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Title: Portrait of a Murderer
Author: Anne Meredith
Narrator: Simon Darwen
Format: Unabridged
Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
Language: English
Release date: 12-01-17
Publisher: Soundings
Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 10 votes
Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective
Publisher's Summary:
Adrian Gray was born in May 1862 and met his death through violence, at the hands of one of his own children, at Christmas, 1931.
Thus begins a classic crime novel published in 1933, a riveting portrait of the psychology of a murderer.
Each December, Adrian Gray invites his extended family to stay at his lonely house, King's Poplars. None of Gray's six surviving children is fond of him; several have cause to wish him dead. The family gathers on Christmas Eve - and by the following morning, their wish has been granted.
This fascinating and unusual audiobook tells the story of what happened that dark Christmas night - and what the murderer did next.
Members Reviews:
great book
Great book. Different murder premise. I really enjoyed reading this book.
Anything but cosy!
I gather that this is the fiftieth forgotten classic to be issued in the British Library series. I have read nearly all of them and in many ways find this the most difficult to review.
The plot is, on the surface, simple.
Adrian Gray is murdered in the library of his house, Kingâs Poplars, deep in the heart of Grebeshire, at Christmas. The murderer is one of his six children. The culprit is revealed one fifth of the way into the book. The remainder provides a psychological study of that person and a little detection, both professional and amateur. To say more would be too revealing.
The Gray family members, and some of their spouses, are mostly eminently dislikeable. I found the murderer to be one of the most egocentric and hateful I have encountered in Golden Age fiction-a tribute to the vivid portrayal at which Anne Meredith excels. The only jarring note in her pen portraits is the casual anti-Semitism, so typical of this period, and so unacceptable.
I cannot say I enjoyed reading this book although it was undoubtedly compelling.The writing is excellent and the concept is brilliantly carried through.
Avid readers of Golden Age British detection might like to compare this with Christieâs 1938 novel, âHercule Poirotâs Christmasâ. In my opinion, âPortrait of a Murdererâ is vastly superior.
This edition comes with an informative Introduction by Martin Edwards which ends:-
âYet Portrait of a Murderer is notable for its portrayal of character and social comment, and illustrates the truth that, contrary to widespread belief, a good many crime novels written during âthe Golden Age of murderâ between the two world wars were anything but cosy.â
Be warned!
In the bleak midwinter...
Every Christmas, the Gray family gather at the home of their elderly father, Adrian Gray â a rather unpleasant, miserly sort of man who has produced an equally unpleasant bunch of children on the whole. This Christmas, in 1931, only a couple of the children are there out of any feelings of affection â most are trying to screw money out of the old man.
There's Richard, a politician who desperately wants a title, but feels he needs to put on a show of wealth to impress the people who could grant his wish. Eustace is a son-in-law, married to Adrian's daughter Olivia â a dodgy financier, his whole reputation is on the line if he doesn't manage to raise a substantial sum of money urgently. Brand is the most wayward of them all, having run off in his youth to try his hand at being an artist.
