Mystery/Thriller Episodes

Riley and I discuss Survive the Night, how he enjoys making the reader scared, setting a story over the course of one evening in a car, using a screenplay format for the chapter headings, converting from a plotter to a hybrid pantser, switching up his cover, and much more.

John and I discuss Bad Moon Rising, the inspiration for Heidi Kick, weaving timely issues into his mysteries, connecting his community in rural Wisconsin with the bigger themes and conflicts in culture, the most challenging part of writing for him, how the pandemic upended his next book’s storyline, and much more.

Clare and I discuss Hostage, the idea that it is far more terrifying when you do not know where a threat is coming from, landing a plane herself at a flight simulation center (listen to learn if she successfully landed), tackling radicalization, how her copy editor saved her from making a mistake regarding the airplane seat configuration, and much more.

Katherine and I discuss her new book The Siren, using three points of view to slowly disseminate information to the reader, how she enjoys writing about the messiness of life, taking unexpected life paths, how lives are lived in chapters, and much more.

Flynn and I discuss her new mystery Northern Spy, how she creates such a strong sense of place, writing about a place where turmoil is always just under the surface, the roots of radicalization, being selected as a Reese Book Club pick, and much more.

J.T. and I discuss her latest mystery Her Dark Lies, closed circle versus locked room mysteries, the trip that lead to her creating Her Dark Lies, the character that she really struggled to write, writing books in a series compared to standalone books, and much more.

Mark and I discuss his new Gray Man novel Relentless, the inspiration for Court Gentry, the character he enjoys writing the most, what it was like working with Tom Clancy and continuing his series, writing two books a year, the fantastic mystery/thriller community and more.

Sarah and I discuss her debut The Sanatorium, having her novel chosen as a Reese’s Book Club selection, how she created such a strong sense of place, making the sanatorium a character in the novel, writing a closed circle mystery, her stunning book cover, and more.

Eliza and I discuss her adult debut If I Disappear, how she created her unique format, finding a place in today’s world, how grief can impact and infect everything else, the importance of focusing on mental health, the fabulous true crime community and more.

Jane and I discuss her latest book The Survivors, how setting and plot drive her stories, creating a strong sense of place, her thoughts on the motion picture adaptation of The Dry and Eric Bana as Aaron Falk, how her journalism training helps her write thrillers and more.

Lisa and I discuss her new mystery Before She Disappeared, the complexity of plotting a person’s disappearance in 2021, walking the streets of Mattapan for research and the delicious food item that she discovered there, and the real-life inspiration for Frankie.

Nick discusses his latest mystery The Breaker, incorporating cutting edge technology into some of his stories, the long-range implications and societal changes resulting from new technology such as cell phones and social media, and writing about PTSD.

Julie discusses her instant New York Times bestseller The Last Flight, writing her first thriller, her advice for aspiring authors, the importance of the right book cover and how the cover sets up expectations for readers, and more.

Halley discusses her debut novel The Lady Upstairs, her love of murder bus tours, writing feminist noir, participating as a mentee and mentor in Pitch Wars, the importance of building a community in the book world, and more.

Alice discusses her new mystery A Solitude of Wolverines, combining her passion for wildlife and writing, how she settled on wolverines for the first book in this new series, the research she conducted for the book, and her current wildlife research studies.