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
Arvind 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 disc...
“The Monsters We Make is narrated so sagely and coolly, I almost didn’t realize how much it had to teach. It is a provoking, moving, and original book that has stuck with me long since I turned its last page.”
— Maggie Nelson, New York Times best-selling author of The Argonauts
“Serial killers have spawned hundreds of books, but none like this. With a daughter’s heart and a repo...
Z.J. Czupor has joined us TWICE to discuss Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers and Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh.
His new murder mystery, Dead Men Don’t Drink, is published at zoltanjames.substack.com. He’s also the author of THE BIG WEIRD: Haikus in Times of Pandemic and Chaos. He is immediate past president of Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Internati...
DIED IN THE WOOL (1945) by Ngaio Marsh is a set in the remote New Zealand countryside on a sheep farm during World War II. The story follows Inspector Roderick Alleyn as he investigates the suspicious death of a politician while conducting counter-espionage work.
The book is known for its blend of murder mystery and wartime espionage. Marsh’s vivid characterization and clever narrative structure make it a compe...
On Fire and Under Water is a new crime fiction anthology from Rock and a Hard Place Press. The anthology explores the intersection of climate change and crime through the lens of 15 short stories from some of today’s best crime fiction writers.
Edited by Anthony Award-winning author Curtis Ippolito and the editorial team at RHP Press, the stories peel back the curtain on the ways in which climate change impacts...
DEATH COMES AS THE END by Agatha Christie is a groundbreaking historical mystery set in ancient Egypt. When a wealthy patriarch’s death sparks a series of murders within his family, suspicion and secrets abound. It’s the first full-length historical whodunit.
History of Mystery book selections available in our Amazon Storefront or support your favorite local bookstore in our Bookshop Storefront as well! G...
DEATH COMES AS THE END by Agatha Christie is a groundbreaking historical mystery set in ancient Egypt. When a wealthy patriarch’s death sparks a series of murders within his family, suspicion and secrets abound. It’s the first full-length historical whodunit.
Get your copy of our guest's books here!
History of Mystery book slections available in our Amazon Storefront or support your favorite local bo...
HOME SWEET HOMICIDE (1944) by Craig Rice is a classic in the mystery genre that features three resourceful siblings determined to solve a neighborhood murder. Rice’s sharp wit and unique approach to the detective genre earned her widespread acclaim, including a rare Time Magazine cover, solidifying her legacy as one of the most distinctive voices in mystery fiction.
Jeff Marks, publisher at Crippen and Landru, ...
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 secret...
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 la...
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 ...
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...
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...
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....
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....
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