Bookwild - Thriller Book Pairings | If You Liked That, You'll Also Like This with Steph Lauer

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

This week, Steph Lauer and I share books that pair well with each other.  If you liked the first one, you'll probably love the second one.Books Kate Talked AboutThe Hollywood AssistantThe Force of Such BeautyThe Hunter’s Daughter : Blood SistersPretty Things : On the SurfaceAlmost Surely Dead : Missing White WomanBig Little Lies : The Other MothersThe Lady Upstairs : Twisted Books Steph Talked AboutDo What Godmother SaysLike it Never WasAsk for Andrea : Before You Knew My NameA Good Girl's Guide to Murder : That’s Not My NameButcher and the Blackbird : The Girl in 6EIn My Dreams I Hold a Knife : The Girls Are All So Nice HereNotes on an Execution : Don't Forget the Girl  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 

This week, I am back with Steph, who you've had some interesting life updates, actually, or one. So welcome back. We might hear from one of your life updates. We don't know. Maybe. Hope not. Yeah. Well, thank you for having me back.

Yes, we did bring a puppy into the household who's three and a half months old, and his name is Canon. If you follow my bookstagram, today we went to the car wash. That was so cute. Yeah. Into the phase where his ears are like Dumbo ears because he hasn't grown into them yet. Yeah. And one of them's kind of crooked. So I think it'll always be folded over, which is cute.

Yeah. So it's like a million degrees in Wisconsin and very humid. So we were trying to find not outside things to do, which is hard to fire out a puppy that way. I do not know how people do it in the wintertime. I have no idea. He just freeze. Yeah. Yeah.

So reading has been a little slower, but I'm still into it. And day by day, we are making it. Yeah. How about you? What's new? Well, I've been writing more. So that has been fun. And, well, there was one thing I was going to talk about.

But actually, I'll tell you that later, because it hasn't been announced yet. But there is a fun other project in the works right now, too. So I'm doing that annoying thing where people are like, something's coming up, but I'm not telling you. So there's been like that other project. But mainly like writing has been the big difference. I really got it back into my schedule, which is fun because I do actually enjoy it. and it's helping me overcome my critical thoughts in a lot of ways.

I think doing something new kind of can help you with that in general if you just tend to be hypercritical of stuff that you do. So it's been good on that front too, which makes sense. It's kind of like a personal thing to write. So it makes sense that it affects your personal life too. I guess is kind of what I'm saying, or your mental health. So that's been fun. It's hot as fuck here, too.

So I am avoiding outdoors at all costs. Yeah. But similar to your older girl dog, my older girl dog just wants to bake outside all the time. So sometimes I still have to go out there. Yeah. And she has no interest in water. So I'm like, am I? Yeah.

Am I? Like, are you okay? I don't know. Yeah. That's crazy you say that because ours, every like summer she will start eating grass and then like that makes her stomach upset. And so then you're having to clean up grass that she like pukes all over the house. And if you give her probiotics, it seems to fix her desire to eat grass. And now she won't eat them. They're like in chewy. Like they're like a turkey potato chewy. treat and she just looks at me like I just want grass and I'm like but that's not what you need so we just have stubborn early yeah yeah so you've been reading slower is what you said but you have read some good ones but I have read some good runs yes so shout out whenever this episode comes out Friday in real time yeah yesterday or recently I don't know

whatever day it is. I will show you the cover. Do a Godmother says. This is one of my favorite covers I have seen in forever for anyone who watches. It is so cool. It is gorgeous. It's got that. I don't know what it's called like Floordalee kind of pattern in the black background.

And I'm really into like vintage gold picture frames. So I'm just like, I don't know why. I'm not sure. Yeah. Well, yes. Exactly. So it's just like my taste, I guess. And the book was awesome. It was fast-paced. There was constant tension, dual timelines, multiple perspectives. It was cool because it was about art, but not in a way that was like, what's that Nicholas Cage movie where there's like, like artifacts. National Treasure. Yes, National Treasure. So it's not like that kind or.

like a heist it's it's more like kind of a creepy family heirloom and you're trying to figure out what what like why um people are really interested in having it yeah that was cool um and then i just got a copy of like it never was by faith gardener and um i really liked her book you and i both liked it the prediction this is not part of that same series this is a standalone but um it's called like it never was and I'm only 20% in, but it's flying. So I know you really like fast pacing. I do. I've heard a lot of people say, even Faith Gardner I saw posted that she loves when people

call it unhinged. So I'm excited to see where it goes. Yeah, she's good at that stuff for sure. I mean, I guess I've only read one, but this doesn't sound like they could be unhinged, too. And that cover is really cool. I like the bright green on the dark blue. Yeah, like where the... There are a lot of like road covers recently, but to me this looks...

I know. It still looks unique. So it's... Yeah. And it's relevant right away in the beginning, so that makes sense. Nice. What are you reading right now? So I just finished the Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb.

Yes. Um, it is like soapy, sexy thriller perfection. So if you like all of those things in your thrillers, you're going to really like this one. And it's in L.A. This is her first one where she didn't, um, place it in Texas. So the main character moves from Texas, um, to L.A. But it takes place in L.A. And it really, she, She, like, I know you can definitely write a book without going to the city. Like, one of the coolest things I ever heard an author tell me on the podcast was Ava Glass with her alias Emma series.

She wrote the first one during the pandemic. So she couldn't go, like, walk the streets in London. But, like, it's a book that takes place, like, you're just trying to traverse one side of London to the other without being caught on CCTV. So like takes place in all these little detailed places and she just like got on Google Maps and was like using the feature where you can kind of like walk around on the streets and that was how she wrote that book. So it's possible made it that but I am very interested like it was almost like she lived there. Like there were so many LA details in it. And she's just super cinematic. Her writing is very cinematic.

Like you really feel like you're in the setting with the character. So I finished that this weekend. And then because I am caught up enough on my neck galleys and books I need to read for podcast interviews, books I get to read for podcast interviews, I started one that Hallie Sutton has talked about multiple times that's like a little bit outside of my usual genre. And it's called The Force of Such Beauty by Barbara Borland. Okay. And so it is kind of just like general fiction, like contemporary fiction. But then like it has some elements of fantasy. And then at the end it talks.

Then at the very end of the list of genres, it says mystery thriller. So it's definitely not like I'm 20% in. I would not, you would not lead with. saying that it's a thriller, but it's about a woman who used to be an Olympic athlete and a runner, and she basically had a really, really, really bad accident and discovered through the accident that she has osteoarthritis, where like she's just worn down all of the joints in her body, so she can't run anymore. But while she is in rehab, she meets a prethritis. He doesn't know that he was a prince when she met him.

Eventually, they get married. And that's all backstory. The book starts off with her stealing her maid's car and trying to flee the castle and like run away because things are so bad. So very like there are a lot of concepts in it that are things that I really like. where it's like the things that like look really pretty on the outside like royalty but like aren't when you actually look at it so i'm super intrigued and so far like i don't know i don't know if there's anything to the fantasy part other than the fact that like there's a made up kingdom that this man is the prince of because like otherwise there haven't been like magical elements or anything so

I almost wouldn't call it fantasy, but if you kind of like the, uh, observing like what's behind the veneer of other stuff, it's very interesting. And the writing is beautiful. Her writing is so beautiful. So I'm kind of excited going a little bit outside of my genre for this one. What was the name of it again? It's called the Force of Such Beauty. I love that. And it, oh my gosh, the cover is so cool, which actually, that's part of, Hallie brought it up like the first time she was maybe on the podcast. So like I knew about it.

And then it's like it's kind of like me with Ashley Winston. She just can't bring up Barbara Borland basically. So she's brought it up enough times that I've been like, I think I want to read this book or like I want to try it, especially because it's like it's already hard for me to go outside of the genre. But it's like if someone I know and have a lot in common with is like, oh, I liked this. then I'm more apt to pick it up.

So then, well, that's where I was going with it. Then we did this episode where we talked about our favorite book covers, or what we love about certain book covers. And she brought it up again. And the cover is so beautiful. And so it's been like stuck in my head ever since we recorded last week. I was like, all right, I'm going to get to this one when I'm caught up on my neck galleys. Yeah, I'm going to have to look that up.

Yeah, I'm only at 20% right now. So it could get more fantastical, but it doesn't seem like it's going to be super fantasy. It sounds almost like a retelling of like Cinderella or I don't know. You know what I mean? Like that almost like a princess, but it's not working. I don't know. It just reminds me of that just based on your brief description. And it sounds, which sounds cool.

Yeah. I know she was like inspired. by real-life princesses like Grace Kelly. And I think some of the Megan Markle stuff, Grace Kelly was the only one I saw for sure. But that stuff always fascinates me. So I'm excited to keep reading it. Totally.

Oh, that's exciting. Yeah. Hallie always has like other, like, just like, has recommendations where I'm like, I've literally never heard of that book. So, yeah, it just expands my knowledge of books. I know, because I feel like I talk about the same ones over and over.

I did tell you right before, I think today I did a decent job of not talking about the same ones over and over, but it's easy to do when you have like certain books you love and you want other people to love too. Yes. It's cool when you get a fresh, a fresh person to talk about that with and get influenced by. Yeah. Yeah, I agree.

Well, you had a cool idea for a topic. today. Thanks. You're welcome. Do you want me to talk about or do you want to talk about it? My dogs are like shuffling around. Either one. I guess, well, I'll explain it. You brought up the idea of if you liked this book, then you'll probably like this one. And I was like, it's kind of fun because it can be such a broad topic too. Like I'm interested to see which ones you came up with. Yeah, I So what I tried to do was

Take books that are like Or that I They may or may not be popular on like the broad world spectrum But at least like on my feeds they are popular Yeah And ones that might have similar vibes that I don't hear about as much So yeah I have five that I came up with

How about you? I came up with five as well Cool. Well, you should start, I think. Cool. I kind of picked some that I had read recently. So I was kind of like the ones I've read recently, if I could give recommendations of other ones, then maybe if you've seen my post about them already, you're just going to get a little bonus of other books that they're like. So one that I am still obsessed with, I loved reading it.

I was so hooked to this book to the point that like I still try to think of like what exactly it was that hooked me. And it's called The Hunter's Daughter by Nicola Solvenich or Solvinich. I don't know. And I'm having a hiccup attack. This happened last time, I think. It's probably because I keep drinking coffee really quickly before them. But the hunter's daughter is about.

a woman who is a, she's a sheriff's lieutenant in a really rural county. And when she was a kid, her, it came to light that her dad was a serial killer. And he went to jail for it. But she at some point went through some experimental therapy where they did some hypnotherapy to help her like lock some of her really traumatic memories away. So she's kind of like not been thinking of that part of her life for a really long time. But then something happens. Okay, this is in the synapsis.

She has to kill someone in the line of duty. Like he is abusive and on drugs and basically out of self-defense has to do that. And the act of killing him, like, like unlocks all the memories in her mind. And now she's remembering how scared she was of like the fact that she's genetically related to a serial killer. And then at the same time, women's bodies start showing up. And her dad had a really specific way of arranging them and decorating them.

And it's the same thing is happening again. So it's super creepy, like very creepy and like something about, I think I said this somewhere else, but that's okay, something about like being scared of like your own genetics is like next level terrifying to me, which, okay, yeah, it's hitting me why that makes sense. Yeah, so she's basically she's, she's trying to figure out who is killing these women again. And then there's like this other really interesting, like, she's super into the woods, like grew up in the woods and like still loves it to this day. And I had that same weird experience where I was like, it's so immersive and atmospheric, but like I would never want to be in the woods the way that she was. But for some reason when it's in a book, I'm also just like, wow, this is so atmospheric and moody. So I was really obsessed with that book. Like could not put it down.

So obviously I love that one. But one that came to mind that is kind of similar is Blood Sisters by Vanessa Lilly. So I just finished that. Nice. I know. I realized that after I put it, I was like, I think you just posted about it. Yeah. what's pretty similar about like this one is the um sid walker is the main character and she's an archaeologist

for the Bureau of Indian Affairs but when she was a teenager I believe there's a really really really violent experience that she experienced that she experienced experience that she went through and she's kind of been like running from not running from that but trying to get away from it in her adult life and then her sister well there's a yeah this is a snopsis a skull is found in her hometown and she gets sent out there to be an archaeologist with it basically and then when she gets there her sister also went missing so some of the things are like similar about it to me is it's like this small town feel. You have like a female main character who's chosen to go into law enforcement probably somewhat because of the way, well, she's not law enforcement.

She's an archaeologist, but it's close enough, kind of like informed by the trauma of their childhood and like family secrets and stuff are all involved. So those two, they do remind me. of each other, not not completely literally, but I feel like if you like one, you'll like the other. Yeah, I feel like they kind of might have the same, for lack of better words, vibes. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Because it goes back and forth a little bit with the timeline, the way that you like learn the information in Blood Sisters and the Hunter's Daughters the same way. You're kind of going back and forth in her childhood. Yeah. Man, I, when I, when I,

was reading Blood Sisters, I thought, I thought, okay, this is a really important story and it's kind of suspenseful, but like I'm wondering if it's more like the story and how important it is than like thrilling. And then all of a sudden there was this reveal that I was like, oh, no, this, I did not see that coming. I just thought it was because I feel like when you read about, especially like missing indigenous women. Regardless of how thrilling it is, like it's important and it's good. And it's, there's so many reasons to read it.

And I'm always interested in it. But within that, there was, I was like, okay, Vanessa Lily. Nice. And the action seems. Like some of the action that kicks in once you get to the middle through the end, I was like, this is good. Like, this feels like I'm watching an action movie in some cases. Yeah, I had no idea what to expect.

I don't even know if I read the synopsis. I just thought, oh, a lot of people like it. I'll just read it. So I had no idea what some of those like subplots were. And so, yeah, it was definitely action-packed. Yeah. And it is a series for anyone who didn't know. She is writing the second one right now.

Hmm. Yeah. I'm interested to see Sid's future. I know. Me too. also like the atmospheric if it sounded like yes what was the first one the hunter's daughter the hunter's daughter sounded really atmospheric it the way you described it i just watched on hulu the marsh king's daughter reminded me of that kind of setting um but anyway and then in blood

sisters like there's a tornado coming because they're in oklahoma so like the atmosphere is there too. It sounds like in both clothes. Yeah, yeah, I agree. Nice. Actually, when Gare recommended the hunter's daughter to me, it's like if Peter Swanson wrote

Where the Croddads sing. And it is kind of true to you and that like her connection to the woods is very similar to, is it Kaya? I think Kaya and where the crowd adds sing the way she's like attached to the earth. So it's another one where I'm like so fascinating.

by how much I love reading it in a book, even though, like, you're not going to catch me in the woods or a swamp. I didn't know. Sorry, now that you're saying that, I think that's another connection between those two books, since Blood Sisters talks a lot about, like, indigenous cultures and, like, about the land and how important it is. Like, I think that's another reason that they connect. I think so, too. Yeah.

Nice. Yeah. I love both. Well, here, that'll help me. Speaking of gear, I'm going to talk about one that I heard, two of them actually, I picked because of recommendations that he talked about in one point in other. He's here in spirit. Yeah, for sure. Okay, so I think that this one people know about, and I've talked about it a little bit before. So, Noel W. Iley asked for Andrea, is about three women who are killed. by the same man and you find out that he is of course like handsome and charming and also a killer. But what's interesting about this book is I wouldn't call it like horror or anything, but the three women, like their spirits carry on and they're not really sure if they're in some

type of like middle purgatory type place. But they make it their mission, the three of them to stop him from continuing his awful practice. I thought this book was really fast-paced, really short chapters. I got emotional at the end. It was so good to me. I need to read that one. Her books are like, if you need something that maybe you read a, maybe like a slower-paced, more like serious book, her books are like breakneck pace. Nice. That's what I love. One that I thought of with that was called Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz. And this is similar because one of the main characters is the victim of a crime.

And her spirit follows around this woman who recently moved to the city and kind of is called to help. find out what happened to her. So if you are at all interested in not really ghosts, but kind of, like someone who's who's still around and is looking for justice, I guess, especially towards men who are the worst. Yes. Both of these books will satisfy that need. That's, I mean, it sounds like revenge.

Well, it is revenge for sure. Yeah. We know how we feel about that. Yes. And also like beautiful writing, thoughtful, tabable, highlightable, about just like some of the stuff that women go through. Yeah. And so if if anyone is interested in those types of stories like I am, those are both. They're different, but like that same broad theme.

Yeah. Now they sound similar. I've got to read ask for Andrea or Andrea. I can never tell which one it is. I don't know. I've definitely heard people call or pronounce the name both ways. I did see that she re-release, I don't know if it's a re-release, but it has a different cover now. Oh.

And it's also very cool. Nice. Yeah. You've read some of, you've read her other ones too, right? Or like, you've read a few of hers. I read Room for Rent. and I read run on red. Wow.

Oh, yeah. Lots of ours happening. Uh-huh. And then I still have to read the thicket and maybe one other one. I think she just had a new one come out called gray after dark. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like I keep seeing her more and more.

And I'm like, I've got to read one of hers. Like everyone seems to love her. They all take place in, I think, like, Idaho. I think that's where she's from. Mm-hmm. So it's just like a totally different setting than I'm used to. So it's cool once you read her stuff to get a little more familiar with it. Yeah.

Nice. Well, my next one, the one I'm comparing is out. But then the other one I'm comparing it to comes out July 9th, but it was too good of a comparison for me to skip. So you can pre-order it if you want to. But pretty things by Janelle Brown, one of my all-time faves still to this day. It's about two women, one who is a grifter and the other is an heiress. And the grifter basically has like run out of options to do with her liberal arts degree

and has not been able to establish a career. and so then her mom gets sick and she needs to figure out how to like help with her health care. So she launches a plan and goes and stays with this heiress, well, stays on the property of an heiress who basically is like Airbnb being one of the outbuildings on her massive property. and she is the heiress is like now a really popular Instagram influencer so lots of like glitz and glam there and then basically this novel does so many flips like there are multiple twists that are just amazing

and since I love love cons of course I loves that one just devoured it But one that is very similar in multiple ways because it also has influencers in it or influencer culture in it is called On the Surface by Rachel McGuire. And it's coming out July 9th. And so it is about this couple Sawyer Stone III and Danny Fox who basically live on, and I can't remember what they were called. There was like a name for it. but they live on their sailboat and have been like circumnavigating the whole world. And they basically have a YouTube channel that they're trying to build up.

Like, it's doing well, but it's not amazing. So they're stuck in a harbor, basically. Is that what I'm trying to, what I'm trying to think of? Because they don't have the money to repair their boat and buy all the food they would need to like travel for two more months. And so they're they're in this community where like a bunch of different people who live on their boats are all staying. And they go to a party one night and the next morning Danny is gone and she's like completely missing. So basically and so people are like, is she dead? Like what happened? And a few days after she goes missing a YouTube

video still uploads onto the channel that starts to show the darker side of their relationship. So that is all I will say about that one. So I don't give anything away. But it has people are kind of all playing each other. I don't think that's really a spoiler to say. And there's a lot of influencer culture stuff thrown in. So it is very good. I can't believe it's a debut. And it's from a writing duo. Oh. Which fascinates me, people who write together. That's a boat cover with like hot pink writing.

Yes. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. That's it. Cool. That's cool. Yeah.

It is very fun. And you switch through multiple POVs through the whole book. So you're kind of getting like a detective's outsider view. You're getting like some of the people that knew her. You get her and you get her. Boyfriend. Yeah, boyfriend. I like that. That sounds good. It's very fun. It's a very, very fun read.

I have to get that on my radar. I probably do somewhere. I have to write out. Yeah, probably. That sounds, yes, I definitely think that when I think of tropes that you like, con artist is usually in there. Yes. So I think that that's fitting. I still have yet to read pretty things by Janelle Brown, too. Oh, it's so good. I wish I could reread it without knowing what I know.

Yeah, right. Oh, that's interesting. I think I'll piggyback off of that with some, I guess, social media type stuff. So I'm going a little YA. A book I know a lot of people really enjoy is a good girl's guide to murder by Holly Jackson. And this is a three-part series. I think that I liked the first book best, but in the first book, the main character, Pip, which I think this is recently in the near future

becoming a TV show or a series. She in a high school project is, working on a podcast interview about someone that went missing. Bear with me. It's been a long time since I have read this book. But she works with her, I don't know if I want to give it away, but like a friend that they kind of work together to find out a lot of stuff. Through the three books, you find out a lot of stuff happened in this town.

at this high school and why this person is missing and all types of people in the community are involved. So I thought that this was really, really good. The book that I thought it reminded me of that I just read recently is called That's Not My Name by Megan Lally. That's how you say it. So this also has a missing person. There's two points of view. There's one, I think that it's just called like girl or something. Yeah, girl. And she wakes up on the side of the road, is picked up by a police officer taken to the station, and this man comes to pick her up, says he's her father. And that's one storyline of her. Like, she has amnesia. I'm not always in the memory loss trope, but I like this one. Yeah. It takes a good one. So she's kind of getting to know, like, what is her life? And then the

other perspective is a teenage boy, his, I guess I should say a young man, his girlfriend went missing, and he's the number one suspect. And so you know that somehow these stories are related, but how they were related got me. It definitely got me. That sounds awesome. Yeah, it was good. I listened to that one on audio. There were times. where I laughed out loud. Like, there are some things about, like, teenage girls especially that just, like, there was one part where the sheriff's daughter is part is, like, friends with this guy who it's his perspective and help.

She's helped. They're, like, sneaking into the sheriff's office to get information, and she's just directing her dad. And she's, like, in the background, he could hear her being like, I have my period. What do you want from me? I just, what's funny? I just tickling in the car driving. Yes.

Anyway, every once in a while, like I'm picky. I'm YA selective, I should say. And every once in a while, like some of it just cracks me. Yeah. So I always take notes on what books we talk about. So this is the main reason I noticed it. But in your first one, you had before you knew my name. And then that's not my name.

Oh, yeah. I was just typing it out. And I was like, wait a second. Did I just type? the wrong thing. And I was like, oh no, we just have name-related recommendations. Yeah, that's my only one. It's good, though. That's funny. Yeah. I'm going to have to, everyone loves the Good Girls Guide to Murder who reads it. So I've always wondered if I would like that would too. The series as it goes gets jarker. Oh, nice. Yeah. Which, you know,

honestly, as I hear more certain Y.A. books, I'm like, there's not a whole, I mean, maybe like the dialogue, but like it does not mean there any less dark by any means. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, my next ones are my favorite colors. So I also love the covers.

But you guys know how much I love Amina Oktar and I loved Almost Shirley Dead this year. And it's about a woman named Dunia who is. she's a successful pharmacist who's living in New York and someone tries to kill her, basically, at the beginning of the book. And she's like literally what just happened. And then more and more people keep trying to harm or kill her. So she's trying to figure out basically why people are coming for her. but the way it's told is she has already she's disappeared so you have a timeline that is like her story leading up to all these events and then you kind of go into the future and there's a podcast that's covering her disappearance and it's just like very funny and witty like satire on

the way we turn true crime into entertainment yeah which is like okay but like it it really dives into the like darker side of doing that so then I loved both of these books and they're kind of friends I believe so it's kind of cool but missing white woman by Kelly Garrett oh I just finished that you did finish it I knew you started it I could remember if you had finished it or not but this is one where a woman goes on like what she thinks is going to be a romantic weekend getaway with her boyfriend. And when she wakes up on their final morning there, her boyfriend isn't anywhere in the house that they're renting.

And there is a white woman dead at the bottom of her stairs. And she's a black woman in a town that she's not familiar with. And this woman basically is at the bottom of her stairs who has been all over the internet because she went missing. And so everyone's looking for her. So, I'm so sorry. I can't stop your honor. I've been fighting it since I started saying that synopsis.

She's obviously like, well, this is terrible. Doesn't look good for her. But she calls the police and has them come over and the investigation starts. but another so obviously they're both there are missing women in both books but in this one the author kelly garrett really uses TikTok in a really cool way um so where almost really dead uses podcasts to kind of expose the downsides of how true crime coverage plays out sometimes this one uses TikTok for that and i just i love loved how she used it. So both books like have that missing woman at the center of it,

but also have like a larger commentary happening just about how we cover it. Yeah. I think I want to relisten to your episode with Kelly Garrett now that I read it. Yeah. I think that's so interesting. I love that you compared those two because I read them both, but I didn't really think about how similar they were. I grew through white women missing in like two days on audio. And it's one of my favorite narrators, if you're into audio, Ariel Blake. But yeah, there was... Their covers are super similar, too.

That was the crazy thing. And they came out, like, within a few months of each other. Totally. They're at least acquaintances, but I think they're, like, kind of friends, too. Oh, I love that. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. No, I'm just like, almost truly dead was March or February.

Missing White Woman was April. Yeah, I think that the, that the way the social media played out and white women missing was really interesting. So if you enjoy social commentary about how the news and, and, sorry, social media, like, I guess, even too with social media I think that and probably podcasts TikTok whatever they can kind of say whatever they think like even if it's not a fact they can be like well this is what I heard and then people blow up about it and then it might not even be true so it's just wild yeah it really is and it's fun because sometimes authors use that as a like sometimes that's what's fun about a vigilante is that they don't have to work within the realms of law enforcement.

But like these books show the flip side where it's like it means you can run with anything and say anything and like mess up people's lives. So it kind of has the opposite take. Yeah, you're right. Like sometimes the vigilante is the like the hero that saves the day. That doesn't always work out that way. You're totally right. Totally right.

Oh, interesting. I like that. I don't know if, oh, okay, I think I might have a segue because of the cover and colors. So this book has been all over the place on my feed for the past few months, and it is Butcher and Blackbird. This was a fantastic audio production, like very fun, very, like, flirty between the two characters.

It is a launchy but like fun spicy book about two serial killers that get to know each other definitely some tension especially in the back half of the book

like very spicy I think that this was fun I will say that someone compared it to the Mindfuck series to me and I don't really feel like that particular comparison landing but but on its own, I think it's fun. Yeah.

And I know the newer one, I think it's called Leather and Lark, just came out. It's like a similar cover, but turquoise. So if you're into that, yeah. But a book that it reminded me of that I recently listened to, and this authors had a lot of books come out since, is The Girl in 6E by A.R. Is it Torre? Tori. I don't know.

I have no clue. So she wrote, like, I think it's called The Good Lie. And I think there was one that's coming out recently that I've seen like Last Party or something it's called. Yes. That cover is so cool. Yeah. And I've seen only like five-star reviews for it so far. It sounds amazing.

Yeah. So her books are great. This is an older one. But I didn't realize it was like an erotic thriller. Like that's what it's called. And so this woman named Deanna, she lives in a studio apartment and she has locked herself in because you find out pretty early on that like her family, her, one of her parents, like, killed a bunch of members of her family. So she's, she thinks that she has inherited some of those types of traits. And so she's like protecting everyone by keeping herself locked in her apartment.

and how she makes a living and what she became really good at was becoming kind of like a cam girl so she does like sex work via video camera and so it's pretty spicy but also there is a plot of like some of the most not all but mostly men she comes in contact with on this website not all of them are have the best intention so she just gets kind of like sketchy vibes from one of them um so it was just a totally unique thriller to me and i know some people aren't fans of sexy spicy stuff but if you don't mind it i definitely think it's worth checking out um it is a three-part series oh yeah the first book is my favorite but i think it's worth finding or reading diana's whole trilogy.

Nice. Yeah. Yeah. Gare has talked about that one before, too. He really, really liked it. I, like, always forget about it. Yeah. And it's got, like, in this book, it's not even,

maybe it's 300 some pages, but 40, there's a lot of, like, extra stuff in the back, but there's, like, 83 chapters. So they're very short. Yes. Which is always a bonus, in my opinion. It is. I like.

I do like that. Yeah, I really, really, really want to read a her new one that's about to come out. And it's just not even on NetGalley, just not even on there. I was like, okay. That's frustrating because I saw it at some point and I was like, I can't request everything. Right. And then it's gone.

So, of course. Yeah. Well, I do kind of have a segue. I have another sexy thriller. Probably not, because you probably won't call this one an erotic thriller, but it has some sexy moments. And it's my girl, Hallie Sutton, the lady upstairs. Okay. I saw that when I was scrolling through books, and I was like, oh, yeah.

Like, I just remembered how much I loved this one. And so this one's about a woman who, she basically, she says. kind of, what does it call it? Basically, she does certain things so that she can blackmail really bad men in L.A. And she's doing it to pay off this big debt that she owes someone. And her boss is this woman that like she met through a friend called the lady upstairs and she never meets her. She just like gets her jobs assigned to her. to herself. But basically one of her jobs goes wrong and the target she was working on is murdered.

And so now the police are like crawling around trying to figure out what happened. And she doesn't want her boss to know that she botched the job. So she's trying to pull off an even bigger job on her own. and I mean the way that I described this one in my review is it is it's definitely a noir too but it reminds me so much of the quote beware that when fighting monsters you yourself do not become a monster so she has to kind of examine like why am I doing what I'm doing and is it completely okay that I'm doing it um but one thing that was similar in that even the covers are similar now that I just switched so I had two in a row

where the covers are similar but there is a book called Twisted by Maggie Giles that similarly follows a woman named Mel who is like the head of an escort service service that's like not quite legal. And when she is on a job, she basically stumbles across, I am struggling today. She stumbles across some strange, like, really specific-looking pills and is trying to figure out, like, where did these pills come from when she was on this job? but that same night there's a detective who's called to the scene of a jewelry heist and he discovers the same pills at that scene. So at the time, like these characters don't know each other.

We're just in different points of view, but these really distinct pills are kind of related to this whole story. But she can't come forward with what she knows because what she does is less than legal. but now she's kind of like involved in this investigation into a jewelry heist and she's also trying to protect the girls or the women who work for her basically but both of them I'm pretty sure twisted takes place in California I could be wrong but I think both of them are even that same setting but we have women doing kind of precarious jobs and like getting caught up in something they didn't expect to i will say twisted i did not know when i was reading it that it is a series so it kind of ends on a cliffhanger and the second one wicked comes out this year so i'm just forewarning

everyone so they're not shocked the way i was when i got to the end and i was like wait this is the end. But there are some massive twists at the end where you're like, wait a second. Interesting. Okay, so a couple things on that. One, I just saw, so my library uses Hoopla, which is an app that you can like e-read or listen to audio. And I just favored it twisted because of, I remember seeing your review of it. Yeah. And another thing, I love. that like so many LA stories are like super gritty because like the lady upstairs is and I wanted so badly to be able to compare something to these women by Ivy Pachota like I think that that could go in there as well definitely like gritty women doing all kinds of things are just like living lifestyles that

would probably be judged by a lot of people I guess and then a question you just had brought up at the beginning of this that May Cobb went to L.A. with the Hollywood assistant, would you call that one gritty too, or would you call it more like salacious, soapy? Salacious, for sure. It's not gritty, and it doesn't feel like a noir. It is, and it's a little more soapy, I guess is like the other thing. Like, it's mainly the Hollywood assistant is basically this woman, I think I kind of said this, gets a job are basically she goes through a really rough breakup and she doesn't really like her job and her friend who moved out to l.A. like years before is like I was just on set and like this really famous director needs an assistant for just to help like with like errands and stuff for his wife

at home who's an actress and so she takes the job opportunity and then she finds like a growing attraction happening between her and the husband. And then she finds out there was an ulterior motive for them hiring her. And then one of them dies. And she, one of them is murdered. And she's the main suspect. But it circles a lot more just about their like interpersonal relationships between the three of them.

Okay. Interesting. Yeah. That comparison sparked a lot of thoughts. Yeah. I like that. That was good. Yeah. But I might wait on Twisted until the next one comes out if that's the case.

I can't remember when it comes out. I just remember I saw the author posted about it here recently. Wicked. October. Oh, okay. So it's a little bit out. Oh, my gosh. The cover's so cool, though.

Ooh. Yeah. So, yeah. Maggie Giles. Into it. Let's see. I don't really have a segue. So one book that is, I think talks about a lot in our circle is, well, and as you mentioned earlier, Ashley Winstead is in my dreams of what I hold a knife. And that is, I think for a lot of thriller readers in today's circle, like a very prominent example of dark academia. And it's about a group of friends from college. In present day, they have a reunion.

But in the past timeline, when they were in college, one of their friends was murdered. And they never really figured out who did it. So it is a, I think, I think of it immediately when I think of dark academia. Yes. one that I thought could use a little more hype probably is the girls are also nice here I was just thinking about it is Ashley introduced me to that one when I interviewed her yes that's awesome well perfect I guess yeah this one is fun it has the same past and present timelines and takes place at a reunion and also in college the

relationships between the main girls in college is just fascinating to read. So if you were a fan of a college setting and what even is a good word to describe the volatile relationships between your friends. If you're into that, this, both of these books could be really good for you. Yes. I love, love, love, love both of them. Like, I was so happy when she told me about the girls are all so nice here because I devoured it and it is just like sinister, like so messed up. The ending is crazy. She has, and I, she has one coming out in August called Till Death Do Us Part. And the cover is pretty cool. But I was just looking, it's on my neck galley shelf. And I was like, oh yeah. I have another Lori Elizabeth Flynn coming up.

So I'm excited to see how that one is. When? Did you say when? Yeah. I think it's August 6th, actually. I thought it was late summer, early fall. So yeah. That makes sense.

And it's, hmm, I can't find it. Till Death do us part. It takes place. Yes, kind of near a winery. That's why I was just about to go, towards and it has like this like cover that's like kind of like the winery like the plants or whatever you call what grapes grow on at the bottom yeah and then like kind of a watercolor sky but then there's these droplets that kind of look like blood but it's like it also looks like wine so it's a

pretty cool cover i did not catch that yeah i love it's i love the cover it's very pretty So hopefully I enjoy that one just as much. Well, my last one, I am doing a big little lies comparison. I don't think I need to explain too much what big little lies is about because I feel like at this point, people have either read or watched it. But it's three very different women in Monterey. in a really like kind of like wealthy school around a bunch of wealthy people as well and how they're like very separate lives actually intertwine and end up you know someone died from the beginning of it but you don't know who died and you don't know why um so you're like working your way up toward why it happened in like a really wealthy community um and if you liked that one, I think you would love the other mothers by Catherine Faulkner. Oh, yeah.

How one was so fun to read. I just remember really having fun with it. And basically, there is a young nanny who is found dead under mysterious circumstances. And the main character, Tash, is wondering what the story is there. but she has also been looking for new friends. She's a new mom herself. And the nanny basically died in the community where these other mothers live. And so she basically kind of coesies up to them and becomes friends with them while simultaneously

simultaneously trying to research this death because also as a journalist, she's like struggling to get work. So she's wanting to like be able to write this story. And then another young woman is found dead. And so she ramps up her investigation and her new friends become more and more suspicious for all kinds of reasons. The ending is crazy. Similar to Big Little Eyes, the ending is crazy. But I just, I really like her writing. The characters always feel very real.

I liked Greenwich Park, her debut too. And as you and I would also agree with her, when I interviewed her, she talked about, I was like asking what, um, what drives her to write about like mother. hood in thrillers and she was like basically said it's being a mother's one of the scariest things you can do. I was like yes that that checks out. Oh interesting. Oh man and the other mothers I thought I had it and I was thought it was so obvious and then I'm like man she tricked me. Yep she she really did yeah and it didn't feel like sometimes twists when they're like too tricky it seems like someone just like wrote it out of the blue but you're like, oh, this one, you're like, oh, that actually makes sense. Yeah. Yeah, it was wild. I finished

the other mothers and then I was like, okay, I need to read Greenwich Park for sure. Yeah. I loved both of them. Speaking of Big Little Lies, I thought there was going to be another season coming out, but it's been forever. I think it just got announced that they actually are writing the, or they've just finished writing the third one so they're about to film it. But yeah, it has been forever. Yeah. Have you seen Lianne has a new book that's actually about to come out? I have seen it.

I think it has a butterfly on the cover. Yeah. I can't tell if it's for me or not. Something about people on an airplane all find out when they're going to die. Like they all suddenly know. and then it's a little bit it's like about what each of them do with that information basically it sounds like that book the measure oh i don't know about that one there was a book called the measure that was really popular maybe in the last year that's like yellow with like blue on the cover and

everyone got like a slip of paper or something with how long they were going to live yeah i can't remember I can't even remember what this new and where are you one is called. Oh, here one moment. So yeah, I don't know. It says it's just fiction. Oh, this says mystery. So maybe there is a mystery out.

Holy cow, it's 512 pages. So it's a long one. Yeah. I have a friend who really likes her books and said, like, I don't know if this will be for everything, everybody, but I loved it. Yeah. who knows if i'll pick it up we'll see slow burn yeah 500 pages there's got to be some slow parts

yeah oh my gosh perfect segue actually or do you have more to say no i don't okay so i remember the first time i was ever on your podcast i talked about how as of recently i don't mind when some stories are a little slower we talked about more character-driven books. And so one book that I know a lot of people know and love in the thriller world is notes in an execution. And if you have not heard of it, it is, well, it just in the synopsis gets compared to Long Bright River by Liz Moore, which I know a lot of people really love that book. I have not read it. But I think that it kind of fits what we're talking about. but a man who has been convicted of murder is on death row and throughout most of an execution,

you get like updates as he gets closer and closer to his time. But interwoven are stories of people in his life. So people he's been in relationships with, his family. So it's a really unique story. and talks a lot about who is affected by the actions of serial killers. And I think that's been talked about many times on this show and for good reason is that it's important to understand the effects that these events have on other people. And not always focusing on the villain. So notes on an execution is incredible.

something that I think even in the synopsis or no and maybe in my review I don't remember I said it's a book called Don't Forget the Girl by Rebecca McKana that was this was a five-star read for me yeah there is also a killer who I believe is on death row and the other perspectives are two really good friends of the girl who they believe is one of his victims Yeah. And it talks about friendship and how people are affected by someone that is killed or goes missing and how this person on death row gets so much attention. And it's not even, especially her friend, it was kind of like a on the edge case of like, did he do it? They're not sure. But like so she didn't feel like she was really getting the attention she deserves. But for me, the pacing of this is a little more notes on an execution or like bright young women where it's,

It's not this like twisty-turny thriller. It's more of a character-driven. It's kind of like a meditation. Meditation on like the victims. Yeah. Yeah, I'm not always good at the succinct like one sentence of what I'm trying to say. So I'm glad that you can help me out. Yeah.

But you're both super good. Yes. I was just, it might have been on. I recorded an episode with Thrillers by the Book Club podcast and I was talking on there how I don't typical, it hasn't aired yet but I was talking on there about how I

sometimes literary thrillers. I just can't buy completely into it but notes on an execution is like it's my exception. It's such a perfect, in my opinion, balance of. It is. like this beautiful writing, but also and like character driven,

but people who are typically into the faster-paced thriller books can usually get into it and stay in it. Yeah. The writing is just so good. And she even, she said she like rewrote it multiple times. My gosh. She had like very different versions of. I was like, that's crazy.

Okay. Also, I'm so excited to hear that you're on that podcast because I also love it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it comes out next week. Yeah. It's next week's, I think. Because it was June 20-something. So it must be next week. Yeah, it was very fun. They were very fun to hear what books you all talked about. Yeah. They were really fun. And they just record audio. So which like I knew they didn't use video, but I like got on and I was like, I'm like, so you. used to like looking at people for like visual cues to talk and stuff that I'm just like staring at the screen and I'm just like what should I look at how do I know when to talk I was like it shouldn't be this difficult but I was making it difficult in my head you're right I think now it's you're so used to being on like Zoom Google media other platforms FaceTime like there's just so many things

with visuals oh that's yeah yeah oh cool It was very fun though. Yeah. It was super fun. So yeah, that one will come out next week. We did a little, we're going to do a little pod swap, but Olivia's been on this one. And then we were going to do it with both of them, but scheduling is just, we're just waiting on the scheduling of it. So it was very fun, though.

I had a lot of fun. It was cool, like not being the hub. most for once too. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love their dynamic is so fun. Yes. I feel like Chelsea can be like I love her like sass.

Yes. It's so fun. She is so like there are times where she be saying something that I was like, oh, she was being sarcastic. Cool. But like she's just like saying this. It's just straight through. And then you're like, oh, nice.

I love it. Oh, cool. Well, congratulations. That's awesome. Thanks. I let everyone go listen to it next week. I also talk about the hunter's daughter on there. So you could just hear all about how much I love this book. I have that one written down. What was the other one that you said that I was like, oh, I have to write that down. Was it on the surface? Yes. Yeah, I think it was. I think. And you said that comes out July 9. yep and i'm actually doing a podcast with them too the two writers i am getting some good wrecks from

your podcast lately because i also wrote down a murder in zion from when we talked with jamie lindricks yes too so still so many good wrecks coming yeah oh my gosh i got oh this might as well talk about it i got an email for a book that the email title was American Psycho and Stilettos. I was like, Go On. And it's, I think called The Outlier by Elizabeth Eves. I think this is her debut book and it comes out in August.

But I don't even know if I can sum it up all that quickly. It's a really long synopsis. But basically I'm super excited for it. I'm like how many good books are going to come out in July and August? And the answer is tons. Oh, that's exciting. Oh, speaking of that, so I was at a book club meeting and one of the members said that she really enjoyed this book called The Best Way to Barry Your Husband. Ooh.

And she said it was the things that she said about it seemed very our style. And she said it's a dark comedy was like not really cheesy. She thought it was like the cover. almost looks a little like cartoony. It does. It was darker than I thought. And so I think it could be an interesting one as well. Yeah, that sounds good.

I see at the ending it says, together fueled by righteous anger, but tempered by a moral code. Four women must help each other work out a plan to get rid of their husbands for good. Interesting. Yeah, I've been rewatching Dexter, so I think everything reminds me of that.

Oh, I bet. Oh, I love that show. That show is so good. Me too. Although I'm on season two with Lila and I'm like, gosh, she drives me a little nuts. But Trinity killers coming up and that's my favorite. Yes.

Which one is Lila? She's his sponsor. She's like British and she did. That's funny. I had Kristen, who came to mind. I had like an actress come to mind. It's, she's in Breaking Bad Ritter, Kristen Ritter. Oh.

But it is someone with black hair who kind of looks similar to her. Okay, so I do remember who she was. Yeah, she was. I haven't seen her since Dexter, to be honest. She could be in other things, but I have not. Yeah, I don't, I don't recognize her really otherwise. Have you read Peter Swanson's new one, a talent for murder? Probably not.

I haven't. I had a book club I'm in, got coffee. but I couldn't make it to the meeting, so I gave my copy to someone who could make it. But I have not read the second one in that series, but I've heard that you can read them separately. Yeah. Yeah. Have you? No, I haven't, but to me it sounds like Dexter, but kind of from Rita. Ooh.

Rita's perspective. Yeah. It's like the woman starting to think her husband is a serial killer. Interesting. Yeah. Gary actually sent me a copy because he got multiple, but I haven't read it yet. Okay. Yeah, that makes me want to read it.

I know. I feel like I still should read the second one before. I would feel that way, too. It does say it can be read as a standalone, though. You're right. Okay. Well, a lot of great things coming out. There's a lot of good books that are out.

So hopefully you all find something good from the, million things we've talked about today.