Our examination into theatricality in Agatha Christie's work continues as we discuss one of the most dramatic scenes in her stories - the scene of the crime! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/05/12/a...

Not a mystery, perhaps, but otherwise it's Agatha Christie in every way. If I'm going to ride the Westmapod, I'd better read the books!! First off: Giant's Bread, by Mary Westmacott. ahsweetmystery.com/2026/05/04/a...

The game's afoot! What is YOUR favorite screen performance by an actor playing a detective???

In June, Nick Cardillo, Sergio Angelini and I will create The Greatest Screen Sleuths Draft. Who should be on our list? Start nominating NOW!!! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/05/02/c...

Imagine being trapped in a bank where no one is safe!!! (Get it? Get it??) It's the latest Ernest Cunningham whodunnit from Benjamin Stevenson! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/04/25/k...

Perry Mason and Paul Drake find a closed circle mystery on board a gambling ship in our latest Girls! Girls! Girls! adventure, 1937's The Case of the Dangerous Dowager! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/04/17/o...

We call them "the devils in disguise" - all the miscreants in Agatha Christie's fiction who applied costume and make-up to kill! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/04/12/a...

I think it's A. A. Fair to say that this cat digs Donald Lam and Bertha Cool as much as he digs Perry Mason! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/04/06/b...

I often wonder how famous characters like Sherlock Holmes are served in the public domain. In the Amazon Prime series Young Sherlock, he's served pretty well! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/04/04/s...

A big slice of nostalgia for me from Crippen & Landru via Edward D. Hoch's short story epic, The Will o' the Wisp Mystery! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/30/w...

Another March! Another rally! Another day of declaration that America will not tolerate kings!

@tinahodgkinson.bsky.social has written the ultimate guide to Agatha Christie's London! It's brilliantly researched, a mighty fun read and a great tool for exploration!! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/28/f...

We wrap up our discussion on Agatha Christie's actors with the darkest and most controversial of them all. Plus - an actors index! (Please help me make it complete!!) ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/25/a...

"O why do you walk through the field in gloves/O lean grey woman whom nobody loves?" Who are the best spinsters to be found in Agatha Christie's books? ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/23/s...

Who on earth had the chutzpah to create a list of The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time? Okay, we did - but you helped, so it's not all our fault!!! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/19/s...

On our "Girls! Girls! Girls!" Tour, a spunky miss leads Perry Mason into a good old-fashioned country house mystery, complete with a fine twist ending! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/17/a...

Missed the Ides of March by one day! But any day is good to discuss the actor-murderers found in Agatha Christie. SPOILERS ABOUND! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/16/a...

I'm thrilled to announce that once again I'll be taking part in the Agatha Christie Festival, this fall in Torquay! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/07/t...

My examination into theatricality in Agatha Christie's novels and stories continues with a March two-parter, all about the actors. First up: the actor as suspect or victim. ahsweetmystery.com/2026/03/04/a...

Reading about Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin is always good for the soul. This time, the case of The Golden Spiders has some added emotional heft. ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/25/l...

How does a non-impossible crime fan rank his favorite reads by John Dickson Carr??? Fortunately the answer is right here! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/23/b...

1930's Perry Mason is always a snappy read, and this one is interesting for the rules it breaks! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/17/g...

Agatha Christie's childhood was rich in theatrical experiences, some of her own making. All of this had an effect on the elements of theatricality found in her books. ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/12/a...

I like my movies with lots of murders and lots of meta content. Which is why this class I'm taking at Stanford University fits the bill so well! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/06/t...

When a mystery reader needs cheering up, one sure bet is Craig Rice and the delightful Carstairs family of Home Sweet Homicide! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/02/04/f...

One of God’s big mistakes is that he made the lives of our animals too short. I was blessed with Mimi’s presence for almost sixteen years. There should have been sixteen more, and sixteen more after that. Mimi, Mommy, Ma . . . I love you love you love you forever.

Forget the cold outside! Think of spring - and of our upcoming draft for the Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time! Here's how YOU can take part and maybe find your favorite sleuth included on our list! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/25/a...

More 1984-like reinvention from our administration. Even dystopian novels come to an end; the trouble is, they never end happily. I, for one, am eager to band together and change the narrative! But now we weep for Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, and offer our support to the people of Minnesota.

When will actors who get shot on stage learn to be nicer to their peers before the curtain goes up? Certainly not in Death on the Pier, Jamie West's first Bertie Carroll mystery! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/21/t...

The Wooden Overcoat is fifty percent murder mystery and a hundred percent farce, complete with an overdramatic poodle, a homicidal cat, and a thousand rats with a sense of humor! It is to laugh!! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/18/b...

Our year-long survey of Perry Mason's Girls! Girls! Girls! begins with one who's sulky but sympathetic, naughty but nice - and, fortunately for us, in need of an ace attorney! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/17/n...

Well, it had to happen: I watched this so you a. don't have to or b. can chat along about it. Here's my HIGHLY spoiler-y take on Chris Chibnall's, er, Agatha Christie's Seven Dials! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/16/n...

The game's afoot: Antony Johnston's Can You Solve the Murder? makes the reader the detective and challenges you to figure out whodunit in this Choose-Your-Own-Adventure for grown-ups! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/15/i...

This year, on the advice of a friend, I intend to explore one of my favorite aspects of Agatha Christie's writing: her keen sense of theatricality. ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/12/a...

"Let's twist again, like we did last New Year's!" Yes, it's time for another Harlan Coben thriller on Netflix! Hoo boy! Here's my take . . . ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/07/n...

Ah Sweet Mystery's Perry Mason theme for 2026 is unveiled - and it's more like the dance of the seven veils!!! Hubba hubba hub!!! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/05/p...

Some exciting journeys in store for the Ah Sweet Mystery blog in 2026! I hope you'll come along for the ride! ahsweetmystery.com/2026/01/02/t...

It's my final post of the year wherein I present my ten favorite reads of 2025. I wish a healthy and happy New Year to you all! See you in '26! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/30/b...

It's my final crime novel of the year - and it's a good one! Thanks to @louisehk.bsky.social for the beautiful translation! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/27/%...

Here's a list of brilliant ensemble films - one for each day of Christmas - that you can watch with your family! Happy holidays to you all! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/24/w...

For our final meeting of the year, my Book Club played a game: how many transportation-themed mysteries can you come up with? ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/22/b...

After fifteen titles in fifteen months, The Poirot Project officially comes to an end . . . maybe. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/21/t...

Hey! Maybe 2026 WILL be better!!!

Another nomination for the 2025 reprint of the year, featuring a rare all-female sleuthing team and an intriguing Hawaiian setting. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/20/t...

YA author Maureen Johnson gives us her best heroine yet, a sardonic queer teen who deserves a better mystery. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/19/w...

Our final stop through the Perry Mason Menagerie takes us to the lair of a very big, very bad wolf! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/17/w...

@rianjohnson.bsky.social's latest chapter in the Knives Out saga has finally dropped on Netflix and is channeling John Dickson Carr in the best of ways! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/15/w...

It's time to celebrate the mystery reprints of 2025 and vote for your favorite at Cross Examining Crime. Here is the worthy first of my two nominees! ahsweetmystery.com/2025/12/13/t...

Death on the Nile, the penultimate entry in our Poirot Project is a cunning murder mystery, a romantic tragedy, and an epic travelogue. It is sublime. ahsweetmystery.com/2025/11/21/t...