Shedunnit

The detective’s sidekick is a fundamental building block of the classic whodunnit. But they don’t often get full credit ... Read more

The detective writers of the 1920s and 1930s weren't working a vacuum. They took a keen interest in the crimes of their ... Read more

When Agatha Christie disappeared in 1926, nobody could find her.Books mentioned in order of appearance—The Mysterious Af... Read more

A shipboard romance that somehow became one of the most notorious domestic poisoning cases in British history. This is t... Read more

Her trial gripped the nation and tested Britain’s legal system to the limit. But what happened to Florence Maybrick?This... Read more

By any definition, the New Zealand crime writer Ngaio Marsh lived an extraordinary life. But who was she really, this gl... Read more

The detective stories of the 1920s and 30s aren't exactly well known for being at the vanguard of the struggle for gay r... Read more

Writing is usually a solitary pastime, yet a group of detective fiction authors in the early 1930s decided to work toget... Read more

Snow is a very powerful tool for a detective novelist. It can create a sinister atmosphere, keep suspects and murderer s... Read more

On 6 October 1926, a woman went into a cloakroom in Boulogne, France and never came out. She was never seen alive again.... Read more

How did a legal history series become so well known that even Lord Peter Wimsey owned a set?Find links to all the books ... Read more

On the morning of 9 January 1923, a brutal and horrifying execution took place at Holloway Prison in London. The condemn... Read more

For many people, their main contact with detective fiction is via film and television adaptations. For a huge global aud... Read more

Some sleuths need no introduction. But other characters, also created by famous authors like Agatha Christie and Dorothy... Read more

What could be a better place for a murder than a boat, out at sea?Find links to all the books and sources mentioned at s... Read more

Food matters in books. It helps to set the scene, build up characters and evoke a period, and it also symbolises comfort... Read more

Wouldn’t sleuthing be so much easier if the dead could speak to the living?Find links to all the books mentioned at shed... Read more

A good detective story has a recognisable rhythm and plot points. But how did these tropes come about? And what happens ... Read more

Anne Bedingfield, Emily Trefusis, Lucy Eyelesbarrow: why is it that Agatha Christie’s adventurous, highly competent youn... Read more

Authors’ names loom large when we think about detective stories. Yet many of them are pseudonyms, created just to appear... Read more