Look and listen, and read on for the categories and recommendations: 

1. A book written by the host(s) of a true crime podcast.

This is easy peasy for fans of My Favorite Murder — Karen and Georgia’s hybrid memoir, Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered, will be released in May. Another option is Undisclosed host Rabia Chaudry’s book, Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial, which is a fascinating look at Adnan’s life and the murder of Hae Min Lee from a perspective outside and beyond the scope of the mega-popular podcast that put both on the map. Chaudry’s book could also check off the next category on the list…

2. A book about a case covered on your favorite true crime podcast.

Adnan’s Story qualifies here, as does Asia McClain Chapman’s Confessions of a Serial Alibi. How about Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery, which has been covered on multiple podcasts, including My Favorite Murder and Casefile. The Missing Beauty Queen chronicles the disappearance of Tara Grinstead, whose murder was covered in the first season of Payne Lindsey’s podcast Up & Vanished.

3. A book recommended by a true crime podcast host.

There are a ton of options for this one, more than I can list here, but here are a few off the top of my head. On My Favorite Murder, Georgia has talked a lot about listening to a book about NecroSearch, the volunteer organization that helps locate dead bodies and bring closure to the families of missing loved ones. No Stone Unturned would be a great pick for this category. Over on Wine & Crime, the gals interviewed Elizabeth Greenwood, the author of Playing Dead: A Journey Through the World of Death Fraud, and co-host Lucy raved about the book.

4. A book about an unsolved cold case.

Robert Kolker’s Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery explores the elusive Long Island serial killer who preys on internet escorts; James Renner’s True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray recounts his descent into obsession over a cold case; Beverly Lowry’s Who Killed These Girls? delves into the Texas yogurt shop murders which remain unsolved nearly two decades later (and, bonus — it was covered on My Favorite Murder so it can fulfill category #2 as well).

5. A book about a cold case that was solved.

Matthew McGough dives deep into the long-unsolved but recently solved murder of Sherri Rasmussen in The Lazarus Files, due this April and currently available for pre-order. Michelle McNamara penned the incredible I’ll Be Gone in the Dark before her tragic death but the case of the Golden State Killer, which she obsessively researched and wrote about, was finally solved in 2018, shortly after her book was posthumously published. And there’s After the Eclipse, one of my favorite books of last year, written by Sarah Perry; she was in the next room when her mother was murdered in their home, and she lived years without knowing who did it — until recently. 

6. A book about a serial killer or mass murderer. 

Ann Rule is the queen of true crime and has been much-discussed on My Favorite Murder. She is the author of both The Stranger Beside Me (covering Ted Bundy, with whom she worked!) and Green River, Running Red (covering the Green River Killer) among numerous other entries. Robert Graysmith’s Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked investigate the notorious uncaught serial killer of Northern California and the downslide of the author himself as he disappeared into his obsession.

7. A book about a true crime survivor (bonus points if it was written by the survivor!). 

The Other Side: A Memoir is Lacy Johnson’s story of survival despite her ex-boyfriend’s kidnapping and imprisonment of her. Elizabeth Smart chronicles her kidnapping survival in My Story and Jaycee Dugard shares hers in A Stolen Life. John Glatt’s Lost Girls covers the incredible survival and escape of three women abducted and held captive in Cleveland. And, of course, there’s Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean, about amazing survivor Tere Duperreault Fassbender, whose story was told on My Favorite Murder.

8. A book about a crime that happened in your home state (bonus points if it happened in your hometown).

Devil in the White City, Erik Larson’s classic about H.H. Holmes, is a must for Chicagoans. Columbine by Dave Cullen digs into the school shooting that shook Colorado and America. John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is drenched in Savannah style. Party Monster has New York covered, American Fire is set in Virginia, David Simon’s Homicide clearly inspired Baltimore-set “The Wire”, and Killers of the Flower Moon is a fascinating look at historic murders in Oklahoma.

9. A book about a crime that happened in a country you’ve never visited.

If you live in the United States, consider: The Real Peaky Blinders (Britain — in honor of My Favorite Murder’s Karen Kilgariff); On the Farm (Canada); Searching for the Beaumont Children (Australia);  Out of Thin Air (Iceland); The Daughters of Juarez (Mexico); The Killer Department (Russia); The Killer of Little Shepherds (France); People Who Eat Darkness (Japan); or The Monster of Florence (Italy). 

10. A novel (fiction) based on a true crime story.

My personal favorite selection for this category is Joyce Maynard’s To Die For, based on the sensationalized Pamela Smart case of the early 1990s. (And you seriously have to watch the movie of it starring Nicole Kidman. It’s iconic.) The novels Psycho and Silence of the Lambs both borrow elements of Ed Gein’s life and story, and James Ellroy’s novel The Black Dahlia is evidence of his longtime obsession with the real crime (presumably because his mother was murdered in similar fashion around the same time). (It was made into a terrible movie — watch To Die For instead.) Anita Shreve’s The Weight of Water takes liberties with Maine’s Smuttynose Murders, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk About Kevin borrows from the real-life Columbine massacre of the 1990s. No Saints in Kansas by Amy Brashear is a young adult reimagining of the real-life murders covered in Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.

11. A true crime book that has been adapted into a movie, documentary, or television show.

This is a great category to work in some classics of the true crime genre. Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood has been made several times. Vincent Bugliosi’s definitive Manson Family tome Helter Skelter has been adapted as well (and is probably my favorite true crime book ever).  

12. An audiobook related to true crime.

This one’s kind of a freebie — just choose any true crime book and listen to it (on Audible or through another audiobook provider — see if your local library lends audiobooks!). It’s a nod to the podcast format and, of course, Georgia Hardstark’s documented love of audiobooks. And if I may make a suggestion — why not try out the Audible exclusive Evil Has a Name, about the Golden State Killer and with narration from none other than superbabe Paul Holes?

Thanks for joining me on this reading challenge! Here’s a savable/printable list for you to keep track as you work through your TBR list:

Happy reading! Use the hashtag #MurderinoReadingChallenge or #MRC2019 if you post this challenge on social media so I can see what you’re reading and snag some more inspiration!

Note: this post is NOT sponsored, but as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting Live the Movies!

Last Christmas my boyfriend Aaron surprised me and my family with tickets and sideline passes to the Green Bay Packers game of our choice for the 2018 season. My dad grew up watching the Packers with his dad, and I grew up watching the Packers with my dad. We’re big fans and visiting Lambeau Field in Green Bay has been on my dad’s bucket list for a while. It was an awesome surprise and something we could look forward to for almost a whole year.

Fast forward to this September, and the plans were made. My parents, Aaron, and I would be attending the September 30th game against the Buffalo Bills. We flew in to Milwaukee on the morning of the 29th, had a delicious breakfast at the Pancake House, and then headed north to Green Bay, where we visited the Hall of Fame in the atrium and then took the Champions Tour, which allowed us to explore the stadium a bit, run out of the tunnel, stand field-side, and get some great photo ops. We all had an amazing time – there were so many goosebumps-worthy moments, and I was super thrilled for my dad since it was something he’d wanted to do for such a long time. I’m so glad we got to go there together.

The next day, the 30th, we headed back to Lambeau Field for the game! We got there early because we had sideline passes (so cool), which meant we were free to wander the sideline for about ninety minutes before the game. When we got down to the end zone, we stopped to take some photos. Aaron and I posed as my mom (who has obsessively documented most of my life with one camera or another – thanks Mom) snapped away. Then Aaron said he had a question to ask me, and he wanted to do it in a place that was special to me and my family. He got down on one knee, pulled out a ring, and asked me to marry him.

I said yes! (Duh.) It wasn’t until after he slipped the ring on my finger and it fit perfectly that I found out it was a family heirloom – his grandmother’s engagement ring from 1936. That was a heart-melter. It meant a lot to me. After the proposal, and after I excitedly called my brother, I found out that my parents had known all along! Earlier in the week Aaron had asked my dad for his blessing, and my mom had even brought bridal magazines with her to prove that she’d kept the secret, haha. Something I failed to notice: when we’d gone through the metal detectors on the way into the stadium, Aaron had set it off and had to take the ring out of his pocket to be inspected by the security guard. He was terrified I’d see it, but I was a few detectors down because I had to have my bag searched — a lucky moment!

We giddily spent the rest of our time strolling the sideline (Aaron Rodgers was very close to us and I swooned and Aaron said, “well, our engagement was fun while it lasted”) and then got to watch a Packers victory! I even got congratulated by the daughter of former Packers player Boyd Dowler (who scored the first touchdown in the famous Ice Bowl), as she was sitting in front of us and overheard my mom and I talking. And later, a photo of Aaron and I appeared on the jumbotron! What more could a cheesehead ask for?

Aaron and I are getting married on October 19, 2019. More details to follow. #ForBetterOrMorse

Anyone who knows me even moderately well knows that I’m obsessed with the “Mighty Ducks” movies. (It’s even in my Twitter bio, y’all.) So it’s safe to say that this year’s birthday gift from my boyfriend Aaron was pretty perfect – a VIP pass to an autograph signing and meet-and-greet with some of the cast from the franchise! Scheduled to appear were Matt Doherty (Averman – my favorite!), Vincent LaRusso (Adam Banks), Garette Ratliff Henson (Guy Germaine), Brandon Adams (Jesse Hall), Aaron Schwartz (Karp), and Scott Whyte (Gunnar Stahl / Scooter). It was held in Mansfield, MA, about three hours from where I live in Maine, and happened to be right at the beginning of my vacation week. To prep, I got a manicure in original Ducks jersey colors, because duh.

Saved by the Max, a “Saved by the Bell”-themed restaurant based on the classic Max diner from the beloved 90s teen sitcom!

ORIGINAL CHICAGO ADDRESS

1941 W North Ave
Chicago, IL 60622

CURRENT LOS ANGELES ADDRESS

7100 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA
savedbythemax.com

STORY & PHOTOS

Eastern State Penitentiary, a crumbly old prison that was the site of an episode of MTV’s spooky reality show “Fear”.

ADDRESS

Eastern State Penitentiary
2027 Fairmount Avenue
Philadelphia, PA
easternstate.org

STORY & PHOTOS

Despite being a scaredy cat, I am a true crime fanatic and I regularly watch and read murdery things. So it was only somewhat surprising that I was into MTV’s reality show “Fear”, which ran for two seasons between 2000 and 2002. In the show, six regular people would be plunked into a spooky haunted location and would have to complete freaky missions and spend the whole night there; if they succeeded, they’d win a cash prize.

One of my favorite episodes was the one that took place in Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary.

Here’s the episode (season one, episode seven) if you want to take a peek:

In “Fear”, the contestants have a hub in the Safe House and make treks out to the rotunda (“the hub of the prison”) and into cellblocks 1 and 12:

This place was pretty creepy during the day so I can only imagine how creepy it must have been at night, in the dark, after being told it’s probably haunted. Yikes.

In addition to “Fear”, Eastern State has been used as a filming location in several films, including “12 Monkeys” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”. I definitely recommend taking the tour for both the filming location aspect and just general interesting-ness. And, honestly, it would be a really cool spot for a photoshoot – “life sentence” engagement shoot, anyone? Just kidding.

STORY & PHOTOS

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Aaron Morse

Princeton University, the real-life college of John Nash, plays itself in the movie “A Beautiful Mind”, which chronicles Nash’s life.

ADDRESS

Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
princeton.edu

STORY & PHOTOS

2001’s “A Beautiful Mind” was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won four, including Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Connelly, Best Director for Ron Howard, and Best Picture. The based-on-a-true-story film chronicles the life of John Nash, a brilliant mathematician whose life is not all that it seems.

The real Nash attended Princeton and the real university plays itself in Howard’s film – at least parts of it. Most of the filming was centered around Rockefeller College, which is located on the northwest corner of Princeton’s campus. Specifically, production used areas of Holder Hall and its courtyard.

When I visited in late May there were a lot of tents up for graduation, so pardon the obstructions in the photos – but if you’re there walking around, you will definitely get that “A Beautiful Mind” vibe from the old Hogwartsy-looking buildings.

The gorgeous hallways connecting the buildings at Rockefeller are also seen early in the film:

The door that John Nash (Russell Crowe) goes into at the end of the above scene leads to the Rockefeller (“Rocky”) Common Room in Madison Hall, which was used in the film as the faculty lounge/dining hall where the pen ceremonies take place. Nash witnesses one here at the beginning of the film:

Of course, later in the film, Nash is the recipient of his own pen ceremony (which makes me cry, obviously):

The dining room looks much the same today, although it’s not a dining room (it’s known as the Rocky Common Room) and the pen ceremony is not actually something that happens at Princeton. Whoops.

Princeton, aside from being a filming location, is totally gorgeous and worth a good walk-around. And there’s a delicious pancake spot called Pj’s Pancake House that’s right across the street, less than a quarter of a mile from Rockefeller College. Go there! THEY HAVE S’MORES PANCAKES THAT ARE DELICIOUS.

STORY & PHOTO CREDITS

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Aaron Morse

The basketball court from the opening credits of “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.

ADDRESS

Clemente Park & Playground
1800 Wallace Street
Philadelphia, PA

STORY & PHOTOS

Before we get into this, let’s just all take a moment to bop to one of the greatest TV theme songs of all time:

My boyfriend Aaron is obsessed with “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, so when we were in Philadelphia recently I made it a point to take him to the basketball court from the “Fresh Prince” opening credits.

The basketball court really is in Philly (although, technically, not West Philadelphia where Will was born and raised).  It’s in the Spring Garden neighborhood, which is to the north, and it’s part of the Clemente Park and Playground.

Unfortunately it was all locked up on the day Aaron and I were there (I think we were too early; Google lists its hours as 1-9pm), but we did our best and snapped the photos we could.

On the bright side, the hoops and backboards look much the same as they did back in the 90s, and the background buildings and murals are mostly intact from the “Fresh Prince” era as well.

STORY & PHOTO CREDITS

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Aaron Morse
Location found via IANAS

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on the grounds of Paramount Studios, which stands in for Frank’s Bagels in the third-season finale of “Grace and Frankie”.

ADDRESS

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf
Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Avenue
Hollywood, CA
paramountstudios.com

STORY & PHOTOS

Netflix’s great comedy “Grace and Frankie”, starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, films at Hollywood’s Paramount Studios, and production makes great use of the studio lot. For instance, in the thirteenth episode of the third season, Sol (Sam Waterston) leads a protest of Frank’s Bagels. Frank’s is the best bagel place in town, but unfortunately is owned a run by a bigot (who’d protested the play starring Martin Sheen’s Robert, because the theater group is made up of gay men and women). Sol and his friends from the theater group make it their mission to mess up Frank’s business like he messed up the play.

In this scene, Frank’s Bagels is actually the Coffee Bean & Tea Life on the grounds of Paramount Studios.  The Coffee Bean is where you’ll mill around before your tour if you decide to explore Paramount (which I recommend). It also contains the studio’s gift shop, where you can get Paramount-themed souvenirs.

The design above the door is super recognizable, so keep an eye for it in other shows that film at Paramount, because I’m sure you’ve seen it before; in fact, it was the Lima Bean on “Glee”! And, incidentally, this isn’t even the first time “Grace and Frankie” has used this coffee shop. In the pilot episode, it’s in the background of Sol and Robert’s lunch:

The red umbrellas under which Robert and Sol are sitting are also visible in the above screenshots from Sol’s protest in “The Sign”.

The tables Robert and Sol where Sol and Robert are eating are really there on the little lawn across from the Coffee Bean at Paramount; in fact, I’ve seen Dean Cain and Sasha Alexander there while I was waiting for my tours to start! I definitely recommend taking the Paramount tour, where you’ll see this spot as well as others from “Grace and Frankie” and many other shows!

STORY & PHOTO CREDITS

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Alex Jackman  

The beautiful Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu’s North Shore, as seen in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”.

ADDRESS

Turtle Bay Resort
57-091 Kamehameha Hwy
Kahuku, HI 96731
turtlebayresort.com

STORY & PHOTOS

I’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii; even though it’s part of the United States it seems so lush, exotic, and different, like a paradise completely unlike Maine, where I grew up and have lived most of my life. I could watch movies like “Blue Crush” and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” on repeat because the gorgeous Hawaiian settings somehow soothed me. And ever since I saw “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” I’d been dying to stay at the Turtle Bay Resort, which serves as the major backdrop of the film. In July 2016 I finally checked this off my filming location/life bucket list and it was just as good as I’d hoped.

The entrance of the resort itself is pretty grand. The above screencaps are from “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and are a pretty accurate representation of what you’ll see when you drive up to Turtle Bay (although I didn’t get a lei – what?!). In the film, Peter (Jason Segel) heads to Turtle Bay to try to, well, forget Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), his actress ex. That plan is flipped on its head when she turns out to be staying at the same resort, with her new boyfriend Aldous (Russell Brand). The same entry is showcased in “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” when Mike (Adam Devine) and Dave (Zac Efron) arrive for their sister’s wedding with their dates, Alice (Anna Kendrick) and Tatiana (Aubrey Plaza):

Here’s how the entry looked when I arrived in July of 2016, only three days after “Mike and Dave” hit theaters:

“Mike and Dave” also shows off the stunning exterior view you get of Turtle Bay when you drive up:

This is almost the exact view you get IRL and, trust me, it makes you never want to leave:

In the “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” scene where Peter checks into the resort with the help of Rachel (Mila Kunis), the gorgeous lobby is put on display:

The resort has either moved the reception area since the film was made, or they mocked up the reception area to be over near the big glass windows with the beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, because now there is a snack bar/coffee shop over where Rachel’s reception desk is, and the actual reception is behind Kristen Bell and Russell Brand in the above screencap.

You can see a more current version of the lobby in “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”:

According to a very nice housekeeper that I spoke with at the resort, the production of “Mike and Dave” took over the whole second floor, using half the rooms for production offices and half the rooms for filming. There are little to no changes made in the hallways between real life and filming:

The glass-walled yoga house where Peter awkwardly takes a yoga class with Sarah and Aldous in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is also on Turtle Bay’s property (and fun fact: Kristen Wiig plays the yoga instructor in that scene).

In the background of one of the above screenshots, you can see a wedding taking place. That’s totally realistic, because the movie’s yoga house is located right near the resort’s wedding pavilion.

In “Mike and Dave”, the boys’ sister and her fiancé are staying in one of the resort’s ground-level bungalows, which can be found on the beach side of the hotel.

Here’s what they look like from the beach:

And those bushes are the ones Mike and Dave jump out of in a scene you might remember from the trailer:

The beachside bar where Mike and Dave’s family gets drinks with Tatiana and Alice before taking the ATV tours in “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” sadly doesn’t exist anymore!

The nice man working at the snorkel rental hut told me that it got damaged in a storm and is being rebuilt and renovated, but he did point out the spot where it had once stood, so I posed there for a photo:

And here’s the view of the hotel and beach from that bar area:

Turtle Bay, of course, also has a couple of gorgeous pools overlooking the ocean, and that’s where the opening reception of the wedding week takes place in “Mike and Dave”. Here’s what the pool looks like:

And here is that same area in the movie:

There is a poolside bar called The Point, which can also be seen in the movie:

The Point is a fun place to grab a drink or some quick snacks around sunset:

And the gorgeous point after which the bar is named (and where there is a fire-lighting ceremony with dancing and music at sunset!) is where the early-movie mingling takes place:

Here’s what it looks like when filming isn’t in progress:

Beautiful, right? The more I look at these photos the more I wonder how I ever convinced myself to leave this paradise. Honestly, grab your piggy bank and start saving up for a stay at Turtle Bay.

STORY & PHOTO CREDITS

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Patti LeBlanc

Sonsie, an international bistro on Boston’s famed Newbury Street, which appeared in “Fever Pitch”.

ADDRESS:

327 Newbury St
Boston, MA 02115
http://www.sonsieboston.com/home

STORY & PHOTOS:

“Fever Pitch” is a very Bostony movie, as it centers on Ben (Jimmy Fallon), his obsessive love for the Boston Red Sox, and how it affects his relationship with Lindsey (Drew Barrymore). In the film, Lindsey meets her friends for dinner at Sonsie, which is a cute restaurant on Boston’s posh Newbury Street:

Sonsie is still a staple on Newbury St; I went there for brunch with my friend Brian before attending an evening discussion with Jerry Buting and Dean Strang from “Making a Murderer”. It had a nice cozy atmosphere, the service was great, and the food was yummy!

I recommend Sonsie for brunch, lunch, or dinner if you’re on Newbury Street shopping or sight-seeing!

STORY & PHOTO CREDITS:

Written by Christina LeBlanc
Location photos by Christina LeBlanc and Brian Lepine