I am glad I found this show. Every episode gets better and better.

I started listening because of your Bobby Kent episode and I was instantly hooked! Usually female podcasts aren't my thing but there's something soothing about your voice that I can't get enough. Thank you for all your hard work!💗

This is by far one of my favorite true crime podcasts and I’ve listened to every episode so far. Highly recommend :)

Love the organization of the show and the “series” Esther does. It’s a well-scripted true crime podcast without small talk, and without political snark.

I love narrative-style true crime podcasts. I enjoy this narrator’s storytelling style. No fluff -n- stuff. My only complaint is it seems some episodes weren’t listened to and edited before posted. For example, the Susan Smith episode...she cuts to audio of the parents talking at a press conference, but the audio is almost silent and it sounds scrambled. There’s no way to hear what’s going on or what anyone is saying. Also, there’s other episodes where she makes a mistake, and redoes the sentence, but doesn’t edit out the mistake. If the editing gets better, and the sound gets uploaded correctly, this will be an amazing podcast!

I’m sadly disappointed with this podcast. I’ve listened to a lot of True Crime podcasts over the last hmm—let’s say many years. And this is the first that’s ever really disappointed me in multiple ways so quickly into my start into listening to it. I find that truly sad. The presenter née author seems like a pretty good writer except for the niggling grammatical error or 2 every now and then. But what I’ve found most problematic is actually that the author really comes across as doing comprehensive book reports. As such they’re very well done, but what the episodes lack is anything we ourselves can’t find out from the very books she recommends we read at the end of each of the pods. Finally, perhaps I should have stated firstly, nevertheless, finally, the music is far too chipper for the subject matter as to be totally off-putting. Perhaps the author would consider having a True Crime Book Group via the net & sharing these stories in that manner! Just And, idea! Quite good writing and voice skills!

Its says its not for children but, this lady sounds like she’s a kindergarten teacher enthusiastically reading “Green Eggs and Ham”.

I love this podcast! Esther’s been killing it since day one.

I’ve listened to Ester for over 2 years. I’ve even re-listened to my favorite episodes. She is very accurate and I’ve learned aspects I didn’t know on cases that I’ve had extended research on. Give her a try, she’s amazing!

It’s in very poor taste to dedicate an entire episode to laughing at people who you know must be suffering from mental illness and/or bad drug reactions. Try having some compassion and sympathy. Do better. Be a more evolved human being in 2021.

While I love the stories, the shows that have a guest have very bad audio, sounds like it wasn’t recorded properly.

Esther is the best.

I am a newbie to podcasts and true crime. My daughter got me hooked with the Golden State Killer case and I haven’t stop. This is by far one of the best I have heard. I started with the Kitty Genovese installment because I grew up hearing about it and I am a native NYer. Esther is amazing and held my interest. I can’t wait for the next walk to work so I can get another episode under my belt!

I think the story might have been good but it had terrible audio . I could not understand it as it sounded like it was told via a tin can . The second half was clear . I love your podcasts but this 1 had technical difficulties.

This is one of my favorite podcasts and has been for a while. Esther is well-researched, eloquent, pleasant, and unbiased in her presentation of cases. Give it a listen and recommend it to others this giving season.

This has quickly become my favorite podcast. Esther’s voice is like listening to an old friend. Love, love, love this podcast and am always looking for excuses to drive around and listen as I no longer have a long commute!! Can’t wait for the next series!!!!

I enjoy the serious and intelligent discussion of crimes and issues, with occasional humor to leaven the seriousness. I enjoy the different personalities of the hosts and their interaction. I look forward to the episodes each week.

Great and interesting series! Author has a lovely voice as well lol.

The amount of research is amazing! I love when podcasts are mostly unbiased and altogether make sense

This is by far the best true crime podcast. Esther has exactly the right balance and presentation.

I love this podcast yet I can understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Personally, I like the storytelling, sticking to the facts and cutting out some of the gore. I don’t enjoy when she has a guest (even her sis, sorry ladies!), since I like straight storytelling. Honestly I don’t need all the opinions and side jokes. One criticism I have is please stop saying “unquote”. You’re not undoing the quote... It’s “end quote” as it’s obvi the end of the quote. However, I understand that’s not an Esther thing, that’s pretty common in America. Keep up the great work, Esther!!!

The host speaks so fast I had to keep rewinding the particular podcast “Bad Teacher #2” to gain a better understanding as well as keep all the characters straight. She’s talking a mile a minute introducing approximately 8 characters in a very short period of time. I gave up & unsubscribed.

This is a great podcast for anyone interested in true crime stories. I listen nearly everyday!!!

This is my new favorite podcast. I always love the subject of true crime but the way Esther brings it to you is just so excellent. And she has an easy voice to listen to as well. But I especially love the way she portrays each story so thoroughly and objectively. This is one of the best podcast I’ve ever listen to. I am now caught up and I am kind of bummed out because I wanna just keep listening nonstop. Great job Esther

I just recently discovered Once. I am addicted. I was trying to find something to listen to while I went for my morning walks. I just started trying to take better care of myself and be happier. I tried listening to music and it just was making it boring. I didn’t want to give up on walking. I downloaded an episode of Once and my walks are the thing I wake up for in the morning. It’s only been a few weeks but I have made my walks even longer so I can fit a full episode in. She tells the story beautifully and I am constantly intrigued. There isn’t banter back and forth with another person so it doesn’t loose sight of the actual story being told. I don’t even mind the occasional advertisement. I really enjoy this podcast and will be a faithful listener.

Just started listening after hearing about it on A Date With Dateline. Looking forward for this new podcast to fill up my hours in quarantine!

Like a newscast from the 70’s.

It is so annoying. The cases they cover are typically different and they are usually well researched. What condemns this to the one star podcast list is a combination of terrible writing and Esther’s voice. The combination makes it unbearable.

So annoying and random

I ALWAYS come back to this podcast. I can never stay away too long. Ester is amazing 😻 ... and like everyone else I love when she collaborates with her sister. Thank you Esther for all these amazing and well put together episodes. I am a grad student in counseling psych right now and I love hearing your (educated) analysis of the individuals involved with the cases. To all the true crime fans, I can’t recommend this podcast enough! ❤️

Great stories, but the narrator’s voice inflections are annoying.

I’m not a huge fan of her voice but I do think the research and work put into this podcast is top notch.

Esther is my favorite. I love the series style that she does. Every case seems well researched with lots of detail and back story. She tells the stories in a matter of fact and story like way. Always easy to follow the case being told.

I have listened to many true crime podcasts. Some are just so boring. This is such a great one and she keeps you wanting to listen. I started this one this year and I am almost done with the whole thing. Definitely a 5 star podcast!!

I like this podcast but just wish she would give the facts and not what she believes happened.

I can’t make up my mind. I am at the extent on all of the current episodes from all of the true crime podcasts that I actually want to listen to, and I am struggling! This is something that I figured will fill the space week to week waiting on new content from my preferred podcasters, but I am really struggling. I have skipped through a lot of episodes because I’m just not impressed with the way she tells stories. I started listening to her because I heard about her podcast through the crime junkie scandal. She made a comment about how crime junkie had a lot of listeners because she was skimping content from the lesser know podcasters. Nothing was proven, from my understanding, but I thought smaller name podcasts do deserve their credit for their hard work. But in being a crime junkie fan and listening to once upon a crime, I don’t feel any of the stories that I have listened to sound even remotely similar. Especially For someone who stated that she ripped her monologue word for word.... also, I heard her make a comment about how she has listened to Crime junkie and it’s “just not her thing”..... what’s not your thing? True crime? Story telling? Because you claim to have a passion for both, which is the exact same thing crime junkie is doing. I’m not saying this to big up crime junkie, I think I’m just more shocked by Esther’s behavior towards it before anything was proven. Sounds like defamation and slander to me. But throughout her episodes she displays a pattern of condescending comments and remarks.

Great podcast. I have been listening for a few years now and I love how I’m formative Esther is! Also idk why everyone was mad about her guest on the Anastasia episode but I really enjoyed it! It was nice to hear Esther be more relaxed and joke some! Keep up the good work 👍🏼

This has become my favorite true crime podcast. Well researched and in depth. Big fan!

I love the stories and how they are presented. Esther is a wonderful story teller and I like listening to her.

I really enjoy Esther’s show. I think she digs really deep into the cases and does great research. I love how she ties the ends together and talks about the sentencing. She makes it a point to not cover big cases and finds interesting cases most of the listeners haven’t heard. I’ve seen some reviews that criticize her jokes but I think she’s funny. The podcast definitely has its own feel and doesn’t sound like everything else out there. You’re doing great, Esther!

the last episode dealing with the romani’s was embarrassing. the host and her sister are so glib and silly . they bring out the worst in each other . impossible to listen too due to their constant need to impress each other with their “clever “ reparti. am thinking that people listen to this podcast because they are interested in history and not to listen to the hosts trying to be funny and totally disrespectful if the subject matter .

It’s great to find a podcast without cussing. I can relax and enjoy it on Saturday night and go to church guilt free on Sunday morning. I very much enjoy the way she tells all the facts in the stories.

This is usually a fantastic podcast, but this 2nd Romanov episode is so disappointing - it’s a semi-giggly conversational-type episode (with terrible sound quality, not normal for this show)...exactly what I come to this podcast to *not* hear. Bummer.

I have been following real life crimes the majority of my life and have heard these stories, but these podcasts give background and info I have never heard!!!! Thank you for a great Podcast!

I subscribed to this podcast for filler, and I just can’t listen to it any more. Esther sounds like a 9th grader reading aloud a book report. Even her “jokes” and side comments are scripted. And her jokes are not even remotely funny. ::yawn:: moving on

Brilliant work, Esther. Hanging on every word!

I found this podcast a few weeks ago and have been binge listening. I love Ester’s voice and I love her snide quips interjected often. Most of the time these quips are exactly what I’m thinking.

Sorry it took me so long to write a review, I’ve been listening for years! I like allll kinds of true crime podcasts, but when I’m looking for one that presents good information in a clear and undistracted way, this is my go-to! Love Esther’s style ☺️

The earlier episodes have good research, but as the episodes creep into 2019, the host tries to be edgy by cussing and trying to sound cool with cliches. It doesn’t sound authentic and comes off a little desperate to sit with “the cool kids”. What the host may not realize is that they’re cool without the extra “extra”- the research and editing is perfect without the “mall speak” and cursing.

She’s an amazing host! Love it