There’s something sinister in the stacks. Read more
now playing
Murder in the Library
There’s something sinister in the stacks.
The Thin Man
CriminOlly joins Caroline to read this classic of American hardboiled crime fiction.
Death at the Speakeasy
During Prohibition, the cocktails are downright criminal.
Christianna Brand's Impossible Crimes
Which matters more in a murder mystery, plot or character?
Mr Fortune, Please
Dolores Gordon-Smith joins Caroline to read this short story collection by H.C. Bailey.
Instrument of Death
Beware the pipe organ.
In the Dentist's Chair
Open wide! What could possibly go wrong?
The Red Barn Murder
What connects a notorious 1827 murder case with the Detection Club’s cosy Soho clubrooms?
The Poisoned Chocolates Case
Martin Edwards joins Caroline to revisit this icon of golden age detective fiction.
Mysterious Knitting
How to weave the perfect murder mystery plot.
Vanishing Corpses
Where did that dead body go? It was right there!
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
Kathryn Harkup and Caroline reconsider Agatha Christe’s very first detective novel.
Edmund Crispin's Inside Jokes
The creator of amateur sleuth Gervase Fen loved to make fun of detective fiction.
The Box of Delights
Caroline and Guy discuss this beloved children's book by John Masefield.
Father Christmas
The magical spirit of Christmas is the perfect cover for a murder mystery.
Notes & Queries
There’s always more to say about detective fiction.
Whodunnit Centenary: 1925
Reading the mysteries of the past 100 years.
On Gaudy Night
Caroline goes deep on Dorothy L. Sayers’ 1935 masterpiece.
The Missing Moneylender by W. Stanley Sykes (Green Penguin Book Club 7)
Moira Redmond joins Caroline to consider a surprising medical mystery from 1931.
Agatha Christie’s Taste in Crime Fiction
She is beloved worldwide for her crime writing. But what did she like to read?
The Lady Vanishes
On 3 December 1926, Agatha Christie vanished.
The Mystery Short Story
A consideration of crime fiction’s more compact incarnation.
Florence Maybrick I
One of the most notorious domestic poisoning cases in British history.
Oxford vs Cambridge
Why do these two historic university cities appear in so many murder mysteries?
Florence Maybrick II
Her trial gripped the nation and tested Britain's legal system to the limit.
Raffles (Green Penguin Book Club 8)
Darryl Jones joins Caroline to discuss the first collection of Raffles stories.
The Great Gladys
A reptilian sleuth with a mellifluous voice, and a small amount of witchcraft.
Ranking Christianna Brand
Caroline dives deep into Brand’s work to find her favourite novel.
The Secret Life of Ngaio Marsh
Who was Ngaio Marsh really?
The Crimes of Dorothy Erskine Muir
Fact meets fiction in the work of this unjustly overlooked writer.
The Hay Poisoner
All the best murder mysteries start with a scone laced with arsenic.