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.

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 book tours to egos, pressure, and stalkers, this episode pulls back the curtain—and sharpens the knife.

Download and listen today—because the publishing world has secrets worth killing for.

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 still writes her first drafts longhand. Smart, eerie, and deeply unsettling.

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 unknowingly) fuel his darkest ideas.

Download and listen today—because with John Marrs, nothing stays buried for long.

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 of Nazis—and how it all funneled into the book’s deliciously dark vibe.

Download and listen today—because Creepy Paul always has one more secret.

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, and the spiraling danger that comes when you realize you never really knew the person you loved.

Download and listen today—because in Paris, even the brightest lights can cast dark shadows.

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 outside of writing—a pastime that fuels her creativity and keeps her curiosity lit.

Download and listen today—because in The Burning Library, knowledge is power… and power is dangerous.