Trent's Last Case

By: E C. Bentley

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 7 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Considered by many to be the first modern mystery novel, Trent's Last Case introduces the gentleman sleuth Philip Trent, a freelance reporter and investigator.

Trent becomes involved in the case of the murder of millionaire American financier Sigsbee Manderson, slain while on holiday in England. During the course of his investigation, Trent falls in love with one of the primary suspects. And while he collects evidence and becomes convinced that he has cracked the case, he turns out to be well off the mark when the real murderer tells Trent just how wrong his conclusions were. An inspiration to writers like Agatha Christie and G.K. Chesterton, Trent's Last Case is a classic of the mystery genre.

(P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"The prototype of the modern detective novel." (The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature)

A real find!

As a fan of "The Golden Age of British Mysteries," I had read frequent allusions to this book as one of the founding works of the genre, but had never come across a copy. So I was thrilled to find this version read by Simon Vance, whom I think is one of the most reliably good readers in the business.

And the book lived up to the hype--it contains foreshadowings of everyone from Sayers to Tey, and is a very satisfying and well-written tale in its own right.

Sublime

As Dorothy Sayers’ favorite mystery, this is indeed a great story with surprise ending. Well done performance and writing.

Superb reader, story is entertaining but...

I loved the reader. He was just wonderful. Clear, good with the different voices, good pace. The story was entertaining as far as old crime novels go. I enjoy detective stories from any era or country. It looks like the original was published in 1913 in England. The one objectionable item is the use of the “n” word in parts of the book. Clearly it was a time when people thought nothing of it, but to me it sounded harsh because we don’t or shouldn’t use words like that to refer to each other. So just be forewarned about it.

A classic but that much of a classic

I would venture to guess that most people haven't heard of this book, though I think it has an interesting place in history of detective fiction. The blatant racism of the day does appear in the story, which I always find a bit disappointing and unnerving. I can get past that, as one has to do to enjoy golden era detective fiction, but I just wasn't as engaged in the story as with other mysteries that I've read. That said, here is what I like and appreciate about it: 1. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't know the solution to this whodunnit. 2. Neither did the detective, but not because he was a dummy, but rather because the author wanted to make a point. Bentley was tired of all the brilliant literary detectives neatly wrapping up cases, when in reality, people are fallible. In this way, this book is both an early golden age mystery and a send-up of one, which is pretty brilliant. Still, I just wasn't wowed by the writing, though I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could!

Twist

Good Anti-Detective :-)

What a treat!

This is a rare treat indeed to find a true mystery in the lofty style of the early mystery writers. Everything well formed and tightly written, but still charmingly engaging. So few of these are in our reading universe. Highly recommend.

Sayers and Christie weren’t wrong

This 1913 book was said to be Dorothy L. Sayers' favorite mystery; indeed, she wrote the foreword to this edition and calls it "a tale of unusual brilliance and charm." Agatha Christie called it "one of the best detective stories ever written." Supposedly written following a bet with Bentley's friend G.K. Chesterton, the story is a subtle send-up of the "infallible sleuth" of the day.

It features Philip Trent, an all-too-human detective who not only falls in love with the chief suspect but reaches a brilliant conclusion that is totally wrong. Some may say that they saw the final twist coming, but I would not believe them.

The story is great fun, and Simon Vance's narration is perfect. Highly recommended.

There is a reason this was his last case...

The author died from boredom reading his own draft...it starts slow and then slows down.

Simon Vance wonderful as always

I've listened to Trent's Last Case twice now. It is an unusual detective story, delightfully so. It is a great diversion from the usual police procedural or the gumshoe detective who always gets his man. The literary aspects of the story, as well as Trent's attributes, reminds me of P.D. James's Adam Dalgliesh but without the melancholy. It is a novel that challenges your imagination and is great fun. Plus, Simon Vance narrates, as usual, to perfection.

Good story as long as you don't mind delays

I was unsure what to expect with this, and was pleasantly surprised. My only complaint about this was that the plot too so many detours that I kept losing interest. If I had been reading this book I would have either skipped chapters or not finished it. Due to the delightful narration I kept listening with only mild annoyance. I will be looking for more works by this author and especially more works by the narrator.