Tea, Tonic & Toxin
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.
Episodes
Jeffrey Marks (publisher, Crippen and Landru) joins us to discuss Home Sweet Homicide (1944), written by Craig Rice.
After numerous mystery author profiles for The Armchair Detective, Mystery Scene, and other genre publications, Jeffrey Marks chose to chronicle the short but full life of mystery writer Craig Rice. That biography (Who Was That Lady?) encouraged him to write mystery fiction.
He has been nominated for a ...
Maureen and Jay join us to discuss their wonderful interactive whodunit, You Are the Detective: The Creeping Hand Murder. It’s 1933, and your job is to help Scotland Yard solve an impossible murder. Are you up to the task?
Get your copy of our guest's books here!
History of Mystery book slections now in our Bookshop Storefront as well! Guests have their own list here!
Special guests Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin join Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss their book The Bletchley Riddle.
Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…
Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amid one of the greatest secrets of World War II—...
We were delighted to discuss all things mysterious with Otto Penzler in this episode.
Otto Penzler joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss the Golden Age of Mystery.
Otto Penzler is president and CEO of MysteriousPress.com and proprietor of New York City’s Mysterious Bookshop.
Widely regarded as a leading authority on crime, mystery, and suspense fiction, he founded The Mysterious Press in 1975 and later launched Penz...
Sergio Angelini joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Green for Danger (1944) by Christianna Brand.
Sergio was born and bred in Rome, Italy, moving to Singapore for 5 years in the 1980s before settling in the UK. He studied Law at London School of Economics and got a joint MA in Film Studies and Film Archiving from the University of East Anglia. He hosts a podcast focused on crime and film noir called Tipping My Fe...
GREEN FOR DANGER by Christianna Brand is a masterful wartime mystery set in a British hospital during the Blitz. When a patient dies under suspicious circumstances, Inspector Cockrill investigates a web of secrets among the medical staff. It’s a standout in Golden Age detective fiction.
Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections)
We are so excited to expand our discussion of the transcendant The Ministry of Fear by Graham Greene with special guest Dr. Robert Willingham.
Rob Willingham is a history professor at Roanoke College. After receiving his doctorate from UT-Austin (where he shared office space with future Heritage Foundation head, Kevin Roberts, oddly), he’s gone on to write and teach about 20th century Europe, specializing in the era...
THE MINISTRY OF FEAR by Graham Greene is a thrilling blend of espionage and psychological mystery set in wartime London. The story follows Arthur Rowe, an ordinary man caught up in Nazi intrigue. Celebrated for its moral complexity, it redefined the boundaries of the mystery genre.
Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections)
2025 was an amazing and tumultous year for Carolyn and Sarah, both of us making moves out of Denver. But we kept on reading (albiet at a slower pace!) and loved having conversations about it all. Join us for our take on 2025, and let us know yours!
Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections)
History of Mystery book slections now in our Bookshop Storefront ...
Rear Window (1942) by Cornell Woolrich is a classic in the suspense genre for its masterful use of tension and claustrophobia. The story’s premise—a man confined to his apartment who becomes an unwitting witness to sinister events—brilliantly explores themes of isolation, voyeurism, and moral responsibility.
The book was inspired by “Through a Window” by H. G. Wells. The tight pacing and psychological depth create a ...
L. Wayne Hicks joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, published in 1943 by C. W. Grafton (father of Sue Grafton).
L. Wayne Hicks is a freelance writer who covered real-life crimes for newspapers in Florida and Colorado. He has written profiles of many mystery writers including Sara Paretsky, Michael Connelly, John Dunning, Robert B. Parker, Donald J. Sobol, Stephen White, and C. W. G...
L. Wayne Hicks joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, published in 1943 by C. W. Grafton (father of Sue Grafton).
L. Wayne Hicks is a freelance writer who covered real-life crimes for newspapers in Florida and Colorado. He has written profiles of many mystery writers including Sara Paretsky, Michael Connelly, John Dunning, Robert B. Parker, Donald J. Sobol, Stephen White, and C. W. G...
The 2026 book list revealed and discussed. What was selected and why? Do you agree? Disagree? Have authors to add?
Get your copy of all of our History of Mystery book selections here! (including even some 2027 selections)
Watch clips from our conversations with guests!
January 2026
Publication: 1943
THE MINISTRY OF FEAR by Graham Greene is a thrilling blend of espionage and psychological mystery set in wartime Londo...
Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written and interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers.
LAURA by Vera Caspary (1943) is a sophisticated mystery that blends romance and psychological intrigue. Told through shifting perspectives, it follows a detective investigating the murder of a glamorous ad exec. It rema...
Mike Ripley joins Tea, Tonic & Toxin to discuss Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion novels, along with his latest novel in the series, Mr Campion’s Christmas.
Mike Ripley completed the third Albert Campion novel left unfinished on the death of Pip Youngman Carter (Margery Allingham’s husband) in 1969. Mr Campion’s Farewell was published in 2014, and Mike has continued the Campion series annually with the twelfth a...
Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a history of mystery book club and podcast. We’re reading the best mysteries ever written and interviewing some of the world’s best contemporary mystery and thriller writers.
Traitor’s Purse (1940) by Margery Allingham is a mystery thriller classic that masterfully combines psychological tension with a high-stakes plot. Suffering from amnesia, amateur sleuth Albert Campion races to stop a wa...
TRAITOR’S PURSE (1940) by Margery Allingham is a mystery thriller classic that masterfully combines psychological tension with a high-stakes plot. Suffering from amnesia, amateur sleuth Albert Campion races to stop a wartime national security threat.
The novel’s unique premise and tightly woven narrative create a sense of urgency and intrigue. Known for its psychological depth, it showcases Allingham’s skill at blend...
Tom Epperson, a native of Arkansas, headed west to Los Angeles with his boyhood friend Billy Bob Thornton to pursue a career in show business. Epperson’s co-written the scripts for One False Move, A Family Thing, The Gift, A Gun, a Car, a Blonde, and Jayne Mansfield’s Car. His L.A. noir The Kind One was nominated for both the Edgar Award and the Barry Award for Best First Novel. Three more books followed, Sailor,...
Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler is a cornerstone of the noir genre and the Philip Marlowe books, showcasing Marlowe in one of his most memorable cases. The novel’s richly atmospheric prose vividly captures the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, immersing readers in its gritty, dangerous world. Chandler’s exploration of moral ambiguity and flawed characters adds depth to the mystery, elevating it beyond ...
Farewell, My Lovely (1940) by Raymond Chandler is a cornerstone of the noir genre and the Philip Marlowe books, showcasing Marlowe in one of his most memorable cases. The novel’s richly atmospheric prose vividly captures the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles, immersing readers in its gritty, dangerous world. Chandler’s exploration of moral ambiguity and flawed characters adds depth to the mystery, elevating it beyond ...
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