The Ponson Case cover art

The Ponson Case

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Ponson Case

By: Freeman Wills Crofts
Narrated by: Stephen Critchlow
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the forgotten second novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’ and recognised as one of the ‘big four’ Golden Age crime authors.

When the body of Sir William Ponson is found in the Cranshaw River near his home of Luce Manor, it is assumed to be an accident – until the evidence points to murder. Inspector Tanner of Scotland Yard discovers that those who would benefit most from Sir William’s death seem to have unbreakable alibis, and a mysterious fifth man whose footprints were found at the crime scene is nowhere to be found . . .

©2016 Freeman Wills Crofts (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Cosy Crime Thrillers Detective Fiction Small Town & Rural Thriller Traditional Detectives Mystery
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Groote Park Murder cover art
The Cask cover art
Inspector French’s Greatest Case cover art
The Pit-Prop Syndicate cover art
Murder by the Book cover art
Murder on the Lusitania cover art
The Wintringham Mystery cover art
Smallbone Deceased cover art
Death of an Author cover art
The Paddington Mystery cover art
The Cornish Coast Murder cover art
The White Priory Murders cover art
Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow cover art
The Theft of the Iron Dogs cover art
A Third Class Murder cover art
Two-Way Murder cover art

Critic reviews

‘I could find you a sentence or allusion I loved on every single page, and it offers some well-motivated multiple-alibi shenanigans, rich contemporary details, and rigorous, rich, detail-obsessed detection.’ The Invisible Event

‘Of its type, a supremely good example.’ Yorkshire Post

What listeners say about The Ponson Case

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    31
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    26
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great listen

This is the third book by the author to which I have listened. Yet another well written, beautifully crafted puzzle in the classic detective genre. Strongly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Railway Journeys in 1930's Britain.

Great book of its time and very evocative of the period. A large part of the story is taken up with railway timetables and connections. At times it sounds a bit like Great British Railway Journeys and you half expect to hear what BrDshaw had to say about the place.
Still enjoyable and different from the usual fare.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Fun and entertaining

pleasant book, OK story but tiresome characters, no real hero! and ending not very exciting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

enjoyable old fashioned style crime storyline

lots of detective work in it some which made me smile.
would definitely recommend a good listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Freeman Crofts Wills does it again

No Inspector French in this tale but Tanner is made in the aame mould. Cracking stiry with lots of police work style details in Wills' fashion.

Keeps you guessing right to the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A classic whodunnit

Would you consider the audio edition of The Ponson Case to be better than the print version?

This is actually a silly question: if I had read the print version, I wouldn't be listening to the audiobook!
However, this book works very well in audio, thanks in no small part to the very good narrator. Stephen Critchlow manages the different voices and accents well so as to give colour to the characters and to make them easy to tell apart, as well as giving a good clear account of the actual story.

What other book might you compare The Ponson Case to, and why?

This is similar to many of the other classic mysteries of the period by people like John Bude: the process of working out the answer is convoluted, and the evidence unfolds before the reader in the same way it does before the detective. Unlike some writers of the period (notably Agatha Christie), Crofts 'plays fair' and doesn't make the denouement depend on some unknown event that is logistically feasible but psychologically impossible.

Which character – as performed by Stephen Critchlow – was your favourite?

The inspector's dogged courtesy and tenacity make him very likeable.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It is intellectually entertaining rather than emotionally moving, but I found it absorbing and enjoyable.

Any additional comments?

I do wish we could write free comments, rather than the stilted, pointed questions. They so often are inappropriate to books I would like to review!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful