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Not to Be Taken
A classic case of the apparent suicide that proves to be murder. John Waterhouse's death certificate gives cause of death as gastric ulcers, but when his brother insists on the body being exhumed so that a post mortem can be carried out, it proves the case that poison has been at work. Will Douglas Sewell, who watched his good friend die, be able to use his knowledge of those concerned to unravel the clues and uncover the murderer?
222 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1938
About the author
Anthony Berkeley
93 books183 followersAnthony Berkeley Cox was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley Cox, and A. Monmouth Platts. One of the founders of The Detection Club
Cox was born in Watford and was educated at Sherborne School and University College London.
He served in the Army in World War I and thereafter worked as a journalist, contributing a series of humourous sketches to the magazine 'Punch'. These were later published collectively (1925) under the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym as 'Jugged Journalism' and the book was followed by a series of minor comic novels such as 'Brenda Entertains' (1925), 'The Family Witch' (1925) and 'The Professor on Paws' (1926).
It was also in 1925 when he published, anonymously to begin with, his first detective novel, 'The Layton Court Mystery', which was apparently written for the amusement of himself and his father, who was a big fan of the mystery genre. Later editions of the book had the author as Anthony Berkeley.
He discovered that the financial rewards were far better for detective fiction so he concentrated his efforts on that genre for the following 14 years, using mainly the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym but also writing four novels and three collections of short stories as Francis Isles and one novel as A Monmouth Platts.
In 1928 he founded the famous Detection Club in London and became its first honorary secretary.
In the mid-1930s he began reviewing novels, both mystery and non-mystery, for 'The Daily Telegraph' under the Francis Isles pseudonym, which he had first used for 'Malice Aforethought' in 1931.
In 1939 he gave up writing detective fiction for no apparent reason although it has been suggested that he came into a large inheritance at the time or that his alleged remark, 'When I find something that pays better than detective stories I shall write that' had some relevance. However, he produced nothing significant after he finished writing with 'Death in the House' (Berkeley) and 'As for the Woman' (Isles) in 1939.
He did, however, continue to review books for such as 'John O'London's Weekly', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph' and, from the mid-1950s to 1970, 'The Guardian'. In addition he produced 'O England!', a study of social conditions and politics in 1934.
He and his wife lived in an old house in St John's Wood, London, and he had an office in The Strand where he was listed as one of the two directors of A B Cox Ltd, a company whose business was unspecified!
Alfred Hitchcock adapted the Francis Isles' title 'Before the Fact' for his film 'Suspicion' in 1941 and in the same year Cox supplied a script for another film 'Flight from Destiny', which was produced by Warner Brothers.
His most enduring character is Roger Sheringham who featured in 10 Anthony Berkeley novels and two posthumous collections of short stories.
He died on 9 March 1971.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2012 (less)
Cox was born in Watford and was educated at Sherborne School and University College London.
He served in the Army in World War I and thereafter worked as a journalist, contributing a series of humourous sketches to the magazine 'Punch'. These were later published collectively (1925) under the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym as 'Jugged Journalism' and the book was followed by a series of minor comic novels such as 'Brenda Entertains' (1925), 'The Family Witch' (1925) and 'The Professor on Paws' (1926).
It was also in 1925 when he published, anonymously to begin with, his first detective novel, 'The Layton Court Mystery', which was apparently written for the amusement of himself and his father, who was a big fan of the mystery genre. Later editions of the book had the author as Anthony Berkeley.
He discovered that the financial rewards were far better for detective fiction so he concentrated his efforts on that genre for the following 14 years, using mainly the Anthony Berkeley pseudonym but also writing four novels and three collections of short stories as Francis Isles and one novel as A Monmouth Platts.
In 1928 he founded the famous Detection Club in London and became its first honorary secretary.
In the mid-1930s he began reviewing novels, both mystery and non-mystery, for 'The Daily Telegraph' under the Francis Isles pseudonym, which he had first used for 'Malice Aforethought' in 1931.
In 1939 he gave up writing detective fiction for no apparent reason although it has been suggested that he came into a large inheritance at the time or that his alleged remark, 'When I find something that pays better than detective stories I shall write that' had some relevance. However, he produced nothing significant after he finished writing with 'Death in the House' (Berkeley) and 'As for the Woman' (Isles) in 1939.
He did, however, continue to review books for such as 'John O'London's Weekly', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Daily Telegraph' and, from the mid-1950s to 1970, 'The Guardian'. In addition he produced 'O England!', a study of social conditions and politics in 1934.
He and his wife lived in an old house in St John's Wood, London, and he had an office in The Strand where he was listed as one of the two directors of A B Cox Ltd, a company whose business was unspecified!
Alfred Hitchcock adapted the Francis Isles' title 'Before the Fact' for his film 'Suspicion' in 1941 and in the same year Cox supplied a script for another film 'Flight from Destiny', which was produced by Warner Brothers.
His most enduring character is Roger Sheringham who featured in 10 Anthony Berkeley novels and two posthumous collections of short stories.
He died on 9 March 1971.
Gerry Wolstenholme
January 2012 (less)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
April 11, 2011
I was dazzled by The Poisoned Chocolates Case last year, and that made me want to track down Anthony Berkeley’s other works. They proved elusive. I spotted a couple of green Penguins in a shop window one evening, but they disappeared before I could get there in opening hours. I spotted some lovely reissues from The Langtail Press, but an order will have to wait until I secure a new job. Finally occurred to me to check the library catalogue and I found two books.
I ordered Not To Be Taken first.
A very different book. A more conventional golden age village mystery, but a mystery with the same intelligence and flair that endeared Anthony Berkeley to me the first time I met him.
“It is a queer feeling to reconstruct the past and bring the dead to life again in all the trivial details of everyday life, but I must try to do so if I am to fill in a full background for the picture which I have set myself to paint. And perhaps all of the details were not so trivial either. Or alternatively, if they were genuinely trivial, efforts were to be made later to give them a sinister ring. In either case I will set then down exactly as they happened.”
That picture is painted, and painted extremely well.
First there is the setting. The mid 1930s, Annypenny, a classical English country village in Dorset, not far from the border with Somerset. I could see it.
And then there is the cast. A very interesting and well-balanced group of six friends and neighbours. A social set, and i was very interested to look over their shoulders.
First is the narrator, the speaker of those words. Douglas Sewell is a fruit farmer, and every inch the English country gentleman. But is he reliable?
His marriage to Frances, an intelligent and capable woman, seems happy and their life is comfortable. But is that just a facade?
And then there is John Waterhouse, their nearest neighbour. A man with intelligence, practical skills and a spirit of adventure, he had travelled the world. He settled in Annypenny to please his wife. But has he really settled?
Angela. She had hated trailing around the world in her husband’s wake. Angela is an invalid, but nobody seems to know quite what is wrong with her, and she does seem to rather enjoy having other running about to do her bidding. Does she enjoy it rather too much?
Glen Brougham, the village doctor, is Douglas’s oldest friend. A warm and open man, he holds his position because it is what his family have always done. But is he really up to the job?
His unmarried sister Rhona is probably a better medic, having picked up so much from her father and her brother, she just lacks the professional qualification. But that shouldn’t prevent her from helping out, should it?
A wonderful, three-dimensional cast offering up so many possibilities.
The plot builds on them beautifully.
John is unwell. Glen diagnoses gastric ulcers, prescribes medicine, and suggests a plainer diet.
Soon John is on the road to recovery, but suddenly he takes a turn for the worse, and dies.
A tragic death. A man who had thought he was indestructible, who didn’t take his doctor’s concerns seriously.
Angela pleads frailty, helplessness, and her friends step into the breach to arrange the funeral, to do everything that needed to be done.
She neglects to mention that John had a brother. His friends had no idea, and so Cyril only learns of his brother’s death after he has been buried.
Cyril doesn’t believe that Angela forgot, or that his brother died a natural death. He insists on exhumation, and a post-mortem.
The post-mortem reveals that John was poisoned.
There is consternation. Conversations and incidents are recalled. papers are examined and secrets uncovered.
And then there is an inquest. Of corse there is much drama, and more revelations before a verdict is reached. Murder by person or persons unknown.
But Douglas thinks he knows who killed John. And how. And why.
But what should he do about it … ?
Anthony Berkeley unfolds this plot perfectly. It twists and turns beautifully, offering up so many details, so many possibilities, so many new details of characters. I changed my mind, re-thought things so many times.
It helped, of course, I believed. The characters, their actions, their conversations all rang true.
The ending baffled me, but when I read it for a second time it made sense.
A perfectly constructed mystery concluded most satisfactorily.
I ordered Not To Be Taken first.
A very different book. A more conventional golden age village mystery, but a mystery with the same intelligence and flair that endeared Anthony Berkeley to me the first time I met him.
“It is a queer feeling to reconstruct the past and bring the dead to life again in all the trivial details of everyday life, but I must try to do so if I am to fill in a full background for the picture which I have set myself to paint. And perhaps all of the details were not so trivial either. Or alternatively, if they were genuinely trivial, efforts were to be made later to give them a sinister ring. In either case I will set then down exactly as they happened.”
That picture is painted, and painted extremely well.
First there is the setting. The mid 1930s, Annypenny, a classical English country village in Dorset, not far from the border with Somerset. I could see it.
And then there is the cast. A very interesting and well-balanced group of six friends and neighbours. A social set, and i was very interested to look over their shoulders.
First is the narrator, the speaker of those words. Douglas Sewell is a fruit farmer, and every inch the English country gentleman. But is he reliable?
His marriage to Frances, an intelligent and capable woman, seems happy and their life is comfortable. But is that just a facade?
And then there is John Waterhouse, their nearest neighbour. A man with intelligence, practical skills and a spirit of adventure, he had travelled the world. He settled in Annypenny to please his wife. But has he really settled?
Angela. She had hated trailing around the world in her husband’s wake. Angela is an invalid, but nobody seems to know quite what is wrong with her, and she does seem to rather enjoy having other running about to do her bidding. Does she enjoy it rather too much?
Glen Brougham, the village doctor, is Douglas’s oldest friend. A warm and open man, he holds his position because it is what his family have always done. But is he really up to the job?
His unmarried sister Rhona is probably a better medic, having picked up so much from her father and her brother, she just lacks the professional qualification. But that shouldn’t prevent her from helping out, should it?
A wonderful, three-dimensional cast offering up so many possibilities.
The plot builds on them beautifully.
John is unwell. Glen diagnoses gastric ulcers, prescribes medicine, and suggests a plainer diet.
Soon John is on the road to recovery, but suddenly he takes a turn for the worse, and dies.
A tragic death. A man who had thought he was indestructible, who didn’t take his doctor’s concerns seriously.
Angela pleads frailty, helplessness, and her friends step into the breach to arrange the funeral, to do everything that needed to be done.
She neglects to mention that John had a brother. His friends had no idea, and so Cyril only learns of his brother’s death after he has been buried.
Cyril doesn’t believe that Angela forgot, or that his brother died a natural death. He insists on exhumation, and a post-mortem.
The post-mortem reveals that John was poisoned.
There is consternation. Conversations and incidents are recalled. papers are examined and secrets uncovered.
And then there is an inquest. Of corse there is much drama, and more revelations before a verdict is reached. Murder by person or persons unknown.
But Douglas thinks he knows who killed John. And how. And why.
But what should he do about it … ?
Anthony Berkeley unfolds this plot perfectly. It twists and turns beautifully, offering up so many details, so many possibilities, so many new details of characters. I changed my mind, re-thought things so many times.
It helped, of course, I believed. The characters, their actions, their conversations all rang true.
The ending baffled me, but when I read it for a second time it made sense.
A perfectly constructed mystery concluded most satisfactorily.
April 9, 2026
Story: 3 stars
Audio: 4.5 stars
Plot was very interesting and kept me engaged, but the ending was too crazy and very abrupt, I felt disappointed and therefore I lowered the rating for the story.
Audio: 4.5 stars
Plot was very interesting and kept me engaged, but the ending was too crazy and very abrupt, I felt disappointed and therefore I lowered the rating for the story.
June 20, 2026
Originally published in a weekly magazine (in 1937-38) as a competition for readers to solve before the final chapter was released. As such it's an English village fair-play puzzle mystery (healthy man dies -- was it poison?), in fact probably one of the most fair-play puzzle novels of the Golden Age mysteries. Puzzle mysteries are by their nature somewhat artificial, carefully constructed, often with characters that only serve a specific purpose in advancing an artful plot. Anthony Berkeley (actually Anthony Cox, who also wrote as Francis Iles) was a master of the style, here presenting half a dozen possible solutions to the mystery (as he also did (brilliantly) in The Poisoned Chocolates Case (1929)), just to tease the reader. Berkeley is perhaps my favorite Golden age writer, as in every novel he tried to create some twist that hadn't been seen before; he was never content with the tried and true. This is an admirable example with better than expected and carefully interwoven characters, some philosophical musings which are actually integral to the plot, assorted Nazis from 1937, more red herrings than the reader can shake a stick at, and a sympathetic narrator who serves as our trusty guide to the chimeric ending -- no I didn't solve it despite some very strong suspicions. I could have guessed who, could not have guessed how. Enjoyable, entertaining, and moderately educational!
May 4, 2023
This proved to be one of the more interesting of the Anthony Berkeley books I have read so far. This is not only due to the absence of the unbearable Roger Sheringham, but also because of the presence of a most unassuming and ordinary, but successful, narrator. Douglas Sewell :-
"For strangely enough in the end it was I and not any of the official detectives who eventually solved the mystery of John’s death; and I solved it entirely out of my own knowledge of the case and of the people involved in it. For a pretty dull, stolid fruit farmer that was not so bad."
Some readers may be deterred by the structure of a book which spends a lot of time on scene-setting and character build-up, in which the "detection", such as it is, only really gets underway about one-third in, and which the narrator denies is a detective story at all!
I really enjoyed the way in which Berkeley, after playing around with genre conventions and with reader expectations, ends the penultimate chapter with what is effectively a Challenge to the Reader:-
"At this point in the narrative all the evidence has been put before the reader, who is in exactly the position of Douglas Sewell. Readers of this book may like to amuse themselves by pausing at this point and endeavouring to answer the following questions: 1. Who (or what) was responsible for John Waterhouse’s death? 2. How did the arsenic find its way into John Waterhouse’s body, and why? Give a concise outline of the story behind his death. 3. List as many deductions as you can draw from Douglas Sewell’s narrative, and the clues to them. 4. Do you think there is a Dominant Clue in this story? If so, what is it?"
The final chapter is misleadingly conventional in some ways and quite tantalising in others.
Very recommendable and devoid of the annoyances I have encountered in some of Berkeley's novels.
"For strangely enough in the end it was I and not any of the official detectives who eventually solved the mystery of John’s death; and I solved it entirely out of my own knowledge of the case and of the people involved in it. For a pretty dull, stolid fruit farmer that was not so bad."
Some readers may be deterred by the structure of a book which spends a lot of time on scene-setting and character build-up, in which the "detection", such as it is, only really gets underway about one-third in, and which the narrator denies is a detective story at all!
I really enjoyed the way in which Berkeley, after playing around with genre conventions and with reader expectations, ends the penultimate chapter with what is effectively a Challenge to the Reader:-
"At this point in the narrative all the evidence has been put before the reader, who is in exactly the position of Douglas Sewell. Readers of this book may like to amuse themselves by pausing at this point and endeavouring to answer the following questions: 1. Who (or what) was responsible for John Waterhouse’s death? 2. How did the arsenic find its way into John Waterhouse’s body, and why? Give a concise outline of the story behind his death. 3. List as many deductions as you can draw from Douglas Sewell’s narrative, and the clues to them. 4. Do you think there is a Dominant Clue in this story? If so, what is it?"
The final chapter is misleadingly conventional in some ways and quite tantalising in others.
Very recommendable and devoid of the annoyances I have encountered in some of Berkeley's novels.
February 7, 2026
(4.25) maybe i need to start reading more murder mysteries because i had so much fun with this. even better that everything unfolded in court rather than with a detective. love that it was originally published in the paper as a competition for readers to solve, made me realise though that i never even try to solve murder mysteries myself bc not once did i actually stop to consider the options, i’m just along for the ride fr
April 6, 2025
This book was written for a competition and published without its ending so that readers could send in their solution. A very interesting concept and lots of ethical issues raised
Most enjoyable
Most enjoyable
October 28, 2025
Originally published in 1938. A character is German, one is Austrian (one of the two is a proud Nazi), and it was interesting to read a novel that touches on certain beliefs of that time period, before WWII.
It was deeply uncomfortable at times, be warned.
It was deeply uncomfortable at times, be warned.
March 29, 2025
Another GOAT from the GOAT
September 14, 2021
3.5 stars, rounded down.
A JOLLY GOOD SHOW 🧐
It's ridiculous but ✨fun✨
With bonus Nazis and spies and torrid love affairs in the adjoining village! Goodness gracious! The scandal!
A JOLLY GOOD SHOW 🧐
It's ridiculous but ✨fun✨
With bonus Nazis and spies and torrid love affairs in the adjoining village! Goodness gracious! The scandal!
May 31, 2026
There are at least three people here I'd like to see hanged, so to hell with the lot of them! As for the author, if he can't write likeable characters he should give up and go home.
June 28, 2014
An opposite masterpeace to The Wychford Poisoning Case: the plot is similar (it's built as the other, on the example of a true case: the classic James Maybrick murder case in Liverpool), but the spirit of writing is strongly different.
Article in italian about this and the other novel by Berkeley, on Blog of Italian Publisher House MONDADORI:
http://blog.librimondadori.it/blogs/i...
Article in italian about this and the other novel by Berkeley, on Blog of Italian Publisher House MONDADORI:
http://blog.librimondadori.it/blogs/i...
Read
April 9, 2025i tend not to log much mystery fiction unless it causes me to think of something interesting/funny to write but this was initially serialised with a prize given for people submitting solutions before the final chapter was revealed, which is neat, and i want to shout out the presumable distant relative of mine from the 30s who got an honourable mention in the author's summary of the submissions for her theory
May 15, 2017
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
May 8, 2026
The otherwise hale and healthy John Waterhouse is dead. Although the doctor says that the cause of death is natural, there are signs right from the beginning that this is not the case. Did his hypochondriac wife know that he was going to change his will? Why is his almost-estranged brother so keen to take over the house? Why is the doctor so careless? And why is the doctor's sister so worried? What did the neighbour steal a bottle of medicine from the house? And why are there Nazis working in the house?
This novel burns slowly. At first, the death is almost accepted as natural. Then the number of suspects slowly increases over time in a way that is surprisingly realistic (albeit over-the-top) for a 1930s novel. What made the novel particularly interesting to me was the role of the narrator, the victim's neighbour who claims to be objective but lets his biases and assumptions seep in throughout. How much of what he says can be trusted? Does he always understand his own motives?
This novel was originally serialised. Before the last chapter was published, members of the public were invited to write in with their solutions. An appendix tells us that many members of the public wrote in -- but nobody got it 100% right. There was time for us to stop and think of the solution before the ultimate chapter and I feel that if I had taken time to go through the book again, I would have been able to work out it... or maybe not. The solution seemed very clear when it explained in the last chapter and I chuckled when reading the appendix.
I loved the writing style. It was a relaxing read. Like many 1930s stories, there was some misogyny but unlike a lot of 1930s novels, I got the impression that the misogyny was there to make us negatively judge the male characters who held those ideas.
This novel burns slowly. At first, the death is almost accepted as natural. Then the number of suspects slowly increases over time in a way that is surprisingly realistic (albeit over-the-top) for a 1930s novel. What made the novel particularly interesting to me was the role of the narrator, the victim's neighbour who claims to be objective but lets his biases and assumptions seep in throughout. How much of what he says can be trusted? Does he always understand his own motives?
This novel was originally serialised. Before the last chapter was published, members of the public were invited to write in with their solutions. An appendix tells us that many members of the public wrote in -- but nobody got it 100% right. There was time for us to stop and think of the solution before the ultimate chapter and I feel that if I had taken time to go through the book again, I would have been able to work out it... or maybe not. The solution seemed very clear when it explained in the last chapter and I chuckled when reading the appendix.
I loved the writing style. It was a relaxing read. Like many 1930s stories, there was some misogyny but unlike a lot of 1930s novels, I got the impression that the misogyny was there to make us negatively judge the male characters who held those ideas.
September 3, 2025
Not To Be Taken is set in the fictional village of Annypenny, Dorset, just before WWII, and narrated by Douglas Sewell, a fruit farmer and one of a group of six friends. Sewell is happily married to Frances, his competent and trustworthy wife. The Sewell’s neighbours and friends, who all socialise regularly, are John and Angela Waterhouse, Glenn Brougham and Rhona Brougham, Glenn’s unmarried sister.
Angela Waterhouse was something of an invalid although no-one quite knew what was wrong with her and she was generally thought to be suffering from hypochondria. Her husband had been an inveterate world traveller but Angela had not enjoyed the experience in the least and the opinion of some of the others enjoyed being an invalid and the centre of attention.
Glenn Brougham is the village doctor, he and Douglas Sewell have known each other the longest. Sewell recounts the events that lead to, and unfold following, a tragic death. No-one seemed to have anything against the victim but the possible suspect list is fairly small.
Quite a chunk of this classic whodunit is taken up with scene setting as well as giving the reader a developing knowledge of the other players in the drama. There’s a low key police presence with the bulk of the story from the perspectives of those mentioned. There are clues dropped into the narrative, most of which I missed.
The story was originally a competition, published in instalments, challenging readers to follow the clues and name the perpetrator. It was interesting to read of the winners and their prizes on the end pages. I enjoyed Not To Be Taken, and would read other books by this author.
Angela Waterhouse was something of an invalid although no-one quite knew what was wrong with her and she was generally thought to be suffering from hypochondria. Her husband had been an inveterate world traveller but Angela had not enjoyed the experience in the least and the opinion of some of the others enjoyed being an invalid and the centre of attention.
Glenn Brougham is the village doctor, he and Douglas Sewell have known each other the longest. Sewell recounts the events that lead to, and unfold following, a tragic death. No-one seemed to have anything against the victim but the possible suspect list is fairly small.
Quite a chunk of this classic whodunit is taken up with scene setting as well as giving the reader a developing knowledge of the other players in the drama. There’s a low key police presence with the bulk of the story from the perspectives of those mentioned. There are clues dropped into the narrative, most of which I missed.
The story was originally a competition, published in instalments, challenging readers to follow the clues and name the perpetrator. It was interesting to read of the winners and their prizes on the end pages. I enjoyed Not To Be Taken, and would read other books by this author.
July 19, 2026
I’ve read a few Anthony Berkeley GA mysteries and enjoyed them all, this was no exception. This was a new-to-me title, nominated in the Reading the Detectives group for our August group read. I’m glad I was able to get it at my library, some GA titles are hard to come by.
This was an intriguing puzzle, set in a Dorset village among a group of friends and neighbors. As the story opens, the reader gets to meet them all at a casual dinner party where the discussion tells a lot about each person’s ideas and beliefs. Soon, one of the group, who’s been experiencing digestive issues (red flag for mystery buffs) falls seriously ill, then unexpectedly dies. In the days that follow, the police investigate, a post-mortem is held, lives and alibis are parsed. But once arsenic is discovered in the body, it’s left to one of the friends to stumble upon the truth.
Very well done puzzle, red herrings galore, and interesting in that even though the police machinery is brought to bear, including Scotland Yard, there’s no star detective. Written in serial format and published in 1937-38 in a London publication, readers were invited to use the clues provided to come up with solutions and mail them in to win a cash prize if they were correct. I had my fuzzy suspicions, as I usually do when reading a mystery, but I couldn’t build a legal case around the amorphous ideas - I’ve just read so many mysteries, my favorite genre, that I get a “feeling”. I just read for the pleasure of a well-constructed puzzle, to meet the characters and ride along as someone, amateur or professional, finds a solution.
This was an intriguing puzzle, set in a Dorset village among a group of friends and neighbors. As the story opens, the reader gets to meet them all at a casual dinner party where the discussion tells a lot about each person’s ideas and beliefs. Soon, one of the group, who’s been experiencing digestive issues (red flag for mystery buffs) falls seriously ill, then unexpectedly dies. In the days that follow, the police investigate, a post-mortem is held, lives and alibis are parsed. But once arsenic is discovered in the body, it’s left to one of the friends to stumble upon the truth.
Very well done puzzle, red herrings galore, and interesting in that even though the police machinery is brought to bear, including Scotland Yard, there’s no star detective. Written in serial format and published in 1937-38 in a London publication, readers were invited to use the clues provided to come up with solutions and mail them in to win a cash prize if they were correct. I had my fuzzy suspicions, as I usually do when reading a mystery, but I couldn’t build a legal case around the amorphous ideas - I’ve just read so many mysteries, my favorite genre, that I get a “feeling”. I just read for the pleasure of a well-constructed puzzle, to meet the characters and ride along as someone, amateur or professional, finds a solution.
February 13, 2020
Un classico di Anthony Berkeley in cui, ovviamente, è un veleno la causa di morte.
John Waterhouse, celebre ingegnere elettrico che ha trascorso gran parte della sua vita all'estero, non ci ha messo molto a farsi ben volere dalla piccola comunità di campagna in cui è entrato a far parte dopo la pensione. Lo stesso non si può di dire di sua moglie Angela, un'invalida (o per lo meno tale si definisce) perennemente alle prese con un qualche malanno. Per questo i più rimangono sorpresi di fronte all'improvvisa morte di John (e non di Angela), che, a contrario della moglie, aveva sempre goduto di ottima salute: certo, il suo medico gli aveva diagnosticato un'ulcera e gli aveva consigliato più moderazione nel cibo e nel fumo, ma chi avrebbe mai detto che una diarrea epidemica, tanto comune in estate, lo avrebbe ucciso? A non crederci è soprattutto suo fratello, non in buoni rapporti con la vedova, che riesce a far aprire un'inchiesta; in effetti i suoi sospetti sono più che fondati: John non è morto di malattia, ma avvelenato con l'arsenico.
Un romanzo poliziesco senza nessun detective più o meno professionista, ma con un semplice vicino di casa, Douglas Sewell, un frutticoltore, che aveva voluto bene a John e che, volente o nolente, si trova coinvolto nell'indagine: se l'avvelenamento non è stato accidentale, il responsabile non può che essere uno della stretta cerchia di amici che ruotava intorno ai Waterhouse, e solo qualcuno che li conosce da vicino può capire cosa sia accaduto e perché.
Ottimo giallo d'annata, piuttosto sorprendente non tanto per il colpevole, ma per l'inaspettato epilogo della storia.
Consigliato.
John Waterhouse, celebre ingegnere elettrico che ha trascorso gran parte della sua vita all'estero, non ci ha messo molto a farsi ben volere dalla piccola comunità di campagna in cui è entrato a far parte dopo la pensione. Lo stesso non si può di dire di sua moglie Angela, un'invalida (o per lo meno tale si definisce) perennemente alle prese con un qualche malanno. Per questo i più rimangono sorpresi di fronte all'improvvisa morte di John (e non di Angela), che, a contrario della moglie, aveva sempre goduto di ottima salute: certo, il suo medico gli aveva diagnosticato un'ulcera e gli aveva consigliato più moderazione nel cibo e nel fumo, ma chi avrebbe mai detto che una diarrea epidemica, tanto comune in estate, lo avrebbe ucciso? A non crederci è soprattutto suo fratello, non in buoni rapporti con la vedova, che riesce a far aprire un'inchiesta; in effetti i suoi sospetti sono più che fondati: John non è morto di malattia, ma avvelenato con l'arsenico.
Un romanzo poliziesco senza nessun detective più o meno professionista, ma con un semplice vicino di casa, Douglas Sewell, un frutticoltore, che aveva voluto bene a John e che, volente o nolente, si trova coinvolto nell'indagine: se l'avvelenamento non è stato accidentale, il responsabile non può che essere uno della stretta cerchia di amici che ruotava intorno ai Waterhouse, e solo qualcuno che li conosce da vicino può capire cosa sia accaduto e perché.
Ottimo giallo d'annata, piuttosto sorprendente non tanto per il colpevole, ma per l'inaspettato epilogo della storia.
Consigliato.
August 20, 2025
This Golden Age crime mystery was first published in 1938 in a weekly magazine, John O'London's. It was accompanied by a competition inviting readers to submit their whodunnit solutions for a substantial monetary prize. The novel was republished in 2025 within the British Library Crime Classics series. This new edition contains an introduction by Martin Edwards and a reprint of the published report on the competition entries.
The novel is set in the small Dorset village of Anneypenny where John Waterhouse, a retired engineer who lives with his invalid wife, Angela, appears to have been murdered by the administration of arsenic. Suspicion mainly falls on Glen, his friend and local doctor, and John's own wife Angela.
This was certainly a well-deserved 4.5 star read. There is a small cast of well-to-do characters who regularly have dinner at each other's houses. All seem to have some domestic staff, as the setting is just pre-WWII. The narrator is Douglas Sewell, a rather incompetent fruit farmer but there are some doubts about his reliability. Some surprising information about the various characters turns up along the way - all is not as it seems on first acquaintance with them.
A lot of interesting information is provided by both the modern introduction by Martin Edwards and the Appendix report by the author on the results of the competition entries. This report was originally published in John O'London's weekly in 1938. As recommended, I read both the introduction and competition report after reading the novel. I didn't guess the 'whodunnit'.
The novel is set in the small Dorset village of Anneypenny where John Waterhouse, a retired engineer who lives with his invalid wife, Angela, appears to have been murdered by the administration of arsenic. Suspicion mainly falls on Glen, his friend and local doctor, and John's own wife Angela.
This was certainly a well-deserved 4.5 star read. There is a small cast of well-to-do characters who regularly have dinner at each other's houses. All seem to have some domestic staff, as the setting is just pre-WWII. The narrator is Douglas Sewell, a rather incompetent fruit farmer but there are some doubts about his reliability. Some surprising information about the various characters turns up along the way - all is not as it seems on first acquaintance with them.
A lot of interesting information is provided by both the modern introduction by Martin Edwards and the Appendix report by the author on the results of the competition entries. This report was originally published in John O'London's weekly in 1938. As recommended, I read both the introduction and competition report after reading the novel. I didn't guess the 'whodunnit'.
October 18, 2018
So far I am furiously underwhelmed with Berekely's work. No wonder he is much less famous than his companions in the Detection Club. I picked this book up because the title intrigued me but was irritated and annoyed before I got done. It begins with a very bland first person narrator, and for some reason Berkeley prefers second hand tell-not-show, putting the reader at one remove from the action and sapping the tale of any energy it might have had. It takes him fully half the book to wake up and include direct dialogue! There are far too many characters in the narrator's circle of friends, confusing the issue even more. Not content with that, when the narrator puts on his detective's cap (which doesn't fit, not by a long way) he breaks the fourth wall in the stupidest way possible, with direct questions to the reader as if it were some kind of exam.
None of the characters were remotely sympathetic, except maybe Frances and the man from the War office,who has very little indeed to do with the story, which is indeed a pity because the man could actually think. Oh, I forgot that Berkeley also plays the Nazi card very badly, confusing Austrians and Swiss and calling them both "Germans". This thread fortunately doesn't go very far. The tale gets more and more tangled as we get near a ridiculous ending that made me want to slap the author three ways: hard, fast and repeatedly!
A star and a half. And that's being generous.
None of the characters were remotely sympathetic, except maybe Frances and the man from the War office,who has very little indeed to do with the story, which is indeed a pity because the man could actually think. Oh, I forgot that Berkeley also plays the Nazi card very badly, confusing Austrians and Swiss and calling them both "Germans". This thread fortunately doesn't go very far. The tale gets more and more tangled as we get near a ridiculous ending that made me want to slap the author three ways: hard, fast and repeatedly!
A star and a half. And that's being generous.
August 20, 2026
I continue my assault on reading all of the British Library Crime Classics reissues, I believe this is my 108th(!) in the series. “Not to Be Taken: A Puzzle in Poison” is my fourth classic mystery from Anthony Berkeley, originally serialized in 1937-1938 with a challenge and a prize for readers to try to solve.
This one revolves around a suspicious death in the small village of Anneypenny. John Waterhouse was a relatively young man, hale and hearty, who was quite adventurous around the globe as an engineer in his past and has finally agreed to settle down with his wife Angela. Some gastric problems were initially brushed off but eventually led to his unexpected death. When his estranged brother Cyril shows up and starts accusing Angela of poisoning John, the body is exhumed and arsenic is discovered. And so the uproar starts, with accusations, secrets, vicious gossip, and even Nazi plots thrown in for good measure. A small cast contain the main suspects: our narrator Douglas, the next door neighbor, his wife Frances, smarter than average, Glen Brougham, the village doctor, Glen’s sister Rhona, acting as nurse, and of course Angela, the invalid wife.
A fine fair-play mystery with an interesting conclusion.
This one revolves around a suspicious death in the small village of Anneypenny. John Waterhouse was a relatively young man, hale and hearty, who was quite adventurous around the globe as an engineer in his past and has finally agreed to settle down with his wife Angela. Some gastric problems were initially brushed off but eventually led to his unexpected death. When his estranged brother Cyril shows up and starts accusing Angela of poisoning John, the body is exhumed and arsenic is discovered. And so the uproar starts, with accusations, secrets, vicious gossip, and even Nazi plots thrown in for good measure. A small cast contain the main suspects: our narrator Douglas, the next door neighbor, his wife Frances, smarter than average, Glen Brougham, the village doctor, Glen’s sister Rhona, acting as nurse, and of course Angela, the invalid wife.
A fine fair-play mystery with an interesting conclusion.
May 24, 2020
A–:
This is so beautifully written in the first person, and it so wonderfully immerses you in the naive, ordered mind of our narrator, Douglas Sewell, who simply cannot imagine that one of his friends has poisoned another. It's the kind of quaint tale involving a series of middle class couples that Elizabeth Ferrars would thrive on (both for better and worse) in her prolific career, but it's a winning one for Berkeley, who I'd never previously read. He manages to conjure up several potential reasons for murder (and even suicide) and then turns them on their head, the end of the penultimate chapter gives the reader a set of exam questions about what has gone on before, and then he tantalisingly throws out three scenarios in the finale before revealing who REALLY committed the crime. Glorious fun, and pretty much sums up the delicious appeal of the golden age detection genre.
This is so beautifully written in the first person, and it so wonderfully immerses you in the naive, ordered mind of our narrator, Douglas Sewell, who simply cannot imagine that one of his friends has poisoned another. It's the kind of quaint tale involving a series of middle class couples that Elizabeth Ferrars would thrive on (both for better and worse) in her prolific career, but it's a winning one for Berkeley, who I'd never previously read. He manages to conjure up several potential reasons for murder (and even suicide) and then turns them on their head, the end of the penultimate chapter gives the reader a set of exam questions about what has gone on before, and then he tantalisingly throws out three scenarios in the finale before revealing who REALLY committed the crime. Glorious fun, and pretty much sums up the delicious appeal of the golden age detection genre.
January 8, 2021
Un bel giallo dell’età dell’oro, con un imprenditore in pensione assassinato per avvelenamento. Inizio che sembra lento ma serve a farci familiarizzare con i personaggi, poi la narrazione prende velocità con una serie di piste e indizi che fanno sospettare di tutti e di nessuno.
Fino alla svolta finale. A poche pagine dalla fine l’autore ci comunica che abbiamo tutti gli indizi per risolvere il mistero, verso il quale ci guida nella resa dei conti finale.
Personalmente ho indovinato l’identità dell’assassino, ma sbagliando in pieno movente e mezzo. Soluzione comunque molto convincente.
Non è un capolavoro da leggere a tutti i costi, ha i suoi anni e si vedono tutti, ma sicuramente per gli amanti del genere e del periodo è un ottimo romanzo, nel pieno filone del giallo della Golden Age, del quale rispetta tutte le convenzioni e regala qualche ora di piacevole lettura.
Fino alla svolta finale. A poche pagine dalla fine l’autore ci comunica che abbiamo tutti gli indizi per risolvere il mistero, verso il quale ci guida nella resa dei conti finale.
Personalmente ho indovinato l’identità dell’assassino, ma sbagliando in pieno movente e mezzo. Soluzione comunque molto convincente.
Non è un capolavoro da leggere a tutti i costi, ha i suoi anni e si vedono tutti, ma sicuramente per gli amanti del genere e del periodo è un ottimo romanzo, nel pieno filone del giallo della Golden Age, del quale rispetta tutte le convenzioni e regala qualche ora di piacevole lettura.
September 15, 2024
Un giallo semplice, lineare, onestissimo, con qualche ampia parentesi giudiziaria, ambientato in un villaggio di campagna pieno di rancori e segreti che rimanda da vicino ad alcuni lavori coevi della Christie.
I vaghissimi riferimenti spionistici non appesantiscono la narrazione, mentre psicologie e atmosfere scaturiscono dai semplici fatti, senza parentesi descrittive. Scrittura elegante, senza picchi emotivi ma pure senza scivoloni nel sentimentale o passaggi troppo arzigogolati. Il finale, con spassosa eliminazione progressiva di tutte le false piste, giunge piuttosto appagante, sebbene la rivelazione di quali dettagli fossero in realtà veri indizi non includa, di per sé, ribaltamenti davvero memorabili. Sorprende di più la postilla, per l'epoca tutt'altro che banale, con annessa questione morale.
***
I vaghissimi riferimenti spionistici non appesantiscono la narrazione, mentre psicologie e atmosfere scaturiscono dai semplici fatti, senza parentesi descrittive. Scrittura elegante, senza picchi emotivi ma pure senza scivoloni nel sentimentale o passaggi troppo arzigogolati. Il finale, con spassosa eliminazione progressiva di tutte le false piste, giunge piuttosto appagante, sebbene la rivelazione di quali dettagli fossero in realtà veri indizi non includa, di per sé, ribaltamenti davvero memorabili. Sorprende di più la postilla, per l'epoca tutt'altro che banale, con annessa questione morale.
***
July 18, 2026
This was originally serialised in 1937-38, giving readers the chance to win a prize if they guessed the correct murderer. Although it was written as a magazine competition, it is actually a really good read.
Set in the village of Anneypenny, it revolves around a typical Golden Age Murder. A group of friends, one of whom - John Waterhouse - dies of suspected poisoning. Our narrator is Douglas Sewell, husband of Frances, and one of six people at a dinner party with John Waterhouse and his wife, Angela, when he became ill. Other main suspects include the Doctor, Glen Brougham and his sister, Rona. There are also other possible suspects and, as this was written in the 1930's, there are also references to possible Nazi sympathisers.
Anthony Berkeley was always entertaining, and this is an excellent read, with a good cast of characters and an interesting puzzle to unravel.
Set in the village of Anneypenny, it revolves around a typical Golden Age Murder. A group of friends, one of whom - John Waterhouse - dies of suspected poisoning. Our narrator is Douglas Sewell, husband of Frances, and one of six people at a dinner party with John Waterhouse and his wife, Angela, when he became ill. Other main suspects include the Doctor, Glen Brougham and his sister, Rona. There are also other possible suspects and, as this was written in the 1930's, there are also references to possible Nazi sympathisers.
Anthony Berkeley was always entertaining, and this is an excellent read, with a good cast of characters and an interesting puzzle to unravel.
August 7, 2025
2.5 rounded up. I am uncertain whether it was the writing itself or how much the genre has changed over time, that kept me from enjoying this mystery more. This was definitely a book in which the puzzle itself was the most important element, and to some extent, the only important element. The narration kept the reader at a distance from any action, the characters were as cardboard as they come, and at one point, the author interrupted to give the reader a chance to solve the mystery himself before the answer was revealed. I do like a good puzzle but only in combination with fully realized characters and narration that lets the reader get immersed in the book. This one wasn't that. Not recommended.
July 19, 2026
An enjoyable Golden Age mystery that kept me more or less interested from beginning to end, even if it never quite became a standout for me. I felt the plot became a little more complicated than necessary, with a few additional twists that ultimately added less than I expected.
I also found the cast somewhat uneven. While there were a handful of memorable personalities, much of the supporting cast felt rather flat, making it difficult to become invested in them beyond their role in the mystery. As a result, I found the puzzle more engaging than the characters themselves.
Not a bad effort, but I was left wishing for a little more elegance in the plotting and a stronger, more consistently developed cast.
I also found the cast somewhat uneven. While there were a handful of memorable personalities, much of the supporting cast felt rather flat, making it difficult to become invested in them beyond their role in the mystery. As a result, I found the puzzle more engaging than the characters themselves.
Not a bad effort, but I was left wishing for a little more elegance in the plotting and a stronger, more consistently developed cast.
September 2, 2026
An interesting mystery with a great beginning. However, the end was disappointing. The book discusses the topic that was being discussed during the time. The question of 'life unworthy of life'.
Through sheer coincidence, I am, posting this on 3rd of Spetember, so here's the opening of it:
Is it my imagination, or have other people noticed, too, that there is always something slightly sinister about the third of September?
Through sheer coincidence, I am, posting this on 3rd of Spetember, so here's the opening of it:
Is it my imagination, or have other people noticed, too, that there is always something slightly sinister about the third of September?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2026
A really gripping cosy crime drama with a host of very interesting characters. The main character Douglas is a friend of the deceased, and soon comes to realise that his circle of friends is full of secrets and surprises. I enjoyed the way we are taken through the various realisations and red herrings, and I also enjoyed the way Douglas slowly comes upon the solution to the murder. A great read.
March 15, 2021
Легкий детектив. Место действия - сельская Британия перед Второй мировой войной. Завязка-смерть всеми любимого соседа. Детективная история без персонажа детектива. Книга написана от первого лица - одного из соседей покойного, для которого непостижимо, что один из его друзей способен на убийство
April 4, 2026
I think this one is pretty good. The main character is interesting in part because he is so average and he knows it. A Golden Age mystery that is surprisingly ACAB and I liked it. I did guess the ending to this one though.
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