The full name is a mouthful: James Carl David Bernthal-Hooker — but call me Jamie! My defining characteristic is a deep-rooted enthusiasm for the literature of Agatha Christie. Among other things, I’m a Visiting Fellow in English and Creative Writing at the University of Suffolk.
My first monograph, Queering Agatha Christie: Revisiting the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, from my PhD thesis at the University of Exeter, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2016. I am also the editor of The Ageless Agatha Christie: Essays on the Mysteries and the Legacy (2016) and co-editor, with Rebecca Mills, of Agatha Christie Goes to War (2020). I had two books out in 2022: The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie (2022) co-edited with Mary Anna Evans, and Agatha Christie: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction (2022), an exhaustive guide to (nearly) everything the Queen of Crime wrote, published or unpublished. I’ve also been lucky enough to write on some wonderful online learning resources including for TED-Ed and BBC Maestro.
In addition, I’m Co-Editor-in-Chief, with Tom Ue, of Book 2.0, an amazing Intellect journal, and sit on the board of Clues: A Journal of Detection. In 2020, the Popular Culture Association awarded me the George N. Dove prize for contributions to the serious study of crime fiction.
Having hosted academic and creative conferences on Christie and crime fiction since 2014, in 2023, I founded Golden Age Mysteries Limited with Stefano Serafini, M.E. Reynard, and Sarah Martin. It is the most amazing community of scholars, writers, and readers.
I’m also an author of short crime fiction, and in 2025 received the Crime Writers’ Association’s Short Story Dagger for my first anthologised story, ‘A Date on Yarmouth Pier’.
For my day job, I manage a team of researchers in the offshore wind industry. I live in Suffolk with my husband Alan, and with Smudge and Speckle, who are excellent guinea pigs. In my spare time, I am involved in local theatre.
JC Bernthal 
I hve been reading Agatha Christie’s Autobiography. have read her books since young and chancing upon this website, felt the need to send a “fan” letter, of sorts. Hope it all goes well on the 14th in Exeter! Cheering you on from California…
Thank you so much, Cynthia!
Do u have a 1st class degree in theology (ancient fiction)? Why did u choose such a subject?
No, I have a first class degree in theology (study of religion and culture).
Hello, I claim myself as an Agatha Christie maniac but until I found out about this blog I felt ashamed. I am doing a PhD in heritage in Leeds. Thank you for your research!!
Is it the same ‘Alan Bernthal Hooker’ who authored ‘ You Shall Know Yahweh’ you are talking about? I nee to talk to him about his work. Could you please provide me with his email and contact information?
That’s the one! If you use the ‘contact’ tab above, you can get in touch and I’ll pass on Alan’s email address privately. 🙂