Reviews

The Wintringham Mystery by Anthony Berkeley

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angorarabbit's review against another edition

3.0

TW: Classical 1920's British racism and classism. No violence or sex. No dead bodies are described. No animals or children were harmed. Women are not total diz heads, but need a steady man about them.

The story is that this was published as a newspaper contest. Supposedly even Agatha Christy couldn't solve it.

It was entertaining, but the red herrings stuck out rather. There was also one improbable marriage and characterisation was a little shaky. I loved the banter in the beginning between Bridger and Stephen. After that Bridger was seriously underutilized.

Bridger and Lady Susan in particular underwent drastic character changes. Witnesses also popped up at the most convent times and places. Almost as if the author was writing quickly to make deadlines and not paying enough attention to the story he had written so far.

The author was clever in that he he seasoned the hunt with plenty of red herrings. Also there really wasn't enough information given to win. According to the introduction 11 people won a consolation prize, significantly reduction the stated monetary about that would have been paid had anyone come up with the authors solution.

There were a number of auto correct type mistakes in my e-book and one phrase that was new to me: "looking like a Scotch Sunday in Africa." if anyone knows what that means please enlighten, I found nothing in a quick Google search. The writing was serviceable with the already mentioned caveats.

A quick diversion but a little disappointing.

m_e_ruzak's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

melissa_who_reads's review against another edition

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3.0

I had never read any books by Golden Age author (and founder of the Detection Club) Anthony Berkeley. Was slightly annoyed at times by the male detective at the center of the novel, though one could see Berkeley playing with the trope of the infallible detective by making his hero very fallible indeed. But a mostly enjoyable read, not dense at all.

kim5309's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

A lighthearted closed circle mystery from the golden age of whodunnits. Stephen, a man of higher class, is down on his luck and takes a job as a footman at Lady Susan's mansion. He works behind the scenes to solve a murder mystery following the mysterious disappearance of a young woman during a seance. Also at the house is the lost love of his life who is engaged to another a man. Will she help him solve the mystery or stand in his way?