(Old feed) Shedunnit Book Club — Seasoned Detectives

This is the Shedunnit Book Club Conversation episode for March 2025, in which we are reading Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter. This is part two of a two-part experience: in part one, you can hear some basic context and publication information for this book without any spoilers and this, part two, is a fully spoilered discussion between Caroline and Leandra about the book. Feedback or comments on this approach are very welcome in the forum, where we'll also see you for our fully spoilered discussion thread on 31st March 2025.

Please note that this is a post golden age book from 1975 that deals with themes of sexual assault and contains more graphic descriptions than the average interwar mystery. This review (which contains minor spoilers) provides an overview of this content if you would like to know what you’re getting into before reading.

Links: — The reading themes for 2025 — The new book suggestions category — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the next Watching Party

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 30th March at 5pm BST.

In April we are reading The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie, and in May the chosen book is Murder by Matchlight by E.C.R. Lorac.

NB: links to books at Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that although the price remains the exactly same for you, the podcast receives a small commission on each purchase. Blackwell’s is a UK bookseller that ships internationally at no extra charge.

A consideration of crime fiction’s more compact incarnation.

Books mentioned in this episode: —  Memories and Adventures by Arthur Conan Doyle — The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle — A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle — "A Scandal in Bohemia" by Arthur Conan Doyle, collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes — How to Write a Mystery: a Handbook from Mystery Writers of America,  edited by Lee Child with Laurie R. King — The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie — “The Tuesday Night Club" by Agatha Christie, collected in The Thirteen Problems — Mr. Fortune, Please by H. C. Bailey — "Traitor's Hands" by Agatha Christie, collected in The Hound of Death — "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell, collected in In the Shadow of Agatha Christie — Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

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 bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.

Welcome to your audiobook for March 2025: "The Well" by W.W. Jacobs. In his introduction to the British Library Crime Classics anthology Murder at the Manor, Martin Edwards describes this short story as “a study of the consequences of crime.”

After hearing about Jacobs' encounter with crime writer Arnold Bennett, you may want to list to the latter's short story "Murder!" featured in August 2023.

After listening, if you'd like to discuss these stories with other members or make suggestions for me to record in the future, head over to the audiobook club area of the forum to do that.

She is beloved worldwide for her crime writing. But what did she like to read?

Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: — Jamie Bernthal on Arthur Conan Doyle — Moira Redmond on Elizabeth Daly — Martin Edwards on My Brother's Killer — Gray Robert Brown on Muriel Spark

Books mentioned in this episode: — Agatha Christie An Autobiography by Agatha Christie — The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle — The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie — The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle — The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie — Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers — Unnatural Death by Dorothy L. Sayers — The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers — Mr Fortune, Please by H.C. Bailey — Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie — Unexpected Night by Elizabeth Daly — The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes — The Clocks by Elizabeth Daly — The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux — My Brother's Killer by D.M. Devine — The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré — The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie — Endless Night by Agatha Christie — Stamboul Train by Graham Greene — The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark — The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark — A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie — The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie — The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen — Death of the Heart by Elizabeth Bowen — The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen

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 bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.

This is the Shedunnit Book Club Conversation episode for February 2025, in which we are reading The Conjure Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher. This is part two of a two-part experience: in part one, you can hear some basic context and publication information for this book without any spoilers and this, part two, is a fully spoilered discussion between Caroline and Leandra about the book. Feedback or comments on this approach are very welcome in the forum, where we'll also see you for our fully spoilered discussion thread on 28th February 2025.

Links: — The reading themes for 2025 — The new book suggestions category — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the next Watching Party

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 23rd February at 5pm BST.

In March we are reading Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter, and in April the chosen book is The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

NB: links to books at Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that although the price remains the exactly same for you, the podcast receives a small commission on each purchase. Blackwell’s is a UK bookseller that ships internationally at no extra charge.

This is the Shedunnit Book Club Fact File episode for February 2025, in which we are reading The Conjure Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher. There are no major spoilers here. In this fact file, you'll hear Caroline giving some basic context and publication information for the book without any spoilers. Then, if you head to part two — the conversation — you'll find a fully spoilered discussion between Caroline and Leandra about this book. Feedback or comments on this approach are very welcome in the forum, where we'll also see you for our fully spoilered discussion thread on 28th February 2025.

Links: — The reading themes for 2025 — The new book suggestions category — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the next Watching Party

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 23rd February at 5pm BST.

In March we are reading Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter, and in April the chosen book is The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

NB: links to books at Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that although the price remains the exactly same for you, the podcast receives a small commission on each purchase. Blackwell’s is a UK bookseller that ships internationally at no extra charge.

Moira Redmond joins Caroline to consider a surprising medical mystery from 1931.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 19:39. After that, expect full spoilers.

A full list of titles in the Penguin series can be found at penguinfirsteditions.com. The next book discussed in this series will be Raffles by E.W. Hornung.

Reviews for The Missing Moneylender: — Martin Edwards — Beneath the Stains of Time — Vintage Pop Fictions

Books mentioned in this episode: — The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes — Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie — The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie — The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers — The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley — The Ray of Doom by W. Stanley Sykes — The Harness of Death by W. Stanley Sykes — Essays on the First Hundred Years of Anaesthesia by W. Stanley Sykes — "The Incredible Elopement of Lord Peter Wimsey" by Dorothy L. Sayers — A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie — "Before Insulin" by J.J. Connington — The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace — The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas — Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers — Mr Fortune, Please by H.C. Bailey — Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie — Raffles by E.W. Hornung

Past Shedunnit Green Penguin episodes: — The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Green Penguin Book Club 1, Ad Free) — The Murder on the Links (Green Penguin Book Club 2, Ad Free) — The Thin Man (Green Penguin Book Club 3, Ad Free) — Mr Fortune, Please (Green Penguin Book Club 4, Ad Free) — The Poisoned Chocolates Case (Green Penguin Book Club 5, Ad Free) — The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Green Penguin Book Club 6, Ad Free)

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 bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge.

Welcome to your audiobook for February 2025: "Mystery of the Slip Coach" by Sapper, first published in The Strand Magazine in December 1932. The following year, it was collected in Ronald Standish. The titular character of this collection is Sapper’s sleuth, and his adventures are recorded by his own Watson-like sidekick named Bob Miller. In an earlier short story, our chronicler describes Ronald Standish as follows: “a born player of games, wealthy, and distinctly good-looking, he seemed the last person in the world to become a detective. And yet that was what he was when one boiled down to hard facts.”

As I read “Mystery of the Slip Coach,” both Sapper and I challenge you to deduce the significance of the raw egg…

After listening, if you'd like to discuss these stories with other members or make suggestions for me to record in the future, head over to the audiobook club area of the forum to do that.

In November 2024, I made an episode of Shedunnit titled "Edmund Crispin's Inside Jokes", and as preparation for this I read all nine of his nine detective novels, in order. Today I'm going to tell you what I thought of them, starting with my least favourite and ending with what I think is the best one.

Edmund Crispin novels mentioned, in order of original publication: — The Case of the Gilded Fly (1944) — Holy Disorders (1945) — The Moving Toyshop (1946) — Swan Song (1947) — Love Lies Bleeding (1948) — Buried for Pleasure (1948) — Frequent Hearses (1950) — The Long Divorce (1951) — The Glimpses of the Moon (1977)

NB: links to books at Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that although the price remains the exactly same for you, the podcast receives a small commission on each purchase. Blackwell’s is a UK bookseller that ships internationally at no extra charge.

This is the Shedunnit Book Club Fact File episode for January 2025, in which we are reading The Paddington Mystery by John Rode. There are no major spoilers here. In this fact file, you'll hear Caroline giving some basic context and publication information for the book without any spoilers. Then, if you head to part two — the conversation — you'll find a fully spoilered discussion between Caroline and Leandra about this book. Feedback or comments on this approach are very welcome in the forum, where we'll also see you for our fully spoilered discussion thread on 31st January 2025.

Links: — The reading themes for 2024 — The reading themes for 2025 — The new book suggestions category — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the December Watching Party

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 26th January at 5pm BST.

In February we are reading The Conjure Man Dies by Rudolph Fisher, and in March the chosen book is Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter.

NB: links to books at Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that although the price remains the exactly same for you, the podcast receives a small commission on each purchase. Blackwell’s is a UK bookseller that ships internationally at no extra charge.