DEATH BY PODCASTING

In Archer and Wade’s thriller, podcasters scramble to identify which of their upcoming guests is scheming to murder them.

Podcaster Raspy Fuse gets his very first death threat via text. The anonymous message promises that one of three authors appearing together on a future show will kill him and his co-host and best friend, Salty Remarks. This trio of writers is already suspicious after their shared interview with a California podcaster who mysteriously died later that same day. So, Raspy and Salty look closely at their scheduled guests: poet William Z. Wisp, romance author Della Molasses, and thriller scribe Edwin Nocturne (“Raspy liked his chances in a fistfight with any of the three. But the threat was murder, not a boxing match”). Each of them, it turns out, has ties to people who are not exactly on good terms with the podcasting hosts, including an IT guy to whom they owe money. As motives and suspects pile up, Raspy and Salty have very little time to determine which of the three intends to take them out during their podcast’s year-end live production. The co-authors pack a lot into this novella, such as shifting narrative perspectives that plumb the depths of the energetic cast. Raspy and Salty may occasionally clash (Salty doesn’t initially take the death threat seriously), but they clearly care for and respect one another. The potential killers flaunt robust personalities, even if they’re superficially defined by their respective genres’ associated stereotypes (William is pretentious, Della is sex-positive, and Edwin broods). The story’s predominant focus is the whodunit (or “whomightdoit”); there’s not much room for humor, aside from delightfully goofy names (including one that hilariously makes other characters cringe). A frenzied final act wraps up things in style. The ending, though gratifying, is one many readers will likely foresee.

Engaging characters enliven this brisk and entertaining mystery.