True crime is fun — when it’s happening to other people.
Four years in, Stevie and Nate’s true crime podcast, All the Gory Details, is forced onto hiatus when the man they casually accused of murder in their first-ever episode, about the unsolved stabbing of teenager Lauren in their hometown seventeen years ago, is proven innocent by new DNA evidence. But the damage is done: the man’s life is ruined, and so is the podcast’s reputation. Stevie never wants to record again.
But when a new murder eerily similar to Lauren’s is brought to her attention, Stevie seizes the chance to make things right. She doesn’t want to lounge in an armchair discussing other people’s true crime stories anymore — she wants to ger her boots on the ground and investigate for herself. If she and Nate can prove the link between the two murders to the police, they could help catch the real killer, and atone for their careless mistake.
Nate convinces a hesitant Stevie to resurrect the podcast — now with a fresh, investigative slant — to help spead the word about the murders, and redeem themselves in the eyes of the public. But when Nate becomes fixated on the podcast’s resurging popularity at the expense of the investigation, Stevie begins to wonder how well she really knows her best friend of seventeen years. Are listening figures really more important than getting justice for two teenage girls?
As the investigation takes them back to their hometown and long-buried secrets are dug up, Stevie suddenly realises what it’s like to live the Gory Details of a true crime story rather than recount them.
She thought she knew everything about Lauren’s murder — and about Nate.
She was wrong.
SMALL SECRETS is available worldwide in ebook, paperback, and audiobook! Buy now from Amazon.
Content Warning:
SMALL SECRETS is about how true crime podcasts blur the line between horrific, real-life violence and fun entertainment. The book contains excerpts of episodes where the co-hosts joke about murder and gore, which may not be to everyone’s taste. However, the “true crime” mentioned within the book is almost entirely fictional and does not refer to real victims or cases.
Lucy Goacher 