On this episode of Meet the Thriller Author, I’m joined by Mike Adamick — a writer, performer, and former journalist whose creative work spans journalism, books, and now podcasting with his gripping series, Crime Adjacent.



Mike’s career began as a small-town crime reporter in the Bay Area, where he covered cases involving the Zodiac killer and even had a near run-in with the infamous Co-Ed Killer, Ed Kemper. That early exposure to real-life crime shaped his fascination with human behavior, justice, and the psychology of those who live among us with dangerous secrets.



Over the years, Mike’s reporting and essays have appeared in NPR, the New York Times, Parade Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, and KQED Radio. He is also a best-selling author of several books, including The Dad’s Book of Awesome series (Simon & Schuster, 2014) and Raising Empowered Daughters (Hachette, 2019).



With Crime Adjacent, Mike brings together all of his experiences — journalism, sociology, gender studies, and forensic psychology — to create something entirely new. The podcast is scripted fiction but presented with the meticulous detail and tone of a true crime documentary. Each season explores not just the crimes themselves, but also the “why” behind them: why people commit these acts, how they live undetected among us, and what our collective fascination with crime reveals about society.



Mike lives in San Francisco with his family and, when he’s not writing or recording the podcast, he’s probably out in the city listening to a murder pod. In our conversation, we dig into how Crime Adjacent was born, the craft of writing for the ear versus the page, and why this unique format resonates so deeply with listeners.



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Crime Adjacent Podcast








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Show Notes and Transcript




* Guest: Mike Adamick, writer/performer and former journalist (NPR, NYT, Parade), creator of the podcast Crime Adjacent, which blends true crime aesthetics with fictional storylines.



* Concept: A fictional thriller presented like a true crime podcast; framed as if hosted by a character, Chase Patrick, letting listeners “follow” a favorite thriller protagonist week to week.



* Motivation/Ethics: Adamick loves true crime but avoids profiting from real victims’ trauma; fiction overlay gives creative freedom to explore themes without exploiting real cases. – Season 1 premise: Set around “Ridgewood, CA,” echoing Bay Area crimes (Zodiac, Doodler). The “rest stop killer” murdered three men in the ’90s; new deaths suggest a return or copycat tied to a powerful family and a contentious development.



* Craft/process: Originally drafted as a novel; shifted to audio to merge narrative nonfiction voice with fiction. Writes in Apple Notes,