Join us for a chat about Saltburn, the black comedy thriller that had everyone talking in 2023. Emerald Fennel's film tells the story of Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan), a scholarship kid at Oxford who befriends the charming, fabulously wealthy aristocrat Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi). When Oliver's father dies unexpectedly, Oliver is reluctant to return home to his mother, who struggles with substance problems and mental illness, and so Felix kindly invites him to stay over summer at his family home, Saltburn. It's there that Oliver meets Felix's unconventional family, and he soon finds himself ir ..read more

Mr Shaitana had a reputation for hosting the best parties in London. That is, until he throws a 'murder party', which ends up being his last. Guests at the murder party include four people Shaitana suspects of murder (his 'collection of murderers') and four sleuths: private investigator Hercule Poirot, crime novelist Ariadne Oliver, secret serviceman Colonel Race and Superintendent Battle of Scotland Yard. During a game of bridge, Mr Shaitana is stabbed to death while he sleeps in an armchair by the fire, in full view of the four murderers. It's up to the four sleuths to figure out who is resp ..read more

We review Agatha Christie's world-renowned play The Mousetrap. We recorded this as a special spoiler-free episode, so that everyone can enjoy the episode, even if they haven't seen the play! In keeping with the famous tradition of The Mousetrap, we won't be talking about anything that happens in the play beyond the initial set-up, the characters and the setting. The production we went to see was at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield on 3 June 2023, and it was part of the 70th anniversary tour of The Mousetrap. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

It's Halloween season, so today we're bringing you a spooky Halloween special all about Kenneth Branagh's latest Poirot film, A Haunting in Venice, which is based on Agatha Christie's 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party. The film joins Poirot (played by Branagh) as he navigates the narrow streets of creepy post-war Venice. Soon Poirot finds himself embroiled in a horrifying murder mystery at the home of Rowena Drake, a famous opera singer whose daughter Alicia tragically fell from her balcony and drowned in the canal below. After Rowena Drake holds a séance with the famous medium Joyce Reynolds (play ..read more

As Agatha Christie’s esteemed detective Hercule Poirot often says, ‘murder is a habit’. But the murderer we’re talking about today takes this to a whole other level... In this episode, we’re talking about Agatha Christie’s 1936 novel The ABC Murders. In this novel, Poirot comes face to face with a mysterious serial-killer adversary who goes by the name of ABC. ABC commits murders in alphabetical order, beginning with Alice Ascher in Andover, then Betty Barnard in Bexhill-on-Sea, then Sir Carmichael Clarke in Churston… But are these killings the work of a senseless sadist, or are they carefull ..read more

In this episode, we take a look at one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. We discuss the characters, the plot and – of course – our favourite Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Other subjects that we touch on include architecture, social class, female detectives and 1920s technologies! Please note, this episode contains spoilers for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Join us for part two of our discussion about The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. In this episode, we discuss tall dark strangers, lovable rogues and secret meetings in the summerhouse, as well as many other topics from the novel. Please note, this episode contains spoilers for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Join us as we head to the mean streets of 1930s LA for an episode all about Raymond Chandler's hardboiled detective story The Big Sleep. In The Big Sleep, we meet tough guys, petty criminals and dangerous femme fatales as we follow jaded PI Philip Marlowe in his quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding the wealthy Sternwood family. In this episode, we discuss the character of Philip Marlowe – the prototype of the cynical detective, whose hard-drinking, wisecracking exterior conceals a somewhat more sensitive side – and we look at Chandler's writing style, which came to have an immense impa ..read more

Today, we're looking at Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, a new comedy mystery film, which is available to stream on Netflix. Glass Onion stars Daniel Craig as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc. Other big names include Janelle Monáe, Kate Hudson and Edward Norton. The film puts a contemporary spin on the classic Golden Age whodunnit genre, so – of course – we had to give it a go! The story begins when a close-knit group of wealthy celebrities and socialites retire to billionaire Miles Bron's private island for a murder mystery party. But soon the fun is brought to an abrupt halt when (surpri ..read more

In this episode, we review Lucy Worsley's fantastic new documentary mini-series Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen, which is available now on BBC iPlayer. This series was like catnip to Agatha Christie superfans like us, so we just had to do a deep dive into it! In the podcast, we discuss Agatha's life, including her childhood, her relationships and marriages, and her infamous 1926 disappearance. We consider how Agatha Christie, who presented herself as an 'ordinary' woman, became one of the greatest novelists of all time. We also debate some of the most pressing issues surr ..read more