I love a good podcast. They make great companions while traveling or doing chores. Much like my reading preferences I listen to a wide range of things, but my favorite podcasts center on design, history, science, food, and those that manage to blend those together all at once.
In DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CAKE, my amateur sleuths, Keisha Scott is an avid listener to true crime, while Virgil Sullivan actually runs his own podcast and is interviewing people to create show about his aunt’s new cookbook. Podcasting acts as a plausible excuse for their mystery solving and was one of my favorite parts to write.
Because of how important podcasts are to both the characters and the book, I wanted to a share a few podcasts I feel my characters would have queued up for their next list.
Keisha’s List
Criminal – Keisha loves the narrative focus and deep compassion in the storytelling. One of the first true crime podcasts she fell in love with, she has a playlist of her favorites that regularly returns to.
Buried Bones – History meets true crime is a treat for Keisha. She enjoys the speculation that arises when applying modern methods to old cold cases and vintage murder.
Crime Junkie – This podcast showed Keisha how much she enjoyed true crime that’s presented as single episodes instead of a serial lasting all season. She enjoys the care the podcast takes when setting the scene and particularly likes how the episodes titles make it quite clear about what she’s about to dive into.
Black Girl Gone – True crime often overlooks Black women and girls, and Keisha appreciates that this podcast centers Black woman, highlighting cases that don’t get the same attention other true crimes cases do this.
Park Predators – Keisha shared this one with her father, who always claimed cities were very unsafe. All about the danger that lurks out around campgrounds and even in the national parks, Keisha is riveted and even more determined to stay out the woods.
Virgil’s List
Atlas Obscura – Virgil loves the bite size pieces and the sheer variety of unusual places the podcast goes (literately and figuratively!). He’s called in to leave a voice mail for their mailbag episodes, but haven’t his message hasn’t made it to the air yet.
99% Invisible – The first podcast he seriously listened to, he enjoys seeing how design features so much in the world, and never in a way he suspects. This is the only podcast he listens to the complete credits.
Unexplainable – His favorite of the science-y podcasts he listens to, Virgil likes that there’s never a question too big or too small for the crew to handle.
Endless Thread – Conversational and quirky, it’s a deep dive to the weirdest corners of the internet, where sometimes he’s amused to realize he had already ventured to that corner before.
This is Uncomfortable – A podcast about money and relationships, Virgil started listening to it when he quit his old job to start a moving company. While he doesn’t always follow financial advice, its thought-provoking material has him rethinking the legacy that his famous aunt will leave him.
DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CAKE by Nicole Glover
A cosy, Christmassy crime that’s equal parts mystery and delicious festive food! Perfect for fans of The Great British Bake-Off and Murder at Mistletoe Manor.
A dash of murder, a sprinkle of amateur sleuthing, and a cup full of Christmas spirit…
After months of working alongside the legendary chef Shirleen Foster, Keisha Scott is ready for a night of festivities celebrating her boss’s famous 12 Christmas Cakes.
It’s all of Keisha’s dreams come true, until the night takes a turn for the worse. Her boss’s former collaborator (now rival), Ruby Walton, accuses Shirleen of stealing her recipes.
Even worse, Ruby is found dead a short while after their argument, leading the police to arrest Shirleen as the top suspect.
Keisha is less convinced, however. Fuelled by her passion for true crime podcasts, and aided by Shirleen’s vexing nephew, Virgil, she sets out on a mission to clear Shirleen’s name.
This will either be a piece of cake or a recipe for disaster…
Mystery Cozy | Mystery Culinary [ Datura Books, On Sale: November 3, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9781917415378 / eISBN: 9781917415361 ]
Buy DEATH BY CHRISTMAS CAKE: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Libro.fm | Audible | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Nicole Glover
NICOLE GLOVER works as a UX researcher in Virginia. She believes libraries are magical places and problems seem smaller with a cup of tea in hand. Her life outside of books include bicycles, video games, and baking the perfect banana bread. The Conductors is her debut novel.
No Comments
Comments are closed.