MURDER IN THE BASEMENT. by Berkeley, Anthony (1893-1971)

MURDER IN THE BASEMENT.

Edition: First US printing.

New York: Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc., 1932. Hardcover first edition - A couple return from their honeymoon to their new home in Lewisham only to discover human remains buried in the basement. Only a few things are known at the beginning of the investigation: the victim was a woman, she was shot through the head and her body was naked except for gloves. Much of this novel deals with the painstaking investigation by Chief Inspector Moresby of Scotland Yard as he narrows down the time frame and the possible victim. Martin Edwards called this the "the first detective novel to contain a whowasdunin mystery. That is, the detective and the reader are challenged to determine from the information presented which member of a group of people is the murder victim" - but more than that, this novel is an example of Berkeley's determination to do "something fresh with the crime story." Moresby suggests that Sheringham, who had written a few chapters of a novel based on the people he met at the school where the victim came from, use those chapters (included in this novel) to deduce the victim's identity. 308 pp.

Condition: Good only in black cloth with red title panels - rubbing and wear to the covers, soiling to rear endpaper, light tidemarks to outer margins of last several pages - but overall a tight and sturdy copy of a rather hard to find first edition.

Book ID: 86678
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