Bookwild

This week, I talked with Kaira Rouda about her new thriller Jill Is Not Happy. We dive into how her own road trip inspired the story, what Kaira loves about writing domestic thrillers, and the likeable unlikeability of Jill.

Jill is Not Happy Synopsis

Some secrets keep a couple together.

If you ask Jill Tingley, she’ll tell you she and her husband Jack are college sweethearts living the dream in Southern California. Wealthy, popular and genetically blessed, theirs is an enviable life, though they’ve grown distant in recent years. Newly empty nest...

This week, I shared a quick ThrillerFest Recap (more to come on that front), and then Gare and Steph and I shared some of our favorite iconically blue and yellow covered thrillers!

Books We Talked About

No Road Home

Keep it in the Family

Believe Me Now

When No One is Watching

The Pact

Daughter of Mine

Not a Happy Family

What Have You Done

Darling Girls

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion S...

This week, I got to talk with Rob Hart about the second book in his Assassins Anonymous Series The Medusa Protocol. We dive into the inspiration for the title, how he crafts action without letting his main characters kill anyone, and plans for the third book in the series.

The Medusa Protocol Synopsis

When Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael, stopped showing up to Assassins Anonymous, the group assumed her past had caught up with her. Only her sponsor Mark, formerly the deadliest killer in the world, holds out hope that she’s ok...

This week, I was lucky enough to go to Chicago with Steph to see Julie Clark in conversation with Mary Kubica about her new thriller The Ghostwriter!! If you haven't seen the sprayed edges already, you need to. We had so much fun at the event, but also had the best time recording our first IRL episode! The reading gods smiled down on me and now specific fiction books work for me in audio form, so we decided to share some of our favorite audiobooks!

Books We Talked About

Finding Me by Viola Davis

This week, I got to talk with Kimberly G. Giarratano about her newest installation in the noir Billie Levine series, Make a Killing! We dive into what was different about writing this one, how she landed on a luxury luggage company for the story, and how capitalism has seeped into college.

Make a Killing Synopsis

Private Investigator Billie Levine should be ecstatic. She’s finally getting the cheating spouse cases she’s always wanted. Nothing to do but sit back, snap incriminating photos, and get paid. Except Jeremy Yang is competing for work with his own...

This week, Gare, Steph and I share some of our favorite LGBTQIA+ books for Pride Month! Also, don't forget you can #ReadQueerAllYear!

Books We Talked About

Harriet Tubman Live in Concert

Winging it With You

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life

Glitter in the Dark

Game Changer

One Killer Problem

This Violent Heart

Just By Looking At Him

House of Hunger

The Snow Garden

The Honeys

Extras

These Violent Delights<...

This week, I got to talk with Jennifer Oko about her uniquely crafted novel Just Emilia. We dive into how she created the three women in the elevator as their own characters, but also all the same woman, and the inspiration for the story.

Just Emilia Synopsis

The past, present, and future collide in a DC Metro elevator as three women get caught up in a gripping time-traveling tale of memory, emotion, and unspoken truths about their shared history.

When Emilia Fletcher finds herself trapped inside a Washington, DC Metro elevator, getting out...

This week, Steph and I ask all about Gare's experience as a moderator at the Montreal Mystery Festival, and we all share some of our favorite reads halfway through 2025!

Don’t Tell Me How to Die

This Book Will Bury Me

The Paper Palace

Julie Chan is Dead

Keep it in the Family

The Devil and Mrs. Davenport

The Manor of Dreams

Night Watcher

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Check Out My Stories Are My Rel...

This week, I got to talk with Allison Bucola about her new thriller The Ascent. We dive into her cult research, the long term damage of growing up in a cult, and how Ophelia's postpartum mental health contributed to the story.

The Ascent Synopsis

Twenty years ago, the members of a reclusive commune outside Philadelphia vanished without a trace. The mystery of their disappearance has never been solved. No sightings of the members were ever verified, and no bodies ever found. But the group did leave one thing behind: a twelve-year-old girl wandering alone on...

This week, I got to talk with Kristen L. Berry about her debut mystery thriller We Don't Talk About Carol! We dive into Kristen's writing process, the inspiration for the story, and how one person can still make little differences against systemic oppressors.

We Don't Talk About Carol Synopsis

A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home—in this gripping debut novel.

In the wake of her grandmother's passing, Sydney Singleton finds a hidden photograph of a litt...

This week, Halley Sutton and I catch up on everything we've been reading and watching, including The Studio and how it examines the intersection of creativity and commerce. We also get into the messy subject of what to do with the art of problematic artists, and the pernicious linguistics and attitudes about women's body image. It's a little bit of everything this week!

Halley's Substack

The White Lotus Podcast

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check ou...

This week, I got to talk with Tori Eldridge about her newest novel Kaua'i Storm. Tori shares the inspiration for the book, how her settings matter so much to her, and how this book had her personally invested in nailing the culture.

Kaua'i Storm Synopsis

Returning to Kaua‘i, park ranger Makalani finds her family divided and their way of life at risk in this rich and emotional adventure by the bestselling author of the Lily Wong series.

After ten years as a national park ranger in Oregon, Makalani Pahukula is back on Ka...

This week, I chat with Brian Watson @readingwithbrian about how long we've both been reading, thrillers that stood out as ones that created our love for thrillers, and some of our favorite domestic suspense thrillers!

Books/Authors We Talked About

Regrets Only by Kieran Scott

The Push by Ashley Audrain

You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson

The Woman Inside by E.G. Scott

A.R. Torre

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

I'll Be You by Janelle Brown

Local Woman Missing...

This week, the iconic Jaime Lynn Hendricks is back for the fifth time to chat about her newest page turner Their Double Lives! Gare and I ask all our burning questions, and we discuss Gare's dog Murphy's debut in a book!

Their Double Lives Synopsis

A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t affo...

This week, Gare, Steph and I are talking about the 2025 Summer thriller releases we are excited to read!

Bookwild Merch

ThrillerFest GoFundMe

Books We Talked About

Love You to Death by Christina Dotson

Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft

The Laughing Dead by Jess Lourey

Just Emilia by Jennifer Oko

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Doll Parts by Penny Zang

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

Our Secrets Were Safe...

This week, I talk with Judy Hutson about her new spy thriller Spy Notes! We dive into the inspiration for the story, how her job as a publicist in the music industry informed the book, and how she chose the places for Johnny to travel to!

Spy Notes Synopsis

Music, Mayhem, and Missions...

When music publicist Johnny Harrington isn't managing her superstar client Naive, she's enjoying Christmas on her family's idyllic island home in Barbados. But this year's holiday harmony is shattered when an undercover detective turns up dead, and Johnny's new romance...

This week, Gare, Steph and I talk about five of our favorite authors and our favorite book of theirs!

Books We Talked About

The Last Housewife

Bright Young Women

Play Nice

The Woman Inside

Jar of Hearts

The Family Next Door

The Night She Disappeared

Dark Highway

The Quarry Girls

They Never Learn

The Trap

The Children on the Hill

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

This week, I got to talk with Robert Bailey about his emotionally driven action thriller The Boomerang. We dive into the inspiration for the book, the research he did for certain parts, and his favorite parts of writing the relationships in the book.

The Boomerang Synopsis

The president of the United States has terminal cancer. Chief of Staff Eli James, his faithful consigliere and best friend, is one of the few who know. But just as the president’s condition mysteriously improves, Eli’s hit with another blow: his daughter has cancer too.

Hell...

This week, Halley Sutton is back and we delve into character development, the subconscious influences on storytelling, and the darker themes that often emerge in our work.

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and Greg

Follow @imbookwild on Instagram

Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

This week, MacKenzie Green and I dive into everything we loved about Sinners. We dive into Ryan Coogler's succinct visual storytelling, how he tackled the themes of religion, spirituality and race, and how social horror paired with humor comes together so well.

Follow MacKenzie here

Listen to Manifestation Monday here

TikToks I mentioned

Seven Deadly Sins from TheReel Voice

Vampires Needing to Be Invited BrandonToksMovies

Sammy's Ability to Connect With People is What the Devil Wanted from 5hahem

Racism hurts White Couple Too from TheJaam<...

This week, I got to talk with Liann Zhang about her incredibly voicey and suspenseful thriller Julie Chan is dead. We dive into the inspiration for the story, how her ability to write the environment of the Internet is linked to how she is chronically online (same), and her favorite backstories she created for some extra vapid influencers.

Julie Chan is Dead Synopsis

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world...

This week, Gare, Steph and i talk about books we took risks on that we ended up loving!

Books We Talked About

Lion Women of Tehran Marjan Kamali

Hush Anne Frasier

The Wedding People Alison Espach

An Academy for Liars Alexis Henderson

A Density of Souls Christopher Rice

The Shards Bret Easton Ellis

We Used to Live Here Marcus Kliewer

The Paper Palace Miranda Cowley Heller

IKEA Bookshelf

Ring Page Turner

Paperfeel/Matte iPad Screen...

THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR AGATHA ALL ALONG

A couple weeks ago, Halley told me she watched Agatha All Along and loved it, which lead to me binging it in one week. We reconvened and broke down all of our favorite parts of this (dare I say) perfectly written show!

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and Greg

Follow @imbookwild on I...

This week, Marisha Lunde, Gare and I set out to talk about psychological thrillers, but veered into all kinds of other topics, including reality TV. The episode may feel a little disjointed at times, because a tornado touched down near my home and I lost power in the middle of the episode as well as a few other times. Otherwise, enjoy meeting Marisha Lunde and hearing about her journey on Bookstagram!

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bo...

This week, I got to talk with Saumya Dave about her new thriller The Guilt Pill! She shares how she found the inspiration for the book, how her work as a psychiatrist informed the book, and how she started the book while pregnant with her first child, and finished it while she was pregnant with her second!

The Guilt Pill Synopsis

What if women could get rid of their guilt?

Maya Patel has it all—her own start-up, a sexy, doting husband, influencer status, and now, a new baby. Or does she? Because be...

This week, Halley and I do a DEEP dive into our thoughts after the season three finale of The White Lotus. Grab a piña colada and enjoy! 🙃

Links Mentioned:

White Lotus Podcast

No Nonsense Spirituality

Take on Death in Season 3

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and Greg

Follow @imbookwild on Instagram

Other...

If you're listening to these episodes as their air, you're getting what was going to be April 8ths Tuesday episode today, because Halley Sutton and I HAD to talk White Lotus Spoilers and finale predictions!

If you want to skip White Lotus spoilers (through Season 3 Episode 7) you can listen to the first few minutes, and when I say skip to this timestamp if you don't want spoilers, skip ahead to 31:02. *Yes, there were 25 mins worth of White Lotus to talk about, and really, we could've probably done 90 minutes on it.

Then, we talk about how...

This week, Gare, Steph and I share some of our favorite single POV thrillers!

Books We Talked About

And Now She’s Gone

Chasing the Boogeyman

The Devil and Mrs Davenport

The Book of Essie

The Family Tree

Things We Do in the Dark

An Anonymous Girl

Providence

Their Vicious Games

Kismet

Look What You Made Me Do

Sugar

A Criminal Defense

The Inmate

The Mirror House Gi...

This week I got to talk with Olesya Lyuzna about her historical noir Glitter in the Dark! We dive into Olesya's lifelong obsession with the 1920s, some wild facts she learned while researching, and how humans have always been chasing really similar feelings, even 100 years ago.

Glitter in the Dark Synopsis

The search for a kidnapped singer in Prohibition-era New York leads an intrepid reporter from Harlem speakeasies to the dazzling world of the theater, all while grappling with her warring passions.

Ambitious advice columnist Ginny Dugan knows she’s capable of more th...

This week, I got to talk with Elizabeth Rose Quinn about her new thriller Follow Me! We dive into the personal inspiration for this book, and how cathartic it was to write as a new mother.

Follow Me Synopsis

After her twin sister, Chiara, goes missing at a mom-fluencer weekend, Adrienne Shaw will find her no matter what it takes. They may have been on the outs, but no one comes for her sister and gets away with it.

It’s been a year, the authorities have no answers, and her brother-in-law is us...

Gare, Steph and I share more Kindle Unlimited thrillers so you can basically read for free.

Blacktop Wasteland

Valentine

The Devil and Mrs Davenport

Fractured

The Butcher

Strange Sally Diamond

Like a Sister

The Good Lie

Darling Girls

The Memory Watcher

Ricochet

Such Quiet Girls

A Killer’s Code

The Secret Witness

Slewfoot

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out...

This week, I got to chat with Emily Carpenter about her new horror-thriller Gothictown.  We dive into how a newspaper article she saw during the pandemic inspired the story, and how she crafted such a creepy vibe for Julianna, Georgia.  

Gothictown Synopsis

Welcome to gentle Juliana, where you can have it all…if you pay the price.

The email that lands in Billie Hope’s inbox seems like a gift from the universe. For $100, she can purchase a spacious Victorian home in Juliana, Georgia, a small town eager to boost its economy in the wa...

This week, I got to chat with one of our podcast faves ASHLEY WINSTEAD! In her third appearance on the show, we talk about her new thriller, This Book Will Bury Me, and how she exorcized her own demons after she found herself obsessed with true crime forums in the wake of her father's unexpected death. She shares why she was drawn to writing a roman à clef about grief and true crime obsession, and her willingness to critique herself through that form.

This Book Will Bury Me Synopsis

It's the most famous crime in modern h...

Today, Gare and I talk with Marshall Karp about his book that we all loved (Gare, Steph and me) Don't Tell Me How To Die. He shares the inspiration for the book and how his determination to get the story right delivered us one of our new favorite books!

Synopsis

I have one thing to do before I die.
And time is running out.

I had it all: a fantastic husband, two great kids, an exciting career. And then, at the age of forty-three, I found out I would be dead before...

This week, Gare and I share books we think will cure your White Lotus hangover after the season finale!

Books We Talked About

Born for This

It Could Be Anyone

Running Cold

We Were Never Here

The Hollywood Assistant

She Started It

The Whispers

The Vacationers

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check out the I...

This week, I talk with Nick Kolakowski about his mystery-thriller Where the Bones Lie! We dive into the inspiration for the story, his closeness to one of the characters, and how he subverted the noir genre.

Where the Bones Lie Synopsis

For Dash Fuller, Hollywood’s underbelly is home. He’s spent years making the film industry’s worst secrets disappear, and it’s left him a cynical burnout with a taste for bourbon and self-loathing.

But when a young woman comes to him with a peculiar quest, Dash sees a chance at redempti...

This week, Gare and I share some of our favorite popcorn thrillers, AND discuss actors we want to see on future seasons of White Lotus.

Books We Talked About

If You See Me

Return to Midnight

On the Surface

You Killed Me First

This Girl’s A Killer

The Teacher

The Astrology House

The Final Act

The Lake of Lost Girls

Count My Lies

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

This week, Halley Sutton and I introduce a new series about writing! I've said on this podcast a few times that I will finish my book this year, and this series is a way to make sure I do spend time on it, and stay in the writing state of mind. For our first topic of this series, we talk about things that keep us close to writing even when we aren't putting down tons of words.

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

This week, Gare and I talk about books we wish we could erase from our memories and re-read!

Books We Discussed

Local Woman Missing

The Last Winter of Dani Lansing

The Night Bird

The Girl Who Was Taken

1984

The Shards

All the Missing Girls

What You Don’t Know

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Author Social Media Packages

Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Che...

This week, Gare, Steph and I talk about 2025 thrillers we are excited about!

Glitter in the Dark

Count My Lies

This Book Will Bury Me

Immaculate Conception

The Death of Us

Whispers of Dead Girls

A Thousand Natural Shocks

The Missing Half

Don’t Tell Me How to Die

The Memory Collectors

One in Four

Their Double Lives

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

Check Out Aut...