Post After Post-Mortem

By: E.C.R. Lorac

Narrated by: David Thorpe

The Surrays and their five children form a prolific writing machine, with scores of treatises, reviews and crime thrillers published under their family name. Following a convergence of the whole household at their Oxfordshire home, Ruth—the middle sister—decides to spend some weeks there recovering from the pressures of the writing life. Their next return is heralded by the tragic news that Ruth has taken her life after an evening at the Surrays' hosting a set of publishers and writers, one of whom is named as Ruth's literary executor in the will she left behind.

Despite suspicions, the verdict at the inquest is suicide—but when Ruth's brother Richard receives a letter from the deceased which was delayed in the post, he enlists the help of CID Robert Macdonald to investigate what could only be an ingeniously planned murder.

©1936, 2022 The Estate of E.C.R. Lorac, Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2022 Soundings

Favorite Narrator

I enjoy reading all of Lorac’s books in the Inspector Macdonald series and listen to them multiple times. Except this book. I didn’t like the story line so much and couldn’t connect with the characters. I felt the motive, when revealed in the end to be very senseless even though emotionally complex. It did keep me guessing and has a few well executed plot twists. As always I enjoy how David Thorpe brings the characters to life. He does an excellent job.

An excellent collection of fine mysteries

I’ve been listening to these novels one by one without pausing to give a comment. My main excuse is that I intend to listen to each of them again and give them a more informed review. So far I haven’t found a dud and I have a few more to go. I’ve found Martin Edwards intros quite spot on and enjoyed exactly those things which he highlights. I have many hundreds of books in my audible library and these definitely rank amongst my most enjoyed and admired. If you latch onto these gems of fine writing and put aside any self-congratulating, politically-correct inanities you will I hope enjoy them as much as I have.

An enigmatically bound mystery

With many ins and outs, and quite a few characters to keep straight in one’s head, I might recommend you skip the audio and read the written words if able! (I had to rw a number of times to clarify which character was speaking, or to repeat a plot point, but that could be “just me.”)
All these factors which may dampen listening also make the mystery intriguing. Plus, I love the fact it features hand bookbinding, means and method, a hobby of mine which I haven’t seen featured in fiction before now.

Love ECR Lorac and David Thorpe

No better combination of writer and reader. please record more of the British Crime Library Classics.

MS Lorax aka Carol triumphs again!

Loved it, kept me guessing all along, and I was sad it ended! I hope all of her works get brought back out to us!