Killer Author Club

The duo behind the pen name Jamie Day joins us to talk about Beach Thriller, a novel that somehow fits a crumbling beach house, a cold case, a psychic, a runaway teen, and a shadowy Watcher into one gloriously unhinged summer read. We get into the perks and very real perils of co-authoring across genres, what happens in the writing room when two authors want to take the story in completely different directions, and what it actually takes to merge gothic coastal atmosphere with propulsive thriller pacing without losing either. Plus, Daniel and Kathleen reveal their favorite place to plot a murder — and honestly, we're a little jealous.

Download and listen today — because the best beach reads are the ones that won't let you leave your chair.

Alex Finlay joins us to talk about The Anniversary, a novel that opens with a quote from Ted Bundy and somehow is also a love story. We get into the singular challenge of writing a serial killer thriller with genuine heart at its center, and how Finlay built an entire decade of two lives out of a single repeating date — one day a year, ten years running — and why that structure is both a brilliant constraint and a challenge for the writer inside it. Plus, Alex makes a compelling case for why Paris belongs on every bucket list.

Download and listen today — because May 1st started as a date on a calendar. Then it became the day everyone in a small Midwestern town learned to be afraid.

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 — institutions, grief, memory — that they can't fully see or escape, and how she built a story that straddles psychological suspense and something far harder to explain. Plus, Lauren gets into why reincarnation and consciousness aren't just plot devices here — they're the whole question.

Download and listen today — because sometimes creepy kids have secrets to share.

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 else entirely. Plus, Allison gets personal about what actually keeps her up at 3am, and we promise it's more relatable than you'd expect from someone this accomplished.

Download and listen today — because some of the most honest conversations happen after midnight, with people you never planned to know.

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 suspense — is really a story about friendship. Plus, Sally shares the wildest thing she's ever done in the name of research, and we can confirm: the Killers did NOT see it coming.

Download and listen today — because some women spend a lifetime being underestimated, and some of them are just getting started.

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 decade as a working actress in Hollywood to bring an insider's eye to a world where reinvention isn't just possible — it's survivable. Until it isn't!

Download and listen today — because some identities are borrowed, some secrets are buried, and some best boys never forget a face.

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, deteriorating boat into a pressure cooker that's equal parts domestic nightmare and psychological thriller, and how Dean’s own life deep in a Swedish forest seeps into every page he writes.

Download and listen today — because on an isolated narrowboat, there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and no one on shore to hear you scream.

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 writing page-turning novels while running a wildly successful podcast of her own.

Download and listen today—because some promises are meant to be broken… and some are deadly.

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.

Download and listen today—because some exes don’t just disappear… they get served.

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 its own. Bright, biting, and deliciously tense, this is friendship with a knife behind its back.

Download and listen today—because some friendships don’t end… they explode.