Whodunnit Dinners podcast 13 Season 2 #3 Ross Montgomery: Sweary spinsters, comets and cream teas

Welcome to the Whodunnit Dinners blog, which runs alongside the Whodunnit Dinners podcast, now proudly in the midst of its second season! The podcast is essentially a book club for two friends who like to share murder mystery books and food inspired by the stories, but are also happy to be diverted by chat about anything vaguely connected if it takes their fancy. In the latest episode, Helen introduced Katie to the new Ross Montgomery book, called ‘The Murder at Worlds End’. 

Ross Montgopmery is a London-based award-winning children’s author who has recently moved into adult literature. The Murder at Worlds End is a locked room murder mystery set on the coast of Cornwall during the Halley’s Comet event of 1910. As one of the many at the time who believed the comet was bringing widespread poisoning of the planet, and the death of millions of its inhabitants, the Viscount set the staff of his grand home to seal up all the rooms for the night until the danger had passed. During the night, a murder takes place and a recent recruit to the staff and an elderly aunt become the amateur sleuths who set about bringing the criminal to justice. It’s all done at a fast pace and with tongue in cheek. 

It is a jolly tale and Helen enjoyed the book but got quite side-tracked by the liberal use of the f-word used by the aristocratic octogenarian heroine. Would she really have sworn like a trooper without anyone batting their eyelashes in 1910? Does it matter? If you are interested in the origins of the word fuck, you can read more here: The History Girls.

As usual, the reader of the book challenged the other person to produce a meal or dish connected to the story, without her knowing the name of the murder mystery to be discussed in advance. The challenge that Helen set Katie in this case was to introduce a dish connected with bread or tea associated with Cornwall, which was the setting for the story. Katie got slightly diverted into scone territory, but produced some quality facts and a classic recipe from the region, so all is forgiven. She found some of her research here: The Cream Tea Society. 

Scone recipe 

Ingredients 

• 225g/8oz self-raising flour

• pinch of salt

• 55g/2oz butter

• 25g/1oz caster sugar

• 150ml/5fl oz milk (any type)

• 1 free-range egg, beaten, to glaze (alternatively use a little extra milk)

• 112g/4oz sultanas

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7 and grease a baking tray.

2. Mix the flour and salt. Rub the butter into the flour until the mixture has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs.

3. Stir the sugar into the mixtures. Add most of the milk and mix to form a soft and slightly sticky dough. If the dough is a little dry, add more of the milk until you have the correct consistency (you may not have to add all the milk).

4. Stir in the sultanas.

5. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead very lightly. Pat out into a round lump of about 2cm/¾in thick.

6. Use a cutter to stamp out rounds and place on the baking tray.

7. Brush the tops of the scones with beaten egg (try to avoid letting any egg run down the sides as this will affect how the scones rise). Bake for 12–15 minutes, or until well risen and golden-brown.

If you’ve found this recipe suitably tempting, you might enjoy the full-fat Whodunnit Dinners podcast, which will take you through the plot and characters of ‘The Murder at World’s End’, and give you more background on the history of the cream tea. To hear the full Whodunnit Dinners podcast, go here.