Recently I played along with the genial hosts of the Australian podcast, Death of the Reader, where each week Flex and Herds tackle a wide array of mystery tales, both classic and modern. Their most recent guest, one JJ von JJ (my pal, who created The Invisible Event and the podcast In GAD We Trust) guided these guys through an incisive reading of Theodore Roscoe’s Murder on the Way. If you followed along, you will remember that the boys and I managed to solve the case, with Flex and Herds figuring out a lot of the mechanics of the impossible crimes that escaped me, while JJ’s wit was as dry as a cask of Amontillado.

What I didn’t tell you was that, a few months back, Death of the Reader invited me to join them for their Hallowe’en episode, in which they planned to look at Dame Agatha’s Hallowe’en Party, more specifically at the way Mark Gatiss adapted it for the TV series Poirot.

Well . . . HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone. The episode has dropped at last, and I hope you will all have a chance to listen to it. I’m posting a link to it on Spotify, but this is my account, so I have no idea if you’ll be able to access it. Rest assured that Death of the Reader can be accessed in all the usual places where one finds podcasts . . . Apple, Stitcher, you know the rest. All I know is that it was great fun bantering with the boys, and I think you’ll hear the joy in my squeaky voice.

May your candy corn miraculously sprout flavor! May your political enemies have their yards TP’d. And when you go out trick or treating in your lovely costumes, be sure and wear a mask under your mask. Stay safe out there!