(Old feed) Shedunnit Book Club — Seasoned Detectives

Back in July of this year, I did an episode titled Christianna Brand's Impossible Crimes (Ad Free). During the research and preparation for that episode, I read quite a few Brand novels. Even though I haven't read every single work she published, I hope you enjoy this ranking of 15 books from Christianna Brand's canon. 

Christianna Brand novels mentioned, in alphabetical order: — Alas, for Her That Met Me! — The Brides of Aberdar — Cat and Mouse — Court of Foxes — Death in High Heels — Death of Jezebel  — Green for Danger — Heads You Lose — The Honey Harlot — London Particular — A Ring of Roses — The Rose in Darkness — The Three Cornered Halo — Tour de Force — Suddenly at His Residence

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.

Listen using the player above, your private podcast feed (instructions here) or download the mp3 directly.

What connects a notorious 1827 murder case with the Detection Club’s cosy Soho clubrooms?

There are minor spoilers for the books listed below in this episode. Also, please be aware that there are passing references (without description) in this episode to infant death.

Mentioned or consulted in the making of this episode: — The Red Barn, A Tale Founded On Fact by Robert Huish — The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins — Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon — BBC News report of William Corder's cremation in 2004 — Maria Marten, or The Murder in the Red Barn, an anonymous play — Maria Marten: The Murder in the Red Barn by Peter Haining — William Corder and the Red Barn Murder: Journeys of the Criminal Body by Shane McCorristine — The Mysterious Murder of Maria Marten by James Curtis — The Invention of Murder by Judith Flanders — The Red Barn Mystery by Donald McCormick — The case report in the Newgate Calendar

Related Shedunnit episodes: — Florence Maybrick I & II — The Murder At Road Hill House — Crippen

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 Fact File episode for September 2024, in which we are reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. There are no major spoilers here. This is a new two-part primer format that we're trying out. In this episode, part one — the fact file — you'll hear Caroline giving some basic context and publication information for this 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 30th September 2024.

Links: — The reading themes for 2024 — The book suggestions thread — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the September Watching Party — The survey about our 2024 reading themes

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 29th September at 5pm BST.

In October we are reading Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert and in November the chosen book is The Secret Place by Tana French.

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 Conversation episode for September 2024, in which we are reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L Sayers. 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 30th September 2024.

Links: — The reading themes for 2024 — The book suggestions thread — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the September Watching Party — The survey about our 2024 reading themes

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 29th September at 5pm BST.

In October we are reading Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert and in November the chosen book is The Secret Place by Tana French.

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.

Open wide!

There are spoilers in this episode for the titles listed below.

Mentioned in this episode: — Death in the Dentist's Chair by Molly Thynne — The Uncertain Glory by Molly Thynne — "Death Sits in the Dentist's Chair" by Cornell Woolrich, collected in Darkness at Dawn: Early Suspense Classics — Murder Underground by Mavis Doriel Hay — One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie — Death of a Dentist by M.C. Beaton — Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie — "The Cornish Mystery" by Agatha Christie, collected in Poirot's Early Cases — "The Wrong Problem" by John Dickson Carr, collected in The Third Bullet and Other Stories — Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Crofts — Sweet Danger by Margery Allingham — The Fashion in Shrouds by Margery Allingham — The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne — The Honour of Israel Gow" by G.K. Chesterton, collected in The Innocence of Father Brown — "In the Teeth of the Evidence" by Dorothy L. Sayers, collected in In the Teeth of the Evidence — Balachander, N et al. “Evolution of forensic odontology: An overview.” Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences vol. 7,Suppl 1 (2015): S176-80. — Bishop M. The influence of 'Golden Age' authors of detective fiction, in particular, D. L. Sayers, on the public opinion of dentists and dentistry. Br Dent J. 2024 Jul;237(1):51-54.

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 September 2024, "The Boat Race Murder" by David Winser. This short story is collected in the British Library Crime Classics anthology Settling Scores.

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.

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).

With holiday season in full swing for many of us, Leandra joined me in a discussion on holiday reading habits. We describe what we like to read on holiday, discuss the common assumptions about "beach reads," and share three book recommendations each.

Mentioned in this episode: — Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar — Diavola by Jennifer Thorne — Escape Velocity by Victor Manibo — The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte — The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard — The Path of Power by Robert A Caro

Caroline's Recommendations — An Appointment With Death by Agatha Christie — Have His Carcase by Dorothy L Sayers — Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh

Leandra's Recommendations — Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie — In A Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes — A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood

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.

Listen using the player above, your private podcast feed (instructions here) or download the mp3 directly.

Beware the pipe organ.

Mentioned in this episode: — The Organ Speaks by E.C.R. Lorac — Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers — The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers — The Nebuly Coat by J. Meade Falkner — The Hymn Tune Mystery by George A. Birmingham — Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin — Swan Song by Edmund Crispin — The Pit-Prop Syndicate by Freeman Wills Crofts — Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie — Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh

Mentioned Shedunnit episodes: — The Detective's Best Friend (Ad Free) — Death By Chocolate (Ad Free) — Death Under Par (Ad Free) — Cricket and Crime (Ad Free) — Death at the Club (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.

This is the Shedunnit Book Club companion episode for August 2024, in which we are reading An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James. There are no major spoilers in this primer, but if you'd rather read the book with no knowledge of its plot or structure at all, I'd recommend listening only once you've finished reading. I’ll see you in the Shedunnit forum for our fully spoilered discussion thread on 31st August 2024.

Links: — The reading themes for 2024 — The book suggestions thread — Thread for discussing improvements to the book club — Details of the August Watching Party

Sign up via email to be alerted when the watching party is about to start — the next one is happening on Sunday 25th August at 5pm BST.

In September we are reading Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers and in October the chosen book is Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert.

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.

Dolores Gordon-Smith joins Caroline to read this short story collection by H.C. Bailey.

Caroline's new book, A Body Made of Glass: A History of Hypochondria, is out now. To find out more and get your copy, visit her website carolinecrampton.com/abodymadeofglass.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 21:34. After that, expect full spoilers.

A full list of titles in the Penguin series can be found at penguinfirsteditions.com.

Mentioned in this episode: — Mr Fortune, Please by HC Bailey — The Sea Captain by HC Bailey — Jack Haldean Mysteries by Dolores Gordon-Smith — Serpent's Eye by Dolores Gordon-Smith — How to Write a Classic Murder Mystery by Dolores Gordon-Smith — Everyman's Great Tales of Detection, edited by Dorothy L Sayers — Anthony Gethryn series by Philip MacDonald — Capital Crimes, edited by Martin Edwards — The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett — The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley

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)

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.