Shedunnit

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...

Some sleuths need no introduction. But other characters, also created by famous authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, lurk in obscurity. In this episode, we're on the hunt for the other detectives. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/theotherdetectives. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitSh...

On 6 October 1926, a woman went into a cloakroom in Boulogne, France and never came out. She was never seen alive again. Her disappearance captivated the world, and even detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers tried to solve the case. This is the story of Nurse Daniels. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/nursedaniels. The podcast is on Twitt...

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? Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/therules. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscrib...

Food matters in books. It helps to set the scene, build up characters and evoke a period, and it also symbolises comfort, security and domesticity. Yet in detective fiction, food can also be a method for murder. Everything is lovely at the family dinner, until somebody clutches their throat, turns blue in the face, and falls face forward into the soup. Find more information about this episode and...

On the morning of 9 January 1923, a brutal and horrifying execution took place at Holloway Prison in London. The condemned young woman screamed and cried, but no last minute reprieve arrived. Long after she was dead, her story would inspire authors like James Joyce, E.M. Delafield, Dorothy L. Sayers and Sarah Waters, and you can find traces of it in many detective novels published in the decades s...

For many people, their main contact with detective fiction is via film and television adaptations. For a huge global audience, Agatha Christie's work is as often watched as it is read. Any new production is greeted with intense scrutiny, so what is it really like to adapt these stories? Screenwriter Sarah Phelps, the woman behind the recent BBC versions of And Then There Were None, Witness for the...

Reading crime fiction from the early twentieth century is a really popular activity at Christmas. It's nice to curl up with a good whodunnit by the fire, but if we stop and think about it, reading about complicated ways for people to die is not exactly the most festive thing to do. So why is it that we love crime at Christmas? Contributors: —Cecily Gayford, senior commissioning editor at Profile —...

When Agatha Christie disappeared in 1926, nobody could find her. Books mentioned in order of appearance —The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie —The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie —The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie —An Autobiography by Agatha Christie —The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie —Unnatural Death by Dorothy L Sayers —Agatha Christie: A Biography by Ja...