
What Are the 39 Steps? The Book Holds the Key …
This detective novel introduces readers to a British mining engineer – Richard Hannay – who has just returned to London
Tea, Tonic and Toxin is a book club and podcast for anyone who loves amazing mysteries and detective stories. First up: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”
“The Murders in the Rue Morgue” may be the first detective story. Set in Paris, the story features amateur detective Auguste Dupin and his unnamed sidekick, who narrates how Dupin solves a gruesome double murder.
Read: Buy it on Amazon, buy it used, or read it for free, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. (Reading time: ~4 hours)
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However, in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” Poe breaks new ground here — in mystery narratives, Poe essentially says, the usual rules don’t apply. The rifle doesn’t need to go off in chapter two, chapter three, or ever. Instead, the rifle, like the gold coins in the story, can be a red herring. Therein lies the challenge — for the detective and for the reader.
This detective novel introduces readers to a British mining engineer – Richard Hannay – who has just returned to London
Even though the name of this book is Trent’s Last Case, the novel is actually about the FIRST detective case
Long before he started writing his own detective stories, Gilbert Keith (G.K.) Chesterton was already a fan of the genre.
Searching for the best detective podcasts? We read 11 books in 2022, with 12 more coming in 2023! Listen in!
Baroness Orczy was a novelist I had never heard of until recently, although her tales featuring Lady Molly of Scotland
This haunting story by Arthur Conan Doyle was my first introduction to Sherlock Holmes – in the 1939 film version
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.
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© 2023 by Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters