The rise of the “true” crime podcast ‹ CrimeReads

You can often find me walking around my small town in New Zealand and listening to podcasts about the worst things people can do to each other. And I'm not the only one with this slightly macabre habit – it's estimated that at least 75% of the millions of listeners to true crime podcasts are female.

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Like me, these women hear a wide range of stories, led by podcasters from an equally wide range of backgrounds. Some hosts are current or former journalists. Some are citizen detectives or self-professed true crime lovers, while others are ordinary citizens who have been obsessed with that one unsolved case since childhood. The best of these presenters combine humor, pathos and careful investigative work to take a look into the darkest corners of society. And maybe solve a few crimes in the process.

Ruth-Ann Baker, the citizen detective who directs my new novel, Leave the girls behind just pretends to be a podcaster. When she creates a podcast called The other womenThis is simply a ruse to gain access to three women who she believes may be connected to the murder of her childhood best friend 19 years ago. The novel is set in early 2015, and no one immediately doubts Ruthie's intentions (or abilities), as back then, true crime podcasts were still on the cusp of the popularity and ubiquity with which we are so familiar today. Serial, The podcast, which premiered in late 2014, is considered groundbreaking in the medium, and now, a decade later, there are well over 20,000 true crime podcasts for us to listen to. But when Ruthie pitches her idea to friends and family, the genre is just beginning to take off. Which is a godsend for her, because most of the time she really doesn't know what she's doing and many of her tactics are highly questionable.

If Ruthie is an unreliable host from the early days of true crime podcasting, here are four novels featuring fictional podcasters Do know what they are doing… mostly:

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke (2021)

Elle Castillo is a former social worker turned true crime podcast host and host Justice delayedwhere she investigates a horrific serial killer case from 20 years ago. This case could were solved after the suspected murderer likely died in a cottage fire, but when a listener with a hot tip for Elle ends up dead, the podcaster's professional and private life intersect and the presenter finds herself in her own life-or-death situation .

I have some questions for you by Rebecca Makkai (2023)

Bodie Kane is a film academic and podcast host who finds herself back at her old prep school in New England, teaching a podcast class to a small group of students. One of these students sparks Bodie's interest in an old case – the death of her former roommate Thalia. This murder has supposedly been solved, but like any good podcaster, Bodie begins to suspect (or remember?!) that there was more and more to the story.

None of this is true by Lisa Jewel (2023)

Alix Summers is a successful lifestyle podcaster who initially doesn't focus on crime, but soon finds herself in the thick of things after choosing her “birthday twin,” a stranger named Josie Fair, as her new podcast subject. This novel is a thriller in which the guest quickly turns the tables on the host. It pays homage to the impact of true crime podcasts by showing what it's like to be thrust into the middle of a podcast.

Listen to the lie by Amy Tintera (2024)

Lucy Chase is not a podcaster. But she could be a murderer. This is where Ben Owens comes into play. He's the popular host of a hit true crime podcast and Lucy is his new favorite subject. Did she murder her best friend Savvy and then conveniently forget about it? And does Ben want to prove her guilt – or her innocence? Here we have another professional podcaster, but this time we see him through the lens of the suspect being investigated. After Ben brings his show to town and the two form a connection, all of Lucy's buried memories begin to emerge, one frightening episode at a time.

These four podcasters may have the kind of experience and skills Ruthie could only hope for, but they're all haunted by the past, just like she is. And just as determined to put their spirits to rest.

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