The original golden age of detective fiction in the 1920s followed on from a devastating global pandemic. Is it any wonder, then, that we’ve read so much crime fiction in 2020? And why do we find murder mysteries a comforting choice for Christmas? This festive season if you’d like to support the podcast and buy a gift for a murder mystery loving friend at the same time, you can purchase a discounted gift subscription for the Shedunnit Book Club at shedunnitshow.com/giftoffer or until 17th December shop the restocked merchandise collection at shedunnitshow.com/shop. No major spoilers in this episode. However, there is some mention or discussion of the books listed below. Books and sources: —The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (UK version / US version) —”The Golden Age” by Stephen Knight in The Cambridge Companion to Crime Fiction —The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (UK version / US version) —Trent’s Last Case by E.C. Bentley (UK version / US version) —Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie (UK version / US version) —Forever England by Alison Light (UK version / US version) —”The Decline and Fall of the Detection Story” by W Somerset Maugham in The Vagrant Mood Thanks to today’s sponsor, Best Fiends. You can download Best Fiends free on the Apple App Store or Google Play. 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, Tumblr 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. Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/achristieforchristmastranscript. Music by Audioblocks and Blue Dot Sessions. See shedunnitshow.com/musiccredits for more details. Download the mp3 of this episode here.