Another surprise episode of my increasingly-irregular podcast In GAD We Trust, this time featuring Mark Aldridge in discussion about his new book, Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness (2024). Yes, finally some good news: four years on from his excellent Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Greatest Detective in the World (2020), in which he charted the … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 33: Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness (2024) by Mark Aldridge [w’ Mark Aldridge]

Five and a half years ago I tracked down and read an obscure novelette by long-forgotten British pulp writer James Ronald, which set me on the trail of his far-from-readily-available other works. This week, Moonstone Press published the first two in a series of reprints that will see Ronald’s entire criminous catalogue made available, and series … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 32: The Revival of James Ronald [w’ Chris Verner]

Another year, another Bodies from the Library collection — incredibly, the sixth — and another opportunity to sit down with Tony Medawar and talk about the wonderful work he’s doing on all our behalfs. As well as discussing the contents of the latest collection — all spoiler-free, of course — we get into the details … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 31: Bodies from the Library 6 (2023) ed. Tony Medawar [w’ Tony Medawar]

The return of my In GAD We Trust podcast, and a welcome return for Alasdair Beckett-King, comedian and now children’s author. Since last appearing on the podcast, Alasdair has written two books for younger readers — Montgomery Bonbon: Murder at the Museum (2023) and Montgomery Bonbon: Death at the Lighthouse (2023) — and so joins … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 30: The Joys of Detective Fiction + Montgomery Bonbon: Death at the Lighthouse (2023) by Alasdair Beckett-King [w’ Alasdair Beckett-King]

One final dive into the crystal-clear waters of talking about a mystery novel without having to carefully avoid the details — here are Brad, Moira, and myself discussing Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie. There’s much to discuss here, too: an older Hercule Poirot whose name conjures none of the delight or fear it … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (1952) by Agatha Christie

Hopefully your summer heatwave — or winter freeze-wave — has passed and you’re calm, relaxed, and ready to listen to Brad, Moira, and me discuss some Agatha Christie in spoiler-filled detail. This time we’re talking about Towards Zero (1944), the fifth and final book to feature Superintendent Battle. Is there much to discuss in advance? … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – Towards Zero (1944) by Agatha Christie

A long weekend (probably) awaits, so how better to pass some time than listening to Brad, Moira, and me discuss Five Little Pigs, a.k.a. Murder in Retrospect (1942) by Agatha Christie? Okay, sure, there are countless better ways to pass the time, but here’s that discussion anyway. Earlier this year, I held a poll for … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – Five Little Pigs, a.k.a. Murder in Retrospect (1942) by Agatha Christie

All good things come to an end, and so does my podcast; started in the first UK lockdown and hard to justify now that lockdowns are well and truly over, In GAD We Trust’s 30th episode (number 29, but don’t forget that bonus run through the Jonathan Creek canon) is going out in a blaze … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 29: Writing The Red Death Murders (2022)

There is a Golden Age of detective fiction going on at the very moment, but because most of what’s being written is aimed at 8-to-12 year-olds, it gets overlooked by, like, grown-ups. I’m trying to raise awareness of this with my frequent Minor Felonies posts, and it’s partly in pursuit of this aim that I’m … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 28: Writing Mysteries for Younger Readers [w’ M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman]

Slightly later than planned — er, sorry about that — let’s see what Brad, Moira, and I made of Dame Agatha’s After the Funeral, a.k.a. Funerals Are Fatal (1953), shall we? You hopefully know the drill by now, but let’s have a recap for anyone new to this: we read the book, we discuss the … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – After the Funeral, a.k.a. Funerals Are Fatal (1953) by Agatha Christie + Vote for Future Episodes

Last week, Nick Cardillo and I discussed the impossible crime on screen, at the end of which he casually asked about Jonathan Creek like I’d be able to condense my thoughts into a pithy bon mot and not obsess about what I’d missed out for the next 30 or 40 years. Instead, we’re back to … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Bonus Episode! The Highs and Lows of Jonathan Creek [w’ Nick Cardillo]

Does In GAD We Trust have a hype train? If so, stoke the conductor, point the rails, wake up the boiler, and do other train things, because episode 27 is here and Nick Cardillo wants to talk about the impossible crime on screen. Written down, the impossible crime — sometimes called the “miracle problem” when … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 27: The Impossible Crime on Screen [w’ Nick Cardillo]

I’m as surprised as you to see a new episode of my In GAD We Trust podcast, especially as I said on Thursday that there was unlikely to be one this weekend — well, okay, perhaps a I’m little less surprised than you, since I (sort of) planned, recorded, and (sort of) edited this, but … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 26: The Maxims of Misdirection

Gutsy of me to suggest, on my site dedicated to the discussion of Golden Age detective fiction, that a lot of the terminology used to talk about these stories is incorrect, eh? Well, thankfully I’m not the one trying to convince you; that job falls to Mr. Scott K. Ratner. Those of you who know … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 25: Fair Play and the Nomenclature of Golden Age Detective Fiction [w’ Scott K. Ratner]

Prepare yourself for what might just be the most jam-packed episode of In GAD We Trust to date — when you sit down with Tony Medawar, there’s always going to be a lot to talk about. With the podcast coming to an end after episode 30, I was hardly going to let Tony get away … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 24: Bodies from the Library 4 (2021) ed. Tony Medawar + The International Agatha Christie Festival 2021 + Even More! [w’ Tony Medawar]

Here we go: another Agatha Christie-centred, spoiler-filled discussion betwixt Moira, Brad, and myself, this time looking at her highly-regarded Jane Marple mystery A Murder is Announced (1950). You know the drill — we’ve read it, talked about it without being coy regarding details as one normally would in a review, and are here to pick … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie

The companion of the fictional detective — the “stupid friend” as Ronald Knox styled them — is something I have spent far too long thinking about, mainly because the protoype is always taken to be Sherlock Holmes’ chronicler Dr. John H. Watson. Joining me this week to discuss why that might not always be a … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 23: What’s in a Watson? [w’ Caroline Crampton]

After the interruption to the schedule of two weeks ago, here’s another In GAD We Trust podcast — and given the topic of ‘Making a Good First Impression’ it’s only fitting to welcome returning guests Sergio and Brad. We had orignally intended to discuss Ellery Queen, but life is miserable enough at the moment and … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 22: On Making a Good First Impression [w’ Sergio @ Tipping My Fedora + Brad @ AhSweetMysteryBlog]

The detective fiction genre is built around the essential structure of a crime, an investigation of that crime, and the revelation of the guilty party who committed the crime, and good heavens didn’t the Golden Age map out a lot of different ways to walk that path. And there are few people better placed to … Continue reading In GAD We Trust – Episode 21: The Diversity of Approaches to Detective Fiction [w’ Martin Edwards]

Slightly later than promised — or not, depending on your time zone — here’s the long-anticipated spoiler-heavy discussion betwixt Brad, Moira, and myself about Agatha Christie’s bridge-centric mystery Cards on the Table (1936). And, just for added drama, one of us thinks this book doesn’t quite deserve its reputation as a classic… As well as … Continue reading Spoiler Warning – Cards on the Table (1936) by Agatha Christie