The Wintringham Mystery
Cicely Disappears
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The Wintringham Mystery
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Narrated by:
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Mike Grady
About this listen
Republished for the first time in nearly 95 years, a classic winter country house mystery by the founder of the Detection Club, with a twist that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve!
Stephen Munro, a demobbed army officer, reconciles himself to taking a job as a footman to make ends meet. Employed at Wintringham Hall, the delightful but decaying Sussex country residence of the elderly Lady Susan Carey, his first task entails welcoming her eccentric guests to a weekend house-party, at which her bombastic nephew – who recognises Stephen from his former life – decides that an after-dinner séance would be more entertaining than bridge. Then Cicely disappears!
With Lady Susan reluctant to call the police about what is presumably a childish prank, Stephen and the plucky Pauline Mainwaring take it upon themselves to investigate. But then a suspicious death turns the game into an altogether more serious affair…
This classic winter mystery incorporates all the trappings of the Golden Age – a rambling country house, a séance, a murder, a room locked on the inside, with servants, suspects and alibis, a romance – and an ingenious puzzle.
First published as a 30-part newspaper serial in 1926 – the year The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was published, The Wintringham Mystery was written by Anthony Berkeley, founder of the famous Detection Club. Also known as Cicely Disappears, the Daily Mirror ran the story as a competition with a prize of £500 (equivalent to £30,000 today) for anyone who guessed the solution correctly. Nobody did – even Agatha Christie entered and couldn’t solve it. Can you?
©2021 Anthony Berkeley, A. Monmouth Platts, Tony Medawar (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Detection and crime at its wittiest - all Berkeley’s stories are amusing, intriguing and he is a master of the final twist." (Agatha Christie)
"Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the 'twist' but of the 'double-twist'." (Milward Kennedy in the Sunday Times)
What listeners say about The Wintringham Mystery
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Nic
- 28-06-23
Beautifully read,
Grab a glass of wine and find an open fire.
The story doesn’t challenge, no twist and some rather off colour red herrings. But it is exactly what you’d expect when you buy.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Cecile
- 20-06-23
Good fun!
A comfortable listen and excellently read. I enjoyed it and found the story light but soothing
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 14-03-22
Very enjoyable
Uncomplicated and thoroughly enjoyable story which ticks along nicely. The main characters are very familiar and relatable.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lettie
- 03-04-24
Thoroughly enjoyable listen
I loved the reader, the era in which the story was set, the entertaining characters.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jenny B
- 30-12-22
A satisfying mystery
A classic country house mystery, with a cast of eccentric characters nicely voiced by the narrator.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kent Bird Lover
- 19-11-23
Easy listening period crime
Rather a confusing set of characters with an unconvincing denouement but well narrated and a harmless story to accompany my gardening
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Joanna Sheldon
- 22-01-24
Mediocre
Kept me listening, but only barely. Liked the fact of its old-fashioned gentility (no gore), but the writing is dull and uncouth and the narration not the best.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cheryl
- 02-03-24
I loved it
I've been reading so many 1920 era books and enjoying them, but this one had such a nice hero and heroine. I even grew to like Lady Susan.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Helen
- 05-03-24
Adverb attack
I wanted an old-fashioned mystery, and found the plot good and the characters OK. But the added adverbs were appalling - not the ones worked into a context, but a scattershot of dozens tacked on clumsily at the end of phrases. I was physically wincing at them.
Half the time I suspected the narrator knew how bad they were, and drew out the phrases for maximum irritation: He added......urbanely; she said......huskily; he said......fatuously/alertly/jerkily/joyously/briskly/ruefully/disappointedly etc etc etc.
Maybe I was overreacting, but halfway through I wanted to send it back.
Perhaps someone told the author his word count was short, and he tipped in a shed load of adverbs to make it up. But the Audible version could have been more fluent and possibly a bit shorter without them.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Miss
- 18-11-23
Thoroughly satisfying cosy murder mystery
I was hoping for a murder mystery in the genre of Agatha Christie and I was not disappointed.
The narrator was great and was English (I hate it when English novels are narrated by American actors). He had a pleasant voice to listen to. It was a relaxing gentle listen, but also exciting and I kept wanting to listen all the way through. The story was all wrapped up very satisfactorily.
I will look for some more books by Anthony Berkeley.
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