Out of Order Book Club: Death Shall Overcome (1966)

In this week's episode, we'll be looking at 'Death Shall Overcome' by Emma Lathen. Emma Lathen was the creation of two writers: Martha Henissart and Mary Jane Latsis. This episode involves me discovering who this "Agatha Christie of Wall Street" was, and dealing with the fact that the key sleuth/hero is the Vice President of Sloan Guaranty Trust. This shows how much times have changed since a Wall Street hero seems unimaginable at this point in time.

Content Warning: I'll be looking at the themes of racism within this book which directly deals with that topic. This books was published in 1966, so although the writers clearly don't agree with the racist behaviour in their book the language and attitudes they use can be patronising and very problematic. However good this book is, it is a product of it's time.

You can contact Mal on Bluesky: outoforderbookclub.bsky.social

Helpful links and useful sources:

Mount Holyoke Alumni Blog

The Passing Tramp: This is really helpful about the background of Emma Lathen, but also the suspicious nature of the most recent additions (post-1997) to the Emma Lathen series.

Neil Nyren - Crime Reads: I used this before and during the podcast, it is a great read for anyone like me who had no idea about Emma Lathen.

Mystery - Death by Committee Blog