The Jolly Reader

I sit down with Rachel Peterson to discuss her YA thriller, Killing Sadie.

We talk about the inspiration behind the story, creating complex characters, balancing suspense with emotional depth, and the writing process that brought this mystery to life. Rachel also shares what it's like writing twists that keep readers guessing and the themes she hopes readers take away after turning the final page.

Be sure to check out Rachel's debut novel, Killing Sadie, and see if you can unravel the mystery for yourself.

📚 Grab the book here:

Killing Sadie

Follow Rachel on all the things!

Instagram

Goodreads

Website

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

⚓ Join The Jolly Reader Patreon

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https://www.patreon.com/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

In this episode, we finish Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus, covering Chapters 30–44 (Pages 238–356). Brynn's investigation into Mr. Larkin's murder finally reaches its conclusion as long-hidden secrets, overlooked clues, and unexpected connections come together. Between a terrifying crash, the school dance, and one final discovery that changes everything, this finale delivers plenty of twists before revealing what really happened all those years ago.

📚 Grab the book here:

Nothing More to Tell

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

⚓ Join The Jolly Reader Patreon

Want ad-free episodes and early access? Join the crew here:

https://www.patreon.com/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

In this episode we discuss Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus, covering Chapters 15–29 (Pages 117–237). Brynn continues investigating the murder of her former teacher, Mr. Larkin, as new evidence and long-buried secrets begin surfacing around Saint Ambrose School. As Brynn and Tripp uncover a disturbing new discovery, unexpected opportunities and deeply hidden family truths begin changing everything they thought they knew about the case.

📚 Grab the book here:

Nothing More to Tell

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

⚓ Join The Jolly Reader Patreon

Want ad-free episodes and early access? Join the crew here:

https://www.patreon.com/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

In this episode, I sit down with Randi Smith to discuss her debut YA novel Ada Holloway's Had Enough.

The story follows high school senior Ada Holloway after a book she needs for a final essay is suddenly banned by her town’s mayor. Frustrated by censorship and tired of staying quiet, Ada starts a secret banned book club with her friends and cousin, forcing her to question the rules she has always followed and figure out who she wants to be when things actually matter.

We also discuss libraries, censorship, difficult conversations between generations, and why stories like this are so important right now.

📚 Grab the book here:

https://www.randismithwrites.com/

Follow Randi on all the things!

Substack

Instagram

Facebook

TikTok 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Hero’s Journey

Story Beats/Save the Cat

Scrivener

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

⚓ Join The Jolly Reader Patreon

Want ad-free episodes and early access? Join the crew here:

https://www.patreon.com/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

In this episode of The Jolly Reader Podcast, we’re starting Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus, covering Part 1: Chapters 1–14 (pages 1–116).

Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School after her favorite teacher, Mr. Larkin, was murdered—and her best friend, Tripp Talbot, became one of the students at the center of the investigation. The case was never fully solved, and the questions never really went away.

Now Brynn is back, determined to land the perfect true crime story for her dream journalism career, and reopening old wounds might be the only way to uncover what really happened. But returning means facing old friendships, old betrayals, and the possibility that the truth has been hiding in plain sight this whole time.

📚 Grab the book here:

https://amzn.to/4cwtxLS

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

📚 Book Mentioned in This Episode

I also read the back cover for Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson during this episode!

Grab the book here:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Drop-Dead-Famous/Jennifer-Pearson/Drop-Dead-Famous/9798347108503

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

In this episode of The Jolly Reader Podcast, we’re wrapping up Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig, covering Part 3: Chapters 21–29 (pages 218–324).

The mystery surrounding January’s disappearance finally reaches its breaking point as Flynn gets closer than ever to the truth. Every secret, accusation, and half-truth from the earlier sections starts crashing together, forcing Flynn to confront what really happened, and what he may have missed all along.

Will we finally learn what happened to January, or will this story leave us questioning everything right up to the last page? The theories are peaking, the pressure is on, and this finale gave me plenty to spiral over.

This episode includes discussion of suicide and sexual assault. If you or someone you know needs support, help is available.

For suicide and crisis support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988 (U.S. and territories).

For sexual assault support, contact RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673), text HOPE to 64673, or chat online at RAINN.org.

📚 Grab the book here:

https://amzn.to/4bWnn9n

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

We continue Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig, covering Chapters 10–20 (pages 99–217).

January is still missing, the investigation is heating up, and Flynn is quickly learning that the story everyone thinks they know about his relationship might not match reality. As police questions intensify and the town’s suspicions grow louder, new details begin to surface, details that make January’s life look far more complicated than it first appeared.

This episode also includes discussion of sexual assault and consent. If you or someone you know needs support, confidential help is available through the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or via online chat at rainn.org. You are not alone, and support is available.

📖 Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee

At the 55:10 mark, I read the inside cover.

If it sounds like your kind of mystery, you can learn more here:

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Heiress-of-Nowhere/Stacey-Lee/9781665978965

📚 Grab Last Seen Leaving here:

https://amzn.to/4bWnn9n

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

We are starting the book Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig, covering Chapters 1–9 pages 1-98.

When Flynn’s girlfriend January disappears without a trace, he becomes one the last person to see her alive, and immediately the spotlight turns on him. The police have questions. The town has opinions. And the cracks in Flynn and January’s relationship start looking a lot deeper than anyone realized.

As suspicion builds and secrets begin surfacing, we unpack the pressure Flynn is under, what this opening section reveals about their relationship, and the uncomfortable realization that the truth might be far more complicated than it first appears.

This episode also includes discussion of mental health and suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You are not alone.

📚 Grab the book here:

https://amzn.to/4bWnn9n

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

The road trip officially goes off the rails.

In this episode, we finish Five Survive by Holly Jackson, covering chapters 31–40 (pages 264–386). Someone is kicked out of the RV, shots are fired, and it becomes clear that the most dangerous threats may not be outside at all. The title of this book is starting to feel a lot less metaphorical.

📚 Grab the book here:

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!

We’re back in the RV with even more tension, more secrets, and yes, still six people… for now. In part two of Five Survive by Holly Jackson, we’re covering chapters 17–30 (pages 128–263), and the paranoia is getting real. Allegiances are shifting, trust is evaporating, and the group's “plan” is basically, panic and yell.

Is anyone telling the truth? Who’s really being targeted? And how are there still six people alive?

📚 Grab the book here:

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you!

🎧 If you need a good laugh or just want to hang out with me between episodes, find all my chaos here:

https://linktr.ee/thejollyreader

🌹 Produced by Neon Rose LLC

This podcast is a Neon Rose production. All rights reserved.

💜 Support The Show

If you’d like to support The Jolly Reader, you can donate!

Your support helps me buy new books and keep this chaotic book club going. Thanks, Crew!