In this very special (and very chaotic) holiday episode, AJ went full Roarke-level genius and built a working White Elephant Exchange game from scratch (with the help of ChatGPT and possibly a little magic).

Here’s what you’re in for:

• A real-time virtual White Elephant exchange featuring 34(!) of your favorite In Death characters.

• Hilarious chaos as characters like Mira, Roarke, Peabody, Baxter, and Crack open or steal gifts like pizza scissors, lava lamps, chocolate fondue sets, and the most cursed liqueur in the galaxy: Malört.

• Roarke gets a Mini Inflatable Tube Man. It’s art. No one steals it. We’re all shocked.

• Dickie loves the Malört. Everyone else is grateful.

• Summerset’s secret hobby may or may not be bonsai tree gardening.

• Peabody steals with no remorse. Baxter gets stuck with a Chia Pet. Whitney gets a hot dog toaster. Eve gets popcorn. All is right with the world.

• Shelby and Mira get stolen from approximately 83 times each.

• AJ and Tara cackle throughout the whole thing. A LOT.
  

There’s laughter, betrayal, sparkly syrup, and the most on-brand gifts ever.

🎁 Want to try the simulator yourself? Find it here: NYPSD White Elephant Gift Exchange Simulator!

✨ And if you're curious about what went down visually during this episode... let’s just say our supporters over at Patreon got the full experience. 😉

Merry Christmas from Podcast in Death!

AJ and Tara discuss Dark in Death by J.D. Robb, where Nora Roberts delivers a not-so-subtle warning to obsessive fans: Don't be like the killer!

This 2018 release is clearly Nora addressing fans who:

• Accuse her of having a ghostwriter
• Demand characters hook up on their timeline
• Complain about the word f*ck
• Tell her how to write her own books

The hosts LOVED this clap-back disguised as a mystery novel.

Victims: Three women killed according to murders in author Blaine Delano's mystery seriesKiller: Annalise Smith, a failed writer who believes Delano "stole" her manuscript and wants to rewrite the books so "the villain wins"

The Ballroom Scene: Eve and Roarke slow dance before sex, and Eve reveals: "No one ever made me the reason before him."

Vending Machine Battle: Eve accidentally charges Detective Hargrove's account with violations while fighting a machine for Pepsi. Poor Hargrove!

Sampson the Puppy: A mini-horse-sized dog with "terrifying crazy love" meets Eve, who commands him to sit/stay like the alpha she is.

Fabric Store Horror: Eve describes a craft store like a haunted house while Peabody nearly melts down over Egyptian cotton.

Felicity LaMarc: The intended fourth victim is a former counterintelligence agent who elbows the killer in the face and breaks a mirror. Icon behavior.

Commendations:

• Jake Kincaid (AJ): Nadine's rock star boyfriend who helps sketch the killer and is basically Rourke's clone
• Felicity LaMarc (Tara): Absolute badass who didn't need rescuing
• Nadine Furst (Secondary): Journalistic integrity on full display

Other Highlights:

• McNabb's Mexico vacation paid off: "We had lots and lots of sex!"
• Roarke reveals he contemplated stealing some emeralds just weeks before meeting Eve
• Roarke buys Eve a 16-acre farm in Nebraska (not small!)
• Galahad is furious Eve smells like dog

Podcast Business:

Welcome Ann who discovered the podcast months ago and binged all 287 episodes at 1.5x speed(?) Her daughter introduced her to In Death at age 7 by buying her "Remember When."

• Next Week: Christmas special!
• After That: Review the Reviews for New Year's
• Future Episode: Nicknames in the In Death series

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 205-4ROARKE
• Social: Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, TikTok

Leave us a 5-star review to help other fans find the show!

In this week’s episode, AJ and Tara embrace chaos, caffeine, and questionable Google Sheet scripts as they attempt something completely new: Cards Against In Death — our homemade, wildly unofficial, definitely ridiculous In Death-themed version of Cards Against Humanity.

Tara showed up technically at work (muted meeting, webcam off, priorities firmly in place), AJ threw together a game at 11:30pm the night before, and together they dove headfirst into a half-hour of absolute nonsense that somehow still made perfect sense in the In Death universe.

• We discover Tibbles’ secret Urban Wars codename. (It might be Galahad. Honestly? It works.)

• Eve bribes Dickhead… and no one is surprised by the method.

• Mira’s Excellent Legs™ become a therapeutic tool.

• Rourke contemplates tech breakthroughs powered by soy dogs.

• The bullpen’s betting pools escalate into utter stupidity.

• Feeney’s computer crashes because… of course it does.

• And the recurring answer of the episode: “Meat. Both kinds.” It haunts us. It defines us. It is Podcast in Death lore now.

Listeners, you're welcome.

• Chaotic energy from the jump

• Truly unhinged prompt/answer combos

• AJ desperately trying to keep the spreadsheet alive

• Tara discovering prompts in real time

• A surprisingly sweet moment involving Dennis Mira

• The dawning realization that we absolutely need a live version where YOU submit cards

This is one of our shortest episodes in a while, but it’s packed with laughs, references only In Death fans will understand, and moments that made us cackle out loud.

We also hear from:

• Kimberly, our newest Patron (Detective Level—thank you!!)

• Sarah, who got her patron mug and immediately filled it with Seattle’s Best because Eve’s blend remains tragically unavailable

• Leah, whose listener questions inspired an entire episode

• Sarah (again!), who sent us a pair of purple boots that Eve would absolutely wear… zipper mechanics aside

Plus:
A discussion about futuristic crime tech (because Nora keeps predicting the future), some talk about upcoming episodes, and plans for future guests when Tara is unavailable… or in a meeting again.

Send us:

• New black-card prompts

• New white-card answers

• Anything absolutely bonkers that fits the In Death world

We WILL do a Round Two — and probably a live version.

💬 Email: [email protected]
📞 Call/Text: 205-476-2753 (that’s 205-4-Rourke)
📱 Find us on social: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, BlueSky — just search Podcast in Death.

If you want to be a guest (or know someone who should be), reach out!

This week, we took on a topic that absolutely demanded visuals… which is hilarious, because you’re listening on Spotify.
But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered.

In this episode, we take a deep dive into Ian McNabb’s truly unhinged wardrobe across the entire In Death series. AJ put together an actual McNabb Look Book PDF (yes, really) using every outfit description Nora Roberts ever threw at us — neon pants, zigzag jackets, plaid air boots, the legendary orange tux, ALL of it.

Tara reacts to each outfit in real time, and while you can absolutely enjoy the audio version… trust us, you’re going to want the visuals for this one.

📄 Download the McNabb Look Book PDF here: http://podcastindeath.s3.amazonaws.com/IanMcnab_LookBook.pdf

🎥 Want to WATCH the full video episode?
Find it on our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/145185704⁠

• McNabb’s Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer “collections,” because yes — he is a man who owns collections.

• The many lives of the air boot (now available in every color known to science).

• Why Nora Roberts was clearly entertaining herself while writing these outfits.

• How AJ accidentally became McNabb’s digital stylist.

• Tara discovering that… wait… are these outfits actually good??

• ChatGPT diagnosing McNabb as a flamboyant futuristic maximalist and being 100% correct.

• The fuchsia vest + Christmas green jumpsuit combo that defies physics.

• The surprisingly classy full-periwinkle ensemble.

• Chili pepper pants. Chili pepper shirt. Chili pepper EVERYTHING.

• Roarke’s custom tartan air boots, which McNabb apparently treats like sacred relics.

• The orange tux that would give Eve Dallas temporary color-induced trauma.

• Tara accidentally smelling phantom pizza and derailing the show.

• A deep philosophical debate about toeless air-sneaks.

• AJ referencing a Porky Pig cartoon for reasons that are still unclear.

• Both hosts admitting they have no idea what McNabb actually looks like anymore.

Since Spotify sadly cannot beam the outfits directly into your brain, make sure to:

1. Download the McNabb Look Book PDF — seriously, it makes everything funnier: http://podcastindeath.s3.amazonaws.com/IanMcnab_LookBook.pdf

2. Check out the video episode on Patreon if you want the full “fashion show chaos” experience: https://www.patreon.com/posts/145185704

Whether you’re here for the neon, the nostalgia, or the strangeness of McNabb’s entire aesthetic… this episode is a ride. Enjoy!

This episode kicks off with the spectacle of male-centric one-star reviews, a fascinating ecosystem where disgruntled dudes, some of which are "Authors" with deeply mediocre Goodreads ratings who feel uniquely qualified to mansplain crime fiction to Nora Roberts. From there, we descend into the wonderfully unhinged world of two, three, and four star reviews, one of which gives us a whole list of "Things that happen in Every In Death Book," including how Roarke gives Eve “Meat, both kinds" Followed by a review that mentions how there's always a possibility of “Meaty Juicy Goodness,” to which AJ couldn't help herself and like Michael Scott ("The Office") just had to say: "That's what she said".

Fortunately, the show and our faith in Author Humanity is fully restored by Allison Brennan and Silver James, who remind us what thoughtful, enthusiastic, competent reviews look like.

Also: we take a moment to celebrate the release of our 2026 Podcast in Death Calendar, now available in our Merch Store (https://podcast-in-death-merch.printify.me/), because scheduling your life is always easier with a little futuristic homicide energy. And finally, because it wouldn’t be an episode without a delightful derailment, AJ closes things out with a completely unexpected family recipe drop featuring roast, tomato sauce, and green olives—proving once again that anything can happen on this show.

Enjoy!

This week, listener Leah sends us a harmless little list of questions… and we immediately blow it up into a 2+ hour episode that is pure fun. Honestly, she should’ve known (but maybe she did).

AJ threatens anyone who dares steal her rock-music-marketing-podcast idea, Tara passionately confesses her honey-mustard devotion, and we spiral into condiment debates (Salsa is declared a California condiment). There are Disney detours, Karaoke debates and Mavis gets a hypothetical purse dog.

A flawless episode full of nonsense, tangents, and unhinged enthusiasm. Perfect.

In this episode of Podcast in Death, we tackle Secrets in Death and discover it's actually way better than we remembered—probably because we haven't reread it 47 times like the early books. This week's theme? TRUTH, because apparently "secrets" was too on-the-nose even for us. Everyone's hiding something, Lorinda Mars is weaponizing those secrets for cash, and Eve's over here having feelings about whether her expensive boots make her a hypocrite.

Meanwhile, DeWinter shows up ready to throw hands (verbally) and basically tells Eve she's a rude, judgmental hard-ass, which, fair. Their entire confrontation over wine is chef's kiss, ending with "I don't know why I half like you" and "back at you," which is basically how all great friendships start.

Roarke drops the truth on Eve that Mars tried to blackmail him once and he just went full "scary Roarke" and threatened to ruin her entire career. We stan a protective billionaire.

The actual murder case? Mars gets stabbed and bleeds out the same way she bled her victims dry, which is poetic, honestly, and the killer turns out to be an overprotective assistant who thought playing hero was the vibe (it wasn't, Bill). This is the book that Summerset finally sharing the truth that he killed Patrick Roarke. Summerset assumes Eve told Roarke his secret, but when he finds out she didn't, tells Roarke: "I may never have a true handle on your wife."

Apart from that, we spent like 20 minutes discussing safe mechanics because AJ worked for a safe company and has OPINIONS, debated whether Eve would watch Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (she would), and got unreasonably invested in Nadine's blue glass dragon table.

We really enjoyed this book, and we hope you enjoy this review!

With Tara off doing theater things, AJ’s joined by her daughter Caitlin, who knows just enough about the In Death series to ask all the right “newbie” questions. From Eve and Roarke’s epic romance to Peabody’s chaotic charm, they dig into why fans stay hooked after 50+ books. Plus, AJ reveals how a bored afternoon at Granny’s house started it all. There’s laughter, nostalgia, barking dogs, and maybe even a theory about Castle secretly being In Death.

It’s Halloween, and Tara can't believe we are back again after 5 years of this podcast and still managing to find Halloween themed stuff to talk about. We do it because AJ LOVES all things Halloween, and Tara confesses she likes “lacy things and witchy stuff” which then becomes the official episode title.

Join us as we imagine the Great House Project's first Halloween! complete with glitter bats, Candyland costumes (maybe). Will Roarke tell ghost stories? Will Eve lead a Halloween themed scavenger hunt? We talk about all of that including which character would choose to give out what kind of Halloween candy (Santiago is chosen to give out Jolly Ranchers because: Cowboy Hat). There’s candy debates, AJ's 20-pound treat box reveal, and enough laughter to wake the dead.

In this episode, AJ drags Tara into one of her more ambitious ideas: trying to figure out what The Universe According to Roarke (you know, that game Feeney made for Roarke) would actually look like if it were real. Cue hours of overthinking, caffeine-fueled hilarity, and way too much ChatGPT involvement.

Here’s what we came up with:

Gameplay Basics: Earn XP for solving cases, lose XP for bad coffee, and gain nothing but regret when you didn't hide your candy stash well enough to outwit the Candy Thief.
Health & Energy: Coffee gives you buffs (until it doesn’t), candy, pizza and soydogs can literally save your life, and Nadine’s baked goods might be the most overpowered healing item in the game.
THE ADMIN GATEKEEPER SYSTEM: Want to visit Dr. Mira for Emotional Stability Points? You'll need to get through the Admin Gatekeeper System First! For Roarke it's a breeze, for Eve? Not so much.
Galahad: Chaos Cat™. Might save your life. Might eat your pizza, but will probably ignore you.
Special Items: Jenkinson’s tie is now a weapon. Santiago’s loser hat gives you -10 charisma but +10 morale because everyone else is laughing at you.

NPCs We Love:

• Dr. Mira: Therapy = moral checkpoints. Ignore her too long and your emotional stability tanks.

• Dennis Mira: Offers hugs and hot chocolate for +50 morale, that's why we love him.

• Feeney: Built the game, can’t beat level 12, and blames everyone but himself.

• Summerset: The judgmental healer you didn’t ask for but desperately need.

There’s also a whole moral-choice quest about Magdalena Purcell, a health system based on The Candy Thief, and a surprising number of mechanics involving Trina-induced trauma. Basically, it’s chaos, caffeine, and character growth — just like the series.

By the end, we decided this game would absolutely exist in Roarke’s world… and Feeney would still be complaining about level 12.