Bentley, E. C. Philip Trent. #bk. 1

Read by Martin Jarvis

Trent's Last Case, published when Conan Doyle and Chesterton were both at the pinnacle of their respective literary careers, was the first detective story to use finger-printing as a means of detecting the criminal. Dedicated to his friend G. K. Chesterton, E. C. Bentley, a journalist first with the Daily News and then with The Daily Telegraph, intended the book to be a gentle parody of the detective genre, only for it to be quickly hailed as a classic. Sigsbee Manderson was an unpopular millionaire - so when his body was discovered in the grounds of his mansion, not many people were heart-broken by his death. His widow, butler, business assistant and personal assistant become immediate suspects. Trent, who write for The Record, is summoned by his editor, with an eye for a good story, to investigate. Through many twists and red-herrings, and one of the most amazing literary double twists in the final minutes, the listener is kept enthralled and guessing to the end

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