This week, Steph Lauer and I share books that pair well with each other. If you liked the first one, you'll probably love the second one.

Books Kate Talked About

The Hollywood Assistant

The Force of Such Beauty

The Hunter’s Daughter : Blood Sisters

Pretty Things : On the Surface

Almost Surely Dead : Missing White Woman

Big Little Lies : The Other Mothers

The Lady Upstairs : Twisted

Books Steph Talked About

Do What Godmother Says

Like it Never Was

Ask for Andrea : Before You Knew My Name

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder : That’s Not My Name

Butcher and the Blackbird : The Girl in 6E

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife : The Girls Are All So Nice Here

Notes on an Execution : Don't Forget the Girl

This week, I talk with Debbie Babitt about her new Hitchcockian thriller The Man on the Train. We dive into how she gets to know her characters, how she figures out plot and what she's working on next.

The Man on the Train Synopsis

Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Linda Haley is awakened early one morning by two police officers at the door. She has no idea that her husband has been living a secret life during his daily commute from Scarsdale into the city. Now Guy is the prime suspect in a brutal murder that could derail Linda’s high-powered career and may be connected to a cold case.

And Guy has disappeared.

With a warrant out for her husband’s arrest, Linda sets out to prove his innocence accompanied by an ex-cop who harbors a secret affection for her. Together, they travel to the scene of a forty-year-old unsolved murder and a night of violence that shattered the serenity of a small fishing hamlet just past the Hamptons.

But as the manhunt intensifies and she begins to uncover the shocking truth—and the past Guy has buried deep—Linda must decide if the stranger she married is innocent or guilty. And if he truly deserves to be saved.

Featuring tense, atmospheric suspense that moves at breakneck speed, this Hitchcockian thriller careens from a bedroom community just north of New York City to the picturesque beaches of eastern Long Island to a suburban train station, where a killer hiding in plain sight waits to exact a final revenge.

This week, Halley and I share updates on our 1,000 Words of Summer challenge and dive into what we love about our favorite book covers. We also share what we've been reading, watching and listening to.

Books We Talked About

Almost Surely Dead

Stone Cold Fox

The Last Housewife

The Favorites

The Lies I Tell

The Force of Such Beauty