Here are the answers to the most commonly-asked questions about the Shedunnit Book Club. To jump to questions for existing members click here.

If you need more help or have a question that isn't answered here, just drop me a line on caroline [at] shedunnitshow [dot] com and I'll do my best to help.

Questions if you are considering joining

Who are you?

I’m Caroline Crampton, the host and producer of Shedunnit. You can find out more about me here.

What is the Shedunnit Book Club?

The book club is a community that runs alongside the podcast, and the main way I’m able to support it financially. If you’ve ever supported a creator on Patreon or via Kickstarter, it’s a similar thing — except it all runs from within this website rather than using a third party service.

What do I get as a member?

The full benefits for each membership level are laid out here, but in brief: access to the book club forum, where we discuss a different detective novel every month, as well as all the full library of bonus episodes (of which there are now over a hundred). At the higher levels, you get audiobooks too, where I read mystery short stories. Plus, of course, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting an independent production.

Why should I join?

If you already like the main podcast, joining the club is a way of getting more content. You will also be joining an active community of likeminded readers and helping the podcast out financially, ensuring that I’m able to keep making new episodes. If you don't want extra content or access to the community, you can join just as a way of supporting the show financially.

What if I’d like to contribute, but I don’t want to take part in the club?

That’s fine — you can be a “silent member”, where you join but choose not to take part in the forum discussions, or you can make a one off donation instead.

Why are the prices in pounds sterling? I don’t live in Britain!

I am based in the UK, and for administrative reasons I have to run the club in my own currency. However, you can join from anywhere in the world and the payment will show up in your currency on your statements. I use the Ghost platform to run memberships and it processes payments in Stripe. If you’re worried about exchange rates or potential transaction fees on your end, I recommend contacting your bank or credit card provider in advance of joining to inquire.

What books has the club already read? I might have read them all already!

You can see a full list of books the club has read here. Plenty of members are very well read, but enjoy rereading books with the community.

When and how is the monthly book chosen?

Members propose books that they would like to read together or themes they would like to explore. Every month I put together a shortlist of five books from these suggestions, and members have a week to vote in the forum for their favourite. We read the winning book. I post the poll about ten weeks ahead of the month in which we will read the book — so in mid September we vote for the book we’ll read in December, and so on.

I live in a different timezone to you. How will I take part in the book club?

None of the club's activities happen on a rigid timetable. Everything is deliberately asynchronous so people can take part when suits them. The main home for the book club is a Discourse forum, and that’s where the monthly book discussions take place. I open the thread for the book on the last day of the month, and then members are free to weigh in whenever they want after that, so there’s no need to be available at a particular time and you can’t miss out on anything (everyone’s contributions so far will be there for you to read the next time you log in to the forum). Members add to threads for previous books as they read them, and there’s even a group of newer members who are going back through the club’s previous reading list together. It's all deliberately relaxed and nobody is under any pressure to read anything by a particular date or show up for a live gathering at a set time.

Questions for existing members

NB: There are specific guides to each level of membership, so you might like to visit yours for more information and links to all your perks — Silent Member, Amateur Sleuth, Apprentice Investigator, Seasoned Detective. Keep reading for general advice.

How do I access the bonus episodes?

You have three options: you can set up your personal private RSS feed in your podcast app of choice, you can receive a link to each new episode via email, or you can log into the book club website and listen in your browser.

Most members choose the RSS feed option so they can listen in their podcast app. You can access your podcast feed by heading to your account menu, scrolling down to where it says "podcasts", and then clicking "view". Click again to get the list of apps you can automatically set up your feed in, or to see the RSS feed to add it manually. It can help to do this on the device you want to listen on (eg your phone or tablet) so that the menu can take you straight to your app of choice. Once you're seeing the list of episodes in your app, click "follow" or "subscribe" (language varies between apps) to save the feed and have each new episode delivered to you there. Any problems, contact me on caroline [at] shedunnitshow [dot] com.

To listen via the book club website, log in at shedunnitshow.com, and then use the menu at the top to navigate to "Book Club". There you'll see a list of episode titles. You can click on each one and use the player embedded on the page to play the episode. If you know the title of the episode you want, you can also use the search function on the top right of the website to find it.

How do I access the forum?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then use the menu at the top to navigate to "Book Club". There, you can click the "Forum" link at the top. Alternatively, bookmark the web address forum.shedunnitshow.com and as long as you remain logged in on your device, you will be able to go straight there.

How do I change or cancel my subscription?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then navigate to your account by clicking the "account" button in the top right or using this link. From there you can change your subscription level, update your card details, change your email address or cancel your subscription. If you need help with any of this, please contact me on caroline [at] shedunnitshow [dot] com.

I'm not happy — can I get a refund?

Quite possibly. Contact me on caroline [at] shedunnitshow [dot] com and I'll sort it out.

How do I control what emails I receive?

Log in to your account at shedunnitshow.com, and then navigate to your account by clicking the "account" button in the top right or using this link. Click "manage" next to the "newsletters" option in the list and toggle on or off which emails you receive, or choose the "unsubscribe from all" option.

What happened to the membership referral scheme?

On the previous membership platform we used, there was an option for members to "refer" friends, and, if they signed up, receive a discount on their own subscription. We don't have this facility any more, but since as far as I know nobody ever used it, I don't think it's much of a loss!