Tea, Tonic & Toxin

Send us a text David Morrell is the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. He joins us to discuss Rogue Male (by Geoffrey Household) and First Blood. He holds a Ph. D. in American literature from Penn State and was a professor in the English department at the University of Iowa. His many New York Times bestsellers include the classic spy trilogy that begins with THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE, the basis for the only television mini-series to premier after a Super Bowl. An Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity nominee, he’s the recipient of three Bram Stoker awards and the prestigious Thriller Master award from the International Thriller Writers organization. Learn more about David Morrell below! Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with David! Join our new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. David Morrell was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. In 1960, at the age of seventeen, he became a fan of the classic television series, route 66, about two young men in a Corvette convertible traveling the US in search of America and themselves. The scripts by Stirling Silliphant combined action with ideas and so impressed Morrell that he decided to become a writer. In 1966, the work of Hemingway scholar Philip Young prompted David Morrell to move to the United States, where he studied with Young at Penn State and received his M.A. and Ph. D. in American literature. There, he also met the esteemed science-fiction author William Tenn (real name Philip Klass), who taught Morrell the basics of fiction writing. The result was First Blood, a ground-breaking novel about a returned Vietnam veteran suffering from post-trauma stress disorder who comes into conflict with a small-town police chief and fights his own version of the Vietnam War. That “father” of modern action novels was published in 1972 while Morrell was a professor in the English department at the University of Iowa. He taught American literature there from 1970 to 1986, simultaneously writing other novels, many of them international bestsellers, including the classic spy trilogy, The Brotherhood of the Rose (the basis for the only television mini-series to premier after a Super Bowl), The Fraternity of the Stone, and The League of Night and Fog. Eventually wearying of two professions, Morrell gave up his academic tenure in order to write full time. Shortly afterward, his fifteen-year-old son Matthew was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and died in 1987, a loss that haunts not only Morrell’s life but his work, as in his memoir about Matthew, Fireflies, and his novel Desperate Measures, whose main character lost a son. David Morrell is a co-founder of the International Thriller Writers organization. Noted for his research, he is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School for wilderness survival as well as the G. Gordon Liddy Academy of Corporate Security. He is also an honorary lifetime member of the Special Operations Association and the Association of Intelligence Officers. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text ROGUE MALE (1939) is an enduring masterpiece of mystery, adventure, suspense, and the sheer thrill of the chase. Described by author Geoffrey Household as a “bastard offspring of Stevenson and Conrad,” it’s “the best escape and pursuit story yet written, with lip-chewing tension right to the end.” –The Times (UK) Special guest David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood (the classic thriller that inspired the RAMBO movies) joins us. Check out the conversation starters below. Weigh in, and you might just get an on-air shoutout and a fab sticker! Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with David! Join our new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. The NYT praised Geoffrey Household for developing suspense into an art form. The Times (UK) called it, “Simply the best escape and pursuit story yet written.” What We Know About Geoffrey Household + the Narrator A wealthy, well-known, unnamed Englishman, not yet 40, is a sportsman “who couldn’t resist the temptation to stalk the impossible.” He has no grievances and has a “sense of adventure.” He’s not an anarchist or fanatic. He becomes obsessed with stalking the biggest game of all, a European “great man” in a country near Poland. The country resembles Germany; the dictator, Hitler. He’s caught before the kill and pursued across Europe by Nazi assassins. Geoffrey Household had a sales job for an ink manufacturer and loved his adventurous life (Europe, South America). Britain entered the war on 9/03/39. He served in British intelligence. He said his feeling toward Nazi Germany “had the savagery of a personal vendetta” (Against the Wind). “The Almighty looks after the rogue male” Geoffrey Household writes: “The behavior of a rogue may be described as individual, separation from its fellows appearing to increase both cunning and ferocity. These solitary beasts [are] found among all the larger carnivores and graminivores, and are generally male.” PART I – ESCAPE / SURFACE – The Hunter Becomes the Hunted (AUGUST) The narrator is tortured and thrown off a cliff. He walks, crawls, curses, and cries, slipping in and out of consciousness, doing rather than thinking, using the “reasoning of a hunted beast.” “In these days of visas and identification cards it is impossible to travel without leaving a trail that can, with patience, bribery, and access to public records, be picked up.” “It was a convenience to have no existence. Had I stolen a watch instead of stalking the head of a nation, my photograph would have been in all the police stations.” He has a passport, maps, and money. He speaks the language well. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Part memoir and part literary true crime, Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation by Erika Krouse is the mesmerizing story of a landmark sexual assault investigation and the female private investigator who helped crack it open. The book won the 2023 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime, and it was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Erika Krouse is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her upcoming collection of stories, Save Me, Stranger, will be released in January 2025. Learn more about Erika below! Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Erika! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Erika Krouse is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her recent memoir, Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation (2022, Flatiron Books/Macmillan) is a Book of the Month pick, has been optioned by Playground Entertainment for TV adaptation, and received starred advance reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Library Journal, and Bookpage. Erika Krouse is also the author of Contenders (novel, Rare Bird, 2015), and Come Up and See Me Sometime (short stories, Scribner, 2001). Erika’s short fiction has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Ploughshares, and One Story, and has been shortlisted for Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, and the Pushcart Prize. Erika teaches at the Lighthouse Book Project at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, and is a winner of the Lighthouse Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence. Her next book, Save Me: Stories (Flatiron Books/Macmillan) will be published in 2023 or 2024. www.erikakrouse.com. Erika Krouse has one of those faces. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” people say, spilling confessions. In fall 2002, Erika accepts a new contract job investigating lawsuits as a private investigator. The role seems perfect for her, but she quickly realizes she has no idea what she’s doing. Then a lawyer named Grayson assigns her to investigate a sexual assault, a college student who was attacked by football players and recruits at a party a year earlier. Erika knows she should turn the assignment down. Her own history with sexual violence makes it all too personal. But she takes the job anyway, inspired by Grayson’s conviction that he could help change things forever. And maybe she could, too. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Georgia Jeffries joins Sarah and Carolyn to discuss The Younger Girl, a supernatural thriller based on a true crime. Georgia is a writer of Emmy Award-winning drama and acclaimed noir fiction. Honored with multiple Writers Guild Awards, Golden Globes, and the Humanitas Prize, her work in film has been praised by the Los Angeles Times as “standing ovation television.” Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Georgia! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. A DARK LABYRINTH OF FAMILY BETRAYAL Based on a true crime, The Younger Girl, by trailblazing, award-winning writer Georgia Jeffries combines historical fiction and supernatural suspense to unravel a thrilling tale of family deception and long-denied redemption. In 1933, Chicago tabloids trumpeted the death of twenty-year-old town belle Aldine Younger. “HEIRESS SLAIN, MARRIED MAN HELD.” In the aftermath of Aldine Younger’s tragic death, her grieving brother Owen suspects that their wealthy uncle orchestrated a sinister murder plot to cover up the theft of Aldine’s inheritance. Fast forward to 1996, when an aging Owen, burdened by the weight of the past, is compelled to discover the truth before he dies. His daughter, Joanna, becomes the key to unraveling the family’s twisted history. Father and daughter journey back to Pontiac, Illinois, to claim Owen’s rightful bequest. They find themselves caught in a labyrinth of lies born of family greed and treachery crossing three generations. Amidst violent storms and dramatic revelations, Owen’s sanity teeters on the edge as he confuses Joanna with the sister he lost. Joanna, racing against time, unearths secrets that could shatter her world and discovers a psychic bridge linking past, present, and future. But at what cost? And who will survive the revelations? Georgia Jeffries is a writer of Emmy Award-winning drama and acclaimed noir fiction. Honored with multiple Writers Guild Awards, Golden Globes, and the Humanitas Prize, her work in film has been praised by the Los Angeles Times as “standing ovation television.” Born in the Illinois heartland, Georgia worked as a journalist for American Film before writing and producing the groundbreaking female-driven dramas Cagney & Lacey, China Beach, and Sisters. Her screenwriting career has been distinguished by extensive field research, from patrolling the mean streets of Rampart with the LAPD to crashing a Vegas bounty hunters’ convention to reporting from a Walter Reed Army Hospital surgical bay. Each investigation was the basis for one of her many docudramas and series pilots for CBS, ABC, NBC, HBO, and Showtime. Her short stories have appeared in national suspense anthologies, including Mystery Writers of America’s Odd Partners and Sisters in Crime’s The Last Resort. She has also written biography and historical profiles for HuffPost, Los Angeles Review of Books, and University of California Press. A cum laude UCLA graduate, Georgia Jeffries is a professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where she created the first BFA Television Thesis program at an American university. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Shana Kelly began her career as a literary agent at the William Morris Agency in New York and London for 10 years. She currently works as a documentary screenwriter, book editor, writer, and publishing consultant. She also teaches at Denver-based Lighthouse Writers Workshop. In 2024, Shana won an Emmy for writing A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps, a historical documentary that aired on PBS in 2023. She is currently writing a historical documentary about the League of Women Voters. Shana Kelly joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. Learn more below! Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Shana! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Reader Response: Did you enjoy Rebecca? Had you read it before, or was this your first time? Gothic Setting Je Reviens Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text We are beyond excited to be starting our fourth year, and to share with you the books we have on tap! Give a listen and let us know what you think, or if we're leaving out pivotal content to the genre. See the full book club list here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests (and ourselves)! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a mystery and thriller podcast and book club for people obsessed with mysteries and thrillers. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller, starting in the mid-19th century onward. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, and doubts, along with the occasional guest. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading the best mysteries and thrillers ever written. We’ll read and explore ideas about the book and about ourselves. And we’ll start at the very beginning with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe. We’re excited to read these books. And we’re excited that you’ll be reading these books. Please share your ideas early and often. We want to hear from YOU. Follow us month to month or jump in anywhere you like. You’re our people, and we’re glad we found you (and vice versa). We’re thrilled to have you join us anywhere on this marvelous journey through the best mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories ever written. On a final note, with your encouragement and support, we’re getting better at this podcasting adventure each and every day. Our goal: Make Tea, Tonic & Toxin a mystery and thriller podcast and book club that provides a forum for introspection, good conversation, and inspiration. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again …” A young bride is haunted by the lingering shadow of her husband’s first wife at the eerie Manderley estate. Secrets, jealousy, and suspense converge in a chilling tale of love and deception. The classic Gothic suspense novel REBECCA (1938) by Daphne du Maurier won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century. Shana Kelly was the signing agent for many successful authors, including New York Times bestseller Curtis Sittenfeld, author of PREP and ELIGIBLE. In 2024, Shana Kelly won an Emmy for writing A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps, a historical documentary which aired on PBS in September 2023. Founded during the Cold War, the Peace Corps stands as an icon of American idealism. From the beginning its mission of world peace and friendship proved to be a towering task. Imbued with the unbounded energy and vision of its charismatic leader, Sargent Shriver, and thousands of vigorous volunteers, the story of the Peace Corps is a uniquely American tale. From the political machinations to establish not just a brand new government agency, but a new concept in international relations, to the growing pains of an agency striving to define its mission, A Towering Task takes viewers on a journey of what it means to be a global citizen. Shana Kelly is also currently writing a a feature-length historical documentary exploring the past, present, and future of women’s political power through the lens of the 100-year history of the League of Women Voters and allied groups. This new documentary will inspire audiences to use their power, vote, get involved and make a difference on issues they care about. As a work that connects history to the present day with an accessible and entertaining approach, the film will be both a catalyst during the 2024 election year and an enduring work to spark voter turnout, civic engagement, and women’s leadership for years to come. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Shana! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller from the 19th and 20th centuries. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubts, and grudges, along with the occasional guest. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading some of the best mysteries and thrillers ever written. Linden Botanicals We sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Mystery writer Kathy Reichs joins Sarah and Carolyn to discuss her latest book, Fire and Bones. #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself at the center of a DC arson investigation that spawns deepening levels of mystery and, ultimately, violence. Mystery writer Kathy Reichs joins Sarah and Carolyn to discuss her latest book, Fire and Bones. #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself at the center of a DC arson investigation that spawns deepening levels of mystery and, ultimately, violence. Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written, as well as interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Kathy! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history. The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the thirties and forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions. As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious: somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat. Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Fire and Bones is Reichs’s twenty-third novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Reichs was a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama, Bones, which was based on her work and her novels. One of few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, she divides her time between Charlotte, NC, and Charleston, SC. Visit her at KathyReichs.com or follow her on X and Instagram @KathyReichs or Facebook @KathyReichsBooks. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written, as well as interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers. In The Wheel Spins (1938), a young woman’s train journey takes a sinister turn when a fellow passenger mysteriously disappears. Ethel Lina White’s suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat read served as the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film The Lady Vanishes. It’s a classic of the genre. Alex Csurko joins us to discuss The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes) by Welsh-born interwar writer Ethel Lina White. He is writing his PhD thesis on White, whom he first discovered during his undergraduate studies on Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock made the film The Lady Vanishes based on The Wheel Spins. Alex is recognized as an up-and-coming authority on White after his interview with BBC Wales Online, published in December 2021, discussing the author’s life and work. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Alex! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Alex Csurko is one of the world’s foremost experts on the works of Ethel Lina White, including The Wheel Spins (The Lady Vanishes). In 2023, he contributed an extensive biography on Ethel Lina White for the Gwent Local History Journal. Most recently, he collaborated with Tony Medawar on the short-story collection Blackout and Other Stories, to be published by Crippen and Landru in 2025. As a Member of the Magic Circle, Alex also regularly contributes theoretical essays on the craft of Magic for the Society’s prestigious international magazine. Which Brings Up the Topic of Insanity/Hysteria/Delirium/Neurosis In The Wheel Turns by Ethel Lina White, there is much talk of Iris’ supposed hysteria and weakened mental state. Baroness: “There has been no English lady, here, in this carriage, never, at any time, except you. You are the only English lady here” (92). Iris questions her own sanity and reliability. Hare tells her a story of getting kicked in the head whilst playing football. His captain visited him in hospital, but he thought it was the Prince of Wales (Edward VIII). Iris resolves to talk to the English visitors who saw her with Miss Froy. No one except Miss Barnes admits to seeing her. Then a stranger, Frau Kummer, appears, pretending to be Miss Froy. The doctor offers to “take care” of Iris by placing her in a nursing home for the night. Yikes! Carolyn Daughters Brand therapy. Persuasive writing courses. Tell the best story possible. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text In THE WHEEL SPINS (1936), a young woman’s train journey takes a sinister turn when a fellow passenger mysteriously disappears. This suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat novel by Ethel Lina White served as the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film The Lady Vanishes. The book is a stunner. Special guest Alex Csurko joins us to discuss this classic novel. Check out the conversation starters below. Weigh in, and you might just get an on-air shoutout and a fab sticker! Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Fleur! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Hitchcock Even reading the book by Ethel Lina White, it felt like it could be a Hitchcock film with the psychological tension and the way the scenes are painted. The New York Times ranked it the best picture of the year (1938). Premonition/Foreboding (Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign) The first paragraph introduces us to Iris. Every chapter, starting with chapter one, ends with a sense of foreboding. Premonition plays a role throughout the book by Ethel Lina White. Is it just a psychological variable here? Is premonition real? Is it inescapable? Stranger in a Strange Land In The Wheel Turns by Ethel Lina White, Iris and her friends are staying in a village of “picturesque squalor in a remote corner of Europe,” filled with barbarous scenery, magnificent ruggedness, and desolate hollows. She doesn’t speak the language or understand the culture. She’s also an outsider amongst the British “decent, well-bred” guests. And when she passes out at the station from sunstroke, she awakes to foreign people and foreign voices. Keep your eye on Crippen & Landru to see when the new Ethel Lina White collection drops! A Legal Criticism Linden Botanicals We sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Fleur Bradley is the author of many mysteries for kids, including Midnight at the Barclay Hotel and Daybreak on Raven Island. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado with her family. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Fleur! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. grace sigma Consultancy specializing in lean process, systems design, data storytelling, and data visualization. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Full-time writer KEMPER DONOVAN is currently publishing an ongoing mystery series via Kensington Books. He joins us to discuss The Busy Body, the first in the Ghostwriter series, and The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie. Previously, he published the standalone novel The Decent Proposal (HarperCollins). He is also the host of the podcast All About Agatha, dedicated to all things Agatha Christie, in which guise he has appeared on BBC TV and Radio New Zealand and written for the official Agatha Christie website, agathachristie.com. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Kemper! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Learn more about our hosts The Ucross Foundation. Former Senator Dorothy Gibson, aka “that woman,” is the most talked-about person in the country. Dorothy had been the independent candidate for President, and after her very public defeat she has retreated to her home in rural Maine. She invites a ghostwriter to join her so they can work on her memoir. A ghostwriter tells other people’s stories for a living, and this is a dream assignment. The ghostwriter is impressed by Dorothy’s work ethic and steel-trap mind, not to mention the lovely surroundings (and one particularly gorgeous bodyguard). But when a neighbor dies under suspicious circumstances, Dorothy is determined to find the killer, and she and the ghostwriter team up to launch their own murder investigation. The best ghostwriters are adept at asking questions and spinning stories … two talents, it turns out, that also come in handy for sleuths. Dorothy’s political career, meanwhile, has made her an expert at recognizing lies and double-dealing. Working together, the two women are soon untangling motives and whittling down suspects, to the exasperation of local police. But this investigation—much like the election—may not unfold the way anyone expects … Influence The Busy Body by Kemper Donovan has been described as a mystery in the “timeless tradition of Agatha Christie.” In what ways has Christie’s writing influenced you? Do you agree that the novel is Agatha Christie-esque? In what ways? Was that by intention? Carolyn Daughters Brand therapy. Persuasive writing courses. Tell the best story possible. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text THE ABC MURDERS (1936) is one of the earliest examples of the “serial killer” novel. Striking in alphabetical order, a killer challenges renowned detective Hercule Poirot to a battle of wits. With ingenious twists and red herrings, the book will keep you guessing until the end. Special guest Kemper Donovan joins us to discuss Agatha Christie’s classic murder mystery. Check out the conversation starters below. Weigh in, and you might just get an on-air shoutout and a fab sticker! Full-time writer KEMPER DONOVAN is currently publishing an ongoing mystery series via Kensington Books. In the next episode he joins us to discuss The Busy Body, the first in the Ghostwriter series, and The A.B.C. Murders by Agatha Christie. Previously, he published the standalone novel The Decent Proposal (HarperCollins). He is also the host of the podcast All About Agatha, dedicated to all things Agatha Christie, in which guise he has appeared on BBC TV and Radio New Zealand and written for the official Agatha Christie website, agathachristie.com. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Kemper! Join our brand new Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Serial Killer The ABC Murdes is commonly considered the first serial killer book. In a sense, it wasn’t because the serial killing was a screen. In another sense, were serial killers becoming more common? Jack the Ripper was referenced. several times. HP & the police seem to be drawing on a body of knowledge. The Psychological Aspect Similar to Gaudy Night, Agatha Christie in The ABC Murders spends time trying to analyze the psychological makeup of the killer as a key to solving the crimes. Freud and Jung started to become more well known starting in 1910. Is this related? The rise in psychoanalytic thinking? This does turn out to be the key to solving the mystery. Poirot guesses the dual aspect presented of the killer. Hercule Poirot even dabbles in dream interpretation. In contrast to Sayers, Christie books have less psychological elements to discuss. They are terrific and satisfying stories though. The Vanishing and the Problem of Memory In The ABC Murders, Cust is an epileptic World War I veteran who suffers from bouts of short-term blackouts due to a wartime head injury. He has been hired as a traveling stocking salesman and happens to be in the towns where the murders occur. Cust can’t recall his whereabouts during the last murder, and he was found with blood on his sleeve and a knife. He has no memory of writing letters to Poirot or of committing any of the murders, but he thinks he might have committed them because of his blackouts. Linden Botanicals We sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Welcome to the Tea, Tonic & Toxin book club and podcast! We’re reading and discussing the best mysteries and detective stories ever written. The Thirty-Nine Steps, published in 1915, is one of the most popular espionage thrillers ever written. The action-packed story begins in May 1914. One day, our protagonist, Richard Hannay, finds a man named Franklin Scudder at the door of his London flat. Scudder is a freelance spy who has secret information about an assassination plot that could lead to a world war. Days later, Scudder is murdered in Hannay’s flat. Fearing for his life, Hannay goes on the run. His goal: Stay one step ahead of both the police and the spies who will stop at nothing to find him. Read: Buy it used, read it for free, or get it on Amazon. (Reading time: ~4 hours) Reflect: Check out the conversation starters below. We're excited to welcome Wendi Anderson as our guest. Wendi is a senior business analyst and an avid outdoor enthusiast. She loves mountain biking, hiking & paddleboarding. In fact, one of her favorite activities is jogging up Green Mountain, elevation 6,800 feet, which isjust steps outside her home in lovely Golden, Colorado. When she's not exploring the great outdoors, watching horror movies, or reading Stephen King novels, she's hanging at home with her husband, two kids and two dogs. A Real Page Turner: Sudden surprises, rapid scene shifts, and changes of location, all elements of any number of spy thrillers like The Bourne Identity and detective on the run stories like Poker Face. The Brink of War: The book starts in May 1914. In the book’s dedication, author John Buchan says he has “long cherished an affection for that elementary type of tale which Americans call the ‘dime novel,’ and which we know as the ‘shocker’ – the romance where the incidents defy the probabilities, and march just inside the borders of the possible.” He also notes, “these days … the wildest fictions are so much less improbable than the facts.” Moral Code – It’s a story of good and evil where a brave man unselfishly risks his life to honor a dead man and a patriotic cause. Richard Hannay says, “I am an ordinary sort of fellow, not braver than other people, but I hate to see a good man downed, and that long knife would not be the end of Scudder if I could play the game in his place.” Yearning for Adventure: Richard Hannay, a 37-year-old Scotsman raised in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), returns to an England, where he quickly becomes bored. He envies shop-girls and clerks and policemen for having something to do. Then Something Happens – The occupant of the flat upstairs, a Kentucky man named Franklin Scudder, tells of a well-financed anarchic conspiracy. Escape from Boredom: Richard Hannay is happy to be on the run. “It was going to be a giddy hunt, and it was queer how the prospect comforted me. I had been slack so long that almost any chance of activity was welcome.” He feels lighthearted and childlike, relishing the intrigue. From that point on, it’s nonstop action – trains, stolen cars, bicycles, running on foot … Hiding in Plain Sight – He hides out in a dovecote, as his enemies would assume he had made for open country and search for him on the moors. The Milk of Human Kindness – When things look bleak, Richard Hannay finds sanctuary and unexpected allies. Goodhearted souls feed, clothe, a Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text The Innocence of Father Brown (1911) G. K. Chesterton’s first collection of short stories featuring a Catholic priest who solves crimes by tapping into spiritual and philosophic truths. Trent’s Last Case (1913) In E. C. Bentley’s “whodunit,” new clues appear throughout the story, making readers feel as if they’re solving the crime along with Trent. The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) In John Buchan’s prototype of the “man-on-the-run” adventure, a spy is murdered in Richard Hannay’s flat. Can Hannay evade his pursuers? The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920) Agatha Christie’s incredible whodunit introduces brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings, and Inspector Japp. Whose Body? (1923) Dorothy Sayers introduces Lord Peter Wimsey, the father of the “gentleman sleuth” who will appear in British novels for decades to come. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) One of Agatha Christie’s most controversial novels due to an unexpected twist at the end. Christie considered it her masterpiece. Red Harvest (1929) Dashiell Hammett’s portrayal of the Continental Op as a “hard-boiled” detective became a prototype for many detective stories to come. The Maltese Falcon (1930) Dashiell Hammett introduces Sam Spade. The third-person-objective narrative includes no insights into characters’ thoughts and feelings. Malice Aforethought (1931) Frances Iles’ novel is an early example of the “inverted detective story,” in which the murder AND murderer are revealed at the beginning. The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933) We meet criminal defense lawyer and detective Perry Mason. Earle Stanley Gardner went on to write 150 books that sold 300 million copies. Murder on the Orient Express (1934) Agatha Christie’s books have sold more than two billion copies. This page-turner starring Hercule Poirot helps to explain why. The Nine Tailors (1934) The murder method in Dorothy Sayers’ marvelous story was unique. The idea came from a sixpenny pamphlet about bell-ringing. ALL THE PODCAST EPISODES We’re reading and discussing many of the best mysteries, thrillers, and detective stories ever written. Join us on this marvelous journey! Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for anyone who loves mysteries and detective stories. We’re making our way through the 19th-century stories that helped the genre evolve. Next up: Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1887 novel, A Study in Scarlet. The “consulting detective” Sherlock Holmes and his trusty sidekick, Watson — two of the most famous characters in English literature — make their first appearance in this tale, which forever changed the way mystery novels were written. How to Read It: Buy it on Amazon, find a copy at a used bookstore, or read it for free (courtesy of Project Gutenberg). Estimated Reading Time: 3 hours. Share your thoughts and check out the questions below! Knowledge Is Power: Sherlock Holmes is ignorant of the Copernican Theory and of the composition of the solar system. “That any civilized human being in this nineteenth century should not be aware that the earth travelled round the sun appeared to me to be such an extraordinary fact,” says Watson. What does Holmes know, and how does this knowledge serve him? The Brain Attic: Holmes says, “A man’s brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment, and all in the most perfect order.” What do you think about the brain attic? The Consulting Detective: Holmes is the one and only consulting detective. Why does he prefer the consulting detective gig? Why not simply become a Scotland Yard detective or a private detective? Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Holmes calls Edgar Allan Poe’s Auguste Dupin an “inferior fellow. He had some analytical genius, but he was by no means such a phenomenon as Poe appeared to imagine.” The Dearth of Both Detectives and Criminals: Holmes says, “No man lives or has ever lived who has brought the same amount of study and of natural talent to the detection of crime which I have done. And what is the result? There is no crime to detect, or, at most, some bungling villainy with a motive so transparent that even a Scotland Yard official can see through it.” Biased Judgment: “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” Sarah and Carolyn very much agree. Story Structure: Part Two is a complete departure from Part One. An unnamed third-person narrator takes the place of John Watson. This new story starts in 1847, roughly 34 years before the events of Part One. We then catch back up with the ending of Part One and continue the present-day story. Does this structure work? Why or why not? The Mormon Faith: There’s some controversy about the story told Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text This masterpiece includes a stolen Indian gem with a bloody past, plot twists, red herrings, a small circle of suspects, and a couple amazing detectives. It’s a serious page-turner. T. S. Eliot described The Moonstone as the “first … and greatest of modern English detective novels.” The story includes several features of contemporary detective fiction and helped establish many of the genre’s conventions. 2. The narrators often refer to themselves as superior to reason. Betteredge is superior to reason because he knows and loves the family he works for. Miss Clack is superior to reason because she believes her religion is on her side. Are these claims ridiculous, or do they have some merit? 3. Miss Clack is clearly in love with Godfrey, though she disguises it with admiration for his Christian virtues. When have you deceived yourself over your true motivations? 4. Let’s talk about the characters’ morality and motivations. Miss Clack is painted in a rather absurd light in the way she speaks about her genteel family members. She tries to get them to read tracts and books and participate in her bizarre charities. And she often seems misguided. And yet she has her points. 5. Her family does seem lazy and absurd, at least to the average working class Londoner. Why aren’t they concerned with helping others? 6. The only one who participates in charitable efforts is Godfrey, and he’s seen as a bit of a shammy ladies man. Is he? 7. And then there’s the doctor’s ridiculous recommendations not to exert oneself and only think of frivolous things. I agree with Miss Clack on the absurdity of that prescription. Did he only recommend such things to women? What should one think about as one nears the close of life? 8. Was Wilkie Collins intending to merely portray Miss Clack as a hypocrite, or did he agree with her on some points? Does Collins seems to lack Dickens’ biting sarcasm over neglect of the poor? 9. When Godfrey proposes to Rachel, he asks her, “Do you know many wives … who respect and admire their husbands? And yet they and their husbands get on very well. How many brides go to the altar with hearts that would bear inspection by the men who take them there? And yet it doesn’t end unhappily — somehow or other the nuptial establishment jogs on. The truth is, that women try marriage as a Refuge, far more numerously than they are willing to admit; and, what is more, they find that marriage has justified their confidence in it.” Whoa. Thoughts? 10. Gabriel Betteredge has what he calls “detective-fever,” where the “horrid mystery hanging over us in this house gets into my head like liquor, and makes me wild.” Characters like Rosanna behave as though subconsciously intoxicated by outside forces. What are your thoughts about “detective-fever”? 11. It’s implied at the beginning that the original perpetrator, John Herncastle, probably killed several Indians and stole their sacred moonstone, contrary to a direct command, under threat of death. No one could definitely prove it until he died and the moonstone came out of hiding to be bequeathed to Rachel. Then comes so much indecision, and plotting, and h Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for anyone who loves mysteries and detective stories. We began with Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin stories, Dickens’ Bleak House, and Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White. Next up: Collins’ 1868 novel, The Moonstone. This masterpiece includes a stolen Indian gem with a bloody past, plot twists, red herrings, a small circle of suspects, and a couple amazing detectives. It’s a serious page-turner. T. S. Eliot described The Moonstone as the “first … and greatest of modern English detective novels.” The story includes several features of contemporary detective fiction and helped establish many of the genre’s conventions. The MoonstoneAll the Year Round2. Sarah loves when old books reference other old books. Gabriel Betteredge seems to use Robinson Crusoe as his bible. For example, he shares this quote: “Now I saw, though too late, the Folly of beginning a Work before we count the Cost, and before we judge rightly of our own Strength to go through with it.” He goes on to share many other quotes, including, “To-day we love what to-morrow we hate” and “Fear of Danger is ten thousand times more terrifying than Danger itself.” Why do you think the author chose Robinson Crusoe and these particular quotes? And do you have any books you revere and quote like this? 3. Betteredge writes, “I am asked to tell the story of the Diamond, [and instead] I have been telling the story of my own self. … I wonder whether the gentlemen who make … a living out of writing books, ever find their own selves getting in the way of their subjects …?” In what ways do we bring ourselves into the stories we tell? 4. Franklin Blake grew up in many homes and many nations. Rather than being wedded to any one philosophy or belief system, he continually asks questions and searches for the truth. Are you like him? Do you wish you were like him? 5. Betteredge says gentlefolk have it tough because they spend their time searching for something to do. He says, “thank your stars that your head has got something it must think of and your hands something that they must do.” Do you agree? He also writes that “People in high life have … the luxury of indulging their feelings. People in low life have no such privilege. Necessity, which spares our betters, has no pity on us. We learn to put our feelings back into ourselves and to jog on with our duties …” Do you agree? 6. Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in 1887, nearly 20 years after The Moonstone. In what ways were Arthur Conan Doyle and other writers influenced by Wilkie Collins’ storytelling techniques and whip-smart detective Sergeant Cuff? 7. In the 1799 family paper, John Herncastle’s cousin writes, “It is my conviction or my delusion … that crime brings its own fatality with it.” The story hinges on this idea. This line was also in The Woman in White. Fosco and Percival teased Laura and Marian about their morality. Is this a true saying? Do you identify with this idea? What do you believe? 8. Let’s talk about the women. The sanctimonious Miss Clack. The spirited Rachel Verinder, who’s “unlike other girls her age.” Rachel’s alter ego, the tragic Rosanna Spearman, an unattractive servant with a prison record and a physical disability who falls in l Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...