The Layton Court Mystery
Anthony Berkeley opened his crime-writing career with this 1925 country-house puzzle, the first case for his amateur detective Roger Sheringham. When the wealthy Victor Stanworth is found shot in the locked library of Layton Court, the household is ready to call it suicide. Sheringham, a house guest with a novelist’s curiosity and a habit of talking too much, is not. With his young friend Alec Grierson trailing along, he picks at alibis and physical clues until the tidy explanation falls apart. Berkeley first published it anonymously, and much of its charm lies in a detective who guesses wrong as often as right, a sly rebuke to the infallible sleuths then in fashion. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available to download.
About the Author
Anthony Berkeley Cox (1893-1971) was an English crime novelist who helped found the Detection Club and pushed the genre toward psychology and irony. Writing also as Francis Iles, he created the fallible sleuth Roger Sheringham and pioneered the inverted crime story with Malice Aforethought.
See all books by Anthony Berkeley →
Listen to The Layton Court Mystery Audiobook Free
Listen to The Layton Court Mystery by Anthony Berkeley free online. The full audiobook (8 hr 0 min, 28 chapters, read by Anne Erickson) streams free on this page.
The Layton Court Mystery (1925) is a public domain work.
| # | Chapter | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapter 1: Eight O'clock in the Morning | 17:48 | |
| 2 | Chapter 2: An Interrupted Breakfast | 19:14 | |
| 3 | Chapter 3: Mr Sheringham is Puzzled | 20:47 | |
| 4 | Chapter 4: Mr Sheringham is Reluctant | 17:14 | |
| 5 | Chapter 5: Mr Sheringham Asks a Question | 17:06 | |
| 6 | Chapter 6: Four People Behave Remarkably | 17:18 | |
| 7 | Chapter 7: The Vase That Wasn’t | 19:44 | |
| 8 | Chapter 8: Mr Sheringham Becomes Startling | 13:10 | |
| 9 | Chapter 9: Mr Sheringham Sees Visions | 21:31 | |
| 10 | Chapter 10: Mrs Plant is Apprehensive | 15:34 | |
| 11 | Chapter 11: Mrs Stanworth Exchanges Glances | 16:15 | |
| 12 | Chapter 12: Hidden Chambers and What-Nots | 14:01 | |
| 13 | Chapter 13: Mr Sheringham Investigates a Footprint | 18:15 | |
| 14 | Chapter 14: Dirty Work at the Ash Pit | 18:16 | |
| 15 | Chapter 15: Mr Sheringham Amuses an Ancient Rustic | 15:14 | |
| 16 | Chapter 16: Mr. Sheringham Lectures on Neo-Platonism | 15:31 | |
| 17 | Chapter 17: Mr. Grierson Becomes Heated | 17:45 | |
| 18 | Chapter 18: What the Settee had to Tell | 13:49 | |
| 19 | Chapter 19: Mr, Sheringham Loses and Wins the Same Bet | 18:56 | |
| 20 | Chapter 20: Mrs. Plant Proves Disappointing | 15:40 | |
| 21 | Chapter 21: Mr. Sheringham is Dramatic | 21:02 | |
| 22 | Chapter 22: Mr. Sheringham Solves the Mystery | 16:11 | |
| 23 | Chapter 23: Mrs. Plant Talks | 18:22 | |
| 24 | Chapter 24: Mr. Sheringham is Disconcerted | 13:38 | |
| 25 | Chapter 25: The Mystery Finally Refuses to Accept Mr. Sheringham's Solution | 15:49 | |
| 26 | Chapter 26: Mr. Grierson Tries His Hand | 14:31 | |
| 27 | Chapter 27: Mr. Sheringham Hits the Mark | 14:07 | |
| 28 | Chapter 28: What Really Did Happen | 23:33 |
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