KPL Podcast

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we welcome back returning author Eva Jurczyk to talk about her latest novel, 6:40 to Montreal. A clever homage to Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, the book is a tightly crafted locked-room mystery set aboard a train traveling from Toronto to Montreal. Packed with intrigue and classic whodunit twists, it’s a page-turner that will keep readers guessing until the very end. 

The Hunter by Tana French

33 Plus Brugmann by Alice Austin

Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy

This week on the KPL Podcast, we talk with Jinwoo Park about his latest novel, The Oxford Soju Club. Part spy novel and part exploration of identity, the immigrant experience, and the parent–child relationship, the book is richly layered and deeply engaging, with plenty to keep readers hooked.

Red Sword by Bora Chung

A Thousand Blues by Cheon Seon-Ran

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we spoke with author Annalee Newitz about Automatic Noodle, their inventive new novel. Set in a future California where robots have won their freedom, the story follows a group of food-service bots in a deserted ghost kitchen who seize control of their old delivery app account. Rebranding themselves as a neighborhood lunch spot, they whip up some of the best hand-pulled noodles in San Francisco. But their success hits a snag when a mysterious force begins review-bombing their page with fake “bad service” reports.

Author Recommendations:

1. The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong 

2. What we are Seeking by Cameron Reed (April 2026)

3. News for all the people: the epic story of race and the American media by Juan Gonzalez

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we speak with bestselling author Kristi DeMeester about her new novel Dark Sisters. In this fierce and haunting Southern Gothic, DeMeester unravels an intergenerational curse that binds — and torments — the women of Hawthorne Springs, an affluent town ruled by a powerful church known as The Path. Spanning centuries, the story follows three unforgettable protagonists: a pastor’s daughter in 2007, a trapped housewife in 1953, and a suspected witch in 1750, each confronting the forces that seek to shape their destinies. 

Author Recommendations

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

Gray Dog by Elliot Gish

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we speak with bestselling author Laura Griffin about her latest novel, Innocence Road. Set in the small town of Marfa, Texas, this suspenseful murder mystery opens with Deputy Leanne being called to a fresh crime scene at the edge of the desert, where a nameless woman has been found with no clues to her identity. As Leanne investigates, she must also confront the release of a man wrongfully arrested by her father years ago. Innocence Road is a fast-paced thriller perfect for fans of police procedurals. 

 This week on the KPL Podcast, we’re joined by author Peggy Townsend to discuss The Botanist’s Assistant. If you’re looking for a cozy mystery with a STEM twist, this one’s for you. The story follows a research scientist whose life is upended when her boss is murdered—and no one seems interested in finding out why. Filled with quirky characters and light-hearted intrigue, this fun mystery will keep you turning the pages. 

Author Reads

1. The light eaters: how the unseen world of plant intelligence offers a new understanding of life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger

2. Chasing Hope by Nicholas D. Kristof

3. The Handmade God by Rachel Joyce

4. The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen

 Lucas Schaefer recently won the prestigious Kirkus Prize for Fiction for The Slip, his debut novel centered on the lives orbiting an Austin, Texas boxing gym and the disappearance of a 16-year-old boy. We talk with Lucas about what it was like to receive such an acclaimed honor, the story behind the book, and parenthood.

This week we speak with journalist Chris Sweeney about his debut book, The Feather Detective Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne. The fascinating and remarkable true story of the world’s first forensic ornithologist, Roxie Laybourne.   She broke down barriers for women, solved murders, and investigated deadly airplane crashes with nothing more than a microscope and a few fragments of feathers. 

Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder

 The Front Runner: The Life of Steve Prefontaine by Brendan O'Meara

This week on the KPL Podcast, we welcome back author Vanessa Lillie to discuss her latest novel, The Bone Thief.  This gripping mystery blends history, fiction, and cultural reckoning. In the pre-dawn hours at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives a disturbing call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. A Native teen girl vanished near the same site—and when law enforcement dismisses her family’s fears, Syd is drawn into a chilling investigation that hits close to home. 

Vanessa Lillie Indigenous book recommendation

To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage

The Whistler by Nick Medina

This week on the KPL Podcast, we’re joined by debut author Zoe Rankin to discuss her gripping novel The Vanishing Place. Set in the rugged New Zealand bush, this nature-infused thriller begins when an eight-year-old girl emerges from the wilderness—alone, injured, and starving. But there’s something even more unsettling: she’s the exact likeness of a child who vanished without a trace twenty years ago.

Author Recommendations

Room by Emma Donahue

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey

Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton