The Sussex Downs Murder

By: John Bude

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

“Already it looked as if the police were up against a carefully planned and cleverly executed murder, and, what was more, a murder without a corpse!”

Two brothers, John and William Rother, live together at Chalklands Farm in the beautiful Sussex Downs. Their peaceful rural life is shattered when John Rother disappears and his abandoned car is found. Has he been kidnapped? Or is his disappearance more sinister - connected, perhaps, to his growing rather too friendly with his brother's wife?

Superintendent Meredith is called to investigate - and begins to suspect the worst when human bones are discovered on Chalklands farmland. His patient, careful detective method begins slowly to untangle the clues as suspicion shifts from one character to the next.

©2015 Introduction © Martin Edwards (P)2015 Soundings

Well plotted and enjoyable

Bude writes well and manages to keep listening interest high while unraveling a quite complex mystery. One technical point concerning the properties of lime took away one star but still recommended.

I couldn't connect with Superintendent Meredith

While as easy listen and in no way terrible, I missed having a connection Superintendent Meredith, the primary detective investigating the murders. He is not a well developed character. I wanted to know more about his family (his interesting, eccentric son pops up once or twice), about his likes and dislikes (other than his need to eat meals on schedule), and his background. For me, he suffered from not having a regular partner/sidekick. He also spent too much time going over the various murder theories in his head and not enough time investigating them. His superior had to keep bringing him back on track and pushing him towards a resolution. That said, the plot was interesting, although I did figure out the who and the why, though not all the twists in the how, long before the end of the story.

Keep looking

This was actually tiresome to listen to. Even if the detective had been brilliant and the plot fascinating, the writing has very little descriptive element. You feel as though conversations and events are just methodically strung together. Also, this is the first time I've ever felt sorry for a detective because of how daft he is. You'll figure out the solution at least an hour before the story ends and wonder what the detective is doing. For example, when a fake confession is discovered and proven to be a fraud, he muses about who would have written the letter and why. Um, the real murderer wrote it, obviously, and this should be a huge clue as to who did it and why. There are dozens of moments like this. And dozens of convenient coincidences. At the end of the story, the detective, who has just discovered the murderer of an innocent man, talks about how part of him might be glad that this murderer can't be brought to justice because greed and other evil motives are just part of the human condition. What? Trust me. Don't waste several hours on this.

Very Enjoyable for Murder and Whatnot.

This was very enjoyable. I should point out that the John Bude mysteries are quite dated, and are not especially fast-paced or sophisticated, but I think that is their charm. And they are very well written. I enjoyed parsing the chalk and lime setting, and figuring out what "the hillman" was. (I thought it was some type of person, like the gamekeeper or the crofter.) I congratulated myself for guessing the scenario, but there was still another detail that quite surprised me. If you enjoy vintage things, and cozy mysteries, you will like this one. I should point out that Gordon Griffin's narration here is far superior to the other narrator. Griffin has great timing, and is very good at interpreting the various local types, especially a character or two with "wheezes" and vocal peculiarities. A mystery that won't disturb your sleep.

Long form mystery

If you appreciate a highly detailed slowly developing mystery, this book (and Bude) are for you. This was written at a time when if you needed to see a portrait, you'd have to borrow the key for the house where it was on display, and visit it in person. A much slower pace, which is reflected in Bude's writing style.
But, if you're looking for simple, straight line solution, this won't be the best choice.