The Layton Court Mystery

British author Anthony Berkeley's detective Roger Sheringham -- annoying author, bon vivant, exceedingly supercilious, eminently curious, loquacious to a fault -- has been nearly forgotten. What a dreadful shame! Sheringham deserves at least to be as well known as Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and Ngaio Marsh's Lord Roderick Alleyn.

In The Layton Court Mystery, which first introduced Roger Sherinham to the world, Roger is invited to a house party in the country at the request of his cousin, Alec, who will also be a guest there. The host, Victor Stanworth, lavishly entertains his guests and then, in the wee hours of the morning, locks himself in the library and shoots himself -- or at least that's what the police believe. Roger almost show more immediately begins to doubt the official view. Enlisting his cousin to be his Watson, Roger casts himself as Sherlock Holmes and begins investigating the matter himself.

Drily humorous, Roger relies on imagination as much as on evidence to formulate this theories. Needless to say, Roger makes a few wrong turns before finally discovering who killed Victor Stanworth. In the meantime, he uncovers quite a few secrets that Stanworth's guests and staff would rathr have not come to light. Berkeley never takes Roger too seriously, and you'll find yourself chuckling at Roger's boundless supply of theories -- and conceit. Like a terrier with a rat, Roger won't quit until he finds out exactly what happened at Layton Court.

Warning: The Layton Court Mystery first appeared in 1925, and the novel bears the crude sensibilities of that era, including one instance of anti-Semitism and a general condescending air toward the working classes. If you can understand that Berkeley was a creature of his era, you will still be able to thoroughly enjoy this novel. show less

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 show more 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. show less

Victor Stanworth has rented Layton Court for the summer, and has a few friends down as his guests. But all is not well...Stanworth turns up dead in his library, with doors and windows all locked from the inside. He is found with a bullethole in the center of his forehead, along with a suicide note. Sounds easy, right? But for one of the guests, Roger Sheringham, all is not as it seems, and he begins an investigation.

The main character, Roger Sheringham, comes off as a bit of an idiot, latching onto theory after theory as to how Stanworth met his end, and I must say, I really didn't know how he was going to get serious long enough to figure the whole thing out. However, the mystery actually turns out to be okay, although it is a bit show more meandering at times as Sheringham picks up then discards theory after theory.

I'd recommend it to people who are fans of these Golden-Age mysteries and people who enjoy the occasional English country house murder. I do plan to continue the series, if that's any kind of recommendation at all.

There is one place where the author's language could be construed as a bit racist, but I suppose the reader must keep in mind that this was originally published in 1925.

Overall, not a bad read. show less

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

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.

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.