Reader, I Murdered Him

Today’s episode is based on the book Homecoming by Kate Morton. In the small town of Tambilla, in the Adelaide Hills, on Christmas Eve of 1959, the Turner family was discovered resting around a picnic blanket by the creek on the edge of their property by a mail carrier who was cutting through to let his horse drink from the cool water before making the trek back home. But as he approached Isabel T...

Today’s episode is based on the mystery short story “The Dauphin’s Doll” by Ellery Queen. Who doesn’t love a gentleman thief? The kind of coldhearted, calculating criminal that really just wants to bruise your ego and prove to everyone that they’re the smartest person in the room—even when going toe to toe with some of history’s greatest investigative minds.  What’s not to love. And for five years...

Today’s episode is based on the noir short “The Killer Christian” by Andrew Klavan. Everyone knows the story of the final shootout between Sarkesian and Billy Shine, better known as “The Death” that fateful Christmas Eve night above the Mysterious Bookshop. At the time, most of the coverage of this event had been focused on how the shootout fit into the bigger picture of gang violence in New York....

Today’s episode is based on the noir short “Dead on Christmas Street” by John D. MacDonald. Loreen Garrity would have much rather joined the shoppers on the street below her than be stuck up on the seventeenth floor filing paperwork for Kistner Accounting. But she didn’t expect to join them by being pushed from her office window to the ground below. And Loreen Garrity put up a fight. A big enough...

Today's episode is based on the Sherlock Holmes-inspired short story “A Scandal in Winter” by Gillian Linscott. When regular Edelweiss Hotel guest Mr. McEvoy came to stay with his wife over the Christmas holiday, he never expected it would be his last visit. Or that he would be pushed from the window of his room to his death in the snow below. While it was never conclusively proven what happen...

Today episode is based on the short story “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” by Agatha Christie. ====== The holidays can make people do strange things. Like fighting strangers over the last Cocomelon Bus in the toy aisle or finishing off a bottle of red wine and telling their mother-in-law’s boyfriend what they really think of him. But they can also make people more charitable. Like inviting...

Kelly Walsh did not seem like the kind of person who would be the target of murder. And not just because she was a struggling single mother who worked hard to provide for her son and herself while seeming to otherwise keep to herself. We all know people have more depth than what we can glimpse from the surface. But Kelly Walsh was already dying. Weeks before her murder, Kelly had already been prep...

Everyone knows the name Anna Victoria Alcott. Whether you grew up with her as the lovable, blond witch on Spellbound (which tragically only ever had one season) or if you came to know and love her after her Oscar Award nominated role in The Auteur , or her later roles as director and producer for countless award nominated films, anyone who’s been paying attention to pop culture knows who she is. B...

There are two kinds of people on Saoirse, locals and tourists. And Saoirse Island loves its tourists. They’re the reason the island economy can survive harsh winters set apart from the rest of the world. The reason the locals can afford to live even when the apple orchard—which provides a majority of Saorise’s jobs and income—goes dormant. And if the locals hear rumors about witches on the island,...

Burke Dennings is a Hollywood director known for being a relatively nice guy—until he gets drunk. Then it’s anyone’s guess which version of Burke Dennings you might get. From screaming to vulgar language to property damage, Burke Dennings leaned into the forgiveness extended to creatively-minded men in the 1970s to engage in whatever his ego told him it wanted to do.  And when Burke Dennings ends...

Jess Price was a young woman with a bright future ahead of her. She’d distinguished herself in her graduate creative writing program as an author with a strong voice and a lot of promise. So when she took a job to house sit through a luxury house sitting website, she assumed it would be a chance to get out of the city and focus on her writing. In fact, she was hoping the quiet and isolation would...

When a group of Caerphilly citizens go looking for an unmarked graveyard in an attempt to reclaim some of the town’s history, they get more than they bargained for, stumbling across not a long forgotten slave graveyard, but the fresh grave of Caerphilly resident Walter Inman. And while Walter, otherwise known as Wally the Weird, wasn’t well liked in town, most people would bet he’d be more likely...

Margaret and Hal Hartman had just one dream for the entirety of their lives together. To own a house, so that they could provide their only daughter with the stability and security of a place that would always be there for her. A kind of stability neither Margaret nor Hal had had growing up themselves. And while their daughter was nearly grown by the time they managed it, Margaret and Hal eventual...

On October 30, 1969, the body of Chase Andrews, one of Barkley Cove’s (NC) native sons, was found at the body of a firetower out in the marshland. And while it appears this was just a tragic accident, the local sheriff refuses to believe one of Barkley Cove’s own could have been killed by something as banal as a fall through an open grate.  He refuses to believe this was an accident. And opens a h...

Does the devil exist? This week’s case hinges on the answer to that question. An answer Grayson Hale firmly believes is yes. After coming to Edinburgh to follow in the footsteps of his recently departed father, Grayson is determined to make his mark as an academic. But even graduate students need money, and when a mysterious stranger offers him a job ghostwriting a book about the Devil, Grayson ca...

Augustus Williamson, a young black man from Mattapan, had dreams of a better life, but his fateful encounter in Southie would change everything. As the story surrounding his death changes with each layer that is peeled back, it exposes the racial prejudice and injustice surrounding his untimely death. But the mystery doesn't end there. Jules Fennessey, a born and bred Southie, never comes home...

This week’s chilling episode dives into the disturbing story of Maeve Fly, a name that will forever be associated with darkness and brutality. Maeve Fly's tale is a twisted one, filled with secrets, violence, and a shocking manifesto that challenges our understanding of evil. Maeve’s life takes a dark turn when she finds her soul mirrored in her enigmatic grandmother, Hollywood royalty Tallula...

In today’s enthralling episode as we dive into a tale of romance, betrayal, and criminal intrigue that hinges on a fateful prom night. Prom night is often glorified in young adult fiction and TV dramas, but in reality, it's less cinematic and more about sweaty dancing, expensive tickets, and parental photo ops. But for Amber and Joe, that night changed the course of their lives forever. Amber,...

Travis Stilwell hunted in the bars and honkey tonks along the Texas desert highway, stalking women and luring them back with him to apartments and hotel rooms, only to show them the monster that he really was. In an attempt to bring justice to this young women, Texas Ranger Reader makes it his personal mission to get Stillwell off the streets and into a jail cell. But this case becomes about more...

This episode finds us in a world of high crime and contract killers as we explore the case of EZ Clean, the killer-for-hire that marketed their services on a parenting forum that also served as the front for a notorious crime boss and his associates. While the exact number of hits EZ Clean carried out is unknown, records indicate that they may have been working for years, leaving a trail of unsolv...

As summer fades away and the Midwest prepares for the start of a new school year, our podcast takes a daring plunge into the chilling mysteries that shroud Clifford Island. What may seem like an idyllic haven hides an unsettling truth that sends shivers down the spine. We’ll embark on an extraordinary exploration of a place where time itself appears to stand still. Willow Stone was a devoted teach...

Today we’re heading to Marlow, England, where vacationers enjoy the idyllic riverside while permanent residents cherish its serenity. But recently, a chilling wave of murders has disrupted the tranquility. Three victims, killed days apart, were found with medallions symbolizing faith, hope, and charity. As investigators try to apprehend the Virtues Killer, Detective Tanika Malik enlists the help o...

In today’s episode, we’ll delve into a web of deception, obsession, and chilling murders as we uncover the dark conspiracy behind the seemingly unrelated murders of Miriam Haines and Samuel Bruno. Miriam was a free-spirited young woman living life on her own terms, while Samuel was a wealthy man with a strained relationship with his son.  Guy, caught in a loveless marriage with Miriam, dreams of a...

Discover the shocking truth behind the legend of the Hope Family Murders in today’s captivating episode. Unveiling a case that has gripped the coast of Maine, we delve into the story of Lenora Hope, the sole survivor of a brutal crime. Lenora, plagued by guilt and living as an invalid, has spent her life in the crumbling Hope Family mansion. But her true story remains untold until she finds a care...

In today’s episode we’ll explore the shocking story of Catrina Alfaro, known as the DNA Test Killer, who uncovers a dark family legacy linking her and dozens of others to the infamous Miami Slayer. This case is a web of complex twists and turns that span from a notorious serial killer to unsuspecting half-siblings, culminating in a deadly confrontation. Join us as we delve into the depths of suspe...