikini bodybuilding may just eat her alive. That's if she's not first devoured by the secret nemesis that lurks beneath her polished surface, waiting to destroy her.
Software engineer Ashley is fat and frustrated. Frustrated with failed diets. With a world that wants her to shrink. With biased doctors, online trolls, and even her own mother. Until Ashley falls in with a mysterious and radical sect of Fat Activists who are fighting back ... by any means necessary. She's never felt so alive, so full of purpose. She'll do whatever it takes to ride this high, destroy Diet Culture, and win the approval of her charismatic leader.
But when Gemma's toughest rival turns up dead, and more fitness girls fall like dominoes, it's beginning to look like the body image war has gone too far.
With breakneck pace and keen insights, Bodies to Die For takes a hard look at social media, the $70 billion diet industry, and the war on women's bodies--the wars we wage with each other, and with ourselves. - Show more
