Tea, Tonic & Toxin

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...

Send us Fan Mail Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett (1929) marked Hammett’s transition from short stories to novels. His portrayal of the Continental Op as a “hard-boiled” detective eventually became a prototype for many detective stories to come. A former detective, Hammett knew his stuff. Read : Buy it used or on Amazon . (Reading time: ~4 hours) Reflect : Check out the conversation starters below....

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. Time Magazine included Red Harvest as one of the 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923-2005, noting Dashiell Hammett created the prototype for the hard-boiled sleuth. The book surely b...

Send us Fan Mail The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) has become known as one of Agatha Christie’s most controversial novels due to an unexpected stunner of a twist at the end. Christie considered it her masterpiece. In 2013, the British Crime Writers’ Association voted it the best crime novel ever written. Read : Buy it used, read it for free , or get it on Amazon . (Reading time: ~4 hours) Reflect...

Send us Fan Mail The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) has become known as one of Agatha Christie’s most controversial novels due to an unexpected stunner of a twist at the end. Christie considered it her masterpiece. In 2013, the British Crime Writers’ Association voted it the best crime novel ever written. Read : Buy it used, read it for free , or get it on Amazon . (Reading time: ~4 hours) Reflect...

Send us Fan Mail WHOSE BODY? by Dorothy Sayers Dorothy Sayers’ Whose Body? is the first of 16 detective novels published by Sayers, one of the queens of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. This 1923 novel introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, considered the father of the amateur “gentleman sleuth” who will appear in many British novels for decades to come. Read : Buy it used, read it for free , or get it...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast! We’re reading and discussing the best mysteries and detective stories ever written. Whose Body? (1921) is the first of 16 detective novels published by Sayers, one of the queens of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The story introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, considered the father of the amateur “gentleman sleuth” who will...

Send us Fan Mail The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) is the first Hercule Poirot mystery! Can Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solve an unsolvable crime? From the Times Literary Supplement (1921): “[The story] is said to be the result of a bet about the possibility of writing a detective story in which the reader would not be able to spot the criminal. Every reader must admit that the bet was w...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast! We’re reading and discussing the best mysteries and detective stories ever written. The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) is the first Hercule Poirot mystery! From the Times Literary Supplement (1921): The story is “said to be the result of a bet about the possibility of writing a detective story in which the reader wou...

Send us Fan Mail When a freelance spy is murdered in Richard Hannay’s London flat, Richard Hannay goes on the run. Fearing for his life, his goal is to stay one step ahead of both the police and the spies who will stop at nothing to find him. What are the thirty-nine steps, and can Richard Hannay manage to stay one step ahead of his pursuers?  Published in 1915, The Thirty-Nine Steps is one of the...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast! We’re reading and discussing the best mysteries and detective stories ever written. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan, published in 1915, is one of the most popular espionage thrillers ever written. The action-packed story begins in May 1914. One day, our protagonist, Richard Hannay, finds a man named Franklin Scudder...

Send us Fan Mail Published in 1913, Trent’s Last Case is considered one of the first “whodunits” – stories in which new clues appear throughout, making it possible for readers to feel as if they’re solving the crime along with the detective. Also, this Philip Trent mystery includes a “less than perfect” sleuth – in contrast to Sherlock Holmes. Agatha Christie called it one of the three best myster...

Send us Fan Mail Published in 1913, Trent’s Last Case is considered one of the first “whodunits” – stories in which new clues appear throughout, making it possible for readers to feel as if they’re solving the crime along with the detective. Also, this Philip Trent mystery includes a “less than perfect” sleuth – in contrast to Sherlock Holmes. Agatha Christie called it one of the three best myster...

Send us Fan Mail The Innocence of Father Brown (1911) is G. K. Chesterton’s first collection of short stories featuring Father Brown, a nondescript Catholic priest who solves crimes using intuition and by tapping into spiritual and philosophic truths rather than scientific details. The stories are clever, thoughtful, and lovely. Meet our first guest, Deb Donner. She's a bookaholic. Reading is...

Send us Fan Mail The Innocence of Father Brown (1911) is G. K. Chesterton’s first collection of short stories featuring Father Brown, a nondescript Catholic priest who solves crimes using intuition and by tapping into spiritual and philosophic truths rather than scientific details. The stories are clever, thoughtful, and lovely. Meet our first guest, Deb Donner. She's a bookaholic. Reading is...

Send us Fan Mail The Innocence of Father Brown (1911) G. K. Chesterton’s first collection of short stories featuring a Catholic priest who solves crimes by tapping into spiritual and philosophic truths. Trent’s Last Case (1913) In E. C. Bentley’s “whodunit,” new clues appear throughout the story, making readers feel as if they’re solving the crime along with Trent. The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) In...