Fun read though some aspects of the case struck me as obvious but took Roger forever to figure out. ( )

Victor Stanworth, propietario de Layton Court, invita a unos amigos a pasar unos días con él, pero una mañana aparece muerto en la biblioteca. Se desconoce si se ha suicidado o ha sido asesinado. Uno de los invitados es Roger Sheringham —el gran detective de Berkeley—, quien se encarga de investigar el caso. Anthony Berkeley nos muestra en esta novela el gusto, la maestría y la habilidad para urdir una obra de alto entretenimiento, fruto de la época más feliz del género.

Fun read though some aspects of the case struck me as obvious but took Roger forever to figure out. ( )

Author Roger Sheringham has been invited to accompany his friend Alec Grierson to a house party at Layton Court in Hertfordshire by the wealthy Victor Stanworth. Neither man has previously met Victor, who has a reputation for hosting entertaining summer house parties. Lady Stanworth, Victor Stanworth's sister-in-law, acted as hostess and Major Jefferson, retired from the Army and Victor's secretary, kept things organized. Among the current guests are Barbara Shannon, Alec's fiance, and her mother and Mrs. Plant, whose husband worked in the Sudanese Civil Service. One morning, Victor Stanworth, is found shot through the head in his library which is locked from the inside. The police are called, and Inspector Mansfield and Doctor Matthewson agree that Victor has committed suicide, especially since there is a note to that effect on the desk, apparently signed by Victor. However, Roger decides to act as an amateur detective because he doesn't believe Victor is the type to commit suicide. He convinces Alec to act as his "Watson," and together they go about trying to find clues that might indicate that Victor was murdered.

Since I just read about Anthony Berkeley in The Golden Age of Murder and do not recall ever having read any of his books, I decided I would start with the first in Roger Sheringham series. I had forgotten that I had purchased the book for Kindle about five years ago, so I started to try to find a copy at the library (no luck) and then looked on Amazon. I was extremely surprised to find that there were no Kindle versions and that the paperback copies available started at $59 and went up to $320 for a hardback copy. I tried Abe books and other places which had similarly high prices and was about to give up when I thought I would do a quick search on my Kindle to see if I actually already owned it. Fortunately, I had purchased it in 2012 for $6! The publisher, Langtail Press, has gone out of business, but it amazes me that no one else has purchased the rights. It was originally published in 1925, so it will still be a few more years until it is in the public domain.

The Layton Court Mystery is indeed a classic of the golden age. The book is well-written and steadily paced. Roger Sheringham is a refreshing detective as he is fallible and probably comes up with as many incorrect solutions as he does correct ones. He is a likable character and has a good relationship with his "Watson," Alec, whose personality contrasts well with Roger's. As Anthony Berkeley states in his introductory letter to his father, "the reader has precisely the same data at his disposal as has the detective." My only criticism is that I thought it a little too easy to solve the murder - I had it figured out from the beginning. It certainly wasn't the obvious solution, and usually, I can guess correctly, but I was pretty certain from the beginning. Perhaps I read the book many years ago and don't recall doing so, but when that's the case, I usually have a sense of familiarity, which I did not with this book.

I am definitely going to look for more in the Roger Sheringham series, but I think they may be difficult to find. ( )

Victor Stanworth, propietario de Layton Court, invita a unos amigos a pasar unos di­as con el, pero una mañana aparece muerto en la biblioteca. Se desconoce si se ha suicidado o ha sido asesinado. Uno de los invitados es Roger Sheringham -el gran detective de Berkeleyâ-, quien se encarga de investigar el caso. Anthony Berkeley nos muestra en esta novela el gusto, la maestría y la habilidad para urdir una obra de alto entretenimiento, fruto de la época mas feliz del género.