About This Episode
Case Closed is a serialized true crime podcast hosted by Charlie Spicer, a renowned editor specializing in true crime literature. Produced by Macmillan, the show launched approximately seven years ago and has published 71 episodes to date, released twice weekly.
The podcast's distinctive format focuses on solved cases rather than unsolved mysteries, eliminating the cliffhanger format common to many true crime programs. This approach allows listeners to engage with complete narratives of criminal investigations brought to closure. Early seasons serialize factual crime stories, while later seasons have expanded into audiobook serializations of fictional thrillers written by acclaimed crime authors.
Season 1 centers on the true story of Erin Corwin, a 19-year-old who disappeared in May 2016 while scouting hiking trails in Joshua Tree National Park, California. Corwin had kissed her husband Jon goodbye before venturing into the desert. Nearly two months later, her body was discovered at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft. The case drew intense scrutiny within the Marine community, and the narrative is based on Shanna Hogan's New York Times bestselling book *Secrets of a Marine's Wife*, published in February 2019.
As the podcast evolved, later seasons shifted toward serializing fictional crime narratives. Season 11, for example, features *The Night Shift* by Alex Finlay, a thriller set on New Year's Eve 1999 involving attacks at a Blockbuster Video store and an ice cream shop in New Jersey. Previous seasons have serialized other fictional works, including *Every Time I Go On Vacation, Someone Dies* by Catherine Mack, demonstrating the show's flexibility in blending factual and fictional crime storytelling.