Dear listeners,

I wouldn't say that the work of John Rhode (one of several pen names used by writer and engineer Cecil Street) is a blind spot of mine, exactly. I'm very aware of how involved he was in the golden age of detective fiction: a founding member of the Detection Club, a collaborator with Dorothy L. Sayers on Have His Carcase, and a prolific novelist in his own right with multiple recurring detective characters. I just haven't explored his oeuvre nearly as much as some of that of his contemporaries, for one simple reason. It's enormous.

In his 80 years of life, Street published over 140 novels. Over 70 of them, those that appeared under the name of John Rhode, feature his main sleuthing character, Dr Lancelot Priestley. Then there are another 60 or so that were published as Miles Burton, about a retired naval officer named Desmond Merrion, as well other books published Cecil Waye. Until recently, when Street's work started coming out of copyright in the US and a few other titles attracted the attention of republishing imprints, the only way to read any of these books was by securing an often-pricey secondhand copy. I'm sure you see the difficulty. On the one hand, Street was a major golden age author and has fans who advocate for greater prominence for his mystery writing. On the other, trying him out was very difficult, without a major investment of time and money. And so, largely, I didn't bother.

That changed last year, when the Shedunnit Book Club read the first Priestley novel, The Paddington Mystery, together for our annual "Centenary" read that celebrates a book published a hundred years earlier. I wasn't fully enamoured, but there were enough points of interest to make me curious. Then a couple of months ago, I realised that another John Rhode title was coming up in the Green Penguin Book Club schedule: The Murders in Praed Street. Luckily, I knew just who I wanted to discuss it with me — Ronaldo Fagarazzi, writer of the Witness to a Crime blog, and probably the only person I know who has actually read every Cecil Street novel. You can hear our conversation all about Rhode, Priestly, and this enjoyable early serial killer novel now.

Ronaldo and I had a lot to talk about. Street's many books provide a lot of material. There's also a fascinating yet lost film adaptation of The Murders in Praed Street, so we had to cover that as well (since Ronaldo works in film production and is also very knowledgeable about screen adaptations of golden age detective fiction). And there was one topic that we covered in some detail that just wouldn't fit in the final episode, so I decided to move it to the newsletter — after reading this novel, where should we go next in the John Rhode/Miles Burton canon?

Ronaldo had a few recommendations for us. Considerately, he started with two John Rhode options that are relatively affordable and available as secondhand paperbacks.

Both are from 1933, so five years after The Murders in Praed Street. First, he suggests looking out for The Claverton Mystery, which is a poisoning mystery with slightly Gothic overtones, which Ronaldo singles out because of Priestley's relative rare use of psychology to solve the case. And then, from the same year, he also recommends The Venner Crime, which is sort of a sequel to Claverton and likewise deals with a poisoning that is initially suspected to be an accident rather than a murder. Both books were published or republished in mass market editions earlier in the 20th century, so are easier to find than some of the other more limited edition Rhodes.

For the more dedicated book hunter, Ronaldo suggests trying to track down three titles that came out of Street's "purple patch" of top quality fiction at the end of WW2. The brilliantly titled Vegetable Duck from 1944 concerns a poisoned supper of vegetable marrow (my grandmother used to make this dish, and... yuck). The Lake House and Death in Harley Street, both from 1946, are also worth looking out for. The former, I believe, has a courtroom drama element, while the latter, as the title implies, is about the murder of a doctor.

For the Miles Burton series, try 1944's Three Corpse Trick or Death of Mr. Gantley from 1932. Ronaldo also has a soft spot for Death at the Crossroads from 1933, which is a car accident mystery that he says is quite technical and compares favourably to Impact of Evidence by E.C.R. Lorac.

In terms of tracking these titles down, it's often the case with Cecil Street that you have better luck finding digital editions than physical ones. Public domain databases like archive.org sometimes even have versions that can be read for free. Or, you might get lucky and chance across a stray green penguin! If you find a John Rhode or a Miles Burton that you would particularly recommend, do get in touch and let me know. I still feel like I need all the help I can get to sift through his vast output and find the proper gems.

Until next time,

Caroline

You can listen to every episode of Shedunnit at shedunnitshow.com or on all major podcast apps. Selected episodes are available on BBC Sounds. There are also transcripts of all episodes on the website. The podcast is now newsletter-only — we're not updating social media — so if you'd like to spread the word about the show consider forwarding this email to a mystery-loving friend with the addition of a personal recommendation.

Dear listeners,

A belated welcome back to our monthly book recommendations newsletter in which the Shedunnit team — that is, me and my production assistant Leandra — share what we have been reading while making the show. We missed April because I was unwell, but we're back now!

Caroline Has Read: The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths

Long-time listeners might remember that I like Elly Griffiths' crime fiction — especially her Ruth Galloway series. She's been a guest on the show a couple of times, too, most recently on the episode "A Detective's Farewell", which was about how an author says goodbye to a long-running character. I recently dived back into Elly's work with the audiobook of this recent novel that blends crime with science fiction. It follows a Scotland Yard cold case unit that uses time travel to go back and find the truth about unsolved crimes. I was intrigued by the premise (one of my favourite books ever is To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis, which does something similar) and I found that the story lived up to its promise. It wasn't a particularly special audiobook reading, though, so if I decide to read the next one in this series I might seek out the physical book.

Caroline Will Read: The Final Problem by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

I came across this 2023 novel recently as I was scrolling on my library app (an activity I now do instead of looking at social media!) and decided to borrow it on a whim. It's recently been translated into English from Spanish and promises a murder mystery that is highly referential of both Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, which sounded like it might suit me rather well. I'm reading another mystery in translation for the Shedunnit Book Club at the moment — The Hotel of the Three Roses by Augusto De Angelis — and enjoying being out of my usual settings and modes.

Leandra Has Read: Yule Be Sorry by Kim M. Watt

Did I read a Christmas mystery in spring? Yes, absolutely. And I’d do it again!!

Last fall, I read Baking Bad, the first book in the Beaufort Scales fantasy mystery series, and had a riot of a time. I was in the mood for that same humorous chaos and feel-good cozy cast of characters, so Christmas-themed mystery be darned! And I have no regrets. In this cozy mystery, delivery drivers are disappearing, Christmas turkeys have been stolen, and holiday gifts are...exploding. The members of the Women's Institute and their friends, the Cloverly Dragons, once again find themselves meddling in police business, and their shenanigans are two-for-two in making me laugh aloud.

I highly recommend this mystery series for fans of cozy fantasy, magical creature POVs, elderly main characters, and mystery plots not unlike The Marlow Murder Club or The Thursday Murder Club; the two leading women, Alice and Miriam, have a similar dynamic to those found in TTMC in particular.

Leandra Will Read: The Case of the Murdered Muckraker by Rob Osler

This year, I am trying to be better about keeping up to date with ongoing series, so I will be reading book two in the Harriet Morrow historical mystery series. Set in 1898 Chicago, our protagonist is a bike-riding lesbian private investigator, inspired by a real-life Windy City detective. In the first book, The Case of the Missing Maid, Harriet is tasked with proving herself as a worthy addition to the Prescott Investigative Agency. Now that she has convinced Prescott himself that a woman operative strengthens his team, she must tackle her biggest case yet in this sequel: a muckraker is found murdered in a southside tenement building after obtaining evidence of a powerful politician’s corruption. I'm looking forward to seeing how Harriet continues to grow, not only as a junior detective but as a queer woman about to enter the 21st century.

That's what we'll be reading this month — how about you? You can let us know by replying directly to this email or by leaving a comment to join the conversation with other readers. 

Until next time,

Caroline

Dear listeners,

Although you can hear me on the new episode of Shedunnit, I'm not the star of the show. This one is the creation of my husband, Guy Cuthbertson, who has spent the past several years working on his own book all about a fascinating work of twentieth century literature: Lady Chatterley's Lover. The initial publication of this book in Italy in the late 1920s coincides almost exactly with the first appearance of Miss Marple in print, and in his episode Guy explores all of the intriguing parallels between the work of D.H. Lawrence and Agatha Christie. Since he's in charge of the podcast today, it seems only fitting that I hand over this newsletter to him, too.

Guy says: I talk in this episode about Lady Chatterley’s Lover and the Miss Marple books, looking at similarities and differences. What I could also have discussed is the fact that, even though it is not a detective novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover does have some of the elements of detective fiction. Lawrence does talk of "clues" and "evidence"; there are secrets and lies; there are lawyers; there are confessions and cover-ups. Clifford’s nurse Ivy Bolton, rather a nosey gossip, is a kind of detective, as is Mellors’ estranged wife Bertha. They both discover the affair. Bertha looks for evidence, finding a bottle of perfume and some scribbled initials "C.S.R." at Mellors’ cottage, and then a book with Lady Chatterley’s maiden name written inside it: Constance Stewart Reid. If only Connie had not read books she would not have been caught. In fact, there is some criticism of books, and popular fiction in particular. We are told that "most novels, especially popular ones, are humiliating" and ‘the public responds now only to an appeal to its vices’. The novel is likened to gossip, and it is, like gossip, "all the more vicious because it is always ostensibly on the side of the angels". 

There is even quite a bit of talk of murder and killing. And, by way of innuendo, of hoping to "plunge in the dagger a few more times yet". What if Connie and Mellors had decided to kill Clifford? What if Clifford had decided to kill Mellors? Well, that would have to be another version of the story. But the novel is "crime fiction" too in that the book that was the crime, and the book was discussed in court at the Old Bailey in 1960; or Lady Chatterley herself was spoken of as a criminal, as if the trial was a trial of Lady Chatterley herself and as if she were in the dock. Papers spoke of Lady Chatterley, the person, being found innocent. A cartoon from the time also showed an elderly Mellors making an appearance in court in 1960, admitting that he was once Lady Chatterley’s lover.

I mention Cecil Day Lewis, Nicholas Blake, appearing as a witness in defence of Lady Chatterley, and how Lady Chatterley’s Lover is mentioned in his fiction. Lady Chatterley’s Lover also appears in the work of other Golden Age novelists, such as Edmund Crispin (Bruce Montgomery) and Gladys Mitchell, some of whom are discussed in my book. Some people love Lady Chatterley’s Lover, others hate it, some will be bored by it; but it is a novel that has had a huge impact on the world. In that sense, too, it is like Agatha Christie’s books.

Caroline again: If you enjoyed hearing from Guy, you might like to pre-order Lady C or place a hold at your library — it's a clever, funny, well-researched account of a book with an extraordinary story.

And before we finish, I thought you might like to see a couple of photographs from what turned out to be an accidental research trip for both of us to Torquay in 2022. We went on a steam train trip, and look what the train's name was!

Our trip took a dramatic turn when a small fire broke out beside the track (it was a very hot July day) and our train had to halt for a while at an intermediate station. Full marks to all the Christie fans who can name the novel for which she borrowed this name, without looking it up:

I promise Morris had had plenty of water and is not expiring from heat as it looks here. He's just very dramatic about sunshine, which he does not approve of.

I hope you enjoy Guy's episode, and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the launch on 10th May!

Until next time,

Caroline (and Guy)

P.S. Many thanks for your patience over the past few weeks while the newsletter has been sporadic. I've been unwell and had to prioritise meeting deadlines for the actual episodes. Fingers crossed, I'm back now!

You can listen to every episode of Shedunnit at shedunnitshow.com or on all major podcast apps. Selected episodes are available on BBC Sounds. There are also transcripts of all episodes on the website. The podcast is now newsletter-only — we're not updating social media — so if you'd like to spread the word about the show consider forwarding this email to a mystery-loving friend with the addition of a personal recommendation.