The Wychford Poisoning Case (Detective Club Crime Classics)

One of the earliest psychological crime novels. Mrs Bentley has been arrested for murder. The evidence is overwhelming: arsenic she extracted from fly papers was in her husband’s medicine, his food and his lemonade, and her crimes are being plastered across the newspapers. Even her lawyers believe she is guilty. But Roger Sheringham, the brilliant but outspoken young novelist, is convinced that there is ‘too much evidence’ against Mrs Bentley and sets out to prove her innocence. Credited as the book that first introduced psychology to the detective novel, The Wychford Poisoning Case was based on a notorious real-life murder inquiry. Written by Anthony Berkeley, a founder of the celebrated Detection Club who also found fame under the pen-name ‘Francis Iles’, the story saw the return of Roger Sheringham, the Golden Age’s breeziest – and booziest – detective. The Wychford Poisoning Case is a riveting journey into the depths of a murder mystery, showcasing the best of traditional legal thrillers. Anthony Berkeley's expertise in the genre is evident, making this top mystery fiction a must-read. For fans of Margery Allingham (Police at the Funeral), Gladys Mitchell (The Devil at Saxon Wall), Georgette Heyer (Venetia), Dorothy L. Sayers (THE NINE TAILORS), and George Bellairs (Death on the Last Train).