A Century of Whodunnits

Reading through the twentieth century, one murder mystery at a time. Find more information about this episode at shedunnitshow.com/century. The ten books I talk about are: — The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (1905) — Trent's Last Case by E.C. Bentley (1913) — The Cask by Freeman Wills Crofts (1920) — The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (1934) — Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (1943) — Death in Captivity by Michael Gilbert (1952) — From Doon With Death by Ruth Rendell (1964) — Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James (1977) — Appleby and the Ospreys by Michael Innes (1986) — Black and Blue by Ian Rankin (1997) Other sources: — The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards — Bloody Murder: from the Detective Story to the Crime Novel by Julian Symons There are no major spoilers in this episode, but the opening plot scenario of each book is discussed briefly. There is a major spoiler for the Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem" from 1893.  NB: Links to Blackwell's are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell's is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge. Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/centurytranscript. Thanks to today’s sponsors. You can get $5 off mail based Victorian mystery game Dear Holmes at dearholmes.com/shedunnit using code "shedunnit" at checkout. The audiobook of Laura Ruby's Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All is on a special deep discount through May, and you can find that through your audiobook retailer of choice. To be the first to know about future developments with the podcast, sign up for the newsletter at shedunnitshow.com/newsletter. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice. Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices