Shedunnit

Could you beat the detective to the solution? This live episode of Shedunnit was recorded at the 2022 International Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay. Mentioned in this episode: — The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley — The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie — The Mystery of Norman's Court by John Chancellor — The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie — The Man in the Brown Suit by...

How well do we really know the queen of crime? Thanks to my guest, Lucy Worsley. Her book Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman is out now. Books and sources mentioned: — An Autobiography by Agatha Christie — Agatha Christie: A Biography by Janet P. Morgan — Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life by Laura Thompson — Agatha Christie: The Woman And Her Mysteries by Gillian Gill — Forever England: Litera...

Should detective fiction be easy reading? Thanks to my guest, Eric Sandberg. He is an assistant professor at City University of Hong Kong and the editor of Dorothy L. Sayers: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction. Get tickets to see Shedunnit live on 11th September 2022 in Torquay at shedunnitshow.com/events. Mentioned in this episode: — Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers — The Moonstone by Wilkie Coll...

In 1922, Agatha Christie took a trip around the world. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/agathatheadventuress. To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub. Referenced for this episode: — Agatha Christie: The Grand Tour introduced by Mathew Prichard — The Mo...

Clerks, shop assistants, secretaries, salespeople — we have lots to learn from the lower middle class characters of classic detective fiction. Thanks to my guest, Dr Nicola Bishop. Her book, Lower-Middle-Class Nation: The White-Collar Worker in British Popular Culture is published by Bloomsbury Academic. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thenobodies. To support the podcast, be...

A judge looks back over her time on the bench at a very famous court. Thanks to my guest, Wendy Joseph. Her book about her time as an Old Bailey judge, Unlawful Killings, is out now. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/attheoldbailey To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at...

What if thinking and talking about real life murders was not actually good for us? Thanks to my guest, Emma Berquist. Find all the details about her books and articles at emmaberquist.com. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thedarksideoftruecrime To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Bo...

Expanding the horizons of golden age detective fiction. Many thanks to my guest, Christopher Huang. You can find out more about his work at ricordius.com. His first mystery novel is A Gentleman's Murder. Read his article "How Do You Decolonise The Golden Age Mystery? Read More Historical Fiction!" at crimereads.com. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/lookingeast. To support the...

F. Tennyson Jesse created a way of telling crime stories that still influences us today. Find out more about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thequeenoftruecrime. To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join. Books mentioned and sources consulted: Books mentioned: — M...

The grandfather of detective fiction still has a lot to teach us. Many thanks to my guest, Jim Noy. You can find out more about his work at his blog, theinvisibleevent.com. His book The Red Death Murders is available only from Amazon worldwide (link for UK; link for US). To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedun...

A box of chocolates can conceal a poisonous secret. Find out more at shedunnitshow.com/deathbychocolate. To support the podcast, be part of a superb bookish community, and get two bonus episodes a month, become a member of the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join. Books mentioned: — The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer by Kaye Jones — The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders —...

Please join me for a long-awaited guided tour of the role that dogs play in detective fiction. Books mentioned: — My Lady's Money by Wilkie Collins — The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle — A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle — The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon — The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle — The Mystery of the Black Dog by Ellery Qu...

Let's spend some time with G.K. Chesterton, the first president of the Detection Club. Sources: — "The Hammer of God" by G.K. Chesterton from The Innocence of Father Brown — "Errors About Detective Stories" by G.K. Chesterton in the Illustrated London News NB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price re...

Agatha Christie knew more than most about digging up corpses. There are no major spoilers in this episode, but be aware that there are mentions of plot points from the books listed below. Books and sources: — The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie — Murder in the Mews by Agatha Christie — An Autobiography by Agatha Christie — Mallowan’s Memoirs by Max Mallowan — Murder on the Orient Expres...

A good detective story has a recognisable rhythm and plot points. But how did these tropes come about? And what happens when you break the rules? This episode of Shedunnit was first released in February 2019 and is repeated here in a rerecorded and remastered version. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/therules. The podcast is on Twitter,...

Reading my way through the last hundred years, from the 1920s to the 2020s, one mystery at a time. My previous attempt at this reading project can be found in the episode A Century of Whodunnits. Books mentioned: — Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L Sayers — Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles — Laurels are Poison by Gladys Mitchell — The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey — The Belting Inheritance by...

India has a long and deep tradition of storytelling and mythology. What happens when this heritage is combined with the tropes of golden age detective fiction? Thanks to my guest R.V. Raman. His first whodunnit is A Will To Kill and you can find more information about upcoming books in his Harith Athreya series at rvraman.com. To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sig...

The golden age of detective fiction was obsessed with identity. The reason why? An extremely melodramatic Victorian legal case involving shipwreck, Shetland ponies and a tangled aristocratic inheritance. Please be aware that there may be spoilers for the following books in this episode. Books referenced: — The Claimant by Michael Gilbert — Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert — Smallbone Deceased...

Do you know your ack emma from your pip emma? Would you wear the cat's pyjamas? Are you, in fact, a goop? Helen Zaltzman joins me to delve into some baffling language from golden age detective fiction. Thanks to my guest for this episode, Helen Zaltzman. She is the host of The Allusionist, a marvellous podcast about language, which I strongly recommend that you support on Patreon now. A bonus epis...

How much did Agatha Christie really know about dead bodies? Thanks to my guest for this episode, Carla Valentine. She is a trained mortuary technician and the technical curator at Barts Pathology Museum in London. She's also the author of Murder Isn't Easy: The Forensics of Agatha Christie. There are no major plot spoilers in this episode, although there is some discussion of the death in Hercule...

Why did she stop writing detective fiction as WW2 approached? This is the sixth and final episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end with the start of the Second World War. There are very minor spoilers in this episode for the eventual outcome of the Harriet Vane-Peter Wimsey plo...

Caught between two very different worlds, WW2 forced this queen of crime to become better acquainted with her homeland. This is the fifth episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end with the start of the Second World War. Thanks to my guest, Gail Pittaway. You can find out more ab...

Something happened to the Scottish writer during WW2 that made her want to write mysteries again. This is the fourth episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end with the start of the Second World War. Visit shedunnitshow.com/josephineteysgoldenage for more details. Thanks to my gu...

For Albert Campion's creator, the war was her salvation. This is the third episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end with the start of the Second World War. There are no spoilers in this episode. Books referenced: — Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham — Busman's Honeymoon b...

Her WW2 mysteries are best of all. This is the second episode of Queens of Crime at War, a six part series looking at what the best writers from the golden age of detective fiction did once that period came to an end with the start of the Second World War. Thanks to my guest, Martin Edwards. He is a crime writer and the author of, among many other books, The Golden Age of Murder. Find out more abo...