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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

great stories, appalling narration.

these stories are classics, I have read and loved nearly all of them and really wanted something easy to listen to, that I loved.
however, I wish that I had listened to the narration. sorry but Cathy Dobson is awful in narrating these stories. I didn't even finish the first story and wished I had listened to a sample.
it makes theses un listenable

unlistenable to

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I was very disappointed by this collection. I was looking forward to listening to all my favourites but I omitted to listen to the sample clip. The narration is stilted, mannered and extremely irritating. The narrator makes no attempt to differentiate characters and there was no way I could listen to the book all the way through. This is the only time I have ever been disappointed with an Audible choice. Ghastly!

Would you recommend The Great Detective Collection to your friends? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend this collection to anyone.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Cathy Dobson?

Any one, Stephen Fry would be perfect.

You didn’t love this book--but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Well the actual stories are great but the narration ruined them.

Any additional comments?

Enough said.

Terrible Narration

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator

What didn’t you like about Cathy Dobson’s performance?

The strange emphasis on parts of words, the sounding of the letter T e.g. it or honest, the way her voice strangely tails off, the stress put on words completely out of context.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Great Detective Collection?

None but I would have listened to the reader then employed someone who would do justice to the stories.

Any additional comments?

I have only got as far as the fourth story and I am losing patience with the awful narration. I will continue but I am not at all sure I will finish this audio book.

Good stories, narrate a little distracting.

Great stories but i'm not sure the narration works. There is a strange emphasis and intonation which detracts from the stories.

Narration spoilt this book

The stories are excellent wide range of scenarios but so difficult to listen to with her irritating voice

Dreadful dreadful narration

I was REALLY looking forward to a good long listen to some of my favourite detective tales on a long drive, but couldn't get through the 1st story. Through desperation I tried again. No chance. Whoever employed this woman to narrate books must hate books. Many good tales ruined.

Horrendous Narration

I struggled through the first story, continually rewinding as the narrator made it so difficult to concentrate on the story.
Her diction was okay, but the manner of her narration was worse than a 5 year old.
Having previously 'read' Sherlock Holmes, narrated by Stephen Fry, I was really looking forward to this, but it was diabolical.
If I didn't have to put one star to it I wouldn't!
Oh so disappointed.
I now know I MUST listen to the sample prior to purchasing!!

Dreadful narration/Very disappointed

The stories were quirky and varied. Some ended suddenly. The narration was dreadful. I've never heard such a peculiar way of speaking. Creepy stupid intonation.. How does someone like that get the job? Is that how they usually speak? Or is that strange affect just for narrating. Either way please choose narrators more wisely. I've never had to speak so strongly about narration. Very disappointing.

Awful narrator

The stories are first class; they deserve a narrator to match. A very lacklustre reader who manages to make wonderful fiction simply dull and unengaging.

Shocking Narration

I thought the narration spoiled the book. Monotonous, and failed to keep the reader's attention