53 episodes

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.

Tea, Tonic & Toxin Carolyn Daughters & Sarah Harrison

    • Arts
    • 5.0 • 3 Ratings

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.

    The Postman Always Rings Twice - with guest Rebecca Heisler!

    The Postman Always Rings Twice - with guest Rebecca Heisler!

    THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1934) is James M. Cain’s gripping, groundbreaking noir tale of passion and betrayal. In a dusty roadside diner, love and lust ignite a murderous plot and challenge conventional notions of right and wrong. As secrets unravel, two lovers are drawn deeper into a web of crime, leading to a shocking and morally ambiguous climax.
    Read: Buy the book on Amazon.
    Reflect: Check out the conversation starters below.

    Our guest, Rebecca Heisler, lives outside Boston with her two rescue mutts, who are usually by her side while she's reading. Outside of her digital marketing day job, she can usually be found with a book, often recommending the most absurd genres to her book club. She also loves writing, drinking wine, and watching and reviewing every Hallmark Christmas movie each year.
    Check her out @bookworminboston

    And while you're at it, visit our mutual friend @readfarandwide for bookish travel tips.

    One of the things we love about book conversations is how the discussion makes so many connections. For this episode, we made a special idea list, and compiled the links here! Check it out and let us know if we missed any references.

    And while you're at it, pick up the next book here!

    The Postman Always Rings Twice is on the Modern Library’s list of 100 best novels. Most elements of the hardboiled genre are here. Dark passions. Heroes of dubious morality/amorality in a hardscrabble world. Sudden, squalid violence. Retribution. Albert Camus said the book’s themes and style influenced The Stranger. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) has talked about the impact Cain’s dialogue had on him (full of vernacular; true to character). Cain featured the perpetrator of the crime, rather than the detective or law enforcement. Crime novelists owe a lot to Cain.
    The book feels like another major departure from the types of books we’ve been reading — the brutality, the psychopathy, the sex. What was the context of this development? What was going on in American fiction? Is Cain the first to do this?
    Did you like any of the characters? How did it feel to read the book from inside the killer’s head? For Sarah it was difficult, like having a one way conversation with a crazy person who wants to tell you all about themselves, thinks they have it figured out, but you don’t agree that they do.

    In The Postman Always Rings Twice, Nick’s ethnic background is looked down upon, even by his wife. Her distaste for her husband is implied to derive in part from her perception that she is less “white” for being married to him. Mexicans are described as less worthy characters.
    Desperation, driven by grinding Depression-era poverty, is key to the psychological landscape of the novel, driving Cora first to marriage and then to murder. She went into the marriage assuming that Nick was unchangeable (and maybe he was), but it was the burden she was willing to bear to get out of the hash house.
    Cora also blames her class as to why she couldn’t make i
    Carolyn Daughters Brand therapy. Persuasive writing courses. Tell the best story possible.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showhttps://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
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    Stay mysterious...

    • 1 hr 11 min
    Barbara Nickless tells us about Play of Shadows

    Barbara Nickless tells us about Play of Shadows

    In this episode we are delighted to chat with Barbara Nickless! She is the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of the multi-award-winning Sydney Parnell crime novels. Barbara’s new series features forensic semiotician Dr. Evan Wilding—a man whose gift for interpreting the words and symbols left behind by killers has led him to consult on some of the world’s grisliest cases. She’s the winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence, the Golden Quill Award, Suspense Magazine Best Debut of 2016, Amazon Editors’ Best Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense Novel, and a four-time recipient of the Colorado Authors League Writing Award. In addition, she has been nominated for the Colorado Book Award five times and won three times. Barbara lives in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, where she loves to hike, cave, snowshoe, and drink single-malt Scotch. Her most recent travels—while conducting research for a novel—involved taking cover from rocketfire and being grilled at military checkpoints.

    https://barbaranickless.com/

    An ancient creature of Greek mythology drives a killer’s unspeakable motives in a pulse-pounding thriller by Barbara Nickless, the Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Dark of Night.
    On a stormy Chicago night, renowned semiotician Dr. Evan Wilding and his brother, River, who’s back from an archaeological dig, reunite in a mystery. A package addressed to both of them contains a hand-drawn maze, an ancient Cretan coin, and a cryptic greeting: Let the game begin.
    The opening move is murder.
    In a downtown alley, a man has been found nearly cleaved in two, a symbol drawn on his forehead and a savage rip in his throat. Given the clues, Evan sees a parallel to a fearsome Greek myth. Which means his friend Detective Addie Bisset is on the trail of a legendary flesh-eating monster―one terrifyingly human and tumbling a panicked city toward chaos.
    Evan, Addie, and River scramble to discover who’s behind the appalling crimes and decipher the baffling motives. The body count is rising. The endgame is nowhere in sight. And the stakes are nothing less than life and death.

    Barbara references Far from the Tree & we can't wait to check it out!

    Start researching your next book, Barbara-style!
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    • 1 hr 14 min
    The Thin Man, part 2.

    The Thin Man, part 2.

    Tea, Tonic, and Toxin is a mystery and thriller podcast and book club for people obsessed with mysteries and thrillers. Each month, your hosts, Sarah Harrison and Carolyn Daughters, will discuss a game-changing mystery or thriller, starting in the mid-19th century onward. Together, we’ll see firsthand how the genre evolved.
    Along the way, we’ll entertain ideas, prospects, theories, and doubts, along with the occasional guest. And we hope to entertain you, dear friend. We want you to experience the joys of reading the best mysteries and thrillers ever written.
    We’ll read and explore ideas about the book and about ourselves. And we’ll start at the very beginning with “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe.

    This episode we discuss The Thin Man. The allure of THE THIN MAN (1934) lies in its timeless intrigue, captivating characters, and masterful storytelling. Dashiell Hammett’s novel is known for its clever plot twists, witty dialogue, a surprising blend crime and comedy – and the enigmatic detective duo of Nick and Nora Charles.
    Read: Buy the book on Amazon.
    Reflect: Check out the conversation starters below.
    Weigh In: Speak up, and you might get an on-air shout out and a fabulous sticker!
    Subscribe: Never miss an episode!

    Our incredible guest is Julie Rivett! Julie M. Rivett is a granddaughter of Dashiell Hammett, an advocate for Hammett’s life and literature, a trustee for his estate, and an essayist, editor, and lecturer. Working with Hammett biographer Richard Layman, she has edited six books by or about her grandfather, including Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett (2001), Return of The Thin Man (2012), The Hunter and Other Stories (2013), and The Big Book of the Continental Op (2017). She studied literature, culture, and persuasive arts at California State University, Long Beach, where she earned an M.A. in Communication Studies.

    The Thin Man, Chapter 1 (72 Intro Words and 62 Closing Words That Set the Scene): “I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street, waiting for Nora to finish her Christmas shopping, when a girl got up from the table where she had been sitting with three other people and came over to me. She was small and blonde, and whether you looked at her face or at her body in powder-blue sports clothes the result was satisfactory. ‘Aren’t you Nick Charles?’ she asked.”
        Nick and Nora find a table. Nora said: “She’s pretty.” [referring to Dorothy Wynant]
        “If you like them like that.”
        She grinned at me. “You got types?”
        “Only you, darling–lanky brunettes with wicked jaws.”
        “And how about the red-head you wandered off with at the Quinns’ last night?”
        ​​”That’s silly,” I said. “She just wanted to show me some French etchings.”

    Vintage Books is planning to reissue all five of her grandfather’s novels, each with a fresh introduction by a well-regarded contemporary author! Check Julie's Facebook page for updates!
    Carolyn Daughters Brand therapy. Persuasive writing courses. Tell the best story possible.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showhttps://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
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    • 1 hr
    The Thin Man, part 1!

    The Thin Man, part 1!

    It’s time for more mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers! Our 2024 selections include stunners published from 1934-1939.   Get reading, and subscribe so you never miss an episode! (You can find the 2022 schedule here and 2023 schedule here.)

    The allure of THE THIN MAN (1934) lies in its timeless intrigue, captivating characters, and masterful storytelling. Dashiell Hammett’s novel is known for its clever plot twists, witty dialogue, a surprising blend crime and comedy – and the enigmatic detective duo of Nick and Nora Charles.
    Read: Buy the book on Amazon.

    Our guest for The Thin Man is the incredible Julie Rivett, Hammett's own grandaughter & a trustee of his estate. Julie M. Rivett brings a unique personal and professional perspective to the study of Dashiell Hammett. She is one of four Hammett grandchildren, a Hammett scholar, and a trustee for the Hammett literary estate. Although her memories of her grandfather stem from a single childhood visit, she has developed an understanding of Hammett that integrates conversations with family and friends, study of Hammett’s public and private writings, and research on his life.

    Working with Hammett biographer Richard Layman, she has co-edited six books by or
    about her famous grandfather. Selected Letters of Dashiell Hammett 1921-1960 and her mother’s memoir Dashiell Hammett: A Daughter Remembers, both nominated for Edgar Awards, were released in 2001. Return of the Thin Man, with Hammett’s screen stories for two of the beloved Thin Man film series sequels, was published in 2012. The Hunter and Other Stories followed in 2013, featuring unpublished and rarely seen Hammett fiction, screen stories, and an unfinished Sam Spade adventure. The Continental Op: The Complete Case Files collected all 28 of Hammett’s Op short stories in ebook in 2016. The complete collection of Op stories, in addition to the original serialized versions of Hammett’s two novels featuring the Op were released in print for the first time in The Big Book of the Continental Op in November of 2017.

    Julie has lectured and curated exhibits on Hammett and his works for one-city-read-one-book programs, libraries, schools and universities, writers’ groups, book clubs, and
    literacy organizations across the U.S. Her interviews and essays have been published at
    home and abroad, helping to maintain her grandfather’s legacy and introduce his writings to new generations.

    When she’s not editing or lecturing, Julie volunteers for arts, literacy, and political
    organizations and minds her grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Orange
    County, California, where she raised two daughters and earned degrees in American
    Studies and Communication Studies from California State University, Long Beach.

    Vintage Books is planning to reissue all five of her grandfather’s novels, each with a fresh introduction by a well-regarded contemporary author! Check Julie's
    Linden Botanicals We sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showhttps://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
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    • 57 min
    2023 Retrospective!

    2023 Retrospective!

    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 evolved.
    Along 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.

    In this episode Sarah & Carolyn discuss their 2023 in podcasting, and highlights from the books. To see all our book selections by year, as well as the work of our modern guests, check out our shop!

    Enjoy our podcast? Consider sponsoring our show or making a donation toward audio and video tech, site expenses, and listener rewards. To learn more, email us at info@teatonicandtoxin.com. Thank you!
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    • 51 min
    The Nine Tailors, part 2!

    The Nine Tailors, part 2!

    Tea, Tonic & Toxin is a book club and podcast focused on the history of mystery. We’re discussing the best mysteries, detective stories, and thrillers ever written — in chronological order.
    The Nine Tailors, a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery, is quite possibly Dorothy Sayers’ masterpiece. The murder method in the 1934 novel is a stunner to be sure. The idea came from a sixpenny pamphlet that explained bell-ringing. Is it her finest literary achievement? Let us know what YOU think!

    Dan Drake was born in Los Angeles two months after Pearl Harbor. A year or so after, his family moved to the Bay Area, where he has lived since, with notably rare exceptions – those exceptions being Portland OR, where he took a degree in biology at Reed College; UC San Diego for studies in biology; and San Diego State. At UC Berkeley, he studied in the newly renamed Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, where he earned an MS and worked at a couple of computerish jobs. In 1982, he and some very sharp programmers started a software company for those fashionable new “personal computers.” That venture succeeded and has gone on succeeding for 40+ years under the same name, Autodesk.
    Now, Dan’s parents were Sherlock Holmes fans, and Dan grew up in a home filled with Holmesiana. His father belonged to a local affiliate of the Baker Street Irregulars, for which he wrote a few pieces of Sherlockian fanfic. Dan found a book by Dorothy L Sayers called Unpopular Opinions, and then he read Whose Body? By good fortune, he read the Lord Peter Wimsey books more or less in order.
    Dan eventually joined a new newsgroup dedicated to Lord Peter. When he learned about the Peter Wimsey Companion, he gave up his production of notes on the Wimsey corpus. Dan also collects Sayersiana, and on a few occasions he has attended conventions of the Dorothy L Sayers Society in England, along with one held at Wheaton College in Illinois. 
    Today, Dan lives in Mill Valley, California, under redwood trees on a steep hillside, with his wife of many years. He has two adult children.

    Sarah found Dan's incredible notes on the internet researching Whose Body.

    Other references Dan Made:
    His father (Stillman Drake - see, if you like, his entry in Wikipedia) was active in the Northern California Holmesian society, called the Scowrers, and wrote a couple of essays in that capacity. dandrake.com/porlock/index.html

    A group called Lord Peter, which he joined. It's still alive (https://groups.io/g/LordPeter/topics) though not very active. And it got him to writing these annotations.

    Dorothy Sayers Book on Education: The Lost Tools of Learning

    VII: Journal of the Marion E Wade Center at Wheaton College

    Change R
    Linden Botanicals We sell the world’s healthiest herbal teas and extracts.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showhttps://www.instagram.com/teatonicandtoxin/
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    Stay mysterious...

    • 57 min

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