Bookwild - TBRs, Heat Waves and Puppy Probs

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

This week, we share 5 books we recently added to our TBRs, and all of the dogs make appearances.Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouchBooks We Talked AboutBlood OrangesDon’t Let Her StayTomorrow I Become a WomanThe PledgeStrange Sally DiamondEveryone Here Is LyingThe Marriage CounselorNight Will Find YouWe Are All The Same in the DarkRedemptionThe House of EveThe FollowersFollow MeThe Hurricane BlondeThe Final Girl Support Group 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 

Hey guys, welcome to the Killing the Tea podcast. This is Gare and Kate. And we are going to be discussing all things, chills, thrills, and kills. Kate and I are going to be talking about our favorite books, TV shows and movies that are in the thriller or crime fiction genre, as well as some reading habits and other items related to how we met on Bookstagram that will fit in with this podcast. So thank you so much for. joining us and we hope that you have fun and get totally terrified. I finally have an icebreaker. I'm all ears. So I was reading a book recently that had like a decent amount of like police procedural in it. And 50% of the time that I see the word uniformed police officer, I read it uninformed. like my brain just does it. And do you have any words that like your brain sometimes, I think sometimes too, when I've been reading for a while, my brain starts like skim, not skimming, but just like reading the words too quickly. And that's one of my words. That's a really good one. And I'm also dying at that. I'm trying to think the hardest time spelling, like remembering the spelling of was the word definitely

Oh, yeah. So whenever I read definitely, I always read it in my mind, defy nightly. I kind of do too, but just like, and I think it was because I was trying to remember how to spell it in like elementary school. Yeah. Sometimes I still think that. Yeah. So I think that would be mine that I'm like, God, I want to say there was like a TikTok that I saw too that was like somebody. Oh, I know what it was.

It was hashtag who remembers. but it was like if you remember if you read it as whore members then and i always do i always do too that's too funny i've even seen it before harley harley's growling at me we're gonna get through this one um yeah i oh years actually fits in a lap mine just think they do he does not fit in a lap that much anymore but he's like it's like being constrained I wish I could move my camera to show you Harley. She's literally, well, that's her head right there that you see. She's just growling at me.

I might have to go get her a bone. They've had a walk. They've had three rides. They've been like this all day. See, Murphy's been very chill all day until this very moment, but he's not in my bedroom a lot. So I think he's kind of like, like, what's going on here? And I was just kind of hoping he would like chill out and play with one of his babies, but he's like, not today, bitch.

So you had a really good idea for a subject. Did I? Because my brain has melted. I do. I've sweat going down my neck. I, this is such a weird way of describing how my brain works. But basically,

um, my, credit union that I have my debit card through is just like other places that you can get a credit card. You get points and you get to get things through your points, right? And basically, my credit union sent me my thing with my points and I got a $50 Amazon gift card. So I was like, I'm dying to use this gift card in any way I can. And, And I was like looking at my wish list to see what I would buy with this gift card. And basically I was like, you know, I am adding things to my wish list like crazy.

So I thought it would be fun because I feel like with our subjects, we are always like talking about books that are hot or books that are like upcoming or it's always like so specific that sometimes I'm like, books do I want to talk about. So I was like, if we talked about the last five books that we added to our wish list, maybe a little bit as to why we added them. Yeah. That would be so much fun. I think you are so right. And then it's just like, it's a very general one. Mine are all thrillers. Mine are too. Mine are two. Mine are two. Yes. Yeah, all thrillers. I did. I don't want to say. No, mine aren't. Mine are not all. Oh, mine all are. I almost had a mail, male, romance, but it was like a very not to, I'm sure the book will be good, but it was a very generic, like this could, this could be one of five male male romances, like, you know, right.

So the plot seemed very generic. So I was like, eh, I won't include that one until I read it and then I can shout it out when, you know, I get to that point. Yeah. So I get that. So do you want to, do you want to kick us off? Yeah, I can kick us off. Okay. Um, so this is one. So this is one. that has been on my TBR. Well, I mean, it is like my last five, but I'm literally getting tripped up because I'm lying because I'm reading it today. So I'm going to restart. I was like, well, I can't say that.

No, I can't say that. And I just totally ruined it. Okay. Leave that in. Okay, I will. Actually, I love that. I love that. People are just going to be like, oh, my God, you guys are too unhinged and I love it.

I know. You know what, guys, it's hot. You guys know how we function in the summer. It's hot and we're having puppy probs. Yeah, yeah, lots of them while Tyler climbs mountains in Tahoe. Yeah, well, my dad's at happy hour. And we're just like, there goes my babysitter. Okay, so the first one that I'm going to talk about is it's really cool to me that I found this author on TikTok.

And one, she posts a lot of relatable TikToks that I'm like, wow, that's a really specific reading feeling. And so I started following her. And then I saw that she's self-published two books. And one is called Blood Oranges, which is the one that I'm going to talk about now. So money, power, God. Catherine Cross is the most successful female televangelist in the country. Her congregation in the western suburbs of Orlando is one of the wealthiest. She's comfortable and charismatic in front of a camera, but when her youngest daughter goes missing, not even she is ready for the media firestorm that follows.

With her mother more concerned about the family's public image than bringing her daughter home, it's up to Emily, the oldest child and black sheep of their Christian family, to try to discover the truth. But when a strange series of deaths on an orchard farm outside, I said an orchard farm on an orange farm I didn't even like notice

I was just like that did sound right oh you're frozen there you are okay Jesus Christ now we're going to have internet problems like what the fuck Oh my God I know Oh my gosh Tyler sent me a picture

He has sunburn on his calves Okay We're all over the place That's too funny. Oh my God, that would really hurt. I know, orange orchard. Basically a strange series of deaths on an orange farm outside of town seems to be connected to her missing sister.

The case is turned on its head, and Emily must face the shocking secrets it took to build her mother's empire. And I'm just going to tell everyone the reason I was stripped up at the beginning is I started the book today. But I really wanted to talk about it. So I wanted to consider it something on my TBR. But I am obsessed, like the atmosphere, the pacing, the characters. It is so good.

It sounds really atmospheric. I love, love, love, nothing more than a missing person's thriller. Yeah. And it's a serial killer. It's both because it's not a surprise. There are two bodies found, like right at the beginning in a similar location. And it's the strangest murder I've read about so far. I'm like, what is she going to do?

But like the characters feel super real. And like my only complaint is it's in the hot, humid, oppressive Florida heat. And like I have a little too much of that in my life. But it's good enough that it makes up for it. I could not live in Florida right now. Yeah. No, I could never. I could never.

Did you hear about that woman? This book sounds incredible, by the way. And I definitely inspired. Yeah, oh, it's J.M. Cannon. I didn't read her name. we're just asking. Oh, Murphy. Murphy never laughed.

My cord is like wrapped around like multiple legs. Oh my gosh. We are having all the dog props. He's just like staring at me. Like what the fuck are you doing? Oh my God. You're like whole mic and like it's detached. Oh my God.

This dog is getting so big. Yeah, but he's big little. Hi, bud. Like, hey, I'm terror of tiny town here to just fucking fuck shit up in your podcast. Why not? Well, I'm very excited because I love a serial killer thriller. I love a missing person's book. And the atmosphere and like the setting just sounds.

It's creepy. Yeah. Like I feel like it's like a prettier version of like a cornfield. Yes. Yes. You know? They're alligators at swamps. It's just like a love and orchard farm.

You know what I mean? An orchard farm, you know? It doesn't want to go to an orchard farm. I was like, oh. Oh my God. Yeah. It reminds me like I just I think that we're having both like rough nights, but it's going to be so much fun and it's going to be so funny for people to like listen to us and our shit over the heat and dogs because we're both using our shit over the same thing. But basically what I was going to say is we don't have it as bad. There was this woman, 73 year old woman I read about in Arizona where it's like 115, 120. She, her air conditioning unit broke and she couldn't afford a new one. So she lived in that two months in that freaking heat with no air conditioning and they got her an air conditioner. Oh, I would literally die. That's like my happy story of the night. That is so sweet.

But, yeah, I just so fucking hot. I could die. I like just keep wiping my lip sweat. I'm purposely not using my like, my ring light thing because I'm like, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, every poor will be like. You're already shiny. So I do have a segue. Ooh, nice. Also, I'm really thankful that we usually stick to five books instead of like 10, because if we were like one out of 10 right now, I would just be like, let's just.

Like, I can't finish. We'll try to get another time. Might end up being three. We'll see. Yeah. Well, TikTok has been major with me because I'm getting a lot of recommendations that I wouldn't normally get or hear about from TikTok. So my next line is from TikTok as well.

It's not from the author, but I was, dude, do you want to hear how stupid I am? Do you want to hear how stupid I am? Yes. I saw that cord fall in front of your camera. and I was like, I almost said, I'm so sorry and went to move a chord in front of me because I thought it was mine. I would have been hilarious.

I just wish that we could record these in person together. That would be so much fun. No, we will. But yeah, so I added this one because I kept seeing it on TikTok and I was like, maybe this is one of those situations where, like, you know, people are hyping up a book so much on TikTok because it's a paid sponsorship. Oh, yeah.

So I was a little, like, hesitant. But then I added it because I went out to dinner with my best friend Nicole, who I love so much. And we went out to dinner in Canada a couple weeks ago. And she was like, I keep getting all of these books on my TikTok because I'm talking, like, we've been talking so much about her, like, diving into reading and, like, starting to, like, take it up as a hobby and book recommendations and stuff. So basically, she has been seeing all of these.

books on TikTok and she asked me about one and I was like no I keep seeing this all over my for you page so the book is don't let her stay by Nicola Sanders I've not heard of this one the cover is so cool I keep seeing it on my for you page it's on my wish list like that um it says someone inside your house wants you dead but no one believes you joanne knows how love lucky she is. Richard is a wonderful husband. Evie is the most gorgeous baby girl. They live in a beautiful house. Life couldn't be better. Until Richard's 20-year-old daughter, Chloe, turns up. Chloe hasn't spoken to her father since the day he married Joanne two years ago. But Chloe wants to make peace. She'll even move in for a few weeks to help Joanne with the new baby. It sounds

perfect, but when things happen that make Joanne... Stop chewing on everything. Murphy is trying to eat his headphones. It sounds perfect. Yeah, I actually, when I pulled it up, I do recognize it. I have been seeing it. When things start to happen that make Joanne feel like she's losing her mind, she begins to wonder, is Chloe really there to help?

Or has Joanne made a terrible mistake by letting her move in? And is it too late to ask her to leave? It says it's perfect for fans of Freedom McFadden, Sue Watson, and Chalini Boland. I don't know that one. I don't know Shalini Boland, but I was going to ask you because it sounds like an author that you've recommended or told me how to pronounce her name. It's not that one. So I'm like, I don't know. Oh, that's quite a name.

Yeah. So that is my TikTok recommendation. Love it. TikTok's just going to keep adding to our lists. I also want to say if we have any in common tonight, my mind's going to be blown. I would say the exact same thing. So that is my TikTok recommendation. Yeah.

So. Well, I have another TikTok recommendation, actually. So I can't remember whose account this is. But I was scrolling and someone talked about this book and it's not a thriller. But the way they talked about it made me want to read it because we were talking about subgenres before this. I think something I'm starting to recognize is like I love an underdog story almost no matter what genre it's in. So this is called Tomorrow I Become a Woman. I am also probably going to butcher this name by I-W-O-D-A-F-E-N-O-D-A-F-E-N.

That sounds accurate. Yeah, I think I'm close. The first name is A-I-W-A-N-O-S-E. I-W-A-N-O-S-E. We'll see. It came out in 2022, though, and it says, When Gozi and Obie a New Jew meet in August, 1978, it is not, nothing short of fate. He is the perfect man, charismatic, handsome Christian, and most importantly,

Igbo. I am really sorry if I am ruining people's culture reading the synopsis. He reminds her of her beloved uncle Akina, her mother's brother, who disappeared fighting the Civil War that devastated Nigeria less than a decade before. It's why when Gosey asks her to marry him within months of meeting, she says yes, despite her lingering and uncertain feelings for Akin. Akin, a man her mother would never accept as his tribe fought on the other side of the war. A kin makes her feel heard, understood, intelligent, Gozi makes her heart flutter. For Uju, the daughter, her mother never wanted. Marriage would mean the attainment of that long elusive state of womanhood and something else she has desired all her life, her mother's approval.

All will be well. He is the best. perfect match, the country will soon be democratic again and the economy is growing, or so she thinks. And basically, from what the person on TikTok was talking about, it's kind of like she does end up in, is Murphy even just going off this whole time? Yes. Okay, I think I have to take Harley out because she literally just tried to knock me out of my chair. So I will come back. what I thought was really cool about this one. Like the other blurb about it says it's loosely based on the real stories of women that the author knows. And I thought that was pretty cool. And it follows this relationship between a mother and daughter. It says it's a sensitive exploration of a woman's struggle to meet societal and cultural expectations within the confines of a difficult marriage, a tribute to female friendship and a love story that spans two decades against a backdrop of political. or a moral in a fast-changing world.

And it made me, it kind of gave me like, Evelyn Hugo, did you hear about kitty car vibes? And I was like, I might just love this one. It sounds like you will.

And it sounds really good. Yeah. I hope you do love it. Yeah, me too. I don't have a segue for this one. Yeah. Obviously. I was a random one.

But I will say that the reason I came across this one, similar to how you are like maybe because I liked Kitty Carr so much, I'll like this one. Yeah. So this is a thriller that I came across. It's a Y-A thriller. And it's being compared to scream, but it also has a campus setting. So the pledge by Hale, D-T-R-I-C-H. and it says it's scream meets cloud in a cornfield

um featuring a mass killer who targets frat boys and it says freshman sam believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group he believes his college journey and his best chance of moving on from his past he's the survivor of a horrific world famous murder spree where a masked killer hunted down sam and his friends sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night and it completely derailed his life. He sees college and his new identity as a frat boy as his best shot of living a life not defined by the killings. He starts to flirt with one of the brothers,

who Sam finds a surprisingly accepting of his past and begins to think a fresh start is truly possible. And then one of his new frat brothers is found dead. A new mass murderer, one clearly inspired by the original emerges and start stalking and slaying the frat boys of Monroe University. Now Sam will have to race against the clock to figure out who the killer is, why they are killing before Sam loses his second chance or even the lives of any more of his friends. So it says it combines elements of horror, mystery, and gay romance. That is like you.

That is like everything I need to like. As a person. It is a Y-A book, so I'm going to have to use my imagination with some of the spicy, spicy. Yeah. But I'm okay with that. Yeah. Every now and then. Yeah.

Every now and then. That cover is pretty cool, too. Oh, I love the cover. Yeah. I'm really excited. I don't know how I came across that. I mean, your AGO was just like, you need to. to know about this.

I don't even know if I don't get a lot of, um, Y.A. on my TikTok. Oh yeah, that's true. Or thrillers. Yeah. I just get a lot of men and male male romances. A lot of men. So that is my one that I can't wait to read.

Yeah. I have a feeling after this episode when we're done recording, um, given how it started. it off for the both of us. And I'll be like, oh my God, thank God we survived. And but like, you know, when you talk up books a lot, you like hype them up to yourself in your mind. I have a feeling I'm going to order all five of the books that I want on my wish list like tonight probably. Yeah. I, they keep doing like double Kindle points days. And so now I just like wait

because they've been doing like two of them a month. And then I like buy when I get the points back. So that'll be me the next time it shows up. Because the next one on my list, I really want to read, and you're reading right now, called Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent. Oh, I'm very excited for this one. So Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. She was only doing what her father told her to do to put him out with the run. when he died. Now Sally is the center of attention, not only from the hungry media and worried police, but also a sinister voice from a past she has no memory of. As she begins to discover

the horrors of her childhood, recluse Sally steps into the world for the first time, making new friends, finding independence, and learning that people don't always mean what they say. But when messages start arriving from a stranger who knows far more about her past than she knows herself, Sally's life will be thrown into chaos once again. It just sounds so perfectly mysterious and confusing. It's so good. It's not confusing. I will say that.

The plot that they give you that you just read is like the tip of the iceberg. I figured, yeah, because it's really short too. Yes, it is really short, but there's like a lot. Like I could have probably read this in like one or two sittings and I'm. Yeah. on my third day of reading it because there's a lot that I had to like take a break from and like mentally like recoup rate from. It's a very, very good story. I'm obsessed with it. I am not doing a casting for it because the plot is so complex and unique that I feel like even if I did an ounce of casting for it, that it would

spoil a lot of aspects of the story. So I am so excited for you to read it. I am so excited for you to this. I'm on page 275 of 300. Oh, you're so close. This is one of those moments where I'm like, you know, Murphy has changed my life for the better. I love him so much. He is an amazing dog.

He just came running over. He's like, oh my God, you're talking about me on your podcast. It's like, I thought you just that I was a fucking nightmare. But I love him so much, but I'm like, if I did not have Murphy, I would have finished this book before we recorded. Yeah. Kind of how I feel about the last two days of my life. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, I love you guys so much, but can you give me an hour? Well, I go through like moments where I'm like, when I got Murphy,

he had a brother and a sister as well. Yeah. And the brother was also adopted and the sister hadn't been adopted yet. And I like keep going like, do you want a sister? Do you want a sister? And then like other times, like when we're trying to record the podcast, I'm like, I need a. dog nanny. So I either go back and forth between like, do I want another dog as well? So we can have like a little buddy or do I like need help with the one that I have? Yeah, I get that feeling. So. But you're going to love Strange Sally Diamond. Did you buy it? I haven't bought it yet. Is it going to be your next read? I mean, I don't know. Yes or no, depending on your smirk.

right now, I mean, I would love if it was. Yeah, it might be. Like, it's definitely, it's what I'm considering. I bought two Kindle books today. And one of them was the Shari Lipina based on your recommendation. Oh my gosh. That's another one. When you said you didn't want to cast Sally Diamond to give spoilers,

when I went to write my review, I was like, there's only, there's such a limited amount of information that I can tell you about what I loved about it. So I even said that. I was like there's so much more I could talk about, but like most of it would be spoilers. So I was just like, just go read it. Just go read it, people.

So my advice to you. Yeah. When you read Strange Sally Diamond, please stay off Goodreads. Okay. I will. I'm not going to say who it was, but there's somebody that I know on Goodreads who posted their review. And it was like very like praising. Yeah.

But there were other things, like other books. stuff that they had compared it to that I kind of felt like spoiled the story for me because I was like why is it compared like why are they comparing it to like this this and this and then like now that I know why I'm still loving the story but stay off good leads I had a similar thing I have a TV comparison that I would compare everyone here is lying and I was like nope I can't say it it would spoil it that is amazing I'm excited for you to read it though I'm really excited to read it. I bought that and I bought the spare room by Andrea Barts. Ooh, nice. I saw that someone tagged you and wanted you to cast it.

Oh my God. It was so weird. So I was working and I got a notification that Marie Claire magazine tagged me in their story. And I was like, what is this? It was Marie Claire magazine. I thought someone else tagged you. Oh my gosh. That's so exciting. And I was like, why is Marie Claire tagging me? But it was because Andrea Bart, did a takeover for Marie Claire magazine. And like somebody had asked her like who she envisioned as the cast for her book. And she gave me a shout out. And was like, Garrett does like the best.

So like, hopefully he does it. And I was like, you know what? I need to. I need to do that. That is awesome. So, yeah. So I'm trying. Right now I'm a little sweaty star.

And there's a little squeaking elephant in the back room. Okay. It's your turn. No, I just did Strange Sally Diamond. That's also true. Okay. But you read it. So maybe that's why you're confused. Maybe that's why. Yeah.

Because there was another tangent I wanted to go on with you and I wanted to tell you. But I think it's going to be like our end of the podcast icebreaker, I guess. Okay. But I have a book that I just added to my wish list today. And shout out to Dia Poyer, Poyer. Okay. P-O-I-R-I-E-R. She is the author of the book, The Marriage Counselor, and she has sent me pretty much, like, every

book she's ever written. We were talking today because she wants to send me an arc of her newest one that comes out. And I was like, yeah, like, I'm like, I just have to order the marriage counselor because it's the only book by you that I don't have yet. and I'm going to like read that as soon as it comes in because I'm so excited for this. And she was like, no, I'm going to send it to you. Like, just enjoy.

So shout out to her. She's amazing. And I am so excited for this book. The Marriage Counselor by Dia Poirer. Adele, we believe your husband is missing. As everything around me starts to blur, I go over the words once more. Your husband is missing. Four simple words with the power to shout.

my whole world in an instant. Working as a marriage counselor, I'm used to the tragedies that come out of nowhere. People trust me to help them through life's big moments. The things that leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the person you loved the most, but I never thought trouble would land on my own doorstep. As I start to piece together our last conversation, desperate for any clues I can find, the cops standing in front of me reveals that my husband never told his co-workers he was married. He's seemingly living a double life right in front of me. days later as I searched through our home, I discover a hidden box of baby clothes that suggests my husband was starting to build the perfect life without me.

My entire career has been built on separating the truth from the lies. My husband may think he pulled off the greatest lie of all, but he is not the only one keeping a secret in this marriage. All I know for certain is that when the truth comes out, only one of us will make it out alive. Wow. Yeah. That is just amazing.

Just the synopsises. Incredible. Also if I want that couch on the cover. Oh my God, I know. I love all of her covers. And actually, fun fact, she has a trilogy called the Harlow Trilogy that take place in Plattsburgh, New York, which is like an hour away from me. Whoa.

And I, like, told her that. And she was like, I just wanted to find, like, a really cool place that, like, was really remote for this story. And they're, like, serial killer books. So. I have that first one. I have Find Me in the Dark on my TVR. I don't know. I don't know how it got there, but it's apparently there. Amazing. Someone recommended it at some point. Probably, probably TikTok. But yeah, so shout out to her because I have read a couple of her books and I like love, love, love them. But I just got distracted with like other, you know, other things. And so I'm kind of thankful that I haven't read anything by. her in a while because the plots to all of her books that I'm, you know, needing to binge read,

they all sound so good that I'm like, this is one of those things where I think like when the minute like the fall air hits and it's like a little crisp, like this is going to be the perfect author to binge. Yes. Because her books kind of remind me of like Lucinda Berry meets Freedom McFadden. Yeah, that makes sense. She is the best. I can't wait for it.

Oh my God, I know. As everybody knows. Especially today. Especially today. It's like one thing to have puppy probs. Yeah. And it's like chilly, but it's another thing when you're like sweating. Yeah.

I've been kind of drenched all day. Same. Oh, everybody's like, cool guys. We get it. Yeah. You hate that. We do. We get that you're hot.

Well, my next one, I saw. Steph books in Badgerland post about this one. I love her. I know, me too. And I had not even heard of it. So I mean, I'm sure you probably have, but I had it. And it's called Night Will Find You by Julia Heberlin. Have you heard of it? Okay. Yes. I really enjoy Julia Hebrilin. I haven't read this one yet, but I really enjoy her books. Okay. That's what she was like gushing about it. Steph was enough that I was like,

okay, I need to check this out. Yeah. But this one is about a scientist with a special gift, Riles a Wasp's nest of conspiracy theories while investigating a cold case in this riveting novel from the acclaimed and bestselling author, blah, blah, blah. I did not start at the beginning. When she was 10, Vivie Bouchet saved a boy's life

by making an impossible prediction. Ever since she has been in a lifelong battle between the urgent voices in her head and the science that she loves. Now a brilliant young astrophysicist, she wants nothing more than to be left alone with the stars in the big bend country of Texas. But the boy she's saved, now Fort Worth cop,

has always believed she's psychic, even though she won't say that word out loud. He's begging her to keep, to help solve the high-profile cold case of a little girl who disappeared in broad daylight from the kitchen of her old Victorian house. A boy, a body was never found. struggling. A body was never found and her mother sits in prison still loudly proclaiming her

innocence. Vivi reluctantly agrees to try and when a popular Texas conspiracy theorist podcaster named Bubba Guns finds out about her involvement, he spews conspiracy theories about the case and muggle truth about Vivi's murky past. As his listeners spend dangerously out of control and her career and the people she love loves are on the line. Vivi decides to fight back. There's just so many things going on, but she gushed about how much she loved the character. Like, that was what made me even more interested. And I do kind of, I also am like attracted to or whatever stories that contrast, like wanting to be scientific and logical and like also wanting to lean into like the emotional magical realm so i'm very intrigued when i um when i saw i was like i feel

like it was something that i could picture you really enjoying because it has so many different elements of things that you love in a thriller yeah um this character driven yeah a lot of her books are i read the one i can't remember the name of it right now because my brain is fried but the last book that she wrote i black eyed susans nope no no what's it called? We are all the same in the dark. Yes. Yes.

That was very good. Funny to read that. I didn't, I hadn't heard of her until now. Now I'm like, I'm probably going to want to read all of them. There's Black Eyed Susan's, and there's one other one that I think are serial killer thrillers.

There were like her first two books that she wrote, and I really want to read those. Maybe playing dead. Yes. That one's very serial killery. Mm-hmm. Right. Oh, it just sounds good.

I think you're really going to like it. Actually, to be honest, my next one sounds like something that would be like, if you liked this book, read this one. I just haven't read it yet. Now, I did cheat a little bit because my next two aren't out yet, but they come out at the end of August. So my next one is redemption. by Deborah J. Ledford. And it's the first in a new series. And it features a Native American sheriff's deputy. So after four women disappear from the Teos Pueblo Reservation, Deputy Eva Lightning Dance Duran dies into the case. For her, it's personal. Among the missing is her best friend, Paloma,

a heroin addict who left behind an 18-year-old. year old son. Eva senses a lack of interest from the department as she embarks on the investigation, but their reluctance only fuels her fire. Eva teams up with tribal police officer and longtime friend Cruz Wolfsong Romero to tackle a mystery that could both ruin her reputation and threaten her standing at the tribe. When the missing women start turning up dead, Eva uncovers clues that take her deeper into the reservation's protected secrets. As Eva races to find Paloma before it's too late, she will face several tests of loyalty to her friend, to her culture, and to her tribe. Wow. I couldn't find that one when you sent it to me.

So I need to look harder. It didn't show up on my good read. So I hadn't read the synopsis yet. It didn't? No. How do you see? What is? Redemption. Redemption. Deborah. But it's Deborah spelling. Maybe. Oh, there it is. There it is, finally.

Okay. There we go. I probably searched it wrong. I should probably just start sending you Goodreads links. Like you do me, I just don't know how to do it yet. It's okay. There's a little share arrow. But I also, this is the first time I haven't been able to find one.

So I think we're okay. But it sounds really good. And it sounds, it sounds tight. finally with, you know, all of the missing and murdered indigenous women and I'm excited to read it because I don't know how this comes across. Okay, I don't mind this in fiction, obviously in nonfiction or real life. It's a lot different. But I'm excited to see a fictional take on this because there's a lot of books that either reference the highway of tears or reference these missing and murdered indigenous women. And I'm always very excited.

to read somebody's fictional work when it comes to this to see what their, what their perspective is. And, you know, what they believe happened or what they, like, feel in their, their heart is what's going on. Because, obviously, we don't know. You know, they don't even know how many missing and murdered indigenous women there are. It's the only race that they don't have that number, that statistic. So, wow. Yeah. So I'm very excited to read this.

Yeah. It does sound like character driven too. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm very pumped to read that and it sounds incredible. Well, speaking of character driven, this was also I should have tagged this along earlier, but this was another one that was recommended to me when I looked up tomorrow I become a woman. This was also recommended to me.

And so I think. Basically, I am a little more intrigued now that I've had such good experiences with some historical fiction. I think my good reads is slowly like, hey, you might like this one. You might like this one. But this one's called The House of Eve by Siddiqua. S-A-D-E-Q-A. So, again, sorry if I did not pronounce it correctly. But this one is set in 1950s Philadelphia, 15-year-old Ruby.

Pairsall is on track to becoming the first and her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed onto her like a birthright. Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, D.C. with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of D.C.'s elite, wealthy, black families, and his parents don't let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William's family and grant her the life she's been searching for, but having a baby and fitting in is easier said than done.

When their stories collide in the most expected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of both of their lives. So I'm just, I'm intrigued, you know? Like, I do, I, I just, I am realizing how much like, I don't know, kind of the stories where like it is about, it's still kind of that underdog thing is what I was also realizing is like, how people took like shitty situations and like, how they handled them, basically is always,

is becoming more and more interesting to me. think. I think so too. And I definitely see that. That's really interesting that you say that, because I've been thinking that about some people that I know. Yeah. But like, um, it's always interesting to, to read a story about an underdog or to see how people handle situations. Yeah. Especially considering I've been having heat related meltdowns all summer, because it's like, sometimes things just really set me off that are like smaller. Yep. But then when I'm dealing with something large or big or important in life, that should be

serious, I'm not having a meltdown. I'm just like, I got to take this head on and like it is what it is. So that's a very interesting story. So. Yeah. Along with all of you. And I'm kind of enjoying like longer spans of time, you know. And clearly.

I also like when people explore what it means to be a woman and a mother and how much you're willing to sacrifice to achieve your greatest goal. But I do, I have been really intrigued by that concepts, whether it's as a female or like as a human, like books that explore like all the demands we feel versus how we choose to live our life is interesting to me. Yeah. Yeah. Especially with, I don't know if it's just because I quit drinking like a year and a half ago, but I feel like I get like a lot of TikToks and a lot of things about these success stories where even if they didn't have like a problem where people were like my life has improved so much since I quit drinking since I gave up alcohol. So I feel like there's like always some of those

things where people come out and like they they like, you know, say like, well, I'm sober. I didn't have a problem, but I realized that like I'm just happier without it. And so there's always like things like that that happened where you see like people really start to like take control of the way they live their lives. You know, I came over my like dental anxiety last week and it really wasn't that bad when I went. Yep. It really wasn't that bad. And now I just feel with anxiety. Yeah. And now I just feel like so much better and like kind of nipped me in the butt to like be like, oh, okay, well, you have to. you have to go every six months to the dentist to have your teeth cleaned and make sure everything's okay because if it's not, then the alternative is not that fun.

No. Oh. So. No. Okay. My last one. This said it's compared to the girl on the train, which I fucking love. Oh, my God.

So I'm going to be talking about the followers by Brady Godfrey. Molly Sullivan is used to sharing intimate details of her life with millions of followers. A 31-year-old single mom, she has built a career out of fearless posts about parenthood and dating. But when Molly shares a photo of her new fiancé, Scott, she is shocked by his negative reaction. For the sake of their relationship, Molly agrees to remove the post and keep Scott and his 10-year-old daughter out of her social media spotlight. But it's too late. Someone has already recognized him. Liv Barrett is certain Scott's the man who killed her sister and disappeared with their infant niece nine years ago. The police don't believe her so Liv takes matters into her own hands.

Driving cross-country to Colorado, Liv uses Molly's social media posts to orchestrate accidental, in quotes, meetings, slowly gaining her trust. Meanwhile, newlywed Molly begins to unpack boxes in her new home and discovers her husband has been lying about his past. while Molly and Liv uncover secrets they have been buried deep for almost a decade, they have no idea that someone else saw the photo of Scott. Someone who poses a threat more dangerous than either of them can imagine. Someone who is watching from the shadows. That sounds so good.

I love social media-related thrillers. I do too. I do too. What is it following by Kathleen Barber? Yes. see. I need to read that one still. Oh my God. How great it is. It's so good. It's so good. I just love a stalker.

And I love, I love, like, social media and frillers. I love stalkers. I love podcasts. I don't know if podcast counts as social media, but I love like a podcast element, like, any, like, pop culture kind of thing like that where it's like Instagram. Yeah. Yeah, they're always so much fun. It's all my favorite colors. The cover's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. This cover was made for me.

Yeah. And I remember like seeing this. I don't know if I like texted you or if I sent it to you on Instagram, but I was like, oh my God, I need to read this. So I was like very curious because I was like, is Kate a normal person or a psycho like me? Because like you were like, I really want to read that too. So I was like, she's probably going to like this might be the one that we have in common for tonight. But then I was like, I also know that you have been like really expanding the genres that

you read. I kind of have. So like Taylor Jenkins read, man, you were like, there came into my life and made me read all these bleak thrillers with like horrible things that happen to people and like awful and sad endings. And then like Taylor Jenkins read was like, why don't you take a step away from that and come with me, dear lady. Like Taylor Jenkins read. I think it's a child. women. Taylor Jenkins Reed took you under her arm and like coddled you like a baby and was like, let me protect you from some of the

things like Gary recommends. Yes. That's exactly what it is. And it's like, it's such a like mood reading thing. So it's like basically every like four to six weeks, I'm like, I need something that's not a thriller. You're like, I need something that Taylor Jenkins read would like recommend me. Pretty much.

Oh. Yeah. I just want to read all the things. I'm really struggling to want to do anything else with my life again. Well, you know, I can't even give you shit. I love your, I love your relationship with Taylor Jenkins Reed. Yeah.

But I also can't give you shit because I am realizing that Jessica Noel has turned me into somebody who really likes like literary suspense. Yeah. Like, for instance, like, don't forget the girl by Rebecca McKenna. Yes. The Quiet Tenet. Yep. Some of those books like that just really like, I'm like, this is so much better to me than like a popcorn thriller or like something that's like really fast paced and like actually.

Yeah. And I'm just like, oh my God. Like sometimes I just need something like this to like. Yeah. Prove to me that like there's these authors out here that I need to discover. Yeah. It's so fun finding new ones. It is.

It is. So I want to. I want to end the podcast. Oh, yeah, you have something. I have something. It was going to be my icebreaker, but I liked your icebreaker more. So mine was like, oh, this could be like our, like, we leave you with our ice closer. Our ice closer.

So what is one thing, whether it is a book, a TV show, a movie, a podcast, anything, like, what is the one thing that you are just obsessing over a little bit too much right now? I mean, probably, I mean, most recently, the Eros Tour would have to be the answer. I don't think it's as bad as it was, but that was like, that was a big moment of my life. So I guess Taylor Swift, too, would be what I would actually say. But what have I? Podcast, though, I just started listening to out and about. It's a barstool podcast. And it's just really fun and funny. And they talk about like pop culture shit and make fun of people.

But it's also like a lot of the podcasters I listen to like Taylor Strecker, Hannah Burner, Claudia Oshery. They've all been doing podcasts with them. So they're kind of like all in that same group. So it's like that's how I found them. And I'm like, oh, okay. They're all fun together. So they're kind of all people that hang out in New York actually.

All my favorite people live in New York. Oh my God. So that's why I've been obsessed with most recently. That's really funny that you say that because mine is also a podcast. Ooh, nice. And the lady who does the podcast lives in Indiana. I'm assuming it's Ashley Flowers. Yes.

So all of my favorite podcasters and ladies in the world live in Indiana. Oh, that's true. So years and years ago, my friend Cindy was like, you have to listen to the fireball episode of crime junkie. And I did and I loved it. And I was like, this is so amazing. I love how Ashley Flowers tells a story. So then I went back and I had downloaded every single episode of crime junkie. Yeah. There's over 300. There's a lot. So I am down to 20. Wow. That's all you have left. Yes.

Nice. So one of the episodes I was listening to today because I've been trying to like catch up on them, like listen to them while I'm working. And now one of the things that I love that Ashley Flowers does is she does a thing called the deck, which is each cold case that is unsolved that she talks about is from a deck of playing cards. Because I guess what they do in prisons is they give prisoners a deck of playing cards. but there's information regarding an unsolved crime on the back. So if any of these prisoners know anything about one of these cold cases, they can report it. So in one of the episodes of Prime Junkies, she was like, this is a little bit of a different

episode. This is the episode about Darlene Hulse. And Darlene Hulse was a housewife who had three young girls and a husband. and she and the children were home one day. The little girls were in the bathtub. And they heard a knock at the door and they thought it was the breeder bringing them a new puppy. And the two girls got out of the bathtub, naked, wet. They didn't even dry off or get, like, dressed.

And they found a man attacking their mother in the living room. Oh, my God. And the mother was like, Darlene Hals was like, run, run, run, run. So these two little girls run out of the house, butt naked, and they get to, like, their grandmother's house, and they call the police, and then shortly after they found the mother, her dead body.

Oh. Ashley Flowers did a special podcast called The Deck Investigates. Mm-hmm. Isn't that a separate podcast now, too? She has the deck? Yes. She has Crime Junkie, the deck, and then this one's called the deck investigates.

Okay. And it's 15 episodes about this one case. And she really hones in on what happened. I mean, she talked to the girls, you know, as adults. And it couldn't have come at a better time because we were just talking about how I love when crime fiction books have that thing where this is what happens to people after a tragic event. You know how like they're very character driven and they're like this is, you know, what my life was like. It's not always about like something that's like scream or I know you did last summer.

It's like sometimes when things like this happen, their lives are damaged and changed forever. Yes. You know, not just the people that were involved, but the people surrounding them. And she did such an amazing job of showing what these girls had to deal with growing up, knowing that this man was never caught. Yeah. It is an incredible, incredible series, and I cannot recommend it enough. Each one is about 15 to 20 minutes. So, like, when you hear like 15 episodes, like, don't be like, wow, that's way too much.

But, yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible. I listened to nine episodes of it today. Nice. Like, I can't stop. Burning through it. Yeah, it's so good. So that's what I'm obsessed with.

That's also why you're going to be obsessed with. the Hurricane Blonde, it very much, like, looks at, like, the aftermath. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That's what I, like, really, that's what I really enjoyed. I mean, not that we can compare this to, like, things that have really happened or, you know, but that's what I've really enjoyed about the book, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix. Because he kind of took all of these like girls who were like the ones that survived texas chainsaw mask her and scream and like things like that they took like these stories and they were like it's not just like oh we caught the killer like i can go on and lead a happy normal life now like he really did such a good job of

showing how like even if something like that happens and you do survive like you're just beyond fucked up after it yeah oh yeah you know so i really enjoy reading that in fiction i mean obviously this case is something that really happened but um It's extremely sad and it's like heartbreaking and I feel for these three women. But for somebody like Ashley Flowers to devote 15 episodes to make sure that this story is like given the attention and like the detail and the focus that it needs and to be like just the way that she tells a story. Yeah. It's just so like it's so respectable, respect. respectable respectable respectful yeah respectful uh it's so respectful to like not only darlene holst but like

her daughters and her oh yeah her husband you know so that's just i just can't stop listening to it because it's so good and it's just that she she's a really great journalist i guess is what you would kind of call it not storyteller in that sense yeah she's incredible she's also a great storyteller. She's a great storyteller. Like, she sticks to the facts. Like, there's no, like, fluff in her podcast. You know what I mean? Um, but yeah, I just think that she's an incredible, like you said, journalist and her whole team. They do a fantastic job. So shout out to Ashley Flowers for being the incredible woman that you are. And shout out to Kate the Great for being the incredible woman you are. And thank you to the state of Indiana. I know. That's so cute that we talked about

podcasters in like the opposite states without planning it might i add yeah we did not plan that