Before the Fact

By: Francis Iles

Narrated by: Deryn Edwards

Some women give birth to murderers, some go to bed with them, and some marry them. Lina Aysgarth had lived with her husband for nearly eight years before she realized that she was married to a murderer.

Following the success of Malice Aforethought, novelist Anthony Berkeley Cox returned to his Francis Iles pen-name for another experiment in the inverted mystery. Where Malice Aforethought is a study of murder from the perpetrator's perspective, Before the Fact is a masterful tale of the suspicions of a possible victim and her impressions of disquieting husband Johnnie. Unsettling and gripping for its incisive portrayal of human emotion and fears, this experimental classic of crime fiction was the basis for Alfred Hitchcock's film Suspicion, but remains an arresting literary listen today.

©1932 The P.D. James Memorial Fund c/o The Society of Authors (P)2024 Soundings

Perhaps it's too dated now.

This book is wonderfully performed and was highly reviewed recently by the New York Times in an article looking back at older mystery novels. However, it feels frustrating and dated.
It's really not a mystery, but the unfolding of a relationship. I suppose on the plus side, it is also a reminder of how vulnerable women were in early 20th century U.K.
(Spoiler ahead.)
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The protagonist is a woman who is willing to put up with just about anything to stay with her rotten beloved. The plot feels plodding and predictable and so, with only 30% left to go, I think I'm going to abandon it.