Killer Author Club

Lauren Oliver joins us to talk about The Girl in the Lake, a novel that asks one of the most unsettling questions in suspense: what if the key witness to a decades-old disappearance is a six-year-old who wasn't even born when it happened? We dig into Lauren's fascination with places where the things we can't define and understand intersect with the psychological, what it means to write characters trapped inside systems ...

Allison Winn Scotch joins us to talk about The Insomniacs — and the genre pivot that ten novels of commercial fiction finally led her to. We get into why she crossed over to the dark side of suspense, how she landed on a story about four strangers who can't sleep, and what it means to write characters who are each standing at the edge of their own lives — one injury, one empty nest, one disappearance away from becoming someone ...

Sally Hepworth joins us to talk about Mad Mabel, and the character at the center of it — Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick, 81 years old, gloriously grumpy, desperately lonely, and Australia's youngest convicted murderer. We get into what it takes to write a woman this prickly and make readers root for her anyway, how Sally mined her own mother's memories to bring the 1950s timeline to life, and why this book — for all its murder and...

Deborah Goodrich Royce joins us to talk about Best Boy, a thriller built on one of the most chilling questions in suspense: what if the past you buried comes back — and you can't even remember it? We get into the real-life story that sparked the novel, how Royce uses debilitating migraines and memory lapses not just as symptoms but as weapons of plot, and why Hitchcock kept showing up as she wrote. Plus, Deborah draws on her de...

Will Dean joins us to talk about Adrift, a thriller that proves you don't need a deserted island or a locked room to feel utterly, terrifyingly trapped. We explore the creative challenge of confining an entire story to a narrowboat in rural Illinois and why a villain who controls through manipulation and psychological abuse can be far more menacing than one with a knife. Plus, we dig into how Dean transforms a cramped, deterior...

Danielle Girard joins us to talk about Pinky Swear, a twisty thriller built on the most innocent vow of all—a childhood pinky promise that refuses to stay buried. We dive into the high-stakes world of surrogacy and the terrifying leap of trust it requires, the complexities and inevitable failings of motherhood, and how a ticking clock can turn domestic suspense into a full-blown nightmare. Plus, Danielle shares how she balances wri...

Lisa Unger is back in the clubhouse to dish on Served Him Right, a deliciously dark thriller that begins with an ex-orcism brunch. We talk about female friendships and the power of sisterhood, Lisa’s use of botanicals as a plot device (harmless herbs… or something more?), her return to the Hollows as a setting, and the truly unhinged Google searches that come with writing about curses, poisons, and payback.

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Kaira Rouda joins us to unpack We Were Never Friends, a wickedly sharp thriller that peels back the polite smiles and champagne toasts of female friendship—and exposes what’s really simmering underneath. She talks about writing women who can adore and despise each other in the same breath, balancing dark humor with the serious stakes of betrayal and murder, and why Palm Springs isn’t just a setting, but a character with secrets of ...

Jenna Blum joins us to talk about Murder Your Darlings, her razor-sharp leap from historical fiction into the thriller space—and why switching genres is both exhilarating and risky. She reveals how much of the story grew out of very real author anxieties, how she deliberately broke genre rules (and turned up the heat between her two leads), and why satire was the perfect lens for skewering the literary world. From fan culture and b...

Danielle Trussoni joins us to unpack The Puzzle Box, a high-concept thriller where intellect, obsession, and danger collide. She explains savant syndrome—what it is and how it shapes a character who sees the world differently—and the very real challenges of embedding actual puzzles into a novel without breaking the suspense. We talk about Japan as a haunting setting, using AI as a quietly terrifying plot device, and why Danielle st...

John Marrs joins us to dive into Dead in the Water, a twist-laden thriller built from pieces—literally. He shares how he writes stories in fractured parts, why memory is the most dangerous unreliable narrator of all, and how one character can die… and die again. We unravel the hunt for the exact right title, the balance between psychological authenticity and breakneck pacing, and the real people who inevitably (and sometimes unknow...

Kaira Rouda is back with The Second Mrs. Strom, the long-awaited follow-up to Best Day Ever—and yes, Creepy Paul is front and center again. Kaira shares why she resurrected one of her most unsettling characters, why readers love to hate him, and the real-life personalities who helped shape his uniquely chilling charm. She also dishes on the Paris research trip that ended in spectacular disaster—think food poisoning and a hotel full...

Kimberly Belle takes us deep inside her Edgar winner, The Paris Widow, a pulse-pounding thriller where a dream vacation ends in a literal bang. She unpacks the mystery of a husband who vanishes—presumed dead—and the desperate search for answers that sends one woman racing through Paris, where danger hides behind every iconic landmark. Kimberly reveals the dark world of blood antiquities, the tension of being alone in a foreign city...

Gilly Macmillan joins us to talk about The Burning Library, a gripping blend of dark academia, historical intrigue, and feminist power struggles. She reveals how the idea for a secret society of women fighting over a centuries-old manuscript sparked the story, the research rabbit holes that nearly consumed her, and how she built this layered mystery rooted in both past and present. We also dig into Gilly’s favorite obsession outsid...

Kaira Rouda returns with Under the Palms, the sharply cutting follow-up to Beneath the Surface—a story that’s Succession in the Southern California sunshine. She reveals the major plot twist that managed to surprise (and genuinely scare) even her, why she loves writing terrible characters readers love to hate, and how her past life as a gossip columnist sharpened her instinct for scandal. And yes… we’ve got movie news.

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The legendary Lee and Andrew Child join us to talk Exit Strategy and all things Jack Reacher. They share the surprising story behind Reacher’s name, the one line he would never cross, and how a character born from an idea became a global phenomenon. Plus, Lee reveals the only writing advice you’ll ever need—simple, sharp, and straight from the master himself.

Download and listen today—because when Reacher’s on the move, you don’t wa...

Vanessa Lillie joins us to talk about Blood Sisters, a powerful thriller inspired by a real-life crime near her hometown and the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women whose cases too often go unsolved. She opens up about tackling serious, real-world issues with empathy and grit, shining a light on the complexities—both good and bad—around the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and why Indigenous crime rates are heartbreakingly ...

Our very own Killer Heather Gudenkauf returns to talk about The Perfect Hosts, her explosive new thriller that kicks off with a pistols-and-pearls gender reveal party gone fatally wrong. She shares how that wild premise first took shape, why she set the story on a sprawling horse ranch, and how she opened the book with a literal bang. Plus, Heather reveals the storytellinghill she’ll die on—and why she swears by it in every book sh...

Nicole Baart joins us to talk about Where He Left Me, a lush and haunting thriller where nature itself becomes a character. She shares how the eerie Hemlock House setting amplifies tension, how she balances poetic prose with heart-pounding suspense, and what her research into planetary sciences revealed about love, loss, and connection. We also dive into the origins of the unforgettable tagline—“In every world, I’d find you”—and Ni...