Shedunnit

Many thanks to my guest, Nicole Glover. More information about her work is available at nicole-glover.com, and her first book, The Conductors, is out now in the US and the UK.The inspiration for this episode was Nicole's article "Who Are You Going To Call: Rethinking The Role Of Police In Mysteries".There are no major spoilers in this episode, but there is some discussion of the works listed below.Sources and further information:— The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins— "On Duty With Inspector Field" by Charles Dickens in Household Words— Bleak House by Charles Dickens— "The Butler Did It" episode of Shedunnit— A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh— The Nursing Home Murder by Ngaio Marsh— Death In Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie— Look to the Lady by Margery Allingham— Whose Body? by Dorothy L. SayersNB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/policingthedetectivesMusic by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reading through the twentieth century, one murder mystery at a time.Find more information about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/century.The ten books I talk about are:— The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1905)— Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley (1913)— The Cask by Freeman Wills Crofts (1920)— The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (1934)— Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (1943)— Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert (1952)— From Doon With Death by Ruth Rendell (1964)— Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James (1977)— Appleby and the Ospreys by Michael Innes (1986)— Black and Blue by Ian Rankin (1997)Other sources:— The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards— Bloody Murder: from the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian SymonsThere are no major spoilers in this episode, but the opening plot scenario of each book is discussed briefly. There is a major spoiler for the Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem" from 1893. NB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/centurytranscript.Thanks to today’s sponsors. You can get $5 off mail based Victorian mystery game Dear Holmes at dearholmes.com/shedunnit using code "shedunnit" at checkout. The audiobook of Laura Ruby's Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All is on a special deep discount through May, and you can find that through your audiobook retailer of choice.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How do you say goodbye to a beloved detective? Agatha Christie, of course, made a mystery out of it.Thanks to my guest, Mark Aldridge. You can find out more about his work at markaldridge.info and order a copy of his new book, Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, from all good booksellers.Spoiler warning: there are major spoilers for Curtain and Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie in this episode.To see a full list of books mentioned in this episode and get links to other resources related to this topic, please visit shedunnitshow.com/swansong.Thanks to today’s sponsor, Best Fiends. You can download Best Fiends free on the Apple App Store or Google Play.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Visit shedunnitshow.com/open to open the show now in your default podcast app.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/swansongtranscriptMusic by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There aren’t many characters who are recognisable just from a silhouette, but Hercule Poirot is one of them.Thanks to my guest, Mark Aldridge. You can find out more about his work at markaldridge.info and order a copy of his new book, Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World, from all good booksellers.There are no major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below.Sources and further information:— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie— An Autobiography by Agatha Christie— The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux— Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief by Maurice Leblanc— "The Dispenser" episode of Shedunnit about Agatha Christie's wartime hospital work— After the Funeral by Agatha Christie— Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie— Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie— Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie— Mrs McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie— The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie— "The Lady Vanishes" episode of Shedunnit about Agatha Christie's 1926 "disappearance" and divorce— The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie— The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle— The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie— Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha ChristieNB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.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 subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/themanyafterlivesofherculepoirottranscript.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you can solve a crossword, you can solve a murder.Thanks to my guest, Hamish Symington. You can find out more about his work at hamishsymington.com and order a custom cryptic crossword from him at customcrypticcrosswords.com.There are no major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below.Sources and further information:— Forever England: Femininity, Literature and Conservatism Between the Wars by Alison Light— "Who Cares Who Killed Roger Ackroyd?" by Edmund Wilson, first published in the New Yorker on 20 January 1945— The Crossword Mysteries by Nero Blanc— "The Fascinating Problem of Uncle Meleager's Will" in Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers— Crossword Mystery by E.R. Punshon— Close Quarters by Michael Gilbert— "The Clue" in Two Bottles of Relish: The Little Tales of Smethers and Other Stories by Lord Dunsany— A Six Letter Word For Death by Patricia Moyes— Last Puzzle and Testament by Parnell Hall—Thinking Inside the Box: Adventures With Crosswords and the Puzzling People Who Can't Live Without Them by Adrienne Raphel—"Clues: Crosswords and Detective Stories" by John Curran in Crime and Detective Stories 79, December 2018 —Cracking Cryptic Crosswords by Colin Dexter— Two episodes of The Allusionist podcast about crosswords: #8 Crosswords and #62: In Crypt, DecryptNB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.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 subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/crypticcrimestranscript.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the fascinating world of classic Japanese whodunnits, exploring their origins and evolution. Discover key figures like Seishi Yokomizo and the impact of government censorship on detective fiction. Learn about the unique focus on logical reasoning that defines Honkaku mysteries. The podcast discusses the genre's revival, showcasing innovative contemporary writers while celebrating the traditional puzzle-solving elements. Experience how these stories reflect Japan's cultural nuances and shifts over time.

First aired in November 2018, this classic Shedunnit episode is all about the coded gay characters and references in books from the golden age of detective fiction like Agatha Christie’s A Murder is Announced and Josephine Tey’s Miss Pym Disposes. Find more information about my guests and the books mentioned at shedunnitshow.com/queerclues. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What was the first murder mystery, really?No major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below.Sources and further information:— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie— Partners In Crime by Agatha Christie— A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle— The Mystery Of A Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume— The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins— L’Affaire Lerouge by Emile Gaboriau— Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon— The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale— Bleak House by Charles Dickens— "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allen Poe— The Omnibus of Crime (1929) edited by Dorothy L. Sayers— "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe— "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe— "The Imp of the Perverse" by Edgar Allen Poe— Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers— The Late Scholar by Jill Paton Walsh— Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu— "A Passage in the Secret History of an Irish Countess" by Sheridan Le Fanu— The Aeneid by Virgil— Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu— The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie— Oedipus Rex by Sophocles —“Who Wrote the First Whodunit?” by Steven Saylor— “Oedipus on the Nile: translations and adaptations of Sophocles’ Oedipus Tyrannos in Egypt, 1900-1970” by Raphael Christian Cormack —“Oedipus the Detective” by Sean Fitzpatrick— “Oedipus as Detective: Sophocles, Simenon, Robbe-Grillet” by Page Dubois in Yale French Studies, 2005— “Oedipus versus Sherlock Holmes” by Marios Ploritis and Richard Schechner in The Tulane Drama Review, Winter 1965 —“From Sophocles to Sherlock: economics, literature and the detective story” by Frank Edmund Smith—“Fergus Hume’s startling story” by Simon Caterson—"‘The Most Popular Book of Modern Times’: Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886)" by Clare Clarke in Late Victorian Crime Fiction in the Shadows of SherlockTo be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.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 subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thefirstwhodunnittranscript.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before there was CSI, there was Bernard Spilsbury.No major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below. Please be aware there is a brief mention of suicide at the end.Sources and further information:— The Florence Maybrick episodes of this podcast: part one and part two— Taylor’s Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence by Alfred Swaine Taylor— Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers— The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley— The Red Thumb Mark by R. Austin Freeman— The Crippen episode of this podcast— The Father of Forensics: How Sir Bernard Spilsbury Invented Modern CSI by Colin Evans>— “Trial Of Thomas Smethurst”, British Medical Journal, August 27, 1859— “The Case of Thomas Smethurst, Convicted of the Crime of Murder”, The Lancet, September 1859— The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath by Jane Robbins— The "Brides in the Bath" episode of this podcast— Bernard Spilsbury’s index cards at the Wellcome Collection— Some Cases of Sir Bernard Spilsbury and Others : Death Under The Microscope by Harold Dearden— Bernard Spilsbury: His Life and Cases by Douglas G. Browne and E.V. Tullett— “The rise and fall of celebrity pathology” by Ian Burney and Neil Pemberton in the British Medical Journal, December 2010— “Bruised Witness: Bernard Spilsbury and the Performance of Early Twentieth-Century English Forensic Pathology” in Medical History, January 2011Thanks to today’s sponsor, Best Fiends. You can download Best Fiends free on the Apple App Store or Google Play.To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/thepeoplespathologisttranscript.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing could bad could possibly happen here, the inhabitants of the peaceful English village say to each other. Until the first poison pen letter arrives.No major spoilers about clues or endings in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below. Also, be aware there is a very brief mention of suicide.Books and sources:—The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie—“The Lernean Hydra” in The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie—Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers—Policemen in the Precinct by E.C.R. Lorac—The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters by Enid Blyton—Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh—Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers—Poison in the Pen by Patricia Wentworth—Details of the James Forster poison pen case in Manfield, Yorkshire—"The Poison Pen Letter: the Early 20th Century's Strangest Crime Wave" by Curtis Evans—Fear Stalks the Village by Ethel Lina WhiteTo be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter.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 subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice.Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/poisonpentranscript.Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices