Last year, Sabrina Thatcher (aka Olivia Day Wallce) and Lori Brand shared their experiences at ThrillerFest, and this year, since I got to go for the first time, we all get back together to discuss Thrillerfest 2025!

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, I shared a quick ThrillerFest Recap (more to come on that front), and then Gare and Steph and I shared some of our favorite iconically blue and yellow covered thrillers!

Books We Talked About

No Road Home

Keep it in the Family

Believe Me Now

When No One is Watching

The Pact

Daughter of Mine

Not a Happy Family

What Have You Done

Darling Girls

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, I got to talk with Rob Hart about the second book in his Assassins Anonymous Series The Medusa Protocol. We dive into the inspiration for the title, how he crafts action without letting his main characters kill anyone, and plans for the third book in the series.

The Medusa Protocol Synopsis

When Astrid, known in her assassin days as Azrael, stopped showing up to Assassins Anonymous, the group assumed her past had caught up with her. Only her sponsor Mark, formerly the deadliest killer in the world, holds out hope that she’s okay. Then, during a meeting, the group gets a sign, or rather, a pizza delivery. Is there another psychopath out there who actually likes olives on their pizza, or is Astrid trying to send Mark a message?

Meanwhile, Astrid wakes up in the cell of a black site prison, on a remote island. A doctor subjects her to mysterious experiments, plumbing the depths of her memory and looking for a vital clue from her past. She’ll do anything to escape, except…killing anyone. Hmm. Turns out it’s not easy to blow this joint without blowing anything, or anyone up.

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, I was lucky enough to go to Chicago with Steph to see Julie Clark in conversation with Mary Kubica about her new thriller The Ghostwriter!! If you haven't seen the sprayed edges already, you need to. We had so much fun at the event, but also had the best time recording our first IRL episode! The reading gods smiled down on me and now specific fiction books work for me in audio form, so we decided to share some of our favorite audiobooks!

Books We Talked About

Finding Me by Viola Davis

This American Woman by Zarna Garg

Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum

Girl on Girl by Sophie Gilbert

The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali

Don't Tell Me How to Die by Marshall Karp

The Good Sister Sally Hepworth

Allegedly Tiffany D. Jackson

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, I got to talk with Kimberly G. Giarratano about her newest installation in the noir Billie Levine series, Make a Killing! We dive into what was different about writing this one, how she landed on a luxury luggage company for the story, and how capitalism has seeped into college.

Make a Killing Synopsis

Private Investigator Billie Levine should be ecstatic. She’s finally getting the cheating spouse cases she’s always wanted. Nothing to do but sit back, snap incriminating photos, and get paid. Except Jeremy Yang is competing for work with his own P.I. firm. Advertising himself as “the man to get the job done” (insert eyeroll), he keeps swooping in and stealing prospective clients. Not to be outmaneuvered, Billie has offered her services to scorned women everywhere.

Their rivalry escalates when Billie and Jeremy are hired by an ultra wealthy couple on opposite sides of a corporate takeover. When the bodies start dropping, Billie and Jeremy will have to join forces if they are to come out unscathed; they can kill each other later.

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Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, Gare, Steph and I share some of our favorite LGBTQIA+ books for Pride Month! Also, don't forget you can #ReadQueerAllYear!

Books We Talked About

Harriet Tubman Live in Concert

Winging it With You

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life

Glitter in the Dark

Game Changer

One Killer Problem

This Violent Heart

Just By Looking At Him

House of Hunger

The Snow Garden

The Honeys

Extras

These Violent Delights

Hidden Scars

Providence

The Shards

Young Mungo

The Three Lives of Cate Kay

Chain Gang All Stars

Mad Honey

No Road Home

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Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

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Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

This week, I got to talk with Jennifer Oko about her uniquely crafted novel Just Emilia. We dive into how she created the three women in the elevator as their own characters, but also all the same woman, and the inspiration for the story.

Just Emilia Synopsis

The past, present, and future collide in a DC Metro elevator as three women get caught up in a gripping time-traveling tale of memory, emotion, and unspoken truths about their shared history.

When Emilia Fletcher finds herself trapped inside a Washington, DC Metro elevator, getting out is the least of her problems. Sharing the confined space with her are Em, a troubled teenager plagued by suicidal thoughts, and Millie, an elderly woman yearning to mend ties with her estranged daughter. As the hours drag on, hunger, exhaustion, and panic set in, revealing an almost incomprehensible truth: they are the same person. Locked in an uncompromising match of memories, the three women excavate and attempt to reckon with the shared shame and suffering stemming from an unresolved trauma that has cast a profound shadow over their lives. Brimming with biting humor, compassion, and quick-witted insight, JUST EMILIA is remarkable journey of self-discovery.

Check Out My Stories Are My Religion Substack

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Check out the Bookwild Community on Patreon

Check out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and Greg

Follow @imbookwild on Instagram

Other Co-hosts On Instagram:

Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian