Calamity in Kent

By: John Rowland

Narrated by: Peter Wickham

In the peaceful seaside town of Broadgate, an impossible crime occurs. The operator of the cliff railway locks the empty carriage one evening; when he returns to work next morning, a dead body is locked inside - a man who has been stabbed in the back. Jimmy London, a newspaper reporter, is first on the scene. He is quick on the trail for clues and agrees to pool his knowledge with Inspector Shelley of Scotland Yard, who is holidaying in the area. Mistrustful of the plodding local policeman, Inspector Beech, the two men launch their own investigation into the most baffling locked-room mystery, a case that could reignite Jimmy's flagging career, but one that exposes him to great danger.

©2016 Estate of John Rowland (P)2017 Soundings

I love John Rowland

This is my favorite, so far, of Rowland ‘s books. I’ve always read his others but now want to listen to them all if Wickham is narrating.
I just discovered Rowland recently when I came across the British Library Crime Classics, published by both Poisoned Pen Press in the USA and by British Library in the UK. These are Golden Age Mysteries, published from as far back as the turn of the Century— 19th to the 20th — but became popular between

Good Mystery

Fun mystery, good twists and interesting characters. I true mystery in which you don't really know who did it.

Not worth the time or effort

What disappointed you about Calamity in Kent?

The story is dreadful; the conclusion poorly developed. I found the charters an annoyance.

What could John Rowland have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Very poorly developed mystery.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Peter Wickham?

The narrator's voice had a rasp; sad to say, it sounded like he was chain smoking throughout the reading.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Calamity in Kent?

Most of them.

Any additional comments?

A forgotten post-war author who should remain forgotten.