Murder in the Basement

By: Anthony Berkeley

Narrated by: Seán Barrett

When two newlyweds move into their new home, only to discover that a corpse has been buried in their basement a few months prior, a gruelling case is begun to trace the identity of the victim. With all avenues of investigation approaching exhaustion, a tenuous lead offers a chance for Chief Inspector Moresby and leads him to the amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham, who has recently been providing cover work in a school south of London. Desperate for evidence of any kind on the basement case, Moresby begins to sift through the manuscript of a satirical novel Sheringham had been writing about his colleagues at the school, convinced that amongst the cast of teachers hides the victim - and perhaps their murderer.

©1932, 2021 The Estate of Anthony Berkeley Cox, Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2021 Isis Publishing Ltd

you think you know.. and then there's a twist..

Author did a good job of creating a standard, banal as the life itself, little plot, with just hints of hidden, crawling under surface, "other motives" - which jump out nicely at the end of mystery's denouement ..

Really quite good

There are great characters and an interesting plot, along with a very tricky mystery. Worth the read!

Berkeley- Master Mystery Writer

Berkeley is one of my all time favorite mystery writers. Every book I have read of his I have enjoyed. My favorite is his “The Poisoned Chocolates Case”. I enjoy the English mysteries where reason and psychology solve the mystery over the American beat down with fists to extract truth. A battle of wits is more fun.

S-l-o-w paced.

Rather tedious, with too much of the slogging work of following this that and the other to no avail. No one shines in this mystery.

Unsatisfying Ending

I guess I'm too traditional, but I didn't like the way Berkeley reached the denouement.