murder mystery

This week marks the return of the world famous annual Agatha Christie week. Every September, thousands of Christie fans flock to Torquay to enjoy numerous Christie inspired games, activities and events that take place in and around Devon to celebrate the Queen of Crimes birthday (15th September). Whether it is attending the Vintage Ball, playing some 1920’s pitch-and-putt or indulging in the splendour of the Agatha Christie Theatre Company’s new production of Murder on the Nile, there’s so many ways to get involved and celebrate Agatha’s legacy.   This year’s celebrations kicked off on Sunday the 9th September with the traditional Agatha Christie Fete on Torquay seafront, where stallholders dressed up in their 1920s and ‘30s best, with jazz bands, a Punch and Judy show, and fairground rides. Read More

This week sees our Killer Reader Kate Stephenson (pictured right) asking for your views on modern Twisted Thrillers Vs. the classic Murder Mystery... Earlier this year at the Oxford Lit Fest, Sophie Hannah and Simon Brett discussed the respective merits of the dark and twisted new school and the cosy old school of murder mysteries in a panel entitled Murder Mystery: Blood Bath or Brain Teaser? Has crime fiction become too gory? It’s a question hotly debated amongst readers and writers alike. Some hark back to the masters of the cosies like Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, and despair that contemporary crime fiction has gone too far, indulging in graphic violence – particularly the torture of women and children – for sensationalist purposes. Others don’t have a problem with it, being that it is fiction, after all. The authors are not committing the violent crimes they describe, nor inciting readers to do so. And surely we’re all consenting adults, making our own reading choices – if what you’re reading offends you, all you need to do is put the book down. Read More