Shedunnit

What could be a better place for a murder than a boat, out at sea? Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/allatsea. Get a copy of my book, The Way to the Sea, from Blackwell’s here or request it at your local bookshop or library. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitsh...

How Agatha Christie’s spooky story inspired real life murderers and detectives. A friendly warning: there are major spoilers for The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie in this episode. Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/thepalehorse. Special thanks today to my guests Kathryn Harkup and Sarah Phelps. Kathryn’s book is A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie a...

On Philip Larkin, a reptilian sleuth with a mellifluous voice, and a small amount of witchcraft. Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/thegreatgladys. Special thanks today to my guest Lee Randall. You can follow her on Twitter @randallwrites and read her writing about Gladys Mitchell here. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad...

Detective fiction has always been regarded as a lesser kind of literature. So how do you teach it in a university? Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/teachingsleuthing. Special thanks today to my guest Dr Victoria Stewart. You can follow her on Twitter @verbivorial and order her book Crime Writing in Interwar Britain: Fact and Fiction in the Golden Age here. Bec...

Decades before Miss Marple, there were Victorian lady sleuths taking on the world with their bloomers and their bicycles. Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/victorianpioneers. Special thanks today to my guest Olivia Rutigliano. You can follow her on Twitter @oldrutigliano and reader her recent article for Lapham’s Quarterly “The Lady Is A Detective” here. Become...

Snow is a very powerful tool for a detective novelist. It can create a sinister atmosphere, keep suspects and murderer stormbound, and preserve the footprints of anyone who dares to escape. What could be more seasonal or festive than that? Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/letitsnow. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad f...

Anne Bedingfield, Emily Trefusis, Lucy Eyelesbarrow: why is it that Agatha Christie’s adventurous, highly competent young women never get to become recurring sleuths? Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/competentwomen. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/b...

How did a legal history series become so well known that even Lord Peter Wimsey owned a set? Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/notabletrials. Special thanks today to my guest Dr Victoria Stewart. You can follow her on Twitter @verbivorial and order her book Crime Writing in Interwar Britain: Fact and Fiction in the Golden Age here. Become a member of the Shedun...

One chilly night in November 1912, a group of young women gathered together to share their writing with each other. From that meeting, we got Peter Wimsey, Harriet Vane, and so much more besides. Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/mas. Special thanks today to my guest Mo Moulton, you can follow them on Twitter @hammock_tussock and order their book The Mutual Adm...

The detective’s sidekick is a fundamental building block of the classic whodunnit. But they don’t often get full credit for the vital role they play in solving mysteries. Until now, that is. Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/sidekicks. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at ...

There’s something so linear and definite about a train journey — it can only take you from A to B, with no possible deviations. Except when murder intervenes, and throws everything off the rails. Find links to all the books mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/offtherails. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedu...

Wouldn’t sleuthing be so much easier if the dead could speak to the living? Find links to all the books mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/knockknock. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership. Books and sources in order of appearance: —Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers —Peril at End Hous...

Once is an accident. Twice is a coincidence. But three times? Three women dead in identical circumstances is highly suspicious. Find links to all the books mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/bridesinthebath. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership. Books and sources in order of appearanc...

Today, we have the final episode in my summer break guest series: 'Golden Age Detective Fiction' from Words To That Effect by Conor Reid. It first appeared on his feed in May 2019, and if you listen very closely you might recognise his interviewee. Find Words To That Effect at wttepodcast.com and in all good podcast apps. For the full shownotes and credits of this episode, see wttepodcast.com/gold...

Today on my summer break guest series, we have Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist again (along with my husband Guy Cuthbertson) talking about the books we read to feel better when we're ill — plenty of detective fiction, of course. This episode first appeared on Helen's podcast in August 2018. Find The Allusionist at theallusionist.org and in all good podcast apps. Find the full shownotes, credits...

I'm taking a summer break from making the podcast, but I've roped in some friends to keep you entertained while I'm gone. Today, we have Helen Zaltzman of The Allusionist, with three pieces about alter egos in an episode that first appeared on her show in April 2019. Keep your ears peeled until the last act, because you might just recognise her interviewee. Find The Allusionist at theallusionist.o...

Meet Maud West, a real life lady detective from the golden age of detective fiction who lived a very colourful life — as well as sleuthing, she liked to dress up as Charlie Chaplin and once threatened to shoot a ghost. But who was she, really? Find links to all the books mentioned and more details about my guests at shedunnitshow.com/theladydetective. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and...

School is an enclosed world that breeds tension and suspicion and stress. No wonder it's such a perfect setting for a murder mystery. Find links to all the books mentioned and more details about my guests at shedunnitshow.com/backtoschool. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving community at shedunnitshow.com/membership. Con...

Her trial gripped the nation and tested Britain’s legal system to the limit. But what happened to Florence Maybrick? This is the second of a two part story — listen to episode 16 first at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybrick. Find links to further information and sources at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybricktwo. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episod...

The River Thames has always had a dark side. Its fast-flowing, tidal waters have long attracted those with something to hide. Find links to further reading and sources at shedunnitshow.com/onthethames. You can order my book about the Thames, The Way to the Sea, from Waterstones, Amazon or an independent bookshop. For international purchases, Amazon is (sadly) the best option. Become a member of th...

A shipboard romance that somehow became one of the most notorious domestic poisoning cases in British history. This is the story of Florence Maybrick. Check back for part two of this story on 12 June. Find links to further information and sources at shedunnitshow.com/florencemaybrick. Become a member of the Shedunnit book club and get bonus audio, listen to ad free episodes and join a book-loving...

Murder mysteries: if you believe the clichés, they all happened in the 1920s and 1930s, surrounded by flappers and butlers. But let’s take a second to wonder — why is it that detective fiction is so closely associated with this period style? Find more information about my guest Jacqueline Winspear and the Maisie Dobbs books at her website jacquelinewinspear.com and get links to the books discussed...

Authors’ names loom large when we think about detective stories. Yet many of them are pseudonyms, created just to appear on book covers. But why go to all this trouble? And what makes a good pen name, anyway? Find more information about my guest Helen Fields / H.S. Chandler at her website helenfields.co.uk and get links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/pseudonyms. Become a member of the...

By any definition, the New Zealand crime writer Ngaio Marsh lived an extraordinary life. But who was she really, this globetrotting blockbuster author who divided her life between opposite sides of the world? Find more information about my guest Joanne Drayton and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/ngaiomarsh. To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign...

Writing is usually a solitary pastime, yet a group of detective fiction authors in the early 1930s decided to work together on murder mystery stories. Is it possible to construct a compelling whodunnit this way, or do too many cooks spoil the broth? Fill out the audience survey and have your say in the future of the podcast at shedunnitshow.com/survey. Find more information about this episode and...