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Three schoolgirls and a teacher disappear from a mysterious volcanic rock. No bodies. No explanation. And a novel so convincing that generations of Australians believed the story really happened. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness unravel the strange mystery behind Joan Lindsay's Picnic at Hanging Rock.

We dig into how Lindsay’s deliberately ambiguous storytelling blurred the line between fiction and history, how the novel became embedded in Australian folklore, and discuss how an unresolved fictional mystery can sometimes feel more compelling than one with a neat solution.

We also delve into the mysterious final chapter, The Secret of Hanging Rock, which was published after Lindsay's death and offered a very different, potentially supernatural explanation for what happened to the missing girls. Finally, we turn to our Mystery Book Club segment and chat about the mystery novels this haunting story brings to mind.

Do you think Picnic at Hanging Rock works because we never discover exactly what happened—or would you rather have the mystery solved? Have you always believed the story was based on a real event? Leave a review and tell us your theories, or share your favourite mystery read!

Book Links:

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey

The Secret of Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey

Argyle by Elly Conway

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening.

Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads.

For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast

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A dead man on an Adelaide beach. No wallet. No identification. Labels cut from his clothes. A mysterious scrap of Persian poetry hidden in his pocket. And a coded message that has baffled investigators for decades. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness unravel the extraordinary mystery of the Somerton Man.

Listen in as we follow the trail of strange clues—from the abandoned suitcase at Adelaide railway station and the words "Tamam Shud" hidden in a secret pocket, to The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, a mysterious sequence of letters, and a phone number that led police to nurse Jessica Thompson. Then we explore the modern DNA investigation that may finally have put a name to the unidentified man: Carl Charles Webb. But if Webb really was the Somerton Man, does that solve the mystery—or simply give us another name to add to one of Australia's most enduring cold cases? Finally, we head into our Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the fascinating mystery novels this extraordinary real-life case brings to mind.

Do you think having a name solves the case of Somerton Man or are there still pieces of this mystery waiting to be uncovered? Leave a review and tell us your theories on Somerton Man or share your current mystery reading list!

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Book Links:

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

Pictures of You by Emma Grey

The Woman in the Veil by Laura Joh Roland

Tamam Shud: The Somerton Man Mystery by Kerry Greenwood

Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening.

Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads.

For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast

Hey! I'd love to hear your thoughts, send me a voice note.

Imagine driving alone through the pitch-black outback at night when a mysterious glowing orb of light appears out of nowhere, tailing your car, splitting in two, and completely defying the laws of physics. In this episode of The DownUnder Mystery Club, authors AJ Blythe and Ava Ness travel deep into western Queensland's remote Channel Country to unpack the legendary Min Min Lights—Australia's most eerie and enduring unexplained phenomenon.

Listen in as we separate fact from decades of campfire folklore—exploring the spooky 1918 origin story of a stockman chased from the burning ruins of the Min Min Hotel, ancient Indigenous warnings about following the lights, and a fascinating scientific theory involving a rare desert mirage called a Fata Morgana. Then, we head into the Mystery Book Club segment to chat about the best mystery novels this chilling outback case brings to mind!

Do you think these glowing orbs are just an optical trick played by distant car headlights, or is there a genuine anomaly floating out there in the dark? Leave a review and tell us your thoughts on the Min Min Lights or share your favourite mystery read!

Book Links:

Alien Anomaly by Amanda M Lee

Uneasy Spirits by M. Louisa Locke

The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths

The Min Min by Mavis Thorpe Clark

The Mothman Prophecies by John Keel

The Min Min light and the Fata Morgana by Jack Pettigrew

Leave a review or drop your thoughts in the comments wherever you’re listening.

Subscribe so you never miss a weekly dive into Australia's most curious cases and cracking good reads.

For the full reference list visit The DownUnder Mystery Club website at ajblythe.com/podcast