The Wintringham Mystery

Cicely Disappears

De: Anthony Berkeley, Tony Medawar

Narrado por: Mike Grady

Republished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve!

Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew – who recognises Stephen from his former life – decides that an after-dinner séance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears!

With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair…

This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age – a rambling country house, a séance, a murder, a room locked on the inside, with servants, suspects and alibis, a romance – and an ingenious puzzle.

First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926 – the year The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintringham Mystery was written by Anthony Berkeley, founder of the famous Detection Club. Also known as Cicely Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of £500 (equivalent to £30,000 today) for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. Nobody did – even Agatha Christie entered and couldn’t solve it. Can you?

©2021 Anthony Berkeley, A. Monmouth Platts, Tony Medawar (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Detection and crime at its wittiest - all Berkeley’s stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." (Agatha Christie)

"Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the 'twist' but of the 'double-twist'." (Milward Kennedy in the Sunday Times)

Charming Light-hearted mystery

Wonderful entertainment for those who enjoy cozy mysteries from the Golden age. A particularly endearing example of the genre.

Just Ok

This is OK, but not as enjoyable as his other classic mysteries written under the alias Frances Iles, such as Before the Fact (basis for the film Suspicion) and Malice Aforethought. This one is a bit hokey and the narration is OK, but not great.

A great old fashioned mystery

I listened because it was written in 1926 and I wanted to hear the idioms and culture of the time between the world wars, when British aristocracy was undergoing tremendous change. I was not disappointed. The story is just plain old fun and the narration “spot on, old boy”. It’s a glimpse into British life of almost 100 years ago. If you aren’t an Anglophile you probably won’t enjoy it. If you are, you’ll love it.

Golden Age Favorite

Just good fun following our H and h along a tangled trail of clues and red herrings

A Nostalgic British Mystery With a Witty Cast of Characters

This was both a good whodunnit and a good character study, with a vastly diverse cast who engage in the witty repartee we’ve come to expect from novels published during the “golden age” of crime fiction (the 1920s-30s)…Fun, frothy & elegant, The Wintringham Mystery sits among the best of murder “cozies.”

Wonderful

Story is great fun, beautifully told. If you like golden age mysteries you won’t be disappointed

good classic mystery

well paced with lots of characters. good old fashioned mystery in the vein of Christie, et al. narrator was good.

The plot for the mystery was weak.

This story is too much like a sappy romance novel for me. The resolution was a terrible let down for me.

Dated charm if you overlook “sins” … Prejudices of its times

The narration of this audiobook is superb. The plot is pretty convoluted … there’s a pretty satisfactory conclusion in the end.
One might say that the author has some of the characters expressing veiled antisemitism, classism, and male superiority/sexism.
However, the female leads are depicted as being intelligent, determined, resourceful, and independent, with a sense of humor and a kind of maternal tolerance for blustering males… especially given the setting and time of the writing of the piece.
This is not an equal to any Agatha Christie story I’ve read, but it still has a place in the genre.

Delightful!

Such an enjoyable cozy mystery!
At first I was surprised by the start of the story, not at all expecting the direction it seemed to be heading. Settled in and rewarded with a delightful tale, incredible narrator, and interesting peek into the life of those so many years ago.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!