The Cornish Coast Murder

By: John Bude

Narrated by: Ben Allen

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's Summary

The reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish. But the vicar's peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, an ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head.

The local police inspector is baffled by the lack of clues. Suspicion seems to fall on Tregarthan's niece, Ruth - but surely that young woman lacks the motive to shoot her uncle dead in cold blood. Luckily for Inspector Bigswell, the reverend Dodd is on hand.

©2014 Martin Edwards (P)2016 Soundings

A Good Old Fashioned Who Done It

A well written linear story. The narrator was first rate . I will look for other books narrated by Ben Allen.

Quite dull

I found the first half of this book to be one of the dullest books I have ever listened to. There is SO much repetition of the evidence as characters discuss it and think about it. I love this sort of book, but this one was probably the worst ever!

Awesome

this was a really great story enjoyed it from start to finish plot was great

whodunnit details are held back

One of those stories where the key clues are not revealed until the end, all at once -- for readers who like to detect along with the hero, very frustrating, Well read, but disappointing.

Well-Wrought, Well-Read.

Misled by his short story, “Pattern of Revenge”, I’d docketed John Bude as one of those regrettable incidents, without which no genre of literature is complete; in this case a mystery writer whose mysteries (miracle of miracles) I could unravel. Yet his Cornish Coast Mystery remained on my wish list, being the first British Crime Classic I’d put there (probably because I liked the cover). Now I find the rest of the book is just as attractive.

I guess it qualifies as a “police procedural”; suspects are interviewed, notes are taken, theories are discussed and dismissed. But the story is far more engaging than that label usually implies. The “how’d-they-do-it?” is just as perplexing as the “who-dunnit?” The case develops—and the solution emerges—in natural stages that never seem contrived or rushed. In fact, the book (and Ben Allen’s performance) proceed at a pace that allowed me to follow the details and deductions with a minimum of rewinding.

I hesitate to use the word “charming” because the label “cozy” makes me cringe, but there are aspects of this story—such as the friendship between the vicar and the doctor—that do charm. And this vicar, unlike many I’ve met in British Lit, actually believes. It’s a nice change of pace. Lively ancillary characters and entertaining dialogue round out this well-wrought, well written, delightful murder mystery, to which Ben Allen does more than full justice.

Disappointing

it is not fair to the reader when the murderer is an underdeveloped character. With a backstory introduced in the last 3 chapters, the reader has no chance of solving the mystery.

First Bude I’ve listened to....

I read this book earlier and liked many of the characters. I felt the full range of emotions as the story progressed..
Encountering a policeman who had brains and yet was not so egotistical he wouldn’t listen to anyone else was refreshing.
I look forward to more books by Bude.

Gentle and enjoyable

Nicely plotted and written 1930s police procedural\whodunnit. Likable characters minimal gore a bit of deus ex machina denouement but this doesn’t spoil the pleasure.

Couldn't get past chapter 3

Bad writing, bad narration, just plain bad. Oops, I need more words. Will this do?

Nothing to do with Cornwall, save the title

There are classics worth reading and classics with little to recommend them, this is the latter. I found it heavy-handed. The detective and his relationship with others utterly unbelievable. I listened to the Audible edition because I thought it would put me to sleep but the narrator was so annoying, I often switched it off. The only reason bothered to finish it is that it was on the list of recommended books for a trip I am taking to Cornwall. There is nothing to do with Cornwall, save it is in the title.

Good old fashioned story

Nice old fashioned and enjoyable. I like the way the characters build, almost an old Miss Marple.

Enjoyable

Interesting and clear plot but too drawn out at the end. As with The Lake District Murder and theSussex Downs Murder, this was a period piece. However it has not stood the test of time so well. I am glad that the author dropped the clunky device of the vicar and doctor as additional detectives in his later books.

dreadful narration

What disappointed you about The Cornish Coast Murder?

Not sure if this is a good story or not, the narration is so dreadful its a complete distraction from the story. I wont bother with any more of this series if the narrator is the same for all. Publishers really do need to ensure they employ professional voice actors.

not as good as books in series so try the others

read this as enjoyed first the lake district sussex and riviera books, thought this first book would feature the detective meredith but this is different....also would have preferred the other books narrator

Annoying readers voice

I like the authors other work however I could not get on with this readers voice his tone was very flat and unlistenable. I found it very hard to concentrate on the story as the reader added no life to the story

Really enjoyable

Lovely story well narrated. Just the right amount of descriptive storyline to get the feel for the cast in the mystery and I didn't guess who did it. Recommend it for light reading, along Christie lines rather than Rendall

Good

Where does The Cornish Coast Murder rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I really enjoyed this audiobook.

What other book might you compare The Cornish Coast Murder to, and why?

The British Library Crime Classics series

Have you listened to any of Ben Allen’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

I love the British Library Crime Classics series. Wish they did more audiobooks.

Good Idea Poor Execution

Any additional comments?

The plot build-up was poor, a situation not helped by Ben Allen's reading which throughout the book seemed to lack, what I can best describe as. a "sense of conviction".

Dubious plot ploddingly written

Heavy handed writing and a plot with more than one hole. But the narration was particularly odd. Speaking in the characters’ voices he imbued them with expression and life, but otherwise it was rather like listening to the football results.

Great classic

A classic crime mystery with interesting angles.
Can’t wait to see how John Bude developed his writing in later crime novels as here, the characters are sometimes a bit simplistic in their reactions. Still, a very enjoyable tale.
As for the narrator, he’s quite good in giving each character its own voice, but his narration voice has a tone of continuous boredom which makes it hard to engage. I had to rewind several times and start a chapter all over. His voices though, are much more engaging.