The Podcast

Sumner West is the voice behind the world's number one true crime podcast, West Coast Killers. As the siren of the mic effortlessly delivers the script of another six-figure ad, a shout in the hallway breaks through her studio-grade noise-canceling headphones. A brooding LAPD detective throws open the door that seals her from the outside world, demanding an interview. Detective Lucas Saba doesn't know much about the twenty-seven-year-old media maven seated behind the microphone. He's not aware of her controversial rise to internet stardom, of the deeply divided Reddit threads debating the murky past of amateur sleuthing's queen. What he does know is that two students were found dead on UCLA's campus, perfectly mirroring the murders of a 1997 double homicide featured on Sumner's podcast, Episode #142: Ruined Bruins. As Lucas investigates the uncanny connections between recent unsolved murders on his desk and the transcript of Sumner's podcast, the cat-and-mouse game that launched her career-beginning with the unsolved murder of her best friend, Chloe-will cast doubt on the motives of everyone in her inner circle, including the reigning queen of true crime herself. THE PODCAST is an ensemble murder mystery for fans of Lucy Foley's THE PARIS APARTMENT and listeners of Ashley Flowers' CRIME JUNKIE. With elements of dark whimsy resembling Hulu's ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, this story explores our morbid fascination with true crime through a cast of deliciously deceptive characters in the world of Los Angeles' influencer culture. #1 in suspense / 99K stories #1 in crime / 67K stories #1 psychological / 31.5K stories #1 truecrime / 1.5K stories #61 murder / 176K stories #2 podcast / 1.2K stories #1 arrested / 1K stories All rights reserved, Skara Gray, 2023-2024. 80,000 words.