Murder in the Basement

By: Anthony Berkeley

Narrated by: Seán Barrett

When two newlyweds move into their new home, only to discover that a corpse has been buried in their basement a few months prior, a gruelling case is begun to trace the identity of the victim. With all avenues of investigation approaching exhaustion, a tenuous lead offers a chance for Chief Inspector Moresby and leads him to the amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham, who has recently been providing cover work in a school south of London. Desperate for evidence of any kind on the basement case, Moresby begins to sift through the manuscript of a satirical novel Sheringham had been writing about his colleagues at the school, convinced that amongst the cast of teachers hides the victim - and perhaps their murderer.

©1932, 2021 The Estate of Anthony Berkeley Cox, Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2021 Isis Publishing Ltd

poor narration

narrator was terrible. monotone. slurred words did not do justice to this book. too bad, really

you think you know.. and then there's a twist..

Author did a good job of creating a standard, banal as the life itself, little plot, with just hints of hidden, crawling under surface, "other motives" - which jump out nicely at the end of mystery's denouement ..

Berkeley- Master Mystery Writer

Berkeley is one of my all time favorite mystery writers. Every book I have read of his I have enjoyed. My favorite is his “The Poisoned Chocolates Case”. I enjoy the English mysteries where reason and psychology solve the mystery over the American beat down with fists to extract truth. A battle of wits is more fun.

Really quite good

There are great characters and an interesting plot, along with a very tricky mystery. Worth the read!

S-l-o-w paced.

Rather tedious, with too much of the slogging work of following this that and the other to no avail. No one shines in this mystery.