The Beetle Hunter

By: Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrated by: David Ian Davies

"A curious experience? said the Doctor. Yes, my friends, I have had one very curious experience. I never expect to have another, for it is against all doctrines of chances that two such events would befall any one man in a single lifetime. You may believe me or not, but the thing happened exactly as I tell it."

The opening lines of Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Beetle Hunter" promise much and deliver as only Doyle can do. The narrator begins as he reads an ad in The Standard...

"Wanted for one or more days the services of a medical man. It is essential that he should be a man of strong physique, of steady nerves, and of a resolute nature. Must be an entomologist—coleopterist preferred. Apply, in person, at 77B, Brook Street. Application must be made before twelve o'clock today."

Public Domain (P)2012 One Voice Recordings

Great Non-Sherlock Doyle Short

This is a very nice short mystery, basically a Sherlock Holmes story without Sherlock. Good writing, good story, good mystery, and good narration. I had read all the Sherlock Holmes stories but nothing else by Doyle, so this was a very pleasant surprise. The narration is not perfect, but the story overcomes. This is only 39 minutes and currently costs $1.95 and was well worth it for me (don’t waste a full credit). I am sure I will listen to this again and look forward to trying other non-Sherlock Doyle.