All About Agatha Christie

Please enjoy this time capsule from early 2017, all about the real-life disappearance of our favorite author.... See (some of) you in England! Details below regarding my two appearances there. I'll be appearing first, in London, 12-13 September, at Silent Echoes: Golden Age Crime Fiction and Trauma, hosted by Golden Age Mysteries and Florida State University's College of Communication & Information. And then I'm heading down to the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay! My panel will be on 18 September at 4:00pm. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

At long last, another episode about YA mystery! If you haven't yet heard of Marthe Jocelyn's Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen series, you are in for a treat.... Visit Marthe on her website, or on Instagram, or just check out the Aggie Morton books directly. Marthe wanted me to note that the illustrator is Isabelle Follath, who you can visit on Instagram here. And please note that these books are also available as audio books, voiced by Sarah English. Here is a link to the upcoming Golden Age Mysteries Conference, which Marthe and I will be attending! To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Riley Sager has been producing bestselling mystery thrillers with Christie-like consistency for nine years now. His latest, With a Vengeance, is his most Christie-like yet. It was a pleasure to speak with him about the book, Christie's influence, and what it's like to be a mystery writer in the world of publishing today. You can visit Riley and peruse his prodigious output on his website here. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

I could not be more thrilled to welcome back A+++ listener, and now two-time guest co-host, Helen Frank, to discuss the flesh-and-blood secretaries of Agatha Christie's life. We already covered the ones that Christie created for herself out of ink, so this episode is a completist's delight. So many secretaries! For those of you in the SoCal area, consider purchasing tickets for Christie's adaptation of Towards Zero, directed by former guest co-host Christopher Diehl! To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.  

How has it taken me this long to talk about audiobooks?! Huge thanks to Gray Robert Brown, for his willingness to share his considerable expertise on this topic. Thank you also to Hugh Fraser, for the many, many hours he has spent speaking Agatha Christie's words into a microphone. We salute you, Captain Hastings. You can find Gray at his website here, and if you aren't listening yet, please do check out his stupendous podcast The Swinging Christies, co-hosted with Dr. Mark Aldridge. I made use of the website Everything Agatha while researching this episode, in particular its informative page about Christie audiobooks. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Steen Just is a Danish gentleman who is passionate about Agatha Christie--so much so that he has spent his retirement contributing hugely to the Danish-language Wikipedia articles on Agatha Christie. I had a great time talking with him about his unique perspective on our favorite author. The following Christie titles are spoiled to some degree in this episode: By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Endless Night, Lord Edgware Dies, A Murder is Announced, and The Thumbmark of St. Peter. We also talk in semi-spoilery ways about The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup, and The Documents in the Case by Dorothy Sayers. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

There's a decent chance you've heard about the recent online course put out by BBC Maestro, in which a digitally manipulated representation of Agatha Christie teaches the craft of writing a mystery. Yes, really! I was fortunate enough to sit down with the person responsible for all the research that went into this quite heavily researched project: Dr. Mark Aldridge. As many longtime listeners will know, Mark has been a guest here many times, and his appearance on this episode was just as enjoyable and informative as what we've come to expect of him. Let's get into it. BBC Maestro’s Agatha Christie course On Writing can be found here. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. Visit the podcast on Instagram, and me personally at my author website.  

When A+++ podcast listener Helen Frank contacted me about doing a themed episode on the secretaries of Agatha Christie, little did I know there would be so much to talk about. And little did she know that I would hoodwink her into co-hosting the episode in question! But I'm so glad I did. I think you'll be as well. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Instagram. Visit me personally at my author website.

It was a delight to speak to Jeffrey Round--both about his work, and of course, about Agatha Christie. He is every bit as much of a Christie fan as me, and so many of you.... You can visit Jeffrey at his website, or check out his novel The Sulphur Springs Cure directly. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. Visit the podcast on Instagram. Visit me personally at my author website.  

What fun it was to put together this roving episode of All About Agatha! Thanks again to Christopher Diehl for inviting me to A Poirot Double Bill. I'm already looking forward to his next Christie theatrical production. Come see me this week, May 4th-9th, on my tour of the (U.S.) South! Click on my website for more details. Visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page. You can still buy tickets for my upcoming appearance at the Agatha Christie Festival. Check out the Redlands Footlighters Community Theatre, where this show will travel. Performances are on June 28th and 29th. Check out the Riverside Community Players, where this show already appeared, and where Christie is frequently on offer. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author, or at my author website.

We've done so many Christies for Christmas, it's about time we did one for Easter. Alas, mutations from the radioactive byproduct of a 1960s-era nuclear power plant did not move me or my guest co-host the way Christie seems to have intended. But perhaps your mileage varies. The following titles are spoiled to varying degrees in this episode: The Man from the Sea, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side, The Murder at the Vicarage, Nemesis, Ordeal by Innocence, Passenger to Frankfurt, They Do It with Mirrors. Come visit me in the South! (Of the United States, that is.) Check out my upcoming tour dates here on my author website. Please check out Sarah's website, podcast, and substack. Much joy awaits you! You can still buy tickets to my upcoming appearance at the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, England in September. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author, or at my author website.

It isn't every day I get to interview a map designer on All About Agatha. Nor is it every day I get to work on a map with a map designer, which is something I've been doing on the side in tribute to my late co-host, Catherine Brobeck, whom Ben and I talk about at some length in our conversation. We also talk some Christie, because of course we do; I know Catherine wouldn't have had it any other way. Visit my website for details on my upcoming U.S. tour in the South. Click here for tickets to my upcoming panel at the Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay, in September. And click here for information about all the fabulous offerings at the Festival this year. Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, is currently available for purchase. Time for some map links! Here is Catherine Brobeck's map of Joan Didion's Los Angeles, Caroline Crampton's map of Agatha Christie's England, and Martin Edwards's Golden Age of Mystery map of England. And here is a link to the general Herb Lester catalogue of gloriously weird maps. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author, or at my author website.

Letters! We get letters! We get stacks and stacks of letters! It's a mailbag-only episode of All About Agatha, and you know what that means: Sia's heartbreaking "Breathe Me" song underlying my chatter at various points in the episode! No, I couldn't have predicted this either, but the Sia is a testament to how deeply I cherish all these messages, and how important they are to the podcast. Thank you, one and all, for your contributions. And please: keep them coming! Here is a link to the YouTuber, Summation Gathering, who I mention in the episode, analyzing whether Miss Marple could solve Monsieur Poirot's cases. And here he is dream-casting various literary detectives. You can check out my upcoming tour dates here on my author website. You can now buy Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States! And you can now buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author, or at my author website.  

First, dogs. Now, cats. Who knows where this podcast will lead me next? Come see me on tour! 4th-9th of March in the Northeastern U.S.! Visit my website for more details. You can now buy Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States. Check out Kate Jackson's excellent article about cats and mysteries. And here is the article I referenced on the blog Literary Potpourri, which I found to be helpful. You can also buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author, or at my author website.  

Love and marriage are said to go together like a horse and carriage, but what about love and murder? Like a sheep and herder, maybe? I'm just spitballing here, forgive me; I'm a little delirious after exploring so many iterations of love in so many different Christie works. I hope you enjoy the episode. It was a labor of--well, you know. BLANKET SPOILER WARNING: spoilers abound in this episode (I cover a lot of ground), so if you are worried about having any Christie novel or short story spoiled for you, please proceed with caution! Check out my new article on AgathaChristie.com, all about Christie's transportation and travel mysteries. And speaking of transportation and travel mysteries, consider purchasing my new mystery novel, Loose Lips, set entirely on a cruise ship! (The second book in the Ghostwriter Mysteries series.) You can listen to two interviews I did on two great podcasts: Mechanicsburg Mystery Presents and Books on the Go. And you can check out my author website for more details about my upcoming tour in a few weeks' time, in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, from Tuesday March 4th through Sunday March 9th. Also you can now buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Author or at my author website.

Chances are you know exactly who Lucy Foley is, and have read one of her bestselling mystery thrillers, all of which have been compared to Agatha Christie. Lucy is also a massive Christie fan herself, and it was such a joy to speak with her about her work, and our shared love of Dame Agatha (and in particular Miss Marple!). Here are a few organizations to contribute to, in L.A.'s ongoing effort to combat and recover from these devastating fires. Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation California Community Foundation's Wildlife Recovery American Red Cross The Salvation Army You can now buy Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States! And you can now buy The Busy Body, the first book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, in paperback at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand. You can check out my upcoming tour dates here on my author website. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my author website.

Thank you to everyone for understanding. As I mentioned, here are a few organizations you can contribute to, if you are so inclined. Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation California Community Foundation's Wildlife Recovery American Red Cross The Salvation Army Stay safe, everyone.

It's always a joy to have the Reverend Doctor Sarah Hinlicky Wilson on the show to explain to us what the heck Agatha Christie Mallowan is getting at in the extremely personal and extremely Christian short stories she wrote within her Star Over Bethlehem and Other Stories collection. Happy holidays to all who celebrate; we certainly know that Agatha Christie did! Please note there are a few minor spoilers for Passenger to Frankfurt littered throughout our discussion, which I did not note at the top of the episode. But there is an argument to be made that this novel is un-spoilable, since it barely makes any sense.... (I get to be cheeky around the holidays.) You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States. Come see me on tour for Loose Lips, starting in a few short weeks! Visit my website for more details. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page (a subscription is the perfect holiday gift!), click here. Check out all that Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is up to (it's a lot!). Her website is here, and you can visit her podcast, Queen of the Sciences, here. You can also check out her substack here. I also mentioned two previous articles Sarah has written, which I believe every Christie fanatic should read for the insights they provide: "Miss Marple's Low Anthropology" and "Agatha Christie, A Very Elusive Christian." Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my author website. And you can of course still buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.  

It was a joy to welcome Dr. Michelle Kazmer back on the podcast to discuss an early and unusual Christie short story that contains echoes of so much of what we love about Christie overall. For those in the United States who may be feeling a bit fatigued from all the tryptophan consumed this holiday weekend, just be thankful it's nothing compared to the "sleepytime" embrace of one Isobel Loring.... You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my author website. You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.

Take comfort, for Maureen Johnson is back on the podcast to talk about her newest (standalone) YA mystery novel, and to talk about the nature of YA mystery itself! You can find out more about Maureen and check out all her brilliant books at her website here. You can pre-order Loose Lips, the second book in my Ghostwriter Mysteries series, here in the United States. To visit and subscribe to the podcast's Patreon page, click here. Visit the podcast on Twitter and Instagram. Visit me personally on Facebook at Kemper Donovan Books, or at my author website. You can buy my debut mystery novel, The Busy Body, at your bookseller of choice (make it an indie if you possibly can) in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand.