EPISODES

The Maltese Falcon Movie and Book
August 31, 2023
Sarah, Carolyn, and Mike Nugent keep the Maltese Falcon conversation flowing with LOADS more thoughts about Sam Spade, Effie Perine, Casper Gutman, Joel Cairo, and, of course, the ever-elusive Brigid O'Shaughnessy. Folks, we have a lot of ground to cover. Join us, won’t you?
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Sam Spade: The Maltese Falcon
August 31, 2023
Author Mike Nugent joins Sarah and Carolyn to talk about noir, crime fiction, and all things Sam Spade (who’s described as resembling a blond satan). The Maltese Falcon changed the way crime fiction was written. You’ll want to read it in one sitting and then give our podcast a listen.
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Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op
August 3, 2023
Hey, Continental Op, what’s your deal? Are you a hero? Anti-hero? Something else altogether? Hear our thoughts about the Op, Dinah Brand, Whisper, and all the gang – and let us know your tally of how many people wind up dead in the book. It’s hard to keep track.
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Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
July 31, 2023
What a bloody, crime-filled, mindbender of a novel. There’s no delightful married couple with a fox terrier in this one, and Poisonville lacks the seedy charm of 1920s San Francisco. Red Harvest is a crime thriller masterpiece, and the Continental Op is an anti-hero for the ages.
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
July 9, 2023
As Sir Walter Scott once wrote, “what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” In The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, most everyone’s lying about something – and one of those liars is both a blackmailer and a killer. Eli Milliman joins Sarah and Carolyn to hash it out!
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Is it the Best Mystery Novel?
June 28, 2023
The super smart, highly creative, and always entertaining Eli Milliman joins Sarah and Carolyn in a lively, introspective discussion of Agatha Christie’s rightfully famous The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. The ending is a shocker. Christie was a genius, no two ways about it.
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The First Lord Peter Wimsey Book
June 6, 2023
Carolyn did not expect Lord Peter Wimsey to be so complex. He suffers from PTSD, and Dorothy Sayers does a bang-up job of conveying the otherworldly disconnect some experience during panic attacks. He won Carolyn over. The always insightful Sarah liked him all along.
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Lord Peter Wimsey: Whose Body?
February 1, 2023
Introducing the irrepressible Lord Peter Wimsey, Golden Age amateur detective extraordinaire. In this 1923 novel, Dorothy Sayers features a gentleman sleuth who will appear in many books to come. Sarah and Carolyn enjoyed this book immensely. Now, tell us what YOU think!
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Introducing Poirot and Hastings!
April 13, 2023
Special guest Jill Carstens returns to talk more about The Mysterious Affair at Styles, where we meet Hercule Poirot. He’s a methodical marvel who’s nonplussed by the affairs, awkward proposals, loveless marriages, and privileged egotism of the various suspects. Poirot is delightful. Much like Sarah, Carolyn, and Jill.
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles
April 20, 2023
Sarah, Carolyn, and special guest Jill Carstens would like to spend some time at Styles Court. Strolls around the grounds, hours spent reading each day, afternoon tea, evening libations … An outlier among a cast of selfish characters, Hercule Poirot is sympathetic, smart, and, of course, THE foremost master of detection.
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The Thirty-Nine Steps (39 Steps Part II)
April 4, 2023
Sarah and Carolyn and special guest Wendi Anderson discuss approximately 492 topics related to but not directly about John Buchan’s short, fast-paced espionage thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps. We learn that both Sarah and Wendi will open the door when a stranger knocks. Sarah will even let that someone use her phone.
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The Thirty-Nine Steps
March 30, 2023
Sarah and Carolyn and special guest Wendi Anderson love The Thirty-Nine Steps, a fast-paced man on the run thriller published in 1915. Warning: Listening to this episode will make you want to become a freelance spy and move to Scotland. If you’re already a freelance spy and live in Scotland, we’re jealous.
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The First Golden Age Detective Story
March 9, 2023
Carolyn dislikes Trent, and she would not invite him to her dinner party. Sarah, on the other hand, would probably bring Trent as her guest to Carolyn’s dinner party, putting Carolyn in an awkward hostess-ly position. The Golden Age begins here, folks, and we are too excited to type more words.
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Trent's Last Case by E. C. Bentley
February 24, 2023
Trent’s Last Case is one of the best mystery stories of all time according to Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and The New York Times. What do YOU think? Does the book live up to the hype? Carolyn and Sarah have some strong opinions to share. You’ll want to listen in!
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Father Brown Stories
January 24, 2023
Our fabulous guest Deb Donner is back to discuss the stories in The Innocence of Father Brown. (By now, you surely have a copy of the book, right?) Father Brown solves mysteries by looking into men’s and women’s hearts and souls. We’re talking human nature, folks. It’s some heady, thought-provoking stuff.
Listen →Sam Spade: The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon Movie and Book
Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Is it the Best Mystery Novel?
The First Lord Peter Wimsey Book
The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Sarah, Carolyn, and special guest Jill Carstens would like to spend some time at Styles Court. Strolls around the grounds, hours spent reading each day, afternoon tea, evening libations … An outlier among a cast of selfish characters, Hercule Poirot is sympathetic, smart, and, of course, THE foremost master of detection.
Introducing Poirot and Hastings!

Special guest Jill Carstens returns to talk more about The Mysterious Affair at Styles, where we meet Hercule Poirot. He’s a methodical marvel who’s nonplussed by the affairs, awkward proposals, loveless marriages, and privileged egotism of the various suspects. Poirot is delightful. Much like Sarah, Carolyn, and Jill.
The Thirty-Nine Steps (39 Steps Part II)

Sarah and Carolyn and special guest Wendi Anderson discuss approximately 492 topics related to but not directly about John Buchan’s short, fast-paced espionage thriller The Thirty-Nine Steps. We learn that both Sarah and Wendi will open the door when a stranger knocks. Sarah will even let that someone use her phone.
The Maltese Falcon Movie and Book
Sam Spade: The Maltese Falcon
Dashiell Hammett's Continental Op
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Is it the Best Mystery Novel?
The First Lord Peter Wimsey Book
Lord Peter Wimsey: Whose Body?
Introducing Poirot and Hastings!

Special guest Jill Carstens returns to talk more about The Mysterious Affair at Styles, where we meet Hercule Poirot. He’s a methodical marvel who’s nonplussed by the affairs, awkward proposals, loveless marriages, and privileged egotism of the various suspects. Poirot is delightful. Much like Sarah, Carolyn, and Jill.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Sarah, Carolyn, and special guest Jill Carstens would like to spend some time at Styles Court. Strolls around the grounds, hours spent reading each day, afternoon tea, evening libations … An outlier among a cast of selfish characters, Hercule Poirot is sympathetic, smart, and, of course, THE foremost master of detection.