Tea, Tonic & Toxin

Send us Fan Mail Thriller writer David Ignatius joins Sarah and Carolyn to discuss his latest book Phantom Orbit . Check out more of his work and get the book here . Website : www.davidignatius.com David Ignatius is a prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post and has been covering the Middle East and the CIA for nearly four decades. He has written several New York Times bestsellers. He lives...

Send us Fan Mail A hazing prank at Harvard left Paul Chapin disabled. Years later, two of the men responsible end up dead, and a series of poems promises continued retribution. Now the other men who hazed Paul are desperate for the protection of brilliant detective Nero Wolfe. Is Paul Chapin exacting revenge on his former classmates, and can Nero Wolfe and his wise-cracking sidekick, Archie Goodwi...

Send us Fan Mail A hazing prank at Harvard left Paul Chapin disabled. Years later, two of the men responsible end up dead, and a series of poems promises continued retribution. Now the other men who hazed Paul are desperate for the protection of brilliant detective Nero Wolfe. Is Paul Chapin exacting revenge on his former classmates, and can Nero Wolfe and his wise-cracking sidekick, Archie Goodwi...

Send us Fan Mail Thriller author James McLaughlin joins Sarah and Carolyn to discuss his book Bearskin . McLaughlin is the author of Bearskin , published by Ecco/HarperCollins in 2018 and winner of the 2019 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Bearskin has been featured, mentioned, and reviewed in The New York Times ( 4 Writers to Watch , Bears and Poets , New Books We Recommend , and Best Crime Fict...

Send us Fan Mail Brooklyn-born New Jersey class-action attorney turned author Norman Shabel has written seven plays and eight novels. Three of his plays have been produced off Broadway in NYC, Philadelphia, and Florida. You can find novels from all our guests in our amazon store. Prolific author and playwright, Normal Shabel had a difficult childhood. He grew up in a poor Jewish and Italian neighb...

Send us Fan Mail THE THREE COFFINS (THE HOLLOW MAN) (1935) by John Dickson Carr is celebrated for its exceptional execution of the locked-room mystery, a subgenre demanding ingenious plotting and cerebral depth. Many consider it the best locked room mystery of all time. Carr’s complex puzzles, cryptic clues, and taut, suspenseful atmosphere make it a mystery fiction masterpiece. Read : Buy the boo...

Send us Fan Mail Penny has never met anyone smarter than her. That's par for the course when you're a savant - one of fewer than 100 in the world. But despite her photographic memory and superpowered intellect, there's one ystery Penny's never been able to solve: Why did her father leave when she was in a coma at age seven, and where is he now? On Penny's twenty-first birt...

Send us Fan Mail THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1934) is James M. Cain’s gripping, groundbreaking noir tale of passion and betrayal. In a dusty roadside diner, love and lust ignite a murderous plot and challenge conventional notions of right and wrong. As secrets unravel, two lovers are drawn deeper into a web of crime, leading to a shocking and morally ambiguous climax. Read : Buy the book on Am...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we are delighted to chat with Barbara Nickless! She is the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of the multi-award-winning Sydney Parnell crime novels. Barbara’s new series features forensic semiotician Dr. Evan Wilding—a man whose gift for interpreting the words and symbols left behind by killers has led him to consult on some of the world’s...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a mystery and thriller podcast and book club for people obsessed with mysteries and thrillers. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters , will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller, starting in the mid-19th century onward. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theorie...

Send us Fan Mail It’s time for more mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers! Our 2024 selections include stunners published from 1934-1939.   Get reading, and subscribe so you never miss an episode! (You can find the 2022 schedule here and 2023 schedule here .) The allure of THE THIN MAN (1934) lies in its timeless intrigue, captivating characters, and masterful storytelling. Dashiell Hammett’...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller, starting in 1841 onward. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubt...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a book club and podcast focused on the history of mystery. We’re discussing the best mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers ever written — in chronological order. The Nine Tailors , a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, is quite possibly Dorothy Sayers’ masterpiece. The murder method in the 1934 novel is a stunner to be sure. The idea came from a sixpenny pam...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a book club and podcast focused on the history of mystery. We’re discussing the best mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers ever written — in chronological order. It’s time for more mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers! Our 2024 selections include stunners published from 1934-1939. Scroll down the page, get reading, and subscribe so you never...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a book club and podcast focused on the history of mystery. We’re discussing the best mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers ever written — in chronological order. The Nine Tailors , a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, is quite possibly Dorothy Sayers’ masterpiece. The murder method in the 1934 novel is a stunner to be sure. The idea came from a sixpenny pam...

Send us Fan Mail Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. Once you read Murder on the Orient Express (1934), you’ll understand why. Read : Buy it used or new on Amazon . Reflect : Check out the conversation starters below....

Send us Fan Mail Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. Once you read Murder on the Orient Express (1934), you’ll understand why. Read : Buy it used or new on Amazon . Reflect : Check out the conversation starters below....

Send us Fan Mail Karen Pierce, a detective-fiction devotee, food lover, and Agatha Christie superfan, has attended and volunteered at several Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Conventions and has taken pilgrimages to Torquay and Greenway House, Christie’s hometown and home. Pierce lives in Toronto, Canada. Drink and dine with recipes inspired by the best-selling novelist of all time in Recipe...

Send us Fan Mail Karen Pierce, a detective-fiction devotee, food lover, and Agatha Christie superfan, has attended and volunteered at several Anthony Boucher Memorial World Mystery Conventions and has taken pilgrimages to Torquay and Greenway House, Christie’s hometown and home. Pierce lives in Toronto, Canada. Drink and dine with recipes inspired by the best-selling novelist of all time in Recipe...

Send us Fan Mail The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933) introduces criminal defense lawyer and detective Perry Mason and Della Street, his secretary. Perry is hired by Eva Belter, who’s being blackmailed and soon falls under suspicion for murder. The book sets the stage for one of the most popular series in crime fiction history. Author Erle Stanley Gardner went on to write 150 books that sold 300 mi...

Send us Fan Mail Carolyn & Sarah are thrilled to speak with author Gary Braver on his latest mystery: Rumor of Evil. Just in time for spooky season, it was selected as one of Amazon Editors' Pick of Best Mysteries of October. Gary Braver   has been touted as “one of the best thriller writers in America.”  His novels have been translated into seventeen languages; three have been optioned f...

Send us Fan Mail Malice Aforethought  by Anthony Berkeley Cox (Francis Iles) is considered one of the first examples of the “inverted detective story.” Here, both the murder AND murderer are revealed at the beginning. The intrigue builds as the reader sees how the detective unravels the clues to solve the mystery. Published in 1931, the book ranks #16 in the Crime Writers’ Association’s Top 100 Cr...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast! Our focus is the history of mystery. We’re reading and discussing the best mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers ever written. Malice Aforethought  by Anthony Berkeley Cox (Francis Iles) is considered one of the first examples of the “inverted detective story.” Both the murder AND murderer are revealed at the begin...

Send us Fan Mail Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller from the 19th and 20th centuries. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theorie...

Send us Fan Mail Published in 1930, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is gritty, gripping noir at its best. As far as detective stories go, this one’s a game changer. Detective Sam Spade’s cool, cynical nature turned him into one of the most memorable characters in literature and film, most notably the 1941 release starring Humphrey Bogart. Both the book and the movie are stunners. Read : Buy...