Who would appreciate the classic mystery Trent’s Last Case by E.C. Bentley?
The plot of this brief novel offers nearly all the attractions enthusiasts of this genre expect: A Howard Hughes-type tycoon is murdered on the grounds of his grand English estate, his scratched and bruised wrists suggest a struggle. The valuables found on his body rule out robbery as a motive, but his clothing also suggests he dressed hastily to keep a late-night or early-morning appointment with his probable killer. The amateur sleuth is a glib, yet likable, artist, who is occasionaly persuaded to help Scotland Yard with tough cases. Suspects include a seductive French maid, an affection-starved wife, an unflappable butler, and, of course, the victim’s business associates.
Today’s mystery fans may enjoy Bentley’s wit, which continues to hold up 85 years after the novel’s initial publication (1913). Critics–and mystery royalty such as Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers–proclaimed the book a classic because detective Phillip Trent is the first fallible sleuth, unlike Sherlock Holmes and his predecessors. Readers are forewarned, however, that the style is somewhat dated: Two characters may sit at a table and converse for pages and pages, and each character may speak uninterrupted for as much as one-half a page! Contemporary readers accustomed to fast-paced authors such as Elmore Leonard may find this stilted and staid. Modern-day readers may also find difficulty in adjusting to clues obviously devised for Edwardian England. For example, how many of us know that waistcoat pockets fashioned to hold a pocket watch were usually lined with wash-leather? Really, this is a significant clue!
To return to the original question of who would enjoy Trent’s Last Case: The “summer soldier” mystery fan who reads mysteries only during holiday breaks and vacations may not warm up to Phillip Trent; however, the mystery devotee intrigued by the historic development of this genre over the decades will value this novel’s contributions to the modern detective story.
3 out of 4 Stars
Reviewed by: Mike Shin, Academic Learning Center
**Editor’s note — This novel is out-of-copyright in the U.S. and available for free (legally!) through the Project Gutenberg website.
