Tea, Tonic & Toxin copertina

Tea, Tonic & Toxin

Tea, Tonic & Toxin

Di: Carolyn Daughters & Sarah Harrison
Ascolta gratuitamente

Offerte di stagione | 0,99 €/mese per i primi 3 mesi

A seguire 9,99 €/mese – si applicano condizioni. Puoi disdire mensilmente.

Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a book club and podcast for people who love mysteries, thrillers, introspection, and good conversation. Each month, your hosts, Carolyn Daughters and Sarah Harrison, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller, starting in 1841 onward. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolvedAlong the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, doubts, and grudges, along with the occasional guest. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading some of the best mysteries and thrillers ever written.

© 2026 Tea, Tonic & Toxin Arte Mondiale Storia e critica della letteratura
Episodi
  • The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin with Guest David Whittle

    The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin with Guest David Whittle
    Oct 19 2026

    Send us Fan Mail

    David Whittle joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin (Bruce Montgomery).

    First published in 1946, The Moving Toyshop is one of the most celebrated and inventive mysteries of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. The novel follows poet Richard Cadogan, who stumbles upon the body of an elderly woman inside a toyshop late one night. By morning, however, both the body and the toyshop have vanished, leaving behind an ordinary grocery store and no evidence that the crime ever occurred.

    Unable to convince the police of what he witnessed, Richard Cadogan turns to his friend Gervase Fen, the brilliant, eccentric Oxford professor and amateur detective. Together, the pair unravel a delightfully improbable puzzle filled with hidden identities, secret passageways, witty dialogue, literary references, and Crispin’s trademark blend of fair-play detection and irreverent humor.

    Combining a classic locked-room mystery with sharp comedy and an affectionate parody of detective fiction conventions, The Moving Toyshop remains one of Edmund Crispin’s best-loved novels and a landmark of Golden Age crime writing.

    History of Mystery book selections available in our Amazon Storefront or support your favorite local bookstore in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Guests have their own list here!

    Or if you happen to be in lovely Roanoke, Virginia, stop in person at the BiblioPub to get your copy.

    For bonus episodes, video content, and to get all episodes first, join our Patreon community.

    Watch clips from our conversations with guests!

    David Whittle is a music scholar, educator, and author whose research has helped illuminate the remarkable life and legacy of Bruce Montgomery, better known to detective fiction readers as Edmund Crispin. He studied music at the University of Nottingham, where he completed his PhD on Montgomery, examining the intertwined careers of the acclaimed composer and Golden Age mystery writer.

    David’s book, Bruce Montgomery/Edmund Crispin: A Life in Music and Books, is the definitive biography of Bruce Montgomery, drawing on extensive archival research and interviews with those who knew him. The biography explores Montgomery’s extraordinary dual career as the creator of the beloved Gervase Fen mysteries and as the composer of concert works and the scores for nearly fifty feature films, including the Doctor series and the first six Carry On films.

    David has also contributed to numerous reference works, including The Oxford Companion to Crime and Mystery Writing, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and Irish Musical Studies.

    A classically trained musician, David served as Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for 32 years while remaining active in folk and big band music. His lifelong passion for both music and detective fiction made him uniquely qualified to tell the story of Edmund Crispin, offering readers fresh insight into one of the Golden Age’s most gifted—and most fascinating—creative figures.


    Crippen and Landru
    The very best in short mystery fiction

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Support the show

    https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
    https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin
    https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com

    Stay mysterious...
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    56 min
  • Stay Mysterious: The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin

    Stay Mysterious: The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
    Oct 10 2026

    Send us Fan Mail

    Every wish you had a chance to preview a classic mystery book, with no spoilers? Maybe you'd like to see if you want to read farther, or maybe you're planning to in the future, or just want to be convinced? Our new Stay Mysterious segments give you just that. A tasting menu for the history of mystery. Listen to each mini-episode without regard for needing to pause.

    The Moving Toyshop (1946) by Edmund Crispin is a classic in the mystery genre for its blend of intellectual humor, eccentric characters, and a delightfully surreal premise.

    When a poet stumbles upon a murder in a toyshop that mysteriously vanishes, unconventional Oxford professor Gervase Fen takes on the case, weaving logic with whimsy to reveal the truth. Edmund Crispin’s playful writing style, literary references, and ingenious plot twists make the novel a joy to read. Its inventive approach to the detective story, coupled with a vivid Oxford setting, has secured its place as a beloved and enduring work in crime fiction.

    History of Mystery book selections available in our Amazon Storefront or support your favorite local bookstore in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Guests have their own list here!

    Or if you happen to be in lovely Roanoke, Virginia, stop in person at the BiblioPub to get your copy.

    For bonus episodes, video content, and to get all episodes first, join our Patreon community.

    Watch clips from our conversations with guests!

    Opening Thoughts About The Moving Toyshop and Edmund Crispin

    What were your overall impressions of The Moving Toyshop?

    Why do you think this novel has endured as Edmund Crispin’s best-known work?

    P. D. James called it a “spirited frolic.” How do you feel about that description?

    Is The Moving Toyshop primarily a mystery, a comedy, an adventure story, a literary satire, or an entertainment?

    How does it compare with other 1940s mysteries we’ve read for Tea, Tonic & Toxin?

    Richard Cadogan: Poet in Search of Adventure

    Cadogan begins the novel feeling bored, uninspired, and middle-aged. How relatable is his desire to escape his ordinary life?

    What do you make of his decision to seek adventure in Oxford of all places?

    Cadogan actively wishes for excitement and then gets far more than he bargained for. Is the novel poking fun at people who romanticize adventure?

    At what point does Cadogan begin regretting his wish for excitement?

    How effective is Cadogan as a protagonist? What if Fen were the sole lead?

    Edmund Crispin and the Mystery of the Moving Toyshop

    How effective is the opening sequence in the toyshop?

    When Cadogan returns with the police and finds a grocery store, were you hooked?

    What makes the disappearing toyshop such a memorable mystery premise?

    Did you identify the killer before Fen did? Does the solution feel like fair play?

    How well does Edmund Crispin balance the impossible-crime element with the more conventional inheritance plot?

    Is the solution satisfying, or is the fun really in the journey?

    Support the show

    https://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
    https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxin
    https://www.teatonicandtoxin.com

    Stay mysterious...
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    29 min
  • The Great Game with Arvind Ethan David

    The Great Game with Arvind Ethan David
    Sep 22 2026
    Send us Fan MailArvind Ethan David returns to Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Great Game, his debut prose novel. This historical mystery and conspiracy thriller brings an Indian military veteran and law student into the worlds of A. J. Raffles, Sherlock Holmes, and a young Winston Churchill.A writer and producer whose work spans novels, graphic fiction, audio, television, film, and theatre, Arvind previously joined us to discuss his graphic adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business.History of Mystery book selections available in our Amazon Storefront or support your favorite local bookstore in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Guests have their own list here!Or if you happen to be in lovely Roanoke, Virginia, stop in person at the BiblioPub to get your copy.For bonus episodes and to get all episodes first, join our Patreon community.Watch clips from our conversations with guests!Published in 2026, The Great Game is the debut prose novel by Arvind Ethan David.London, 1905. Balvinder dev Singh is an Indian military veteran, law student, and accomplice to the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. When an imperialist general is brutally murdered in his Mayfair library, Bal and Raffles find themselves implicated in a series of killings that draws the attention of Scotland Yard—and Sherlock Holmes.As Bal attempts to clear his name, his friendship with the Irish violinist Maud Adler forces him to reconsider his relationship with Britain and its empire. What begins as a historical murder mystery expands into a conspiracy thriller and a provocative examination of loyalty, belonging, and colonial power.Arvind Ethan David is a writer and producer whose work spans novels, graphic fiction, audio, television, film, and theatre.His debut prose novel, The Great Game, is a historical mystery and conspiracy thriller set in London in 1905. The novel follows Balvinder dev Singh, an Indian military veteran and pupil barrister who supplements his income by committing burglaries with the gentleman thief A. J. Raffles. When their intended target is murdered, Bal and Raffles become entangled in a widening conspiracy involving Scotland Yard, an aging Sherlock Holmes, and an ambitious young Winston Churchill.Arvind has written seven graphic novels, including his adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s Trouble Is My Business and the Bram Stoker Award–nominated Darkness Visible, created with Mike Carey. His other graphic work includes the Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency series and Gray, a reimagining of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray.His audio work includes The Crimes of Dorian Gray, the science-fiction anthology series Earworms, and Douglas Adams: The Ends of the Earth, a nonfiction exploration of Adams’s life, work, and environmentalism.For the stage, Arvind has adapted Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. His adaptation of Sir Lenny Henry’s The Boy With Wings was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Family Show. He also contributed additional material to The Infidel and was an originating and lead producer of the Tony and Grammy Award–winning Broadway musical Jagged Little Pill.Arvind’s television work includes Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for Netflix and BBC America, Anansi Boys for Amazon, and the Asian Academy Award–winning The Garden of Evening Mists for HBO.Across these different forms, Arvind frequently revisits classic stories and characters from new perspectives, combining affection for the original works with questions about identity, power, empire, and who has traditionally been allowed to occupy the center of an adventure.Linden BotanicalsWe sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showhttps://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/https://www.facebook.com/teatonicandtoxinhttps://www.teatonicandtoxin.comStay mysterious...
    Mostra di più Mostra meno
    1 ora e 3 min
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
Ancora nessuna recensione