The magical spirit of Christmas is the perfect cover for a murder mystery.

Mentioned in this episode:

— "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Arthur Conan Doyle, collected in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

— "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" by Agatha Christie, collected in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées

— "The Necklace of Pearls" by Dorothy L Sayers, collected in Silent Nights

— Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

— Crime at Christmas by C.H.B. Kitchin

— Portrait of a Murderer by Anne Meredith

— An English Murder by Cyril Hare

— Groaning Spinney by Gladys Mitchell

— The Case of the Abominable Snowman by Nicholas Blake

— Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon

— “A Present from Santa Claus” by Julian Symons, collected in Murder on a Winter's Night

— L'Assassinat du Père Noël Pierre Véry [English trans. The Murder of Father Christmas]

— Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer

— Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan

— “Who Killed Father Christmas?” by Patricia Moyes, collected in Who Killed Father Christmas?

— “The Santa Claus Club” by Julian Symons, collected in Crimson Snow

— The Santa Claus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay

— "‘Twixt the Cup and the Lip” by Julian Symons, collected in The Christmas Card Crime and Other Stories

— "The Case of the Man with the Sack” by Margery Allingham, collected in Crimson Snow

— The White Priory Murders by John Dickson Carr

— "The Snapdragon and the C.I.D." by Margery Allingham, collected in Murder at Christmas

— “The Case is Altered” by Margery Allingham, collected in Silent Nights

— “Among Those Present was Santa Claus” by Vincent Cornier, collected in Who Killed Father Christmas?

More Festive Shedunnit episodes:

— Crime at Christmas

— Let It Snow

— A Christie for Christmas

— The Murderless Christmas Mystery

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get extra Shedunnit episodes every month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

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.

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Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/fatherchristmastranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Caroline and Guy discuss The Box of Delights by John Masefield, a beloved children's book from 1935 that might actually be a golden age detective novel too.

They also consider the beloved 1984 TV adaptation, which is returning to the BBC on 7th December 2024 for a special 40th anniversary showing.

This episode was originally released in December 2023 as an exclusive bonus for the Shedunnit Book Club. If you'd like to hear more bonus episodes like this in the future, join the Shedunnit Book Club now at shedunnitbookclub.com/join. 

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The creator of amateur sleuth Gervase Fen loved to make fun of detective fiction.

The 2024 Shedunnit Pledge Drive is underway! Help ensure the future of the podcast and get at least two bonus episodes a month by becoming a Shedunnit member now at shedunnitshow.com/pledgedrive.

Mentioned in this episode:

— The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr

— Bruce Montgomery/Edmund Crispin: A Life in Music and Books by David Whittle

— The Case of the Gilded Fly by Edmund Crispin

— Love Lies Bleeding by Edmund Crispin

— The Glimpses of the Moon by Edmund Crispin

— The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin

— Swan Song by Edmund Crispin

— Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin

— Frequent Hearses by Edmund Crispin

— Buried for Pleasure by Edmund Crispin

— Hamlet, Revenge! by Michael Innes

— The Long Divorce by Edmund Crispin

— "We Know You're Busy Writing, But We Thought You Wouldn't Mind If We Just Dropped In For A Minute" by Edmund Crispin

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.

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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/edmundcrispinsinsidejokestranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Kathryn Harkup is Caroline’s guest for a reconsideration of Agatha Christie’s very first detective novel.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 22:30. 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 The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes.

Join the Shedunnit Book Club for two extra Shedunnit episodes a month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Mentioned in this episode:

— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

— The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux

— Agatha Christie's Complete Secret Notebooks by John Curran

— A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup

— The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie

— The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie

— The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side by Agatha Christie

— The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley

— The Missing Moneylender by W Stanley Sykes

Kathryn Harkup's past appearances on Shedunnit:

— The Dispenser

— The Pale Horse

Past Shedunnit Green Penguin episodes:

— The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Green Penguin Book Club 1)

— The Murder on the Links (Green Penguin Book Club 2)

— The Thin Man (Green Penguin Book Club 3)

— Mr Fortune, Please (Green Penguin Book Club 4)

— The Poisoned Chocolates Case (Green Penguin Book Club 5)

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.

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/themysteriousaffairatstylestranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Where did that dead body go? It was right here!

The 2024 Shedunnit Pledge Drive is underway! Help ensure the future of the podcast and get at least two bonus episodes a month by becoming a Shedunnit member now at shedunnitshow.com/pledgedrive.

Mentioned in this episode:

—The Vanishing Corpse by Anthony Gilbert

—The Vanishing Corpse by Ellery Queen

—The Case of the Runaway Corpse by Erle Stanley Gardner

—The Corpse Steps Out by Craig Rice

—Case Without A Corpse by Leo Bruce

—The Disappearing Corpse by James Warren

—A Silent Witness by R. Austin Freeman

—The Cask by Freeman Wills Crofts

—Untimely Death by Cyril Hare

—Adders on the Heath by Gladys Mitchell

—Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

—The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

—The Red House Mystery by AA Milne

—The 4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie

—The Case of the Blind Barber by John Dickson Carr

—The Burning Court by John Dickson Carr

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.

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/vanishingcorpsestranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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How to weave the perfect murder mystery plot.

Find out more about Kate Davies' work at katedaviesdesigns.com and browse all of her patterns at shopkdd.com. The Margery Allingham's Mysterious Knits book, which contains Caroline's essay about knitting and detective fiction, is available at shopkdd.com/summerofmystery.

This episode marks the beginning of the 2024 Shedunnit Pledge Drive! Help ensure the future of the podcast and get at least two bonus episodes a month by becoming a Shedunnit member now at shedunnitshow.com/pledgedrive.

Mentioned in this episode:

— The Tiger in the Smoke by Margery Allingham

— More Work for the Undertaker by Margery Allingham

— Traitor's Purse by Margery Allingham

— Dancers in Mourning by Margery Allingham

— The Beckoning Lady by Margery Allingham

— Hide My Eyes by Margery Allingham

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.

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/mysteriousknittingtranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Martin Edwards joins Caroline to revisit this iconic example of golden age detective fiction.

No major plot spoilers until you hear Caroline say we are "entering the spoiler zone", at 11:06. 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 The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie.

Join the Shedunnit Book Club for two extra Shedunnit episodes a month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

Mentioned in this episode:

— The Poisoned Chocolates Case by Anthony Berkeley

— Murder in the Basement by Anthony Berkeley

— Hemlock Bay by Martin Edwards

— Bloody Murder by Julian Symons

— "The Avenging Chance" by Anthony Berkeley

— The Footsteps at the Lock by Ronald Knox

— Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

— The Lazarus Widow by Bill Knox with Martin Edwards

— Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley

— Mr Fortune, Please by H.C. Bailey

— The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett

— The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

Past Shedunnit Green Penguin episodes:

— The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club (Green Penguin Book Club 1)

— The Murder on the Links (Green Penguin Book Club 2)

— The Thin Man (Green Penguin Book Club 3)

— Mr Fortune, Please (Green Penguin Book Club 4)

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.

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/thepoisonedchocolatescasetranscript

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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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.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get two extra Shedunnit episodes a month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

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.

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/theredbarnmurdertranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Open wide!

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get two extra Shedunnit episodes a month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

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.

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/inthedentistschairtranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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Beware the pipe organ.

Support the podcast by joining the Shedunnit Book Club and get two extra Shedunnit episodes a month plus access to the monthly reading discussions and community: shedunnitbookclub.com/join.

There are no major spoilers in this episode but some minor plot details for the titles listed below are discussed.

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

— Death By Chocolate

— Death Under Par

— Cricket and Crime

— Death at the Club

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.

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/instrumentofdeathtranscript.

Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details.

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