Bookwild - Blue and Yellow Cover Thrillers with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: June 28, 2025

This week, I shared a quick ThrillerFest Recap (more to come on that front), and then Gare and Steph and I shared some of our favorite iconically blue and yellow covered thrillers!Books We Talked AboutNo Road HomeKeep it in the FamilyBelieve Me NowWhen No One is WatchingThe PactDaughter of MineNot a Happy FamilyWhat Have You DoneDarling Girls Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

Well, I'm back in Indiana after a week of being in Chicago and New York. Who am I? But I'm with Garrett's staff so that we can just have some routine fun now that I'm not going all over the place. I just want to say what a time to have a throwback because I want to say it was like a year ago. I read Mad Woman and we were like joking that Chelsea was like the author that got Kate to leave the house. and now she's just like fucking like all over the country at this point. A trailblazer? Yeah.

Yeah. Just like running everywhere. Good point. I'm just going everywhere. When was that? That's crazy. Oh, it was last summer. August 24.

I read that. Yeah. And we were like joking about like the Larry Bangs and I was like Chelsea's the author that got Kate to leave her house. Yeah. And now look at her. Chelsea beat her. where it all began. Yeah.

And now I've seen Lane Fargo in Wisconsin with Steph and Ashley Winstead in Chicago with myself. And Mary Kubica and Julie Clark in Chicago with Steph. And, oh, dude, we literally did that a week ago. That was a week ago, Steph. And I've been to the first. Thriller Fest. Who am I? I'm bookwild. As book wild as I possibly can be. Yeah. We gotta get something with gear on the books. We do. We gotta hop on that airplane. You gotta hop in a plane. Or maybe in my car. I don't know. Maybe we should. We could drive together, save money. You guys do. No, I'm going to you guys. Nobody wants to come here. What do you gonna come to? Where I live either. Girl. What's someplace cool in the middle? I'm gonna tell you, you know what we have in a 20 mile radius if we stay safe side? three McDonald's, 12 Amish

buggies, and a pizza place that nobody's heard of. We can go to the grocery store. We have to go to Canada. Maybe we all just need to go to Canada. I wouldn't mind going. I've never been. I'm going to dinner at Eska tomorrow for the dill pickle pizza again. Oh my gosh. You're so fancy. I have something to say, but we have something to say, but we have

have to cut it out okay you can say it right now if you want to i have a secret you have a secret ashley winstead told me today that she got the official invite to montreal mystery festival next year oh that's exciting yeah and i was the one that pitched her to them fuck yeah so wait they didn't before i don't know they told me basically to like if i wanted to put my feelers out there to see who i could get to come, like, let them know. And so I asked her, and I asked, like, Joshua Molling and Jess Lowry and May Cobb, Robin Harding. And I was like, you guys better get Jennifer Hillier next year. Maybe we all need to come to Canada. First, I mean, because she went. She didn't go. Yeah, I thought you met her, Jennifer Hillier. No, no, you would, I'd still be talking about it. No, Jennifer Hillier, no,

Jennifer Hillier backed out a week before the festival because she had a deadline for her book and she was like, this book's going to kill me. She was like, I have like a deadline and like between this and like Thriller Fest. Like I can't do both. Yeah, she talked about how stressed out she is about that book. She's like, I can't write a book on a deadline. I just can't. Yeah.

And she's probably never had to. I don't think so. She said when she got her agent, she was like just saying, you know, I can't edit on deadlines. so don't expect a book a year from me. Yeah, wow. Just whatever. You do your thing. Okay.

Okay. Okay. Okay. I mean, I know you're going to do another episode about it, but like what was, would you have like a most memorable moment or something that like surprised you to learn? Mm-hmm. Okay. A couple, one of the most memorable moments, I got to go to the debut author breakfast,

which is on the Saturday. And basically all of the thriller writers who debuted a book in 2024 and get honored at the 2025 breakfast. And it was very serendipitous for me because Lori Brandt got to talk about her book on stage. And then Corinne Jade got to talk about her book on stage. And then Craig Podolsky got to talk about his book on stage. And those were people whose books I read all of those. have them on the podcast. So it was like watching my sweet little favorite friends up there. But another cool part of that is last year I did not go to Thriller Fest. And I put out a feeler and I was

like, anyone who went to Thriller Fest, do you want to do attack of the hiccups guys? Sorry. Do you want to do a recap episode with me? Because I'd love to hear about it. And Lori Brand and Sabrina Thatcher said that they do it. So we did a recap. And during that recap, Lori Brand talked about how there's this guy on like an action panel who was talking about his book that sounded so good called The Recruiter by Greg Podolsky. So like I have this video from last year and believe me, y'all are going to see it. I will be editing it all together. I have this video of Lori Brand telling me like this book sounded good and me saying like I'm going to request it on NetGalley. I requested it, loved it. Then I interviewed him. So like I kind of got connected to Greg because of Lori going to Thriller Fest last year.

And then both of them were up on the stage. And I just felt like a little proud like stage mom. Not that I'm their mothers. But, you know, I was just like, oh my gosh, I know these people. So that was really powerful and cool. And I remember Sabrina last year saying it's like one of the coolest moments of Thrillerfest because then at the end, like everyone stands up and gives them like a standing ovation for like. like how hard it is to get published and finally getting published. And I'm such a collective effort reference girly, gairs drop in shit.

That like being around everyone clapping for them and like some of them like tearing up on stage. I was like, this is just such a magical and very sweet moment. So I loved that moment. It was such a cool moment. What else was I like surprised by? I was surprised by like just how many panels there actually were. there's really no like lunch break you if you want to be at the panels you go from like eight to five

and i wanted to so that was that was fascinating for me um i saw i saw everyone the other thing is it's actually really hard to like connect with people because the conference is so big like there are like a thousand authors there i think is what they said and then you have your aspiring writers or your bookstagramers as well so it's like you're not actually having like long periods of time to like be like oh i just finally met may cobb in person i did it i did but the other thing like if you're just thinking about going like it it's just a really busy conference i still loved it i really loved hearing the panels um james patterson is like he's super funny i did not expect him to be extremely funny um but obviously he's really prolific he's

like 300 books right now, I think is what it is. And he was talking about how he gets like shit on for doing so many collabs, but it's because he has so many ideas. So he said a couple years ago, he completely wrote and finished two full-length novels himself, but he wrote 2,600 pages of outlines because he gets out he gets like full ideas for books and writes a 60-page outline and then works with authors because he doesn't have time to execute all of his ideas. And I'm like, what a brain? Like, what a dude. And then he also, he is given 200 million. He didn't say this. His interviewer did. He's given $200 million to libraries, book programs, and HBCUs. And I was like, what a guy. So I was surprised to be that interested in James Patterson, because I haven't read one of his

books in a very long time. But yeah, he was very interesting. interesting. Wow. That's crazy. And then a couple hours later, I was in an elevator with him. And I was like, but he was talking to his wife. So I was reading the room and not barging in on someone's conversation. But some people do do that. Some people will just barge right in and pitch you something. My first bookish festival was like the Montreal one a month ago. But like there were so many people that like I have talked to in like DM. and stuff for like years that I was like oh my god I feel like I'm like beating this person for the first time yeah but like I remembered like when I met Vanessa Lily like when I saw her in person I felt like I was like reuniting with an old friend because we've done like podcast episodes with her so like did you have that experience or did you feel like everybody that you met you were meeting for like the first time um so most of them yeah it just it felt like I was

telling Tyler, too. I was like, there's not that much different about talk. There's not tons different about like getting to know someone by talking with them a lot and then meeting them in person. Like, it's a fun thing because you've been wanting to. But yes, it's like we immediately had stuff to talk about. And like it wasn't like awkward small talk. And like John Fram, he and I don't even talk that much, but like he was on the podcast. And so like when he saw me, he was like, oh my gosh, you're here. So yeah, it's a little less intimidating when you know, like, oh, there are going to be some of these people that I at least like, no. I know them a little bit. Did you have like, I feel like I'm interviewing you. Who's due?

Did you have any like moments where like you realized how important you are to authors because of what you do as they are to you? Yeah. is that like the sweetest most amazing thing or what it really is like it really is um because like john was like i just i'm just glad you love my book but then i was feeling really really bad the last night that i was there uh like really bad like the migraine just took me over and ran into sunday as i had to travel home and so that was my last day there i'd been there four days at that point and i was just so tired and there was just so tired and there was like hundreds of people in the bar and I'm like having to wear sunglasses in my dark hotel room

to like feel okay and Rob Hart was only there for a day and I felt so bad because we didn't end up going to any of the same panels I went to his but like I didn't talk to him right um we didn't go into any of the same panels and so then at like 730 when I'm literally like Tyler's like are you okay And I'm like, yeah, it's just, it's just a headache. Like, I just need to sit here. But then, like, I got up and I was telling me, like, the vertigo part of a migraine. And I was like, no, I just have to stay here. And that's when Rob was like, hey, I'm coming to the bar.

Like, you want to hang out? And I'm like, I'm sorry, but like, I don't know if I can. Like, I felt so bad. I was guilt spiraling out of control. But he texted me. He was like, it's okay. I understand. I had migraines.

I just really wanted to tell you in person how much it means to me. like you've really supported my books for so many years and it's just like a big deal for me. And then I felt even worse. You're like, you're like, bring your drink up here. You can hang out with me in the dark. That's what I told Tyler. I was like, it's one of those things where like, if I don't know that our relationship is a point where I'm like, can we go somewhere private? Like, I don't know if that's going to be weird either. But like I can't go down there. And I felt so bad. But, you know, so yes there was that moment where I was like oh I didn't think he of all people felt that way

so cool yeah that's how I like when I walked into the meet and greet that I was like two hours late for in Montreal like I was like looking and I was like oh my god like there are all these people that I'm going to meet for the first time in real life like authors and like of course my home girl like Sanika like ran up to me immediately and was like let me take you under my little wing I can love her so much she's so lit. She's so little. And she's like, I didn't know she was little.

And like, she's like a little like badass. Like she's like, yes. Going through people and like, I don't give a fuck. Um, but like having authors come up to me at that meet and green be like,

oh my God, I am so glad to finally meet you when like that should have been my reaction to them. Yes. Or like when I was like sitting down at like panels like watching other people's panels and stuff and like all of a sudden I would just like look and like every time like I sat every time I watched a panel like I sat with. Vanessa Lily and it was like we would like find each other you know what I mean like if she was like already there I'd like come in and be like oh hey like what's up but like just like having her like Vanessa

Lily like I know one of my favorite authors in the entire world and like the nicest human being just like so wonderful sitting down next to me and being like oh hey like do you want a mint do you want like a car like or something or like her coffee and like oh like I love your shoe I'm like oh my God like what is going out of my life I know it's it is it's really fun but like fun. Props to you because like people do not like people who haven't gone to them don't realize how crazy busy it is. It's very busy.

Like. Yeah. Yeah. Montreal was like a lot smaller version of like Thriller Fest. But like even then I'm like like panel panel panel like eat something in a half hour. More panels like eat dinner. Go to sleep. Like by the last night I was like like rolling out of my Uber.

Like I was like Get me Like I'm gonna snap in the elevator I'm just gonna take a little nap in the elevator Pretty much Yeah especially if you're used to just Not being around tons of people Like it's just a whole other thing

But it was very fun I'm very glad I went I wish I had the stamina to go out partying until 4 a.m. But I don't So I missed out on those parts But I really wanted to get you know So

Yeah We went like hunting for like snacks. Like we got like late night like puteen and like donuts. And I mean the last night I had four margaritas but I was still like in my hotel by like 11. Like we went back after whatever. Yeah.

But yeah. It was also like a hundred and two degrees outside. So I was not leaving. I left once and I was like that's the last time. That's how I felt like I was like I don't want to go out to like bars and like party and stuff like that just because like that's not who I am. anymore. But like, that's why I kind of like found my crew with like people who are like, I don't care if we have like a few drinks or if we don't drink. Like I was still like going out and

having fun and like out until like 10, 30, 11 most nights. So yeah, I had a lot of fun. And yesterday I couldn't stay awake. I basically slept like eight hours off and on yesterday. So now I'm alive again for you guys. Yes. Um, but, but, I also want to give you a huge compliment because like the way that you like did your stories and the way that you edit like when you go on a trip or like the way that you just do media in general is like so addictive to consume for me because like I love how like I feel like I'm right there with you and it doesn't like it looks professional and like fun. But like it doesn't look like you're like trying too hard and like faking anything.

Thank you. So the way that you do media is like very not only inspirational but like addictive for me. Yeah, it is like you're talking to your friends. Yeah. Yeah. But I also don't feel like you're like, oh, my bag needs to be like on my right shoulder instead of like my left. Like it's just like my bag's on this shoulder because this is how it is. It is what it is.

I'm in my fucking hotel and you know what I mean. Yes. I had someone on that note. It has been fun hearing people talk about. about like what they felt about the content. Maggie Giles, who is the author of Wicked and Twisted, she came up to me and she was like, I have been loving your stories.

She was like, when I saw the one where you were FaceTiming your dogs, I texted my husband and I was like, why don't you ever show me the dogs when we FaceTime? And so she like demanded that he show her the dogs like right then. He was like, no, I'm not FaceTiming you with the dogs right now. And she's like, but Kate saw her dogs. So it's so funny the different things you like connect with people on.

Do your dogs like, do your dogs like get it that it's like FaceTime? Like are they just like, oh, hey mom or like they're like a little confused? Sometimes in the sense that we have to be careful because Bruce gets excited and he hears my voice and like goes to the door and thinks I'm like almost home. But I don't know if he knows that he's looking at me. But he hears my voice and he's like, she's home. So we have to be kind of careful about it or I have to not make noises and just like. look at them and be like I face time Murphy like the first night that I was in Montreal and like I wanted to get the cute screenshot that you got you know and it was like all it was was like his

chest like right here because like he was so confused as to like what was going on and he was like barking and crying and it just like did not work out I was like he doesn't understand way you think it will he doesn't understand FaceTime yet but yeah he'll get there but yeah yeah Yeah, Layla doesn't understand at all. It acts like she can't hear anything. Definitely doesn't look. And I'm just like, okay, fine. And then Cannon's like, I can hear you, but that's about it.

And then he's like, and then I don't care. So I'm like, okay, this is pointless. Bye. Bye. You guys are lame. You guys suck. Yeah. I thought you liked me.

Maybe not. Yeah. Dogs. And travel. but while I was there I was listening to a book recommendation that Steph made for me which is a good segue

because for our icebreaker we wanted to talk about books we read because one of us recommended it and so then we read it I don't know if that explained it but I think people will catch on I'm still yawning I'm not completely rested but we're going to do it um but i was literally um like when i was showering i was listening

every second that i wasn't in a piano because i started allegedly by tiffany d jackson while i was on my flight there so i had gotten through a decent amount of it and so like every morning that was what i was listening to and then i would listen to it at night to fall asleep um that ending is wilds it really is wilds I can't wait to read it. I'm so pumped. It's been on my TVR for like so long. I just need to like... Talk about bleak, man.

You'll like that. It's very bleak. Very up your bleak alley. Which also, this is off topic, but not entirely. I watched American Woman yesterday and all their views that hate it are like, this is so bleak. And I was like, okay, well, that's why Gare liked it. And I did, I did enjoy it. Like, it was good.

Like, I fall into the camp of like, could some more things happen? But I did enjoy it. And the performances were fantastic. I think the performances for me were fantastic. And like, I can't. There's a very bleak reason as to why the movie works for me. But like, the performances were like fantastic. and I just

yeah I can love that movie that's my favorite movie of the year it's very very very very bleak so so just don't go in for thrills like just expect it's kind of more a bleak family drama I guess but it is really good

like it's definitely worth watching it's more like it's definitely a movie that you watch of like if you like books that like aren't about a crime that happened, but what the crime leaves behind. Exactly. That's what you're going to like with this movie.

So, like, if you are looking for, like, a serial killer movie or something like Seven or Silence of the Lambs, like, this is not it. No, that's not this one. But allegedly is also pretty bleak. I think you would like it, too. But my very short, since this is just the beginning, is, like, Mary is accused of killing a baby at nine years old. God, you really did keep that short, Kate. I kept just so short. Allegedly.

And she stayed. Oh, boy. Yeah, this is where my brain's at. But she stayed silent. She's basically almost mute while the world condemns her for it. And she's put into, like, first baby jail, which is juvenile, and then a group home. But when she's 15, almost 16, she gets pregnant and she's in love. And so she has to confront her past because she wants to be able to keep this baby. So that's the main, that's really all you need

to know. It's very much like a stream of consciousness book. You're kind of in her stream of consciousness the whole time learning what really happened that night, why what happened that night happened and what she's going to do about it so that she can keep this baby that's growing inside her. And then the final chapter, you're like, oh, okay. Very bleak, very, very, very bleak, but it was wonderful and I really did love it as an audio book. Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's a lot. It's a lot. Stuff's like re-traumatized. She is. Well, the thing is, is I don't really remember anything besides the fact that it was crazy. Like, all I know is, like, you're just like,

I remember I think I was in the shower, like cleaning the shower or something. And at the end, I was like, Mm-hmm. Wait. Totally. And immediately went to Reddit and, like, tried to find, like, spoiler reviews.

Dude, trying to find spoilers when you want to find spoilers and want to find, like, analysis is really hard. It is, especially with, like, not big five books. Yeah. But if you are really looking forward to a book and then you go on NetGalley and you just like want to see what other people have to say, spoilers galore. Yeah.

Yeah, they're not careful about them over there. That's annoying to me that they don't, of all places have like a spoiler blur. Yeah. People are just too. People don't do it. Yeah. That annoys me so much. Especially like some like comps or like trigger.

warnings are like major spoilers. Yeah. Yeah. Totally. They are. It's the worst. Well, did any of you read anything? Where you can go.

Okay. I have two, but I'll keep them really short. Kate, one of my favorite books that I've ever read is because you turn me on to Brian Freeman. So like, Ursulina is one of my favorite books because it is like, everyone has, like, every town has like a different name for it, but it's like a Yetty or a Sasquatch or Bigfoot or whatever and it's this like small town and it's like freezing cold and there's a serial killer who is like emulating this like Yeti version called the Ursulina in

the small town and he's like killing people but they think it's like the Ursulina but like it's human and it's freaking amazing and it's so dark and it's so bleak and it's crazy scary and I love love love love love love love love love love blah blah blah blah and then stuff my next book that I'm reading after I finish the one that I'm wrapping up, I'm going to read the mind fuck series because you like are so obsessed with that. Oh my god, I hope you like it. Sorry if you don't, but everyone likes it. Everyone is obsessed with that. Like the ratings on goodreads are so like that's what I do to like pump myself up is like I read good read reviews. But like every time I look up the mind fuck series like Steph's is like the first review and she's like this is one of my favorite

books in the entire world. And I just like always like read your review and I'm like, And like I just decided I was like I'm going to like kill my TBR so that the last week of June I can read the Mind Fuck series. You're going to fly through it because each book is really fast. Yeah. The font is pretty big too. Nice. Yeah. And it's like five books and one, but it's still only 100 pages longer than like those prison M.M.

Romances I was addicted to. So I'm like, I got this. Yeah, you do. Well, since you said one for both of. us. I feel the need to say that I am reading Nightwatcher right now because Gare was so obsessed with it. I almost requested the audio because it just popped up on Neck Alley for me. I just don't know. Like, do you think Gare, like, are there multiple perspectives in that book or timelines or like how? So I'm listening to it. Oh, you are listening to it. I'm listening to it

because I got approved for the audio book. I just got denied the physical. Oh. It's very easy to follow via audio. I'm really enjoying it that way. And I'm like at 70% now since I switched over. Yeah. Okay. There's mostly one perspective. And then there is the second one that's like 10% of the chapters. Most of the time you're with Nola. Okay. Yeah. I actually am so obsessed with that because I love that book so much. And Daphne sent me a signed copy and it arrived today with a really, really, really, really nice. Oh, this is perfect timing. Yeah. It came with like a really nice note and her tissue paper was like super cool.

But I was like, oh my God, what a sweet little angel baby. I love her. Yeah. That's so cool. I'm going to request the audio and I just started a new one. You should. I requested it. I was just in the airport and I was like, I need to just look at these.

So I requested and I got that approved the next day and the Stacey Willingham one. Forget me not. I got it via audio even though they denied me for digital. So for anyone who does do both, if you get denied for the digital, you can always keep an eye out for the audio. Yeah. Oh, Helen Lasers, good. Okay. Yeah.

Grandpa Gare. Request. Paperback pusher. I mean, you still get through them really fast. I have been like flying through bucks. There are certain ones. or I like know I want to put my eyeballs on it though still yes

Nightwatcher I had to like physically pause myself because I wanted to like enjoy it and like not like binge it in like one sitting that was one of my favorite explanation is not one of my least favorite explanations ever but I don't think it will be what's one of your least favorite explanation

the boyfriend Kate, I'm about to request it. He doesn't have to tell me, and I'm going to cut that part too, but that's what I hate. I hope the boyfriend is, I don't know. Oh, I see what you're saying. I don't know. I'm saying I hope it's not headed that direction. So we'll see.

I don't think that you will be disappointed with the ending. I didn't, I wasn't getting the vibe that I would. No, no. It's not cheesy. I can see where it's, what's the word I'm looking for? divisive. Okay. Like some people are like, that didn't work for me and like other people like me were like that

slaps and tracks. But like I don't think that you'll be disappointed. Yeah. And I'm really enjoying it. It's atmospheric and creepy. Like I am enjoying it thoroughly. So. How long is it? Sorry.

Oh, yeah. Would you say? How long is it? Let's see how long the audio book version. I hate when people text me when I'm doing a podcast and it beeps on my laptop in my ears and deafens me. Okay, it says I have three hours left, but it doesn't tell me if I have three hours left and I'm at exactly two-thirds, so it must be nine hours. Oh, that's not bad. Yeah.

Usually it says in the additional information part of NEC galley, but it does not today. Losers. I wish it was a 24-hour book. it's good reading that and then having to take murphy outside in the middle of like the night when it's like pitch black and there's like woods outside my house i'm like oh that's here fine well i have one because i think you've both read it and i have not finished it yet i started it today ooh and it is my library hold came in for julie chan is dead oh i love it so fun

I'm on page 62 and a lot has happened already. Yeah. You see why I loved it. So I'm like and I love it. Like I like cruising through and I get to like, I'm like, oh, I just randomly open to page 22 and we're already on chapter 49. Like, yes. Okay. That's what I like to see.

I like some short chapters. It's going fast. It goes by very fast. And they all had like little like cliffhangers. Yeah. Like we're like, I'm not going to put this down. She's so talented Yeah she is

Yeah I'm really liking it so far Very ready for her another one There's something that made me laugh already But I can't remember what it was Was it the line where she's like I know I like bad but I should at least look better than a corpse Oh no There were so many like snarky funny fans

Where it was I was just like Oh I don't know but there's There's some things that I probably don't want to say out loud If you haven't read it yet but the gist of it is Julie Chan and her sister are twins who are separated when

their parents are in a car crash when they're young and Julie Chan is taken to her poor aunt who's abusive and her aunt says she won't take them and then what is the sister's name that's alive or the sister who's in New York

Chloe Chloe so then Chloe calls her she goes to see Chloe in New York This is all on the synopsis, guys. She goes to see her in New York and finds her dead in her apartment. And she's like, wait a second. I could pretend that I died and take over her glamorous life. Yeah, because everyone thinks it's her anyways.

Like people are like, oh, I don't know. They're just like, oh, hey, Chloe. And she's like, hmm, I could do this. Yeah. And she realizes like how much money her sister's making as an influencer. And she's like, well, I'm broke. Yes. This doesn't hurt anyone.

So I'm sure a lot of hijinks will and sue. Yeah. The ending is fantastic, as in like the very last chapter. I loved it. Cool. Yeah, really good. Well, our official topic is a callback to one of our episodes when we started joking about how many blue and yellow covers there are for thrillers. So we are going to talk about our favorites that hit that.

I also have to say something funny that I just saw in my notes when Steph and I were at Barnes & Noble in Chicago with Mary Kubica and Julie Clark. Julie Clark was talking about how the really cool cover came to be for the ghost writer. And she was like, I told them I don't want a house with a person in the window. And Steph and I were like, oh my God. Yeah, and Mary Kubica is like, yeah, that's what they want to put on mine pretty much. But they're like, they're saying it's, they're like, it's pretty much a calling card that like people at a bookstore will kind of know, like, this is the kind of book I like reading. Yeah. I'm like, I guess, but like every time I hear an author talk about their cover experience and when they were like swayed to do something they didn't necessarily want to do, the consumer.

in me is like, I disagree. Yeah. But whatever, I guess they do research and all kinds of things. I'm also that person that like sees a book with like a couple or a person in like a window and I'm like. Give me. Give it. Give it. Give it. Yeah. We're not condemning the cover by the way because we've all read plenty of them. We're just collectively chuckling at how prominent they are. I think I kind of cheated because some of mine are ones that I didn't read, but they're

on my TVR and I really really really want to read them. I actually have read fewer than I thought and I actually wrote in one of my reviews, I did condemn that. That's amazing. I was like, these are not it. But there's some good ones though still. There are some really good ones.

Which coincidentally, when I posted are real where we joked about it. And like it showed, I kept popping up the comments. for what we were kind of joking about. John Fram responded and he was like, this is too funny. And I was like, I was about to bring ears up, but we did move on. So my first one is No Road Home by John Fram. I've talked about this one enough that I do think I can probably do this without reading the whole synopsis. But Toby is the main character who marries Alyssa Wright. And her

family the rights are these like megalomaniac um televangelist family like very powerful and so they go i'm sorry guys um they go to their like very gothic mansion and this is his first time meeting them because he married her when they were in a different state um and once they get there some strange some strange supernatural stuff starts happening. Toby's son starts seeing some of it, Luca. And then of course storms happen and close off the roads

out from this compound. So Luca is seeing some supernatural shit, but also the family seems not to have the best intentions with sweet Luca. And Toby is a dad who will do

anything to protect his queer son. So very got- Vibes. Kind of like very Ruth Ware. That's even in the blurb. Ruth Ware, Paul Trimbley, very gothic. There's like horror that's at the end. And I really, really liked the way the very small amount of horror came in at the end. But horror, thriller, mystery, it's everything that it says for it. So if that's up your alley, you have to read this one. I love it so much. I think you would love the snow garden, a density of souls, and like some of the early Christopher Rice thrillers, because like now that I'm thinking about it, they have that like, oh shit moment and like the end where like all the shit hits the fan. Okay. I'm writing them down, especially because these could be backlist picks.

Density of Souls and Snow Garden, I know, are the two that I would, I would say. Okay. go with that like that shit crazy yeah we chose bloodline by just lowry is our backlist for july they heard us talking about it they were like you said you wanted to read that one and i was like let's do it oh my god get ready giddy giddy giddy giddy giddy up you're like you guys are fucking weird that's probably what you're going to say and i'm like i know i never said it wasn't all of the things that we all of the things that we've recommended to k i don't think that she's going to think this is weird No. Honestly. Like, weird to me is like flirty romance in the midst of a thriller. So I have one that's a blue and yellow cover by a man named John.

That I love. John Mars. Keep it in the family. Keep it in the family. And I just talked about this book recently and I probably talked about it a lot. But I like am so obsessed with this book that I can't stop thinking about it. Yeah. Um, but basically it is about Mia and Finn, um, who are turning a derelict house into their dream home. But Mia becomes pregnant. Um, when they think that the house is ready, she discovers this message that is like carved into one of the boards in the house that says, I will save them from the attic. So she goes up to the attic and finds that their dream home was once a house of horrors. Um, baby arrives and Mia cannot like, like. stop thinking about what happened in the house and like it kind of becomes this like obsession for her.

And then it says that secrecy shrouds the mystery of the attic. But when the shards of a dark truth start to emerge, she realizes the danger is terrifyingly present. It's just one of my favorite books of the entire world. It is so dark. It is so like eerie. And there's like doing. P-O-V and dual timeline.

Yeah. And it's perfect. Yeah. I forgot you don't read that, Kate. Yeah, I haven't. And John Morris is like the nicest human being in the world. He's so cool. I'm so surprised that you had not read that until late Lee Gair.

Yeah. Girl, me too. Me too. This is how Kate's going to feel with bloodline. Like I, you told me to read it, so I put it on my TVR and then like TikTok that knows me so well every like I would keep scrolling TikTok and it would be like keep it in the family is like the darkest bleakest most like disturbing book I read like this is like check your trigger warnings

and like it wasn't that bad for me but I was like this is definitely dark and bleak but then like I just finally like took the plunge and picked it up when I caught up on like my arcs for that month and I was like this is brilliant oh boy I hope that one chapter isn't that the book there's one chapter that just says fuck yeah that's it oh yeah and it's like a really like huge like reveal and then like the next chapter is like fuck and like that's what you're thinking as the reader too that's cool so it's yeah it's really cool oh it's kindle unlimited oh yeah it's now in my kingdom unlimited fuck yeah i'm staring on it now um how many are we talking talking about today. I'm kind of thinking three since we're already at 50 minutes. Oh, okay.

Okay. Let's see. I have one. So the first one that makes me really think about this style of cover is called Believe Me Now, which I read, oh, it came out in June. I read this one like way early on Neck Gelly, so it wasn't really remembering when it came out. But it's definitely like the typical, in my opinion, of what we're described. Who is it by? S.M. Govet. G-O-V-E-T-T. Okay. A woman, well, it says for fans of Haley Scrivener, who I've never heard of Scrivener, and Lisa Jewell. And so that's why I had requested it because it said fans of Lisa Jewel. Natalie Campbell loses time. She'll wake up in different places with no memory of how she got there.

The blackouts are a symptom of her PTSD, which began after she was sexually assaulted by her boss, who was found not guilty. But she found ways to cope by setting up routines and marrying her supportive husband, Ryan. Then one day, her husband is accused of committing the same crime that ruined her life. Natalie desperately wants to believe he is innocent, but when Alice Lytton, the young woman who accused him is found murdered in the woods near their house, she begins to doubt the man she married. D.I. Helen Stratton is also healing from old wounds. Her older sister disappeared when she was 16 and the police didn't bother to investigate.

Vowing to help others lost and vulnerable, other lost and vulnerable girls, she joins the force. Stratton is ready to do whatever it takes to catch the killer and bring justice to her and Alice. Tightly plotted, fastly addictive, blah, blah, blah. I thought it was kind of a, I just never know when the synopsis is awkward. Do it. I get it. I thought that this one was just kind of like unique, you know. Like it plays with memory and lost time. Yeah.

There's a lot going on in it. Yeah, there's a lot. The two perspectives seem like pretty separate for a pretty long time to me. But yeah, I actually, I thought the like losing memory and like coincidence of time, I remember like being kind of surprised because you like kind of think maybe you know the whole time one of those. Oh, I added it to my card just now. Oh, yeah. I added it to my TVR.

Um, because that, I was a be hole in the review and said, I'll be honest, the blue and yellow covers with the lit window aren't it for me. I just saw that. But I said I was not disappointed. Just the, like, I would be interested enough in a book where this woman is like sexually assaulted and then her husband is accused of the same crime. But then the girl who is accusing him being found dead is like another like layer that is very interesting. But then also like this woman who's, who's. sister went missing when she was a teenager sign me up like anybody who goes missing after years and years and you're reading a book and you're like I'm going to find out what happened after a decade or two of this little person being missing just sign me up yes yeah the um I felt like the detective and the other character like their perspectives felt really different like the detective definitely feels like she's i don't know if harsh is the right word but definitely like she's been through it and you can kind of like feel that in her persona like she's kind of got like a tough exterior i love that yeah now we need that one yeah i need that a sap hopefully hopefully i keep finding more audiobook

narrators that I love because the exponential way in which I am getting through books is kind of exhilarating. There you go. You're just going to be like, I'm going to mood read. Hell yeah. Yeah. Well, my next one, very much blue, very much a yellow window. And it's called When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole. And it is so good. Oh my God. I love that book. So good. It's from 2020. but I loved it. So, Sydney Green is Brooklyn born and raised, but her beloved neighborhood seems to change every time she blinks.

Condos are sprouting like weeds. For sale signs are popping up overnight, and the neighbors she's known all her life are just disappearing. I almost said disappointing. To hold onto her communities past and present, Sydney channels her frustration into a walking tour and finds an unlikely and unwanted assistant in one of the new arrivals to the blog, to the block, her neighbor Theo.

But Sydney and Theo's deep dive into history quickly becomes a dizzying descent into paranoia and fear. The neighbors may not have moved to the suburbs after all, and the push to revitalize the community may be more deadly than advertised. When does coincidence become conspiracy? Where do people go when gentrification pushes them out? Can Sydney and Theo trust each other or themselves,

long enough to find out before they too disappear? Oh my god. It's compared to Get Out and Rear Window and those are some good, those are some good things. You've liked to those. This is still very much its own story, but you'll enjoy it. Oh my God. I love that book so much. It was so good.

I definitely agree with like the Get Out comparison too. Yeah. Yeah. If you like hate the app next door or like Facebook groups about neighborhoods, like you'll get riled about this one. I remember like my old neighborhood. but the next door community was like so annoying. Yeah. And yeah, I think about this book a lot when I think about like parts of town changing.

Yeah. Definitely that. You will think about it a lot too if you watch season three of Ginny and Georgia. Ooh. Koala gear. I don't have a segue. that's okay but one that I just got on my macha Kindle baby is it sounds like it's going to be perfect for summer honestly and it does have a blue and yellow cover and I'm sold and it's called the Pact by Sharon Bolton okay oh I've heard about this oh my god it sounds so good um a golden summer and six talented teenagers are looking forward to the brightest of futures until a daredevil game goes horribly wrong leaving three strangers dead.

18-year-old Megan takes the blame for the crime, leaving her friends to get on with their lives. In return, they each agree to a favor payable on her release from prison. 20 years later, Megan is free. It's payback time and her friends start disappearing one by one. I don't know who put this on my radar, but it was on my TBR. And then when you said the part that like she owes everyone a favor, I was like, oh my gosh, I remember hearing about this, but I never read it.

it sounds so it's just like sounds like summary and I feel like it's going to probably have like a dual timeline. Yeah. If, you know, we're going back and forth. And it gives me like a little bit of, I know what you did last summer vibes and I just cannot wait. I've also, I will say for the record, I read, um, Dead Woman Walking by Sharon Bolton. Oh yeah.

Which is like one of the craziest books I have ever read in my entire life. and it's very like actiony. Uh-huh. Like a woman is in an air balloon and sees like a man kill a woman and then the air balloon goes down. Yeah. And it's like so good.

People that like her love her. Like people that love her books like love her books. She is, yes. She is my like one of my queens. And I don't know why I haven't read this yet. But I think that she is freaking brilliant. Damn.

I've been on my radar for a long time. I don't know why I haven't. I would say she's like a UK version of like Catherine Ryan Howard. Ooh. Jess Lowry. Wow. And like a little bit of Karen Slaughter. Wow.

Yeah. That's the one that I'm reading with my eyeballs instead of my ears right now. I'm reading we are all guilty here. Yeah. amazing. Yeah, I'm excited. It has so many good reviews. Like, everybody talks about how...

I can't stop thinking about the review. How well she, like, pulls everything together. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited. Well, it could be a part of a series, but it's the first. Yeah. But it's the first.

Okay. That's right. I love that book so much. Oh my God. I can't stop thinking about it. I'm excited to finish it. How far are you? I couldn't read yesterday.

Oh, I'm not very far. I'm like 10 or 15. I was so tired that I just switched back to audio and just was listening to Nightwatcher while I laid with my eyes closed. There's like something around like 100 pages. Okay. Maybe 150. That like I turned the page and my jaw dropped. Like I was like, what the fuck?

Oh, boy. Yeah. Like I was like, how is this possibly happening? Karen. Karen. Yeah, you doubt. But the only Karen. I'm the only Karen in my life

I love her so much Oh yeah She's amazing She's so fucking cool She's so funny That too Karen and Sharon I'm too

I love it I love it Well speaking of authors Who have a lot of books out This is my My next one is The first and only one I've read so far by

Megan Miranda Daughter of Mine Oh, yeah. That came out last year and I read it for a book club and I was like, oh my gosh, I have never read Megan Miranda before and I don't know why that is. Let's see. So this one is blue and yellow. It has a sinking car on the front, not a window, but still.

When Hazel Sharp, daughter of Mirror Lake's longtime local detective, unexpectedly inherits her childhood home, she's rarely drawn back to the town and people she left behind almost a decade earlier. But Hazel's not the only relic of the past to return. A drought has descended on the region and as the water level and the lake drops, long hidden secrets begin to emerge, including evidence that might help finally explain the mystery behind her mother's disappearance. That's a really short synopsis. There's a lot going on in that book and I like truly wasn't sure who did it. Like I kind of thought everybody. did it. I felt the same way. This was one of, like, all the missing girls is my favorite of hers,

but I think this was my second favorite of hers. I really enjoyed it. Did I, did I put this in our group chat about Megan Miranda? That like my fall, my fall goal is to reread all of her entire back list. Oh, no, you have not. Like, I've like collected, like, I collected all of the Megan Branda books that I own. Like, I've only read, like, a few of hers. But I collected all of, the books of hers that I own and like have ordered the only two that I don't and like when you said that was like wait a second do I even tell them that but like yeah that's my goal this fall is to read all of Megan Miranda's thrillers my gosh I still need to read the perfect stranger and the only survivors so maybe maybe I will read some with you her new one coming out sounds

good too I already get it she just has some great colors it's the you don't belong here you belong here You belong here. And there's like a don't hidden in between on the. There is? Yeah. At least in my net galley cover. Yeah. Oh.

There's this like don't hidden between you and belong. Oh my God. It's very, very, I don't know, mysterious, I guess. Wow. Yeah. And I think I do have it on net galley. So that one's coming up for me as a real. I'm like always cracking up how I get.

like I am like you guys are like audio book audio book and I'm like I love a physical book I have I get so many physical books and there are so many details on covers that like I completely miss until somebody brings it up to me when you look at though the on good reads it's called you belong it's called you belong yeah yeah but I have a copy of it yeah I've looked at that cover with my eyeballs that I'm supposed to read with and I'm going to enter that giveaway um but I agree I think you would love all the missing girls. That book is wild. Oh, it's my favorite. I would reread that one. Yeah.

I want to reread that. It's been long enough. Yeah. Yeah. Oh. Mm-hmm. Well, my next one is an author we talk about sometimes. Ms. Shari Lipina.

And one of my first books that I technically would have read in this, what whatever, subgenre is not a happy family. I don't know if I already said that part, but very blue and yellow cover. Like all the lights are on in the house and there are people in different rooms and it's just suspenseful. In this family, everyone is keeping secrets, especially the dead. Breckenhill and upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house

there, and they don't come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Murtons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter dinner with their three adult kids, who of course are devastated. Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions it must be after all if one of your siblings was a psychopath you would know wouldn't you whoa i would say the ending the ending is so dark so like if you think this is going to be like a fluffy

domestic suspense no it gets it just gets darker and darker what did you ask stuff sorry which one by charlie lino uh not a happy family oh okay She has a few blue and yellow. Yes, she does. I think this was the first one of hers that I read. And I just loved it. I still remember at least two of the reveals at the end that truly made me feel like sick. Ooh.

Yeah. Oh, man. I want to reread all her books, too. Just so many. I've only read the couple next door. Well, yeah. Um, my last pick is Shari Lapina. Oh, I love that.

Cute. Um, what have you done is my favorite book by her so far. And also one of my favorite books of, like, that I read in 2024. Like, I love this book so freaking much. It is so dark. There are so many, like, POVs in this one. Like at first, I, like, had, like, a little bit of a hard time, like, paying attention to who's who.

But I think she does a really good job of, like, a couple of sentences and being like, oh, like, now I know who this is. One thing that didn't work for people is there's, like, I don't want to say, like, a supernatural aspect, but there is, like, a perspective from a girl who's dead. But it's more, like, lovely bones than it is Riley Sager. See, I like that. I love it too. But I guess if she hasn't done that before, is that why? Yeah, but it's not like, it's not like the whole perspective. It's just like.

And it doesn't explain everything. You're just getting her perspective. Yeah. Yeah. Like she's kind of like seeing what's going on in like of her death. But it's basically about this sleepy little town called Fair Hill, Vermont. So we got Vermont vibes. And it's very like fall in like small town and like,

brushed with fall but this morning that will change one innocent question could be deadly what have you done the teenagers get their kicks telling ghost stories in an old graveyard the parents trust their kids will arrive home safe from school

everyone knows everyone curtains rarely twitch front doors are rarely left unlocked but when Diana Brewer isn't lying safely in her bed where she belongs instead she lies in a hayfield circled by vultures discovered by a local farmer. How quickly a girl becomes a ghost. How quickly a town of friendly, familiar faces becomes a town of suspects.

A place of fear and paranoia. Someone in Fairhill did this. Everyone wants answers. I remember you loving it so much. I have to read it. The obsession is like just unreal. I love everything about it. the setting.

It's like fall or winter. I just remember it being like a chili buck. A chili book. And the opening with like, like I felt sick to my stomach with the opening because like she did not like this is not like my hair is perfectly fanned out

and I'm just like look like I'm sleeping sort of dead body. Like this is like this girl has been brutally murdered. Yeah. And it was very like shocking. But Shari Lipina is a queen and I just love the buck.

Tyler walked in when I was listening to Night Watcher with some descriptions of how six women had been killed and he was like just some light listening to get you going in the morning. Was it on loud? It wasn't in your headphones.

Yeah, yeah. It was like I had it just like charging here and I was just like doing admin type work and he came in and was like, okay. That's how you start your mornings. Perfect. Yep. It is.

I like listen to crime junkie while I'm working. And like my dad came home yesterday and it was like I thought she was shot in the head because her her forehead was bashed in so hard. And he's like, he's like, oh, okay, he's like just relaxing after a hard day of work. and I was like typing away about like payroll. Doing great. Yeah, just like living my little boring life. Something weird? Yeah.

Nothing weird here. Totally normal. Weird at all. Yeah. Well, speaking of dark, I remember this book had a really dark ending. I actually had two. My only three that I had like on my shelf were two Sally Hepworths. and the devil and Mrs. Davenport, but the ending of Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth feels like

dark enough to fit in with what you guys are talking about. So that's what I'm going to talk about. Love it. I love that book so much. For as long as they can remember, Jessica, Nora, and Alicia have been told how lucky they are. As young girls, they were rescued from family tragedies and raised by a loving foster mother, Miss Fairchild, on an idyllic farm estate and given an exclusive chance. second chance at a happy family life. But their childhood wasn't the fairy tale. Jesus Christ, you guys. Hold on. Where's that hard? But their childhood wasn't the fairy tale everyone thinks it was. Ms. Fairchild had rules. Ms. Fairchild could be unpredictable and Miss Fairchild was never ever to be

crossed. In a moment of desperation, the three broke away from Miss Fairchild and thought they were free. Even though they never saw her again, she was always somewhere in the shadow. of their minds. When a body is discovered under the home they grew up in, the foster sisters find themselves thrust into the spotlight as key witnesses, or are they prime suspects? Oh, boy. Yeah. I do like the relationship between the sisters. It's really like, like, cool. And then, like, there's obviously this, like, villainous woman, but you're not really sure what happens. And then you're like, shit. God, that book

Sally Hepworth Like always Like between like her book covers and like the general synopsis that you're given Like I'm always like what a perfect beach read And then like I read it and I'm like this is so much fucking darker than I thought it was going to be Right. But that one is like insanely dark. It's so good though

She just I think I had shared I just reposted she talked about her new book she's like people were asking me when we're going to get a new book well here it is and i was like i love you yes that's amazing because i was like it's been a hot minute now right yeah i think it's called mad mabel is the new book oh my god i hope it's like strange sally diamond hell yeah that would be so cool oh wait you guys are Remember when I talked about the family next door, it was like her bonkers backlist book. Uh-huh. I just saw on her, on June 14th, she said it's coming out on the screen.

Oh. And like, an official teaser is out. And I'm like, oh. Oh, yeah. Justine said that in the, um, in the Patreon. I forgot to pass that information along. Well, that's cool. Oh, now I got to read that.

interested for sure hey there if we ever actually do a adaptations i need to keep that yeah mad mabel is about an 81 year old named elsie mabel fitzpatrick oh who's lived on her idyllic street for 60 years and then if you would suspect that she has a pass that she has worked at seemingly hard at concealing because when it comes to murder no one i respects little girls or old ladies Yeah. Ooh. I love that. Secrets.

Well, I am being interrupted by dogs, everyone, so we're going to wrap it up. Oh, I thought you did too. No, I just need to record this so that I can have it. But if you have any blue and yellow covers that you think we should read, let us know. And if you ever have topics you want us to do, you can DM any of us. Blue and yellow, blue and yellow, blue and yellow. but we know.