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Trent's Last Case

The Detective Club

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Trent's Last Case

By: E. C. Bentley, Dorothy L. Sayers - afterword
Narrated by: Steven Crossley
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About this listen

Written in reaction to what Bentley perceived as the sterility and artificiality of the detective fiction of his day, Trent's Last Case 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.

Trent’s Last Case begins when millionaire American financier Sigsbee Manderson is murdered while on holiday in England. A London newspaper sends Trent to investigate, and he is soon matching wits with Scotland Yard's Inspector Murth as they probe ever deeper in search of a solution to a mystery filled with odd, mysterious twists and turns.

Called by Agatha Christie "one of the best detective stories ever written," Trent's Last Case delights with its flesh-and-blood characters, its naturalness and easy humor, and its style, which, as Dorothy Sayers has noted, "ranges from a vividly coloured rhetoric to a delicate and ironical literary fancy."

©1913 Estate of E. C. Bentley; Introduction © John Curran 2017; Afterword © Estate of Dorothy L. Sayers (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Crime Thrillers Dark Humour Detective Fiction Genre Fiction Literature & Fiction Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Traditional Detectives Urban Crime England Thriller Exciting Comedy

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Critic reviews

‘One of the three best detective stories ever written.’ AGATHA CHRISTIE

‘The finest detective story of modern times.’ G. K. CHESTERTON

‘A masterpiece of detective fiction.’ EDGAR WALLACE

‘Trent’s Last Case holds a very special place in the history of detective fiction. A tale of unusual brilliance and charm – startlingly original.’ DOROTHY L. SAYERS
All stars
Most relevant  
The blurb mentions the postscript but it was not included. Also, I'm sorry to say that I didn't warm to the narrator. Shame, as I remember enjoying the book more when I first read it many years ago.

What happened to the Waters postscript?

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I chose this book because I like a good detective story and this one is reputed to be one of the best plots in the genre.

Although the story starts slowly and ponderously (and in a completely different manner than the rest of the book), it heats up as it goes along. In fact, it seems to me to be like a car that starts off at a crawl, gradually gets up speed-then eventually is hurtling along at breakneck velocity.

I do believe that the story itself is so clever and creative that very few people would be able to foresee where it's going. More than that, the personality and tone of the author is very attractive. Lacking in pomposity (unlike many whodunnit writers), he is humorous and his good sense and whimsy just won me over.

I really would highly recommend it.

Fantastic plot

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Founded couldn't stop listening, reader, very well read
Good voice story fascinating lots of twists and turns

Interest story

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Slow and leisurely paced with a few twists. An interesting idea that could have been more deftly crafted.

An interesting piece of "periodiana"

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This is another of the lovely 'period' mysteries, whose depiction of time and place is a pleasure in itself. This was a world in which it was necessary to explain what the rearview mirror in a car was, and what it was for; in which tobacco was a universal solace and a celebration supper still consisted of mutton.
But this is also a very cleverly-plotted mystery, with several twists that I didn't foresee (including the last one, which came as a real surprise). The character of Trent is mildly attractive, being a classic, slightly eccentric gentleman sleuth. One does not become deeply engaged with any of the characters, but they are interesting and sympathetic enough to hold ones interest.
The narrator did a excellent job, with good pacing and a pleasant voice. He manages to make the characters distinctive, without straining to 'act them out' in a literal sense.
I found this an unusually enjoyable listen, one of the best of its genre. A real pleasure.

An exceptionally clever plot

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This story was slow to get going and a bit pedantic, but I persevered to the end

Slow

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Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Euphuism (got that off Stephen Fry) might have been fine in 1913 but more used to the laconic detectives of later decades I was, after 8 and half hours, fed up with it. Another version cuts the book to 3 hours. Good as a renowned period piece.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The brazen contrivance of the plot.
The hero.

What three words best describe Steven Crossley’s voice?

Tedious. Monotonous. Slow.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Having read the book I might, just to see what they made of it.

Any additional comments?

The advertised afterword from Dorothy Sayers seems to be missing.
Narration is improved by tweaking the speed up a bit.

Euphuistic hero in contrived plot.

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Bit long winded. The story was ok, but I didn't like the narrators style at all. The story would have flowed more if it had been better read.

Long winded

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I'm afraid I didn't like the reader's voice, but he was very clear and spoke in a good tempo.

A great mystery told in a most tedious manner

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Narrater was good, though the story is to long winded, it was easy to see who was the real villain fairly early on and the accused, then additional accusations did not lift it

Long winded

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