Trent’s Last Case by EC Bentley is, in fact, the first of three books about the unorthodox detective, Philip Trent. This book was first published in 1913 and is considered, I understand, as a classic of crime fiction. It is certainly very readable and full of twists and turns – I didn’t suspect the identity of the murderer until very near the end of the story.
Trent is an artist and a man with a rich social life among the important people of the time. He prides himself on solving murders and puzzles and receives a retainer from a popular newspaper to do so on their behalf. He, therefore, travels immediately to the country when an exceedingly rich American businessman is murdered in his study. He thinks that he has solved the murder almost as soon as he arrives but it is, of course, more complicated than that. Every time he formulates a theory there turns out to be some reason why it doesn’t work in practice and he becomes more and more frustrated.
The book is very well written and often amusing. The author makes the characters more realistic than they often are in crime novels of this period. Trent is prepared to admit when he is wrong and there is a romance thrown in to make it all more interesting. The police inspector is also an interesting character. This all makes for an entertaining and excellent read.
Anne Is Reading 