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Trent's Last Case (Philip Trent, #1)

E.C. Bentley

Start date: June 1, 2017

Finish date: June 30, 2017

Discussion: Group reads

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What Members Thought

May 03, 2017 Susan rated it really liked it

Published in 1913, this really has not dated badly at all. Yes, admittedly, there is a point in the book where a character has to explain what the rear mirror on an automobile is for, but otherwise the mystery centres on good old fashioned human failings – greed, jealousy and murder – which are sadly unchanging as motivators, or motives, even today.

The book concerns the suspicious death of American financier, Sigsbee Manderson. His death causes a brief financial panic, but it does not seem to ca ...more

27 likes · Like · see review

May 19, 2017 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, british, series, murder

Philip Trent, a fairly successful artist, who also has a remarkable talent for solving the most baffling of murders and writing dispatches on them for the Record, is called in by the paper when the great financial giant, Sigsbee Manderson is found dead in mysterious circumstances. Was it suicide or murder, and even if the latter, what explains all the rather unusual little details associated with the case? With a limited number of suspects (including an unseen possibility that very much reminded ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 09, 2022 Lady Wesley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-golden-age-or-similar, aud-rev, listened, aud-plus, fave-narrators, 2022-faves

Review of the audiobook narrated by Simon Vance

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 ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2017 Damaskcat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

No one seems to be mourning the late Sigsbee Manderson when his dead body is found in the grounds of his home - least of all his widow, Maud. Philip Trent, artist and sometimes criminal investigator, is sent to cover the case by the newspaper he sometimes works for. He finds himself unwillingly attracted to the lovely Maud. Trent jumps to some totally unwarranted conclusions about the identity of the murderer and the case twists and turns before the truth is finally revealed.

This is one of the c ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2017 Jill rated it liked it

Although I liked the writing, I did not warm to Trent at all. The murderer turned out to be who I suspected from very early on in the book, and I did not appreciate the romance side of it at all.

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Dec 08, 2015 ShanDizzy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I agree with the majority of the other reviews that this story was fantastic! It was un-put-downable! The "murder" was fiendishly diabolical with a stunning twist. Trent was fun, intelligent, likeable. ...more

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