The White Cottage Mystery [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Margery Allingham (Author), Francis Matthews (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Seven people might have murdered Eric Crowther, the mysterious recluse who lived in the gaunt house whose shadow fell across the White Cottage. Seven people had good cause. It was not lack of evidence that sent Detective Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry half across Europe to unravel a chaos of clues. The White Cottage Mystery was Margery Allingham's first detective story, published initially as a newspaper serial.

Editorial Reviews

From AudioFile

The first of Margery Allingham's mysteries is a cozy with many suspects, each one with a motive more compelling than the last. A simply horrid murdered man makes the listener worry that one of the extremely likable cast has done him in. Francis Matthews romps though the dialects of England with not a word out of place. This makes the listener wish for more contretemps when Chief Inspector Challenor crosses the Channel with his son, Jerry, in pursuit of the suspects. B.H.B. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books; Unabridged edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0754005186
• ISBN-13: 978-0754005186
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,337,439 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

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice little British cosy murder, February 27, 2008

By 

Patrick W. Crabtree "The Old Grottomaster" (Lucasville, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The White Cottage Mystery (Paperback)

This story was originally run as a newspaper serial during the late 1920s and was not published as a book until the 70s, when a family member edited out the re-hashing of all the previous weeks' redundant action and re-submitted the manuscript as a regular mystery novel.

At only 130+ pages, it's really more of a novella but, it's still great hammock-reading.

A young bachelor driving his sporty convertible through an English town gives an attractive young gal a lift to her nearby home. He drops her off at The White Cottage and, more quickly than he can put up his top to avoid getting drenched by the rain, a shot rings out from the cottage. Along with a nearby constable, the young man, rushes to investigate and finds a man lying dead of a shotgun blast to the chest. It just so happens that the young man is the son of a renowned Scotland Yard inspector who is, of course, immediately called in on the case.

There are plenty of suspects in both The White Cottage as well as in the curmudgeony victim's incongruous mansion next door. The many clues point in one direction and then another.

Since the story first ran as a serial, there is plenty of action in this one, sort of a literary cliffhanger.

Margery Allingham is much more widely known for her "Campion" series so you might wish to read one of those entries first, "The Crime at Black Dudley," for instance, (the first of the series); however, just about any fan of British cosy murders will enjoy this one.