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Jumping Jenny

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Jumping Jenny

By: Anthony Berkeley
Narrated by: Seán Barrett
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About this listen

At a costume party with the dubious theme of 'famous murderers and their victims', the know-it-all amateur criminologist Roger Sheringham is settled in for an evening of beer, small talk and analysing his companions.

One guest in particular has caught his attention for her theatrics, and his theory that she might have several enemies among the partygoers proves true when she is found hanging from the 'decorative' gallows on the roof terrace. Noticing a key detail which could implicate a friend in the crime, Sheringham decides to meddle with the scene and unwittingly casts himself into jeopardy as the uncommonly thorough police investigation circles closer and closer to the truth.

Tightly paced and cleverly defying the conventions of the classic detective story, this 1933 novel remains a milestone of the inverted mystery subgenre.

©1933, 2022 The Estate of Anthony Berkeley Cox, Introduction Martin Edwards (P)2022 Soundings Detective Mystery Traditional Detectives Fiction Crime
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I try to read everything narrated by Sean Barrett, but he is so often assigned novels of the darkest and most horrible visions of human behaviour that it makes me depressed to listen, and I can only imagine how Barrett feels to be given little else to read.

That's why I loved the chance to buy this novel - it is a lighter, more traditional 'whodunit' - but a clever and witty re-take on the genre. I recommend it to the many others who like a detective story, but not so much entering the minds of truly horrible people.

My first thought, when seeing this novel was that it must have been relief for Barrett, as a change from the 'bloody-noir, Then the novel itself entranced me - so 1930s in feeling. Great characters, dialogue and plot. Excellent.

Nice change for Sean Barrett

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