On this week’s episode of No Filter, Candice Fox joins Holly Wainwright for a conversation that goes beyond crime fiction and into the reality behind it.

Candice is one of Australia’s most successful crime writers, with more than 20 books and collaborations with James Patterson. But her understanding of crime didn’t start on the page. She grew up surrounded by chaos; foster children, real-life stories, and a world where darkness was never far away.

In this episode, she shares the moment that changed everything: coming face-to-face with a serial killer on death row, and what it revealed about fear, instinct, and human behaviour.

She also explores why so many women are drawn to true crime — and what we’re really trying to understand when we listen.

And then, the story she couldn’t let go of. A real-life cold case that stayed with her for decades, and became the foundation for her latest novel - a way of grappling with grief, justice, and the limits of storytelling.

Redbelly Crossing by Candice Fox is out now.

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What To Listen To Next:

• Listen: Natalie Bassingthwaighte: “The Night That Ended My Marriage”
• Listen: Chloé Hayden Knows the Cost of Being the Autistic Woman Everyone Looks To
• Listen: Concetta Caristo Changed Her Name to Escape a Violent Home
• Listen: Rachel Ward Looks Her Age. When Did That Become Radical?
• Listen: For 15 Years, No One Was Listening To Lainey Wilson. Now She's Everywhere
• Listen: Supermodel Rachel Hunter Was The Ultimate 90s Muse - Then She Walked Away

Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here.

Watch No Filter on YouTube. Follow us on Instagram here. Follow us on TikTok here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:

Guest: Candice Fox

Host: Kate Langbroek

Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Executive Producer: Bree Player

Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne

Video Producer: Josh Green

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of her childhood, Chloé Hayden felt like she didn’t belong.

She was bullied at school, moved through ten different schools and struggled to exist in environments that didn’t understand her. When she was diagnosed as autistic at thirteen, there were almost no conversations about neurodivergence and no one she could look to who felt like her.

Today, she has become that person for millions of others.

Through her role as Quinni in Netflix’s Heartbreak High and her advocacy online, Chloé has become one of the most visible autistic women in the world.

But becoming a voice for others comes with its own cost.

In this conversation with Kate Langbroek, Chloé opens up about the pressure of representation, the emotional toll of advocacy and what it means to build a life that belongs to her, not just the movement she helped create.

Heartbreak High Season 3 premieres globally on March 25, 2026 on Netflix.

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SUBSCRIBERS: Get 25% off Nala with your Mamamia subscription. Click here to get your code. Ends 1st April.

What To Listen To Next:

• Listen: Concetta Caristo Changed Her Name to Escape a Violent Home
• Listen: Rachel Ward Looks Her Age. When Did That Become Radical?
• Listen: For 15 Years, No One Was Listening To Lainey Wilson. Now She's Everywhere
• Listen: Supermodel Rachel Hunter Was The Ultimate 90s Muse - Then She Walked Away

Discover more Mamamia Podcasts here.

Watch No Filter on YouTube. Follow us on Instagram here. Follow us on TikTok here.

Feedback: podcast@mamamia.com.au

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:

Guest: Chloe Hayden

Host: Kate Langbroek

Group Executive Producer: Naima Brown

Executive Producer: Bree Player

Assistant Producer: Coco Lavigne

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

Video Producer: Josh Green

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land on which we have recorded this podcast.

Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.