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Died in the Wool

Tea, Tonic & Toxin is the only history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re discussing the best mysteries ever written and interviewing the world’s best mystery and thriller writers.

DIED IN THE WOOL (1945) by Ngaio Marsh is a set in the remote New Zealand countryside on a sheep farm during World War II. The story follows Inspector Roderick Alleyn as he investigates the suspicious death of a politician while conducting counter-espionage work.

The book is known for its blend of murder mystery and wartime espionage. Marsh’s vivid characterization and clever narrative structure make it a compelling and timeless entry in the genre. She was one of the Queens of Crime, and this novel is among her best.

LATEST EPISODES

Episode 110: Death Comes as the End - Agatha Christie and the Historical Fiction Mystery Novel

June 29, 2026

Agatha Christie helped to launch the historical mystery sub-genre with DEATH COMES AS THE END (1944). The woman was a true innovator.

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Episode 109: Death Comes as the End - Agatha Christie - Max Mallowan - Stephen Glanville - Heqanakht

June 27, 2026

DEATH COMES AS THE END (1944) by Agatha Christie is set in 2000 BC! We know. It's so awesome we can't stand it.

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Episode 108: Childhood Detective Books: Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice (Guest Jeffrey Marks)

May 18, 2026

HOME SWEET HOMICIDE (1944) by Craig Rice has the most amazing child detectives. And Jeffrey Marks (Crippen & Landru) is back!

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SPECIAL GUESTS

ABOUT TEA, TONIC & TOXIN

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.

TEA, TONIC & TOXIN HOSTS

SARAH HARRISON

Sarah loves getting to the bottom of any mystery having to do with life, love, work, play, personality, or process dysfunction. A scientist obsessed with reading fiction, she launched PORN (People Obsessed with Reading Novels -- get your mind out of the gutter!) while in grad school. After nine years, it was time for her book club to transmogrify into the podcast before you, sending its tendrils out to find you, friend. When she isn't hanging with her husband and two kids or running her business, Grace Sigma, she's taking a deep dive into the history, art, and architecture of this dark genre.

CAROLYN DAUGHTERS

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.