The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
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The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books
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Narrated by:
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Gordon Griffin
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By:
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Martin Edwards
About this listen
The main aim of detective stories is to entertain, but the best cast a light on human behaviour and display both literary ambition and accomplishment. Even unpretentious detective stories, written for unashamedly commercial reasons, can give us clues to the past and give us insight into a long-vanished world that, for all its imperfections, continues to fascinate.
This audiobook, written by award-winning crime writer and president of the Detection Club Martin Edwards, serves as a companion to the British Library's internationally acclaimed series of Crime Classics. Long-forgotten stories republished in the series have won a devoted new readership, with several titles entering the best seller charts and sales outstripping those of highly acclaimed contemporary thrillers.
©2017 Martin Edwards (P)2019 SoundingsListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 20
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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The Edinburgh Mystery
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- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 16
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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- Unabridged
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Crime at Black Dudley
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The White Priory Murders
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
James Bennett, nephew of Sir Henry Merrivale (the cantankerous yet genius sleuth), has been invited to stay at White Priory for Christmas, among the retinue of the glamorous Hollywood actress Marcia Tait. Her producer, her lover, her playwright and her agent are all here along with the haughty master of the estate, Canifes and his daughter. So many suspects they become when Marcia Tait is found dead on Christmas morning in the lakeside pavilion, having been left there alone the night before and with a distinct lack of footprints in the snow to reveal any possible killer.
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5 out of 5 stars
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More, please.
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Agatha Christie
- An Elusive Woman
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 535
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 462
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 457
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman. With access to rarely seen personal letters and papers, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A delight and a revelation
- By theenglishmajor on 12-02-22
By: Lucy Worsley
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The Cornish Coast Murder
- By: John Bude
- Narrated by: Ben Allen
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 223
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 193
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Story4 out of 5 stars 194
The reverend Dodd, vicar of the quiet Cornish village of Boscawen, spends his evenings reading detective stories by the fireside - but heaven forbid that the shadow of any real crime should ever fall across his seaside parish. But the vicar's peace is shattered one stormy night when Julius Tregarthan, an ill-tempered magistrate, is found at his house in Boscawen with a bullet through his head. The local police inspector is baffled by the lack of clues.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Good Old Fashioned Who Done It
- By C. Rosser on 05-12-16
By: John Bude
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Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
- By: Agatha Christie, Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, and others
- Narrated by: Alex Kingston, Adjoa Andoh, Miriam Margolyes, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 552
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 494
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 494
Jane Marple is an elderly lady from St Mary Mead who possesses an uncanny knack for solving even the most perplexing puzzles. Now, for the first time in 45 years, Agatha Christie’s beloved character returns to the page for a globe-trotting tour of crime and detection. Join Marple as she travels through her sleepy English village and around the world. In St Mary Mead, a Christmas dinner is interrupted by unexpected guests; the Broadway stage in New York City is set for a dangerous improvisation.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Hit or miss Marple
- By rich on 09-15-22
By: Agatha Christie, and others
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A Man Lay Dead
- By: Ngaio Marsh
- Narrated by: Philip Franks
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 662
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 581
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 582
Wealthy Sir Hubert Handesley's original and lively weekend house parties are deservedly famous. To amuse his guests, he has devised a new form of the fashionable Murder Game, in which a guest is secretly selected to commit a 'murder' in the dark, and everyone assembles to solve the crime. But when the lights go up this time, there is a real corpse....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Classic Upper Crust Mystery
- By Laurence G. Byrne on 02-25-16
By: Ngaio Marsh
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The Paddington Mystery
- Detective Club Crime Classics
- By: John Rhode
- Narrated by: Gordon Griffin
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4 out of 5 stars 75
When Harold Merefield returned home in the early hours of a winter morning from a festive little party at that popular nightclub, the Naxos, he was startled by a gruesome discovery. On his bed was a corpse. There was nothing to show the identity of the dead man or the cause of his death. At the inquest, the jury found a verdict of ‘death from natural causes’ - perhaps they were right, but yet?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not Everyone’s Cup of Tea, But I Enjoyed It
- By John on 11-22-18
By: John Rhode
I appreciated the thematic groupings and his willingness to venture a little beyond the twenties and thirties.
I have a long list of titles to read beyond favorites like Christie, Sayers, and Allingham--if I can track them down!
An Excellent Survey of Classic Crime
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