Not to Be Taken [Paperback]

Anthony Berkeley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2001

A classic case of the apparent suicide that proves to be murder. John Waterhouse's death certificate gives cause of death as gastric ulcers, but when his brother insists on the body being exhumed so that a post mortem can be carried out, it proves the case that poison has been at work. Will Douglas Sewell, who watched his good friend die, be able to use his knowledge of those concerned to unravel the clues and uncover the murderer?

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘Anthony Berkeley is the supreme master not of the "twist" but of the "double-twist"’ - The Sunday Times

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

About the Author

Born in 1893, Anthony Berkeley (Anthony Berkeley Cox) was a British crime writer and a leading member of the genre's Golden Age. Educated at Sherborne School and University College London, Berkeley served in the British army during WWI before becoming a journalist. His first novel, The Layton Court Murders, was published anonymously in 1925. It introduced Roger Sheringham, the amateur detective who features in many of the author's novels including the classic Poisoned Chocolates Case. In 1930, Berkeley founded the legendary Detection Club in London along with Agatha Christie, Freeman Wills Crofts and other established mystery writers. It was in 1938, under the pseudonym Francis Iles (which Berkeley also used for novels) that he took up work as a book reviewer for John O'London's Weekly and The Daily Telegraph. He later wrote for The Sunday Times in the mid 1940s, and then for The Guardian from the mid 1950s until 1970. A key figure in the development of crime fiction, he died in 1971. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: House of Stratus Ltd (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755102118
• ISBN-13: 978-0755102112
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,014,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Consume with relish, January 14, 2012

By 

Mr. R. J. Clark "richardjclark" (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Not to Be Taken (Paperback)

John Waterhouse is a burly, energetic man who stamped his mark on great works in all corners of the globe, but who has now retired to the country with his ailing wife. The village is small and the neighbours friendly (to the extent one can choose one's friends in the country!). When one day sickness comes to the Waterhouse mansion, everyone is astonished that rather than wispy Mrs Waterhouse who suffers an illness it is strapping John.

As John's condition worsens, tongues start to wag, and Frances presents her husband Douglas with a half full medicine bottle she has sneaked from beside the sick bed, suggesting they get it analysed. As John dies, Douglas resolves to take the bottle to the police, only to discover it has vanished. At that moment Cyril, John's brother, arrives, and the exhumation he orders reveals John died of arsenic poisoning - but there's no arsenic in the house! As Douglas frets about the missing medicine, secrets come tumbling out of closets, and everyone suffers a hair-raising time at the inquest until a surprise message arrives from a most unexpected source....

Well, what a belter! Berkeley is on top form with this novel. Written from Douglas's point of view, we follow his bemused progress through the days of the death and inquest until eventually he realises who is responsible for the mayhem, and confronts them. Berkeley has also taken a leaf from Queen's book, and includes a challenge to the reader just before the denouement. The writing is as clean, witty and enjoyable as ever, and it's all very well presented in the Langtail house-style of this new edition.

Hugely enjoyable!