The Great Detective Collection

24 of the Best Classic Detective Stories

By: Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, Ernest Bramah, Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, Guy Boothby, Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Cathy Dobson

Length: 21 hrs

Publisher's summary

An engrossing collection of detective stories featuring all the great classic sleuths, including Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, Max Carrados, J. G. Reeder, and C. Auguste Dupin.

• 1. "The Tea-Leaf" by Edgar Jepson & Robert Eustace
• 2. "The Queer Feet" by G. K. Chesterton
• 3. "The Curious Circumstances of the Two Left Shoes" by Ernest Bramah
• 4. "The Club of One-Eyed Men" by Arthur Somers Roche
• 5. "Diamond Cut Diamond" by F. Britten Austin
• 6. "The Game Played in the Dark" by Ernest Bramah
• 7. "Murder Under the Microscope" by William Russell
• 8. "The Purloined Letter" by Edgar Allan Poe
• 9. "The Hammer of God" by G. K. Chesterton
• 10. "Who Killed Zebedee" by Wilkie Collins
• 11. "The Treasure Hunt" by Edgar Wallace
• 12. "The Shadow of the Shark" by G. K. Chesterton
• 13. "The Red Headed League" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• 14. "The Story of Baelbrow" by E. and H. Heron
• 15. "The Invisible Man" by G. K. Chesterton
• 16. "The Perfect Crime" by Seamark
• 17. "The Wedding Guest" by Guy Boothby
• 18. "The Trial for Murder" by Charles Dickens
• 19. "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• 20. "The Magic Casket" by R. Austin Freeman
• 21. "The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor" by Ernest Bramah
• 22. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe
• 23. "The Mystery of Marie Roget" by Edgar Allan Poe
• 24. "To Be Taken in Water" by George Walter Thornbury

Public Domain (P)2015 Red Door Audiobooks

Good stories, terrible narrator.

These classic stories were well chosen but the narration made it almost impossible to follow them. I would not recommend this version.

great stories, wrong narrator

What did you like best about The Great Detective Collection? What did you like least?

Many lovely long stories ruined by the narration. Cathy Dobson seems as though she is constantly trying to sound like a man, and every sentence is painfully drawled out at the end so that it becomes distracting and tortuous to listen to. All the characters sound the same from story to story. I hate leaving a review that is at all negative, and this is just my perspective, but I was really looking forward to listening to this book and it's been difficult.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Not really.

Read Reviews First!

Yikes! I never thought such great stories could be trodden upon by bad narration. Count me corrected. Almost impossible to get through, despite such classic tales being read. Wasted a credit. So it goes.

Couldn't listen past the first 2 minutes

I just finished listening to Simon Vance read The Complete Sherlock Holmes and wanted to listen to some more great classic mystery stories. I thought this would be the perfect next audio book. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen past 2 minutes. Cathy Dobson's drawn out, slow paced manner of speaking grated on my nerves. I couldn't stand it. I'll be looking into how to return this book and hopefully get my credit back.

Extremely Distracting Narrator

What disappointed you about The Great Detective Collection?

I had a hard time paying attention to the stories because of the narrator's voice and how they said things. It came off as a bit silly and stagey and I wanted something more serious and less theater class. I ended up not being able to listen to it because I found the stagey-ness took away from any drama and mood the stories would otherwise have had. I ended up not listening to any of the stories in full because of this.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Too stagey and over the top.

Narrator's Inflection

From the start I was put off by Cathy Dobson's narration style. Her voice is nice enough but her Affect and Inflection are EXTREMELY difficult to tolerate. The book was 22 hrs long. I could barely listen to the first 30 minutes before I returned it.

READ REVIEWS FIRST

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Those who can tolerate this particular narrator.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Great Detective Collection?

There is nothing wrong with these stories. They are well loved, classical jewels.

How could the performance have been better?

PLEASE, PLEASE do NOT use this narrator!

Any additional comments?

Believe the reviewers and take their advice. That will be a lesson for me. Wonderful stories! There is nothing wrong with that part. But how can you enjoy the STORY if you cannot even follow it because of the narrator!!!! Whoever is over the recordings... PLEASE do not use her. She is probably a good person, but I cannot follow the story because of the reading. I agree with one reviewer: emphasis on random, not logical words, sentences end with "up" intonation, tone of voice is distracting. All of that distracts from the story. I tried... I tried three times (21 hours of listening... I am not going to waste it). Had to give up. Please listen to the sample SEVERAL times before you buy.

Cathy Dobson Isn't an acceptable narrator

While the stories are good... The narrator is the most annoying reader who ruins the stories.
I'll avoid anything buy Cathy Dobson from now on.

Dreadful narration

I think I would have enjoyed the stories immensely (some I had previously read) but the narration was so distracting that I couldn't listen to more than a few minutes. Waste of a credit.