Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Wintringham Mystery

By: Anthony Berkeley, Tony Medawar
Narrated by: Mike Grady
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Republished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve!

Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew – who recognises Stephen from his former life – decides that an after-dinner séance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears!

With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair…

This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age – a rambling country house, a séance, a murder, a room locked on the inside, with servants, suspects and alibis, a romance – and an ingenious puzzle.

First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926 – the year The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintringham Mystery was written by Anthony Berkeley, founder of the famous Detection Club. Also known as Cicely Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of £500 (equivalent to £30,000 today) for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. Nobody did – even Agatha Christie entered and couldn’t solve it. Can you?

©2021 Anthony Berkeley, A. Monmouth Platts, Tony Medawar (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Cornish Wedding Murder cover art
Mind of a Killer cover art
Father Paolo Baldi Mysteries cover art
The Last Dance cover art
Dead in Venice cover art
Death at the Auction cover art
The Viaduct Killings cover art
Maisie Dobbs cover art
The Murderer's Son cover art
Footsteps in the Dark cover art
Whose Body? cover art
The Murder at Sissingham Hall cover art
Thirteen Guests cover art
A Man of Some Repute cover art
Murder in an English Village cover art
The Unknown Beloved cover art

Critic reviews

"Detection and crime at its wittiest - all Berkeley’s stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." (Agatha Christie)

"Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the 'twist' but of the 'double-twist'." (Milward Kennedy in the Sunday Times)

What listeners say about The Wintringham Mystery

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    128
  • 4 Stars
    80
  • 3 Stars
    34
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    149
  • 4 Stars
    56
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    103
  • 4 Stars
    74
  • 3 Stars
    32
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    7

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Superb.

Excellent story excellent narration. I particularly liked the rendering of the character Bridger. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Only partway through right now but

The mispronounciation of Mainwaring is irritating me, but I am enoying the story and narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't wait for bed time to keep listening!

Plot, setting, description, narration are peerless, super fuelled Agatha Christie style mystery, with all ends satisfyingly, but cleverly, tied up. Totally recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

narrator is superb

Great story, well read. Well worth a credit. thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good mystery. n

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A jolly country manor crime romp

Nice easy gentle listen, well narrated and a story very much of it’s time. No sophistication, just a good old cosy crime story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Jolly good country house murder

No gore or police involved but the crimes get solved by the footman! Fun and easy going. I enjoyed this story, not so believable in parts but who cares.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly entertaining

The narration was excellent . the writing modern, speedy. And fun. I have listened to it twice & found new surprises the second time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I wasn't sure about this one as I'd read good and bad reviews but I really loved this laid back mystery. Mike Grady did a sterling job of narration and brought the book to life wonderfully. I'd half guessed the solution but not all of it, so I have to give Anthony Berkeley credit for that twist at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely stellar!

Anyone who really loves a good locked room mystery will love this book. The writer has an excellent turn of phrase and as it is written contemporary to the time when it takes place, it is lovely to read all the details of a bygone era. I found the mystery compelling enough to keep my attention but really found the main characters so charming that I was easily invested in the rest of the story. The narrator does a lovely job, including the differentiating voices. Will definitely read more from this author again in the future.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Utterly charming

The very best of this murder mystery genre. Great characters and amazing storyline with a great twist. Highly recommended .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!