Tea, Tonic & Toxin

Send a text 2025 was an amazing and tumultous year for Carolyn and Sarah, both of us making moves out of Denver. But we kept on reading (albiet at a slower pace!) and loved having conversations about it all. Join us for our take on 2025, and let us know yours! Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections) History of Mystery book slections now in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re discussing the best mysteries ever written and interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers. THE BIG SLEEP (1939) is a seminal work in the hardboiled detective genre, and it’s among the best of the Raymond Chandler books. It showcases Chandler’s masterful use of sharp dialogue, complex characters and his gritty depiction of 1930s Los Angeles. Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler is a cornerstone of the noir genre and the Philip Marlowe books, showcasing Marlowe in one of his most memorable cases. The novel’s richly atmospheric prose vividly captures the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, immersing readers in its gritty, dangerous world. Chandler’s exploration of moral ambiguity and flawed characters adds depth to the mystery, elevating it beyond a simple whodunit. TRAITOR’S PURSE (1940) by Margery Allingham is a mystery thriller classic that masterfully combines psychological tension with a high-stakes plot. Suffering from amnesia, amateur sleuth Albert Campion races to stop a wartime national security threat. The novel’s unique premise and tightly woven narrative create a sense of urgency and intrigue. Known for its psychological depth, it showcases Allingham’s skill at blending espionage with a classic whodunit. Allingham’s exploration of identity, loyalty, and duty cements the book’s status as a timeless classic in the genre. Published in 1942, LAURA by Vera Caspary is a sophisticated mystery novel blending romance and psychological intrigue. Told through shifting perspectives, it follows a detective investigating the apparent murder of a glamorous ad exec. It remains a cornerstone of noir fiction. Rear Window (1942) by Cornell Woolrich is a classic in the suspense genre for its masterful use of tension and claustrophobia. The story’s premise—a man confined to his apartment who becomes an unwitting witness to sinister events—brilliantly explores themes of isolation, voyeurism, and moral responsibility. The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope (1943) by C. W. Grafton (the father of Sue Grafton) is a classic in the mystery genre for its clever fusion of humor, small-town charm, and hardboiled crime elements. Featuring Gil Henry, an unassuming and resourceful lawyer, the novel showcases an unconventional hero who unravels a web of corruption and intrigue with sharp wit and determination. Grafton’s skillful storytelling and engaging prose set a high standard for blending humor with suspense. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send a text Rear Window (1942) by Cornell Woolrich is a classic in the suspense genre for its masterful use of tension and claustrophobia. The story’s premise—a man confined to his apartment who becomes an unwitting witness to sinister events—brilliantly explores themes of isolation, voyeurism, and moral responsibility. The book was inspired by “Through a Window” by H. G. Wells. The tight pacing and psychological depth create a gripping sense of unease. As the basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic film, the story’s enduring legacy lies in its ability to turn an ordinary setting into a stage for extraordinary suspense, influencing many works in the thriller genre. Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections) History of Mystery book slections now in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Voyeurism and the Confined Observer Due to his injury, Jeff spends most of his time looking out the window, scrutinizing the lives of his neighbors. He has the “fevered concentration of a Peeping Tom. That wasn’t my fault. … what should I do, sit there with my eyes tightly shuttered?” The story by Cornell Woolrich explores the idea of observing others’ lives from a distance and the potential for misinterpretation and obsession that can arise from such behavior. The Daily Habits of the Rear Window Dwellers “I didn’t know their names. I’d never heard their voices. I didn’t even know them by sight, strictly speaking, for their faces were too small to fill in with identifiable features at that distance. Yet I could have constructed a timetable of their comings and goings, their daily habits and activities.” “The lights started to come on around the quadrangle. … The chain of little habits that were their lives unreeled themselves. They were all bound in them tighter than the tightest straitjacket any jailer ever devised, though they all thought themselves free. The jitterbugs made their nightly dash for the great open spaces, forgot their lights, he came careening back, thumbed them out, and their place was dark until the early morning hours. The woman put her child to bed, leaned mournfully over its cot, then sat down with heavy despair to redden her mouth.” When Mrs. Thorvald doesn’t come out to greet her husband, the “first link, of the so-strong chain of habits, of custom, that binds us all, had snapped wide open.” Cornell Woolrich Builds Empathy … and Breaks It “I felt sorry for the couple in the flat below. I used to wonder how they stood it with that bedlam going on above their heads. To make it worse the wife was in chronic poor health, too; I could tell that even at a distance by the listless way she moved about over there, and remained in her bathrobe without dressing. Sometimes I’d see her sitting by the window, 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 a text L. Wayne Hicks joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, published in 1943 by C. W. Grafton (father of Sue Grafton). L. Wayne Hicks is a freelance writer who covered real-life crimes for newspapers in Florida and Colorado. He has written profiles of many mystery writers including Sara Paretsky, Michael Connelly, John Dunning, Robert B. Parker, Donald J. Sobol, Stephen White, and C. W. Grafton. Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections) History of Mystery book slections now in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! L. Wayne Hicks has been a lifelong fan of mysteries, beginning with The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators books. As a newspaper reporter in Florida, he covered criminal trials and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for an investigative project that wound up helping to free a man wrongly convicted of murder after more than 20 years in prison. He has interviewed and profiled such acclaimed mystery novelists as Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, John Dunning, Sara Paretsky, Stephen White, and Donald J. Sobol. Hicks writes for various magazines and websites, including CrimeReads.com, where he profiled C.W. Grafton and explored the continuation of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series. Hicks’ first book, a nonfiction tale about the children’s television series Romper Room, will be published in 2026. About The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope (1943) by C. W. Grafton (the father of Sue Grafton) is a classic in the mystery genre for its clever fusion of humor, small-town charm, and hardboiled crime elements. Featuring Gil Henry, an unassuming and resourceful lawyer, the novel showcases an unconventional hero who unravels a web of corruption and intrigue with sharp wit and determination. Grafton’s skillful storytelling and engaging prose set a high standard for blending humor with suspense. Sue Grafton wrote the famous “alphabet series.” C.W. Grafton’s work also holds historical significance, reflecting a legacy of inventive storytelling in mystery fiction. Discussion Questions for L. Wayne Hicks 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 L. Wayne Hicks joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, published in 1943 by C. W. Grafton (father of Sue Grafton). L. Wayne Hicks is a freelance writer who covered real-life crimes for newspapers in Florida and Colorado. He has written profiles of many mystery writers including Sara Paretsky, Michael Connelly, John Dunning, Robert B. Parker, Donald J. Sobol, Stephen White, and C. W. Grafton. The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope (1943) by C. W. Grafton (the father of Sue Grafton) is a classic in the mystery genre for its clever fusion of humor, small-town charm, and hardboiled crime elements. Featuring Gil Henry, an unassuming and resourceful lawyer, the novel showcases an unconventional hero who unravels a web of corruption and intrigue with sharp wit and determination. Grafton’s skillful storytelling and engaging prose set a high standard for blending humor with suspense. Sue Grafton wrote the famous “alphabet series.” C.W. Grafton’s work also holds historical significance, reflecting a legacy of inventive storytelling in mystery fiction. Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections) Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Access bonus content as a Patreon subscriber as well. The Life and Career of C. W. Grafton, Father of Sue Grafton The Writing and Themes The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text The 2026 book list revealed and discussed. What was selected and why? Do you agree? Disagree? Have authors to add? Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections) Watch clips from our conversations with guests! January 2026 Publication: 1943 THE MINISTRY OF FEAR by Graham Greene is a thrilling blend of espionage and psychological mystery set in wartime London. Publication: 1944 GREEN FOR DANGER by Christianna Brand is a masterful wartime mystery set in a British hospital during the Blitz. It’s a standout in Golden Age detective fiction. March 2026 Publication: 1944 DEATH COMES AS THE END by Agatha Christie is a groundbreaking historical mystery set in ancient Egypt. It’s the first full-length historical whodunit. April 2026 Publication: 1944 HOME SWEET HOMICIDE by Craig Rice features a trio of resourceful siblings who set out to solve a murder in their neighborhood. The novel exemplifies Rice’s talent for blending lighthearted storytelling with intricate puzzles, earning her acclaim in the genre — and a Time Magazine cover. May 2025 Publication: 1945 DIED IN THE WOOL by Ngaio Marsh is a compelling mystery set on a remote New Zealand sheep farm. Marsh was one of the Queens of Crime, and this novel is among her best. June 2025 Publication: 1946 THE MOVING TOYSHOP by Edmund Crispin is an ingenious mystery featuring eccentric Oxford professor Gervase Fen. Celebrated for its wit and inventive plot, it’s a crime fiction classic. July 2026 Publication: 1946 THE HORIZONTAL MAN by Helen Eustis is a psychological mystery set in an Ivy League women’s college. But as the investigation unfolds, the line between sanity and madness begins to blur. August 2026 Publication: 1946 THE BIG CLOCK by Kenneth Fearing is a thriller-noir about a man trapped inside the machinery of a powerful publishing empire. This classic inspired the film No Way Out. September 2026 Publication: 1947 THE FABULOUS CLIPJOINT by Fredric Brown is a gritty mystery about the search for truth. Their investigation takes them through the burlesque houses, bars, and back alleys of Chicago. October 2026 Publication: 1947 IN A LONELY PLACE by Dorothy B. Hughes is a haunting psychological noir told from the perspective of a charming but deeply disturbed war veteran. As a series of L.A. stranglings terrifies the city, the truth about the protagonist’s volatile desires and violent impulses slowly unravel. November 2026 Publication: 1947 THE BLANK WALL by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding a suspenseful psychological thriller about an ordinary woman who becomes entangled in a man’s suspicious death while protecting her daughter from inside her seemingly quiet home. December 2026 Publication: 1948 THE FRANCHISE AFFAIR by Josephine Tey is a mystery centered on a disturbing accusation. The novel is celebrated for its nuanced psychology and dismantling of false 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 Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written and interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers. LAURA by Vera Caspary (1943) is a sophisticated mystery that blends romance and psychological intrigue. Told through shifting perspectives, it follows a detective investigating the murder of a glamorous ad exec. It remains a cornerstone of noir fiction. Otto Preminger’s 1944 film version is also a stunner. The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time. Get your copy of Laura and all of our History of Mystery book selections here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Waldo Lydecker in Laura by Vera Caspary He met the “lovely child” eight years earlier when she tried to get him to endorse a Byron fountain pen. He describes her as a “fawn and fawn-like,” a “Bambi.” He’s an omniscient narrator and interpreter. He describes scenes he never saw and dialogues he never heard. “My written dialogue will have more clarity, compatness, and essence of character than their spoken lines, for I am able to edit while I write, whereas they carried on their conversations in a loose and pointless fashion with no sense of form or crisis in the building of their scenes” (19). Waldo saw everything through the lens of his own emotions. He thought of Laura as a perfect innocent protégée, Shelby as the false hero, and Mark as a little boy he could toy with. McPherson about Waldo: “You’re smooth all right, but you’ve got nothing to say” (9). The restaurant he and Laura dined at is Montagnino’s. Slum smells mix with the smells of luscious Italian food and a rising storm. Waldo and Mark eat mussels cooked with mustard greens in a chianti, along with a chicken fried in olive oil, laid on a bed of yellow taglierini, garlanded with mushrooms and red peppers. They drink wine Lacrymae Christi (“Christ’s tear”) (produced on the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius, it’s the nearest equivalent of the wine drunk by ancient Romans). Waldo sees in Claudius’s window a duplicate of the vase made of mercury glass that he had given Laura. Learning the piece has been sold, he breaks it. “He stood in the rain, looking back at Claudius’s shop and smiling. Almost as if he’d got the vase anyway” (105). At the end of Laura by Vera Caspary, in the ambulance and at the hospital, Waldo keeps talking about himself in the third person. “He was like a hero a boy had always worshipped” (171). Detective Mark McPherson “A two-timing dame gets murdered in her flat. So what? … I’m a workingman, I’ve got hours like everyone else. And if you expect me to work overtime on this third-class mystery, you’re thinking of a couple other fellows” (8). Soon thereafter, Waldo sees the light on in Laura’s apartment. “I knew that a young man who had once scorned overtime had given his heart to a job” (39). He walks with a limp from a shootout (The Siege of Babylon, Long Island). How he lives: “The steel furniture in my bedroom reminded me of a dentist’s office. There wasn’t a comfortable chair in the room” (65). Waldo thinks he’s a misogynist and thinks “his 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 Mike Ripley joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion novels, along with his latest novel in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas. Mike Ripley completed the third Albert Campion novel left unfinished on the death of Pip Youngman Carter (Margery Allingham’s husband) in 1969. Mr Campion’s Farewell was published in 2014, and Mike has continued the Campion series annually with the twelfth and final book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas, appearing in 2024. Check out Mike Ripley's work here. Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Mike Ripley joined Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison to discuss the Margery Allingham Campion novels and his latest book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas. Mike is the author of 28 novels, including the award-winning ‘Angel’ series of comedy thrillers and one of the few authors to win the Crime Writers’ Last Laugh Award twice. From 1989 to 2008, he was a crime fiction critic for The Daily Telegraph and then The Birmingham Post, reviewing more than 950 crime novels. He co-edited three volumes of Fresh Blood stories by new British writers, including Ian Rankin, Lee Child, Ken Bruen, Charlie Higson, and Christopher Brookmyre. He was also a scriptwriter on the BBC’s series Lovejoy. Mike Ripley completed the third Albert Campion novel left unfinished on the death of Pip Youngman Carter (husband of Margery Allingham) in 1969. Mr Campion’s Farewell was published in the UK and the US in 2014, and Mike has continued the Campion series annually with the twelfth and final book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas, appearing in 2024. Described by The Times as “England’s funniest crime writer,” Mike is a respected critic of crime fiction, writing for the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, and The Times. He writes the monthly “Getting Away With Murder” column on Shots Magazine. He was the series editor of the Ostara Crime and Top Notch Thrillers imprints, rescuing and reviving more than a hundred crime novels and thrillers that did not deserve to be forgotten. He also became known as the unofficial historian of the British thriller after the publication of “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which won the 2018 H.R.F. Keating Award for non-fiction. Mike Ripley first learned of the final unfinished Albert Campion novel when he was a guest speaker at the Margery Allingham Society’s annual convention. He offered – and received the Margery Allingham Society’s blessing – to complete the manuscript on the adventures of Albert Campion, who Ripley describes as “one of the brightest stars in the rich firmament of British crime writing.” 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 and interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers. Traitor’s Purse (1940) by Margery Allingham is a mystery thriller classic that masterfully combines psychological tension with a high-stakes plot. Suffering from amnesia, amateur sleuth Albert Campion races to stop a wartime national security threat. Known for its psychological depth, the book blends espionage with a classic whodunit. Allingham’s exploration of identity, loyalty, and duty cements the book’s status as a timeless classic in the genre. Get your book here! Or check out Mike Ripley's work here. Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Mike Ripley joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion novels, along with his latest novel in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas. Mike Ripley completed the third Albert Campion novel left unfinished on the death of Pip Youngman Carter (Margery Allingham’s husband) in 1969. Mr Campion’s Farewell was published in 2014, and Mike has continued the Campion series annually with the twelfth and final book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas, appearing in 2024. Mike Ripley joined Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison to discuss the Margery Allingham Campion novels and his latest book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas. Mike is the author of 28 novels, including the award-winning ‘Angel’ series of comedy thrillers and one of the few authors to win the Crime Writers’ Last Laugh Award twice. From 1989 to 2008, he was a crime fiction critic for The Daily Telegraph and then The Birmingham Post, reviewing more than 950 crime novels. He co-edited three volumes of Fresh Blood stories by new British writers, including Ian Rankin, Lee Child, Ken Bruen, Charlie Higson, and Christopher Brookmyre. He was also a scriptwriter on the BBC’s series Lovejoy. Mike Ripley completed the third Albert Campion novel left unfinished on the death of Pip Youngman Carter (husband of Margery Allingham) in 1969. Mr Campion’s Farewell was published in the UK and the US in 2014, and Mike has continued the Campion series annually with the twelfth and final book in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas, appearing in 2024. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text TRAITOR’S PURSE (1940) by Margery Allingham is a mystery thriller classic that masterfully combines psychological tension with a high-stakes plot. Suffering from amnesia, amateur sleuth Albert Campion races to stop a wartime national security threat. The novel’s unique premise and tightly woven narrative create a sense of urgency and intrigue. Known for its psychological depth, it showcases Allingham’s skill at blending espionage with a classic whodunit. Allingham’s exploration of identity, loyalty, and duty cements the book’s status as a timeless classic in the genre. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Amnesia as a Literary Trope in Traitor’s Purse by Margery Allingham What has happened to the amnesiac? Why is he in a county hospital? Has he killed a police officer? Will he be hanged? Why did he have a lot of money on him when he was found? “There was danger behind him and something tremendously important ahead” (1). “Everyone was turning to himself for assurance. He dared not reveal the dreadful emptiness of his mind. Somehow he must struggle on, blind and halfwitted though he was. There was to be no outside help. He was quite alone” (17). Amnesia is a commonly used storytelling plot device in thrillers and romances. Amnesia offers a fresh perspective: characters can re-evaluate their actions and motivations. Amnesia creates conflict, forcing characters to re-evaluate their lives and relationships. Amnesia creates suspense and mystery as the character tries to piece together their past. The amnesiac often regains memories after being hit on the head. In Traitor’s Purse by Margery Allingham, Campion is knocked unconscious at the police station. When he wakes, he recalls the events before his arrival at the hospital. Other Examples: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins: Rachel suffers from amnesia related to alcohol consumption and wakes up with no memory of what happened the night before. In the Woods by Tana French, Robert Ludlum’s Bourne Identity, The English Patient, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Memento (Christopher Nolan), Wolverine (Marvel), Ursula Le Guin’s City of Illusions, Severance Peter Wimsey (Dorothy Sayers) vs. Albert Campion (Margery Allingham) Lord Peter WimseyAlbert CampionWoos mystery novelist Harriet Vane.Meets aircraft engineer Amanda Fitton.Spent time overseas on secret government missions.Spent the war years overseas on a mission so secret that he never discovered what it was.Loyal butler (and occasional Watson) Bunter, a stickler for traditional, propriety, and detail.Friend of reformed burglar Lugg, who “in spite of magnificent qualities, has elements of the Oaf about him.”Second son of the Duke of Denver. Inherited wealth (as the second son) has made him independent and free. Collector of literature, music, wine, and men’s fashion.“Educated at Rugby and St. Ignatius College, Cambridge. Embarked on adventurous career 1924. Name known to be a pseudonym. Clubs: Puffin’s, The Junior Greys. Hobbies: odd.” Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Tom Epperson, a native of Arkansas, headed west to Los Angeles with his boyhood friend Billy Bob Thornton to pursue a career in show business. Epperson’s co-written the scripts for One False Move, A Family Thing, The Gift, A Gun, a Car, a Blonde, and Jayne Mansfield’s Car. His L.A. noir The Kind One was nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel. Three more books followed, Sailor, Roberto to the Dark Tower Came, and Make Believe. His most recent book is Baby Hawk, a novel in verse. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Stefani, two pampered cats, and two frisky dogs. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Called simply “the female,” she is seventeen, one of the few survivors of a worldwide plague known simply as the Sickness—and quite possibly the last woman on Earth. She lives in the mountains and forests of northern California, protected by her father. Life is hard, but they’re happy. Until one chilly autumn morning when a violent, racist band of males, led by an elite ex-soldier called Braydon, finds them. Overjoyed at discovering a female they can “enjoy,” the men kill the female’s father and take her prisoner. Life becomes intolerable for the female. Delighted to be in possession of the last woman on Earth—or so they believe— they keep her isolated in a cabin of her own, for them to take turns with. Braydon sets up a strict rotation to avoid any unrest within the camp—but his own intention is to make her the new Eve, to breed with her and repopulate the Earth. Throughout the winter, the female trains—making herself as strong and fit as she can for the spring. She is determined to escape, or die trying. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler is a cornerstone of the noir genre and the Philip Marlowe books, showcasing Marlowe in one of his most memorable cases. The novel’s richly atmospheric prose vividly captures the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, immersing readers in its gritty, dangerous world. Chandler’s exploration of moral ambiguity and flawed characters adds depth to the mystery, elevating it beyond a simple whodunit. With its sharp dialogue, intricate plotting, and evocative style, the book solidified Chandler’s reputation as a master of noir and influenced generations of crime writers. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Owen Hill joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. Owen is a novelist and a poet, and The Giveaway: The Clay Blackburn Story, an omnibus of his crime fiction, was recently published by PM Press. It includes three novels and a short story. Owen coedited The Annotated Big Sleep (Vintage, 2018) with Pamela Jackson and Anthony Dean Rizzuto. Owen Hill joined us as our guest to discuss Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. Owen is the author of three crime novels, two books of short fiction, and many collections of poetry. He has reviewed crime novels for the Los Angeles Times and the East Bay Express. In 2005, Owen Hill was awarded the Howard Moss residency at Yaddo. He is co-editor (with Jerry Thompson) of Berkeley Noir for Akashic Press. A memoir, Hands on a Mirror, is also available from Bootstrap Press. Owen was a buyer at a second-hand bookstore for many years in Berkeley. He is currently an organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). He lives in Oakland. Owen Hill is also the author of The Giveaway: The Clay Blackburn Story (PM Press), an omnibus of his crime fiction. It includes three novels and a short story. Clay Blackburn—poet, book scout, and sometimes detective—cruises the mean, and sometimes not so mean, streets of Berkeley. With his accomplices, a soldier of fortune, a “defrocked” FBI agent, and a smooth and sexy con man, he lives a life of bisexual sensation with a little crime solving on the side. As such, Blackburn is a sly, witty, and more or less reliable raconteur of the last thirty something years of the Bay Area’s radical bohemia and bookselling. And in the tradition of Ian Rankin’s Edinburgh, and Jean-Claude Izzo’s Marseilles, bears uncomfortable witness to Berkeley’s descent from countercultural paradise to neoliberal inferno. This omnibus collection collects the novels The Chandler Apartments (2002), The Incredible Double (2010), and the previously unpublished Mayakovsky’s Bugatti (2025), and includes the Blackburn short story “Righteous Kill” (2021). Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler is a cornerstone of the noir genre and the Philip Marlowe books, showcasing Marlowe in one of his most memorable cases. The novel’s richly atmospheric prose vividly captures the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, immersing readers in its gritty, dangerous world. Chandler’s exploration of moral ambiguity and flawed characters adds depth to the mystery, elevating it beyond a simple whodunit. With its sharp dialogue, intricate plotting, and evocative style, the book solidified Chandler’s reputation as a master of noir and influenced generations of crime writers. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Owen Hill joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler. Owen is a novelist and a poet, and The Giveaway: The Clay Blackburn Story, an omnibus of his crime fiction, was recently published by PM Press. It includes three novels and a short story. Owen coedited The Annotated Big Sleep (Vintage, 2018) with Pamela Jackson and Anthony Dean Rizzuto. Let’s Talk About the Philip Marlowe Books Insubordination: Marlowe is 33 and went to college once. He’s a bit of a cynic, and his manners are bad. He was fired for insubordination. “I test very high on insubordination.” (The Big Sleep) American hero: “Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious” (NYT Book Review). A detective always has a code: “Marlowe is Prometheus [of American myth]: the noble outsider, sacrificing and enduring for a code he alone upholds.” [The Annotated Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler (eds. Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and Anthony Rizzuto)] Tough guy: He’s tough, clever, and a good judge of character. He’s brash and witty. At his tiny apartment, he goes to a chessboard on a card table. “There was a problem laid out on the board, a six-mover. I couldn’t solve it, like a lot of my problems” (The Big Sleep ch. 24). In the Philip Marlowe books, Marlowe doesn’t have a backstory, a love interest, or family drama. “Look,” I said. “This room is eighteen floors above ground. And this little bug climbs all the way up here just to make a friend. Me. My luck piece.” I folded the bug carefully into the soft part of the handkerchief and tucked the handkerchief into my pocket. Randall was pie-eyed. His mouth moved, but nothing came out of it. “I wonder whose lucky piece Marriott was,” I said. “Not yours, pal.” [Randall’s] voice was acid—cold acid. “Perhaps not yours either.” My voice was just a voice. I went out of the room and shut the door. I rode the express elevator down to the Spring Street entrance and walked out on the front porch of City Hall and down some steps and over to the flower beds. I put the pink bug down carefully behind a bush. I wondered, in the taxi goin Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Arvind Ethan David joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Trouble Is My Business by Raymond Chandler. Arvind is a writer and and producer who tells stories and builds accidental businesses around them. Most recently, he released Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth (Pushkin). The Boy with Wings (based on Sir Lenny Henry’s book) premiered in summer 2025 at The Polka Theatre London. Get your gorgeous illustrated book here! And check out the rest of our storefront for more by Arvind and our other guests. Watch clips from our conversations with guests! What an interview! Arvind Ethan David joined Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison to discuss Trouble Is My Business, a new graphic novel version of Raymond Chandler’s classic tale. We could have talked to him for hours! Arvind Ethan David is a Stoker Award nominated graphic novelist who has also written chart-topping audiodramas (The Crimes of Dorian Gray, Earworms), television (Anansi Boys), and plays (The Boy with Wings). Arvind is also a producer of film and theater, including the Emmy & Grammy award winning musical Jagged Little Pill. Arvind’s career as a writer and producer started when he adapted the Douglas Adams novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency as a college play. The great science fiction author came to see it and took the young writer under his wing. (Years later, Arvind brought Dirk Gently to a global audience as a Netflix/AMC TV series.) Since then, Arvind has written for page, stage, screen, audio and everywhere else one can tell a story. In addition to Trouble is my Business, his graphic novels include the Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency series (also with art by Ilias Kyriazis), Darkness Visible (Stoker nominated, written with Mike Carey) and Gray, his reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. Arvind’s audio work includes the chart-topping Audible Originals: The Neil Gaiman at the End of the Universe, the science fiction Anthology series Earworms and The Crimes of Dorian Gray. Arvind Ethan David also works in television, including serving as an Executive Producer on Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for Netflix and BBC America and writing on Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys for Amazon Studios. His theater experience includes writing the stage adaptations of the Douglas Adams novels Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (with James Goss) and Lenny Henry’s The Boy with Wings. He is also a lead producer of the Tony & Grammy winning musical Jagged Little Pill. Arvind Ethan David runs Prodigal, an entertainment business, with producer Tarquin Pack (KICKASS, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, STARDUST) and entrepreneur Scott Kay. Together, they work across TV, film, theater, publishing, gaming, and escape rooms — anywhere there is a good story to be told. Trouble Is My Business is a new graphic novel by Raymond Chandler and Arvind Ethan David. The book is illustrated by Ilias Kyriazis. The forward was written by Ben H. Winters. The colorist is Cris Peter. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text THE BIG SLEEP (1939) is a seminal work in the hardboiled detective genre, and it’s among the best of the Raymond Chandler books. It showcases Chandler’s masterful use of sharp dialogue, complex characters and his gritty depiction of 1930s Los Angeles. This classic hardboiled detective novel introduces private eye Philip Marlowe. Hired to resolve a blackmail scheme, Marlowe uncovers a web of corruption and murder. It revolutionized crime fiction, establishing a template for noir storytelling that continues to influence literature and film. Get your book here! Or Anthony's annotated version here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Pulp Magazines and Black Mask English detective stories “are too contrived, and too little aware of what goes on in the world. … The boys with their feet on the desks know that the easiest murder case in the world to break is the one somebody tried to get very cute with; the one that really bothers them is the murder somebody thought of only two minutes before he pulled it off. But if the writers of this fiction wrote about the kind of murders that happen, they would also have to write about the authentic flavor of life as it is lived.” (The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler) Pulp magazines (printed on wood-pulp paper) were a cheap source of popular entertainment that sometimes mixed in subversive social commentary. The format was invented in 1882 as a vehicle for children’s adventure stories. By the 1920s, pulps specialized in detective stories, love stories, westerns, …. During the Depression, they provided a sense of escape. [The Annotated Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler (eds. Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and Anthony Rizzuto)] “In 1931 my wife and I used to cruise up and down the Pacific Coast in a very leisurely way, and at night, just to have something to read, I would pick a pulp magazine off the rack. It suddenly struck me that I might be able to write this stuff and get paid while I was learning.” [The Annotated Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler (eds. Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and Anthony Rizzuto)] “It took me a year to write my first story. I had to … learn to write all over again.” [The Annotated Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler (eds. Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and Anthony Rizzuto)] The emotional basis of the standard detective story had always been that justice will be done. Its technical basis was the relative insignificance of everything except the final denouement. What led up to that was more or less passagework. The denouement justified everything. (Trouble Is My Business, Raymond Chandler) The technical basis of the Black Mask type of story, however, was that the scene outranked the plot. The ideal mystery was one you would read if the end was missing. (Trouble Is My Business, Raymond Chandler) Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text THE BIG SLEEP (1939) is a seminal work in the hardboiled detective genre, and it’s among the best of the Raymond Chandler books. It showcases Chandler’s masterful use of sharp dialogue, complex characters and his gritty depiction of 1930s Los Angeles. This classic hardboiled detective novel introduces private eye Philip Marlowe. Hired to resolve a blackmail scheme, Marlowe uncovers a web of corruption and murder. It revolutionized crime fiction, establishing a template for noir storytelling that continues to influence literature and film. Get your book here! Or Anthony's annotated version here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Here are some questions and discussion starters here. Also – we want to hear from YOU! Share your thoughts, and we may just include them in our upcoming episodes! Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler Books) Marlowe is 33 and went to college once. He’s a bit of a cynic, and his manners are bad. He was fired for insubordination. “I test very high on insubordination.” American hero: “Chandler seems to have created the culminating American hero: wised up, hopeful, thoughtful, adventurous, sentimental, cynical and rebellious” (NYT Book Review). Prometheus: “Marlowe is Prometheus [of American myth]: the noble outsider, sacrificing and enduring for a code he alone upholds.” [The Annotated Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler (eds. Owen Hill, Pamela Jackson, and Anthony Rizzuto)] Honest: Vivian asks if Marlowe is honest. “Painfully,” he says. He tells Carmen he has “professional pride.” Her father trusts him not to “pull any stunts.” Tough Guy: He’s tough, clever, and a good judge of character. His speech is brash and witty. Self-Destructive streak? “I had concealed a murder and suppressed evidence for twenty-four hours, but I was still at large and had a five-hundred-dollar check coming. The smart thing for me to do was to take another drink and forget the whole mess. That being the obviously smart thing to do, I called Eddie Mars and told him I was coming … That was how smart I was” (ch. 21). Catalyst: There are the aficionados of deduction and the aficionados of sex who can’t get it into their hot little heads that the fictional detective is a catalyst, not a Casanova. (Trouble Is My Business, Raymond Chandler) Dashiell Hammett’s Influence on the Raymond Chandler Books The famous Detection Club: “Its roster includes practically every important writer of detective fiction since Conan Doyle. But Graves and Hodge decided that only one first-class writer had written detective stories at all. An American, Dashiell Hammett. … Graves and Hodge were not fuddy-duddy connoisseurs of the second-rate; they … were aware that writers who have the vision and the ability to produce real fiction do not produce unreal fiction.” (The Simple Art of Murder, Raymond Chandler) Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Puja Guha grew up and has worked all over the world. Her spy thriller series THE AHRIMAN LEGACY is an Amazon bestseller, and she has been featured on TV and media, including Fox5, Reader’s Digest, and The London Post. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Espionage. Assassins. Middle East. 2021. Three years ago, a traumatic op forced her into a quiet life as an analyst. But after new intel surfaces on a terrorist plot Kuwait, intelligence agent Petra Shirazi has no choice but to return to the field. Thrust back into a violent world she vowed to leave behind, Petra must face her personal demons and her guilt over the death of one of her sources. A money trail exposes a massive wave of terrorist attacks, implicating the highest levels of the Kuwaiti and Iranian governments. All signs point to the Ahriman, the Iranian mastermind behind the cruelest and deadliest attacks in history. Petra must confront her past if she is to stop the world from tilting into an abyss from which there is no return. The race to stop the Ahriman begins. Fans of global espionage thrillers like Patriot Games and The Day of the Jackal will love this fast-paced spy novel from master storyteller Puja Guha. Find out why The US Review of Books says: “Like Grisham and Clancy … this title shines among the genre simply through superb storytelling.” Let’s talk about Kuwait. You were inspired to write Ahriman: The Spirit of Destruction while visiting family in Kuwait. You thought about the nuances of the Kuwaiti political system. In the prologue, we meet Kasem Ismaili and “Lila’s” friend Nurah Bahar. Jamal is sleeping on Kasem’s sofa. Kasem is kidnapped. Puja Guha, how did you decide to the start the novel here? Petra attends a meeting. “The eight individuals in the room covered as many countries, each with their own unique ethnic and racial backgrounds” (7-8). A secret organization was created to cater to global intelligence needs without being bogged down in political bureaucracy (121). The Agency tackles global threats other intelligence organizations can’t handle. Let’s talk about the Agency. Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Yes, you read that right! 2024! Due to Carolyn & Sarah's lives exploding they've been getting the episodes out a bit slower than they would prefer. Not to worry, they are actively working on solutions to be able to make more time to catch up on getting book discussions out to you! Get your books here! Watch clips from our conversations with guests! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Listen to Sarah & Carolyn discuss the entire 2024 book club selection as a group, talk through favorites, stand outs, and the progression of the club in its third year. Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Your hosts, Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison, are discussing game-changing mysteries, starting with Edgar Allan Poe onward. Together, we’ll watch the genre evolved. Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubts, grudges, fabulous guests, and interviews with talented, contemporary mystery authors. Together, we’ll experience the joys of reading the best mysteries and thrillers ever written. Carolyn has loved mysteries ever since she and her sister Michele started the CarMich Detective Agency when they were kids. Though she has never solved a crime, she is an excellent detective. When she isn't trying to convince people she's an excellent detective, she's busy running her company, CarolynDaughters.com, serving as a fractional chief marketing officer for small businesses, teaching persuasive writing courses, exploring new neighborhoods on foot, photographing street art, and boarding planes early and often (47 states, 42 countries, and counting). She's coming for you, North Dakota and Bhutan. Want to discuss our book selections? Hoping to be a guest on our show? Ready to become a sponsor? Reach out, and you might just get an on-air shout out and an awesome sticker! Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text Ann Claire joins us in studio to discuss Dead and Gondola, the first book in her Christie Bookshop Mystery series. The second book in the series, Last Word to the Wise, was released in 2023. Her Bookmobile Mysteries, Santa Fe Cafe Mysteries, and Cyclist’s Guide Mysteries are available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats on Amazon and from other booksellers. Get your book here! Watch clips from our conversation with Ann! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Ann earned degrees in geography, which took her all across the world. Now she lives with her geographer husband in Colorado, where the mountains beckon from their kitchen windows. When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, gardening, herding housecats, and enjoying a good mystery, especially one by Agatha Christie. Dead and Gondola is the series debut of the Christie Bookshop Mystery series by author Ann Claire. A mysterious bookshop visitor dies under murderous circumstances, compelling the Christie sisters and their cat, Agatha, to call on all they’ve learned about solving mysteries from their favorite novelist. Ellie Christie is thrilled to begin a new chapter. She’s recently returned to her tiny Colorado hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their beloved cat, Agatha. Perched in a Swiss-style hamlet accessible by ski gondola and a twisty mountain road, the Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing reading lounge. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintry whiteout. A man is found dead on the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown—no one in, no one out. The victim was a mysterious stranger who’d visited the bookshop. At the time, his only blunders had been disrupting a book club and leaving behind a first-edition Agatha Christie novel, written under a pseudonym. However, once revealed, the man’s identity shocks the town. Motives and secrets swirl like the snow, but when the police narrow in on the sisters’ close friends, the Christies have to act. Although the only Agatha in their family tree is their cat, Ellie and Meg know a lot about mysteries and realize they must summon their inner Miss Marple to trek through a blizzard of clues before the killer turns the page to their final chapter. BookPage says, “Dead and Gondola is a lighthearted, fast-paced cozy mystery with a cast of likeable characters. … Who wouldn’t want to ride a glass-domed gondola to a historic bookshop and cozy up by the fire with a good read?” Publishers Weekly wrote, “A fair-play plot, vivid characters, fascinating facts about Dame Agatha, and an intelligent and appealing protagonist make this a winner. Cozy fans will chomp at the bit for more.” Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text The intricate plot, morally complex characters, and exploration of the human psyche in A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS (THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS) (1939) make it one of the first modern suspense thrillers. Eric Ambler paved the way for such writers as John Le Carré, Len Deighton, and Robert Ludlum. It’s one of TIME Magazine’s 100 best mystery and thriller books of all time. Special guest Neil Nyren joins us to discuss the book. 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 Neil! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Neil Nyren is the former executive vice president (EVP), associate publisher, and editor in chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Neil is the winner of the 2017 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2025 Thriller Legend award from the International Thriller Writers. Neil joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss A Coffin for Dimitrios (also published as The Mask of Dimitrios), a 1939 thriller by Eric Ambler. You can read Neil’s many articles on Crime Reads here. The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time (TIME Magazine) “In an Eric Ambler spy novel, the hero is usually an ordinary fellow who lands in an unfamiliar foreign city and soon finds himself in rising water. In A Coffin For Dimitrios, published in 1939, the city is Istanbul between the world wars, and the hero is a writer intrigued by a newly dead Greek criminal whose life story leads him deep into the Balkans, and worse. Everything unfolds with the brisk tension and debonair assurance that made Ambler fans of everyone from Alfred Hitchcock to John le Carré to Alan Furst, and anchored the nascent genre in a kind of dashing realism.” —Karl Vick (TIME Magazine editor) “I set out to improve a shoddy article,” Eric Ambler once explained. “Dorothy Sayers had taken the detective story and made it literate. Why shouldn’t I do the same for spies?” Neil, you wrote, “Eric Ambler was the father of the modern thriller. John Le Carré called him ‘the source on which we all draw,’ and Len Deighton, ‘the man who lit the way for us all.’ Frederick Forsyth said he was the man ‘who took the spy thriller out of the gentility of the drawing room and into the back streets where it all really happened.’ Graham Greene called him ‘unquestionably our best thriller writer.’” Neil, you wrote, “I’ve worked with many writers of international suspense, and whenever I’ve wanted to recommend a book to any of them that captures the genre as well as any book possibly can—this is the one I send them to.” Neil, you wrote, “Before Eric Ambler, international thrillers were dominated by such writers as John Buchan (The Thirty-Nine Steps) and their many imitators.” Talk a bit about the difference between these earlier books and books like Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household and A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Amble Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...

Send us a text The intricate plot, morally complex characters, and exploration of the human psyche in A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS (THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS) (1939) make it one of the first modern suspense thrillers. Eric Ambler paved the way for such writers as John Le Carré, Len Deighton, and Robert Ludlum. It’s one of TIME Magazine’s 100 best mystery and thriller books of all time. Special guest Neil Nyren joins us to discuss the book. 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 Neil! Join our Patreon community here! It's free to join, with extra perks for members at every level. Neil Nyren is the former executive vice president (EVP), associate publisher, and editor in chief of G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Neil is the winner of the 2017 Ellery Queen Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the 2025 Thriller Legend award from the International Thriller Writers. Neil joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss A Coffin for Dimitrios (also published as The Mask of Dimitrios), a 1939 thriller by Eric Ambler. You can read Neil’s many articles on Crime Reads here. Among the writers of crime and suspense he has edited are Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, John Sandford, C. J. Box, Robert Crais, Carl Hiaasen, Daniel Silva, Jack Higgins, Frederick Forsyth, Ken Follett, Jonathan Kellerman, Martha Grimes, Alex Berenson, Thomas Perry, Gerald Seymour, Ed McBain, and Ace Atkins. In all, he has edited more than 300 New York Times bestsellers. Neil Nyren was awarded the 2017 Ellery Queen Award for “outstanding people in the mystery publishing industry” from the Mystery Writers of America. He also received the 2025 Thriller Legend award from the International Thriller Writers. Besides still editing two of his longtime authors, he now writes about crime fiction and publishing for CrimeReads, BookTrib, The Big Thrill, and The Third Degree, among others. He is also a contributing writer to the Mystery Writers of America’s Anthony/Agatha/Macavity-winning How to Write a Mystery. He has spoken at conferences from Maine to Florida and from South Carolina to Hawaii. The Opening Neil, you wrote, “Eric Ambler’s heroes, especially in his between-wars novels (1936-1940), are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. They’re often engineers, journalists, or writers who stumble into danger through a combination of bad judgment and bad luck and then have no choice but to try to dig themselves out of it … They are solidly middle class, raised in a world of black-and-white certainties that they discover has been completely obliterated by gray.” Neil, you wrote, “Eric Ambler’s villains live in that gray. They’re criminals, conmen, governments, corporations, revolutionaries, spies, and corrupt officials. … They’re realists. They’ve calculated what it takes to succeed and are willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. If those acts are considered reprehensible by others, that’s not their problem.” Support the show https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/ https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com Stay mysterious...