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The Groote Park Murder
- Detective Club Crime Classics
- Narrated by: Crawford Logan
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
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The Groote Park Murder
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Summary
From a murder in South Africa to the tracking down of a master criminal in northern Scotland, this is a true classic of Golden Age detective fiction by one of its most accomplished champions.
When a signalman discovers a mutilated body inside a railway tunnel near Groote Park, it seems to be a straightforward case of a man struck by a passing train. But Inspector Vandam of the Middeldorp police isn’t satisfied that Albert Smith’s death was accidental, and he sets out to prove foul play in a baffling mystery which crosses continents from deepest South Africa to the wilds of northern Scotland, where an almost identical crime appears to have been perpetrated.
The Groote Park Murder was the last of Freeman Wills Crofts’ stand-alone crime novels, foreshadowing his iconic Inspector French series and helping to cement his reputation (according to his publishers) as ‘the greatest and most popular detective writer in the world’. Like The Cask, The Ponson Case and The Pit-Prop Syndicate before it, here were a delightfully ingenious plot, impeccable handling of detail and an overwhelming surprise ‘curtain’ from a masterful crime writer on the cusp of global success.
This Detective Club classic is introduced with an essay by Freeman Wills Crofts, unseen since 1937, about The Writing of a Detective Novel.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. J. E. Hingley
- 01-05-20
Skilful
With all its twists and turns, this story was skilfully written. I would never have guessed who dunnit. But I couldn't remember who the murderer was in the story but the outcome was good.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kevin Viney
- 26-08-20
Excellent whodunnit
Started slowly but builds to a tremendous conclusion.
Read and enjoy - once you get into it you cant put it down so to speak
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ruth
- 07-11-20
Entertaining listening
I took a chance on this audio book, as I had not come across the author before.
It was a really enjoyable listen. lots of twists and turns, which kept me guessing right until the end. I shall certainly try others in the series.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aroha
- 18-12-21
Exhausting procedural detail.
it's very long but keeps the listener plodding back and forth with the two detectives in each Part. However when Part 2 seemed to promise a repeat of Part 1, this time in Scotland I gave up and skipped ahead. I had worked out the motives early on and was relieved at being proven right in the last minutes. The story is very well read I feel given that there is not a lot of action in Part 1 apart from some tireless but not very imaginative police work.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Arnfinn Rong
- 06-11-19
Great reader of a wonderfully great crime classic
A much better reader than Gordon Griffin (who shouts in whispers to be dramatic, and only succeeds in being annoying). A very good book by Freeman Wills Crofts.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kl Love
- 05-06-20
One of the best detective stories I've come across
As an afficionado of the classic crime novel, I've seen most of the variants on plot; but this one kept me intrigued, and the twist at the end really did take me by surprise. Having the book set in two very different locations gives it a freshness and variety, and while it is certainly a product of its time (the characters are rather old-fashioned) this gives it a charm of its own: people 'dismount from' their cars, and 'stable' them when not in use, and there are many other little indications of the manners and usages of a bygone era.
The narrator is very pleasant to listen to, and manages to give the various characters, including minor characters, an audible identity.
I found this one of the most absorbing and satisfying crime novels I've listened to for a long time. Very enjoyable!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 20-06-22
Unimaginatively bigoted
A good yarn but I can see why Crofts isn’t read much anymore - he is completely of his time and is openly prejudiced against anyone not white, male and British. His black South African, Jewish and Italian characters are predictably stupid and devious and he doesn’t spare us the usual racist physical stereotyping. The female lead is intelligent and resourceful but still described as a “little woman” by the frankly pretty dim hero of the tale. It’s not an excuse that this is a period novel: Croft just doesn’t put any effort into creating complex individual characters.
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