Welcome to all about Agatha, the podcast dedicated to reading and ranking every single mystery

novel written by the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie.

I am Kemper Donovan, and this is the second episode to come directly out of the 2023

Agatha Christie Festival that I attended in lovely Torquee in the south of England.

This past September, one of my co-panelists who you listened to in my previous episode,

debating Agatha Christie's greatest short story, was kind enough to sit down with me while

we were still both attending the festival and to talk a little bit about the work that he does.

That would be Dr. Jamie Bernthal Hooker, and let's just get right to the interview because

he doesn't really need all that much of a preamble at this point in the life of the podcast,

and we got right into it as we sat down face to face a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy!

My guest today is one of those I consider a true friend of the podcast. We've had Jamie

Bernthal Hooker on two times in the past, first to talk about his book of literary theory and criticism

queering Agatha Christie, and second to co-host an episode with me reviewing and ranking nemesis.

In that capacity, he was one of the few who stepped in to help me after my co-host,

Catherine Brobeck, passed away, and for that I will be eternally grateful. It's also a wonderful

episode. Last year he came out with Agatha Christie, a companion to the mystery fiction,

and in addition to editing to other books by various scholars and theorists writing about

Christie, he is one of the organizers of the annual Agatha Christie conference, which is a gathering

of mystery-focused academics and obsessives that I've attended twice now. The first time with

Catherine, and I know it was one of her favorite things she did for the podcast. Jamie was also one

of her favorite people she met through the podcast. We're actually doing this episode live and in

person here in Torquay, and Jamie is avoiding looking at me because this is all just a little too

...