In our Halloween Spooktacular, we're joined by Brad Friedman from Ah Sweet Mystery to discuss Agatha Christie's infamous 'Hallowe'en Party' and its 2011 British Television adaptation with a screenplay by Mark Gatiss. Taking very direct inspiration from elsewhere in her own franchises, Agatha Christie penned a derivative tale that Gatiss has reworked into a charming, if bizarre, romp for perfect Halloween viewing. From architectural antagonists to a nose-bludgeoning metaphor in the form of a bed-ridden author who can't come up with fresh ideas, the captivating performances of David Suchet and his co-stars turn this missable novel into something a bit more special. We also sit down to discuss our draft rankings for this year's 'Review Season', our annual year-end recommendations based on what we've covered through the year. If you have any opinions you want to squeeze onto our desks before the final rankings - let us know in the comments! Ah Sweet Mystery: https://ahsweetmysteryblog.wordpress.com/ Death of the Reader is produced in collaboration with 2SER 107.3 in Sydney. Check out the station at https://2ser.com/ Audio versions: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/death-of-the-reader/id1471255956 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62vTKUwNovX2mKhdas9YUd iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-death-of-the-reader-47040759/ Whooshka: https://player.whooshkaa.com/death-of-the-reader 2SER: https://2ser.com/death-of-the-reader/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlexAndHerds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexandherds/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flexandherds/ 0:00 Section 1 10:05 Section 2 19:50 Section 3 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKtoolYi0q0

We discuss chapters 1-2 of Janice Hallett's bizarre media-meta-fiction 'Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels'. Journalist and true crime author Amanda Bailey is on the hunt for a new story. Her editors put her onto the case of the Alperton Angels, a perplexing cult-suicide from the early 2000s involving ritual sacrifice and a missing baby. As Amanda begins to work through her wishlist of interviewees for the novel, her old arch rival Oliver Menzies shows up investigating the same case, and the two are forced to work together on the tapestry of conspiracy behind the case. We see the case through the text logs and transcripts of conversations as the narrative is sculpted out in the atmosphere between the hard journalistic fact. In the spirit of strange structures, we're joined by author Ben Hobson to talk about his etched-in-stone Aussie-Outback-western 'The Death of John Lacey', and the motivating factors behind both his narrative choices, and how threatening the reader with a thoughtfully off-kilter structure can impact the feel of a book. Thank you to ABC Radio National and Allen & Unwin for providing copies of 'The Death of John Lacey'. You can catch Herds on 'The Bookshelf' on ABC Radio National discussing the book here. Janice Hallett: https://linktr.ee/janicehallett The Death of John Lacey: https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Ben-Hobson-Death-of-John-Lacey-9781761065897/ The Bookshelf w/ Herds: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/the-bookshelf/the-bookshelf-hertmans-hobson-mcphee-bown-dalgarno/14139182 Death of the Reader is produced in collaboration with 2SER 107.3 in Sydney. Check out the station at https://2ser.com/ Audio versions: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/death-of-the-reader/id1471255956 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62vTKUwNovX2mKhdas9YUd iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-death-of-the-reader-47040759/ Megaphone: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/EFRMF9222919750 Whooshka: https://player.whooshkaa.com/death-of-the-reader 2SER: https://2ser.com/death-of-the-reader/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlexAndHerds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexandherds/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flexandherds/ 0:00 Section 1 10:55 Section 2 19:05 Section 3 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9CUa7XDJ8A

We discuss chapters 1-6 of Agatha Christie's iconic 'And Then There Were None'. Ten people arrive on Soldier Island, invited at the behest of one U.N. Owen, only to find no host, no answers and only almost perfect strangers to keep them company. A record player recounts their sins, and then the death of Anthony Marston begins the recitation of a poem fixed to the walls, threatening that none shall be left alive. With Flex and Herds both familiar with this tale, it's our arch-nemesis Sean Britten, author of 'Kill Switch', in the hotseat. We also chat with Martin Edwards, current chair of The Detection Club. From 'Howdunit', the club's 90th anniversary book on all the secrets behind mystery fiction, to Christie's mastery of human nature, and his own latest mystery 'Mortmain Hall', Martin's mystery expertise has held us steady since the show began. Martin's Website: http://martinedwardsbooks.com/ Death of the Reader is produced in collaboration with 2SER 107.3 in Sydney. Check out the station at https://2ser.com/ Audio versions: iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/death-of-the-reader/id1471255956 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/62vTKUwNovX2mKhdas9YUd iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-death-of-the-reader-47040759/ Whooshka: https://player.whooshkaa.com/death-of-the-reader 2SER: https://2ser.com/death-of-the-reader/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlexAndHerds Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flexandherds/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flexandherds/ 0:00 Section 1 09:45 Section 2 19:45 Section 3 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9RKjIzUW5U

Who died and why? Keiichi and Shion have a scary discussion on the consequences of their actions over the phone. If you're confused, Ben is the one who knows what's going on, Felix is the one who is lost, for now. This is part of an ongoing playthrough of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Be sure to check the playlist for the rest! The long sections are full, mostly unedited footage of our gameplay. Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT9ERl3rqK2wNPjZbZXtcRqNIr1pOS6zG Higurashi on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/709/Higurashi_When_They_Cry_Hou/ The cicada icons in our thumbnails were done by our awesome fan Elvi. https://twitter.com/elvienyu Come join us on the Hinamizawa playthrough discussion Discord server for all things 07th related: https://discord.gg/2T3wKgR ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9abrGcW1vo