Death of the Reader

We discuss Bruce Hamilton's 'Too Much of Water', chapters 1-4. Flex is back, and it's time to dive into a water-based mystery aboard the Goyaz. Edgar Cantrell is bound for Barbados, and all manner of high society find themselves aboard the boat together. Singers, cricketers, barristers, and of course military-man Major Major. One too many bumps on a stormy night signals the pre-emptive departure of boat-enthusiast Mr. Rottentosser. Soon, the crew summons our unlikely hero Edgar to play detective to figure out how such an able seaman went overboard, and what other dooms may befall this voyage. We're also joined by Fantasy Author Samantha Shannon, to talk about religion, character motivations, and how her deep political intrigue in the 'Roots of Chaos' series represents its own game of whydunnit. Samantha is in town for the Sydney Writers Festival, and you can find the details of her talks here.

The finale of Who Shot JR at last. One of the most viewed episodes of American tv in history and the series that inspired Who Shot Mr Burns, Dallas spends most of their reveal episode recapping the last four epiusodes for those of us that weren't paying attention! Sue Ellen finally takes centre stage as our true detective when she is thrown in jail and bailed out overnight by a mysterious benefactor. The rest of the Ewing family is all but ready to throw Sue under the bus, but she's finally ready to show everyone what she's made of through the power of hypnosis. Herds is going to do his best to steal as many of Cam's points as he can, but will that stop our challenger from figuring out this whodunnit? And does the whydunnit even matter? Certainly not the howdunnit. It's all a bit of a mess but that's Dallas, baby!

Herds and Cam are back at it again, by popular demand, with the middle section of Dallas' 'Who Shot JR?' in which honestly, not much very important happens. The elusive 3rd Ewing brother Greg visits from his own spinoff show, JR struggles to run the Ewing oil company from his hospital bed, and Bobby is essentially forced to stay on the show when his father puts him in charge of everything (at least in theory). Cam may have lost one of his solving points after a blunder in the first episode, but that's not going to stop him from trying to outwit Herds and solve this 45 year old mystery. And can we all agree that the Dallas theme slaps?

Herds and Cam discuss the season finale of Dallas' third season, 'A House Divided', and take a crack at solving the America-wide sensation 'Who Shot JR'? After JR, eldest son of the wealthy Ewing estate executes one too many backdoor oil schemes he is shot twice in the abdomen and left for dead. The episode explores the motivations of the many people who would have reasons to shoot him, whether for financial or personal reasons. From Marilee Stone, whose husband takes his own life in grief, to Alan Beam, attorney at law investigating JR with the help of Kristin Shepard, JR's old flame and sister of his wife Sue Ellen, a woman who according to every trick in film school definitely committed the shooting. All of these and more rear their heads and declare bloody revenge in the charming villain JR. The boys attempt to sort out this magnanimous soap opera's cast of characters, but will they crumble under the weight of these great expectations? Will Herds execute his own JR-style scheme to steal all of the points he can fit into a burlap sack? Only time (and these episodes) will tell...

We discuss chapters 25-36 of Aoife Clifford's brand new collective-detective murder mystery, 'It Takes A Town'. Herds and Cam come to the end of all things, 'Jaz 'the visual' Langridge is kidnapped (for real) this time, incompetent cop Billy and town drunk Mer work together to navigate a sudden and dangerous showdown. The friendship of Mer and Frankie is put to the ultimate test and the final culprit is revealed in a classic confrontation between them and real detective of this collaborative investigation tale. Cam maligns his past self as Herds really puts the screws to him, put maybe Cam will have the chance for redemption just round the bend? Thank you to Ultimo Press for providing Death of the Reader copies of 'It Takes a Town.'

We discuss chapters 12-24 of Aoife Clifford's brand new collective-detective murder mystery, 'It Takes A Town'. Frankie and Mer move closer to center stage as their lives are compltely turned upside down. Frankie is asked to leave her teaching job as she is under suspicion of her once friend Vanessa Walton, the cops force her to make a very bad decision about handling some key evidence, and the dark secret her husband has been keeping from her finally comes to light... and Mer? well, Frankie IS Mer's whole world, so Aoife stacks the deck against Mer in the worst way possible. Herds manages to get in a good rant about classism, Cam flounders with three theories to choose from, and Aoife's ghost is here to bring us home with a conversation about power structures. It's just a regular Death of the Reader. Thank you to Ultimo Press for providing Death of the Reader copies of 'It Takes a Town.'

We discuss chapters 1-11 of Aoife Clifford's brand new collective-detective murder mystery, 'It Takes A Town'. Policewoman Carole, distressed mother Frankie, town drunk Mer(maid) and a gaggle of schoolchildren reminiscent of the Scooby Gang all team up to corner the killer of local town star Vanessa Walton, recently returned from a grand tour of fame and fortune, now found dead in the cottage of local MP Barton Langridge. These various super sleuths may not see eye to eye, or even be aware of each other's intentions, but with Flex away on official DOTR business it's up to our star editor Cam to fill in the blanks and catch the killer, if we even know their name? Thank you to Ultimo Press for providing Death of the Reader copies of 'It Takes a Town.'

We discuss chapters 26-42 of Sulari Gentill's brand new metafiction standalone, 'The Mystery Writer'. We come to the explosive finale as the evil Greek machinist Satan Herself is exposed to the world and characters we've never seen before swoop in on helicopters and take part in duels involving both pistols and large burly vehicles. The plot has gone a bit off the rails but Sulari is here to tell us about how much fun she's having. Much like the novel it's all worked out in the end (or has it?). Thank you to Ultimo Press and Berkelouw Paddington for providing Death of the Reader proof copies of 'The Mystery Writer'. Sulari Gentill is the informal title sponsor of our first-place award on Review Season each year, which is not a paid placement.

We discuss chapters 15-25 of Sulari Gentill's brand new metafiction standalone, 'The Mystery Writer'. Theo Benton is a law-school escapee from Tasmania, fled to her brother Gus' home in Lawrence, Kansas. She finds herself as the prime suspect in the murder of her almost-boyfriend Dan Murdoch, and now the conspiracy tightens its hold over her life as her home is besieged by journos and Murdoch fans alike caught up in the madness. We follow Theo as she is forced to flee from one safehouse to the next as she has to consider the faith that she has placed in even her closest companions... and we get to hang out with her love interest Mac's crazy doomsday-prepper family. It's a riot! Thank you to Ultimo Press and Berkelouw Paddington for providing Death of the Reader proof copies of 'The Mystery Writer'. Sulari Gentill is the informal title sponsor of our first-place award on Review Season each year, which is not a paid placement.

We discuss chapters 1-14 of Sulari Gentill's brand new metafiction standalone, 'The Mystery Writer'. Theo Benton is a law-school escapee from Tasmania, fled to her brother Gus' home in Lawrence, Kansas. The world of law might have suited Gus, but Theo wants to be a writer, and her brother is ready to support Theo through that journey. Soon after committing to her new life, Theo meets Dan Murdoch, a famous writer who is usually a recluse. They bond over fiction and start writing together. Unfortunately for Theo, this is a Sulari Gentill novel, which means safety is only a portent of chaos. Theo slips in Dan's pool of blood as she goes to invite him for dinner, and reality has fractured. All the while, a mysterious web forum called 'The Shield' discusses the Minotaur controlling the Labyrinth at the core of the world. Thank you to Ultimo Press and Berkelouw Paddington for providing Death of the Reader proof copies of 'The Mystery Writer'. Sulari Gentill is the informal title sponsor of our first-place award on Review Season each year, which is not a paid placement.