The Lake District Murder

By: John Bude

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

Luke flung the light of his torch full onto the face of the immobile figure. Then he had the shock of his life. The man had no face! Where his face should have been was a sort of inhuman, uniform blank!

When a body is found at an isolated garage, Inspector Meredith is drawn into a complex investigation where every clue leads to another puzzle: was this a suicide or something more sinister? Why was the dead man planning to flee the country? And how is this connected to the shady business dealings of the garage?

This classic mystery tale is set amidst the stunning scenery of a small village in the Lake District.

©2014 Martin Edwards (P)2016 Soundings

Pay attention !

John Bude is my kind of author. Just try lolling off when you are listening; you will end up having to "rewind" because the details are not just window-dressing.
I also appreciate the narrator.
Thanks Audible !

More of a Police Procedural than a Mystery

It was pretty good, but don't expect any kind of mystery. It's a procedural that walks you through discoveries, not deductions.

John Bude - A new Favorite!

It's a long rambling story with lots of detail and a glimpse of the fuel and trucking business and so forth back in the thirties. Much of the book is an account of Inspector Meredith's reasoning about the situation. It's complicated so pay attention.

Gordon Griffin has a great voice, rather soothing, which is one reason I recommend this book as a good one to read iat night.

I like details, but ...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Develop real characters. Include a whole lot less tedium.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something by Terry Pratchett to lighten up. Or maybe back to Amelia Peabody for the jillionth time ...

Which character – as performed by Gordon Griffin – was your favorite?

He did a decent enough job with all the voices, just not a lot to work with. His voice is pleasant enough.

Was The Lake District Murder worth the listening time?

I did listen to it all, but I used it a lot at bedtime to fall right asleep.

Any additional comments?

I love the classic British mystery writers and have no objection to police procedurals, but this was exceedingly plodding and had no real characters. Yawn ... I had hopes of a new discovery with John Bude but was sadly disappointed.

Couldn't finish

Got about 1/3 through this book and I just couldn't finish. The story was so dull, and I just didn't care who did it.

Outstanding!

First book I have read by John Bude and am on the way to more. This was an excellent mystery. Emphasis - mystery. The who done it part is pretty obvious; how it was done is the real puzzle to solve. Characterizations serve the story, so are not front and center.

Interesting reminder of life in the recent past!

What made the experience of listening to The Lake District Murder the most enjoyable?

The slightly-old-fashioned language, the illustrations of everyday life in the 1930's, the meticulous police procedure and an interesting mystery

What about Gordon Griffin’s performance did you like?

Nicely paced delivery in a tone which appeared perfectly in keeping/

Any additional comments?

Enjoyable, old-fashioned police crime story, with some twists and turns.

Slow and somewhat outdated

Makes a change from the usual detective story. Main character has no flaws, no hidden family secrets and it isn't actually very exciting. But well written and a nice piece of nostalgia.

The Lake District murder

Good old fashioned murder mystery. Kept me listening all the way through. Well presented. I have already listened to The Cornish mystery and now will listen to The Sussex Downs mystery, which is waiting for me in my Audible library. Another new author for me to follow. Well done Audible. I would never have found him without you.

Complex plot

While this sits in the same time period as the Golden Age novels I think it has some key different characteristics. Firstly there is no big “reveal” at the end; instead you are brought along in the thinking of the detective as he works out the solution. This is refreshing in a way, and makes for a nice intellectual puzzle, but I do slightly miss the dramatic finale.

The narrator has a nice pace, and there are no jarring moments, but he does not put on voices, so you have to listen closely to make sure you know who is speaking.

Begins well, but drags

Interesting start and premise, but too much minute detail- slows pace and sacrifices characterisation for intricate technical details... "Meticulous accounts of painstaking detail" becomes repetitive and is overly complex to be convincing as a real crime...

Great story

this was a brilliant detective story well performed and read I enjoyed this and look forward to listern to the others john bude books

Enjoyable Murder Mystery

This is an enjoyable and convoluted murder mystery investigated by the resolute Inspector Meredith. Similar to the authors other books in this genre, the book provides an interesting setting and backdrop. The story is slow paced and gentle, with lots of detail. Consequently, the second half of the story feels a little slow in reaching the denouement.

Good story

Another well read story on audible. Will listen to another story of this author again

Tedious and very dated

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

The story so very long detailed and wordy you can miss whole parts and it won't matter.

I suspect the plot would have scandalised people at the time not now.

Would you ever listen to anything by John Bude again?

No

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

No but his performance was good but nothing would make this interesting.

What character would you cut from The Lake District Murder?

None their aren't that many

Any additional comments?

I bought this book 2 years ago but never managed to get very far so i felt I couldn't return it I've honestly only finished it as I'm having work done to my house and the noise blocks parts out. The worst book I have listened to all through.

nicely read, dull characters

Nicely read, dull characters and non gripping story. Not quite agatha Christie. reasonably enjoyable but not a page turner...