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Trent’s Last Case (Detective Club Crime Classics)

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About this listen

Written in reaction to what Bentley perceived as the sterility and artificiality of the detective fiction of his day, Trent's Last Case features Philip Trent, an all-too-human detective who not only falls in love with the chief suspect but reaches a brilliant conclusion that is totally wrong.

Trent’s Last Case begins when millionaire American financier Sigsbee Manderson is murdered while on holiday in England. A London newspaper sends Trent to investigate, and he is soon matching wits with Scotland Yard's Inspector Murth as they probe ever deeper in search of a solution to a mystery filled with odd, mysterious twists and turns.

Called by Agatha Christie "one of the best detective stories ever written," Trent's Last Case delights with its flesh-and-blood characters, its naturalness and easy humor, and its style, which, as Dorothy Sayers has noted, "ranges from a vividly coloured rhetoric to a delicate and ironical literary fancy."

 Crime Thrillers Dark Humour Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Urban Crime England Thriller Exciting Comedy

Critic reviews

‘One of the three best detective stories ever written.’ AGATHA CHRISTIE

‘The finest detective story of modern times.’ G. K. CHESTERTON

‘A masterpiece of detective fiction.’ EDGAR WALLACE

‘Trent’s Last Case holds a very special place in the history of detective fiction. A tale of unusual brilliance and charm – startlingly original.’ DOROTHY L. SAYERS
All stars
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Slow and leisurely paced with a few twists. An interesting idea that could have been more deftly crafted.

An interesting piece of "periodiana"

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Euphuism (got that off Stephen Fry) might have been fine in 1913 but more used to the laconic detectives of later decades I was, after 8 and half hours, fed up with it. Another version cuts the book to 3 hours. Good as a renowned period piece.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The brazen contrivance of the plot.
The hero.

What three words best describe Steven Crossley’s voice?

Tedious. Monotonous. Slow.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Having read the book I might, just to see what they made of it.

Any additional comments?

The advertised afterword from Dorothy Sayers seems to be missing.
Narration is improved by tweaking the speed up a bit.

Euphuistic hero in contrived plot.

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Founded couldn't stop listening, reader, very well read
Good voice story fascinating lots of twists and turns

Interest story

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This story was slow to get going and a bit pedantic, but I persevered to the end

Slow

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This is another of the lovely 'period' mysteries, whose depiction of time and place is a pleasure in itself. This was a world in which it was necessary to explain what the rearview mirror in a car was, and what it was for; in which tobacco was a universal solace and a celebration supper still consisted of mutton.
But this is also a very cleverly-plotted mystery, with several twists that I didn't foresee (including the last one, which came as a real surprise). The character of Trent is mildly attractive, being a classic, slightly eccentric gentleman sleuth. One does not become deeply engaged with any of the characters, but they are interesting and sympathetic enough to hold ones interest.
The narrator did a excellent job, with good pacing and a pleasant voice. He manages to make the characters distinctive, without straining to 'act them out' in a literal sense.
I found this an unusually enjoyable listen, one of the best of its genre. A real pleasure.

An exceptionally clever plot

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