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Fergus Hume
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The Silent House Hardcover – November 2, 2006

by Fergus Hume (Author), 1stworld Library (Editor)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 67 ratings
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Lucian Denzil was a briefless barrister, who so far departed from the traditions of his brethren of the long robe as not to dwell within the purlieus of the Temple. For certain private reasons, not unconnected with economy, he occupied rooms in Geneva Squ
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  1. Print length
    288 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    1st World Library - Literary Society
  4. Publication date
    November 2, 2006
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.81 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1421823829
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1421823829
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ 1st World Library - Literary Society (November 2, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1421823829
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1421823829
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.81 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 67 ratings

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Fergus Hume

Fergus Hume

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
67 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

barbara
5.0 out of 5 stars I like old mysteries.
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2019
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I like this books and most of the author's other books.
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Patto
4.0 out of 5 stars A haunted house, a murder & a plethora of suspicious characters
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2012
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The setting is dull, respectable Pimlico. Our hero is Lucian Denzil, a handsome young barrister living modestly but comfortably in a boarding house. When an old man is murdered in the sinister haunted house across the street, Lucian gets involved through sheer curiosity in investigating the case. He has better luck than the official detective, probably because he's got a great motivation. He's fallen in love with the daughter of the victim, and if he manages to find the murderer, she may smile on him.

The plot is heavily peopled with suspicious characters: the frivolous young widow of the murdered man, who shows a lively interest in the insurance money; a suble Italian count who seems all too fond of the widow; the suspicious lodger in the house in back of the haunted house who disappears just after the murder; a monkey-like doctor who owns an insane asylum and has a strange friendship with the count; and the clever red-headed gypsy servant girl who seems to know something about something.

One by one the suspects keep demonstrating their innocence and frustrating Lucian's efforts. The identity of the murderer, finally, took me by surprise.

The fun of this mystery revolves around the many plot twists. The characters are not all that deep, but they have a vintage charm. I liked Lucien's spinster landlady, for example, who's hopelessly enamored with his youth and good looks. The frivolous young widow is fun, too, with her cartoonish American accent.

If you're interested in minor works of Edwardian detective fiction, as I am, I think you might enjoy The Silent House. It was first published in 1907.
8 people found this helpful
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Eric Stott
4.0 out of 5 stars So bad its fairly good
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2015
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Silly but enjoyable- a convoluted plot that could be a parody of an early detective novel, like Wilkie Collins. Much of the writing is flowery- characters do not read, they peruse, they do not find out they ascertain. A lot of the dialogue is studded with exclamation points. Still, when Hume gets the plot going things move along and they aren't boring. He's rather good at atmospheric descriptions and a few of the minor characters come to life for a page or two- there was a portrait of a sharp tongued gossip that had me smiling.
One person found this helpful
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Alice Riggle
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2014
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loving it so far
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story by a favorite author
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
Read this right after I received it months ago and reviewed it.
Excellent story by a favorite author.
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Patricia Strickland
2.0 out of 5 stars Turned out not to be one of my favorites but I am always willing to try the author again.
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2013
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I did not finish this book as I did not care for it but I will eventually read it again.
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saabista
1.0 out of 5 stars boring
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2012
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Didn't make it past page 50. So boring. I guess I just don't like books written in that old manner...
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Cheryl
4.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery containing many plot twists
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2007
Good mystery about a "locked door" murder of a man in a house thought to be haunted. What first appears to be an easy to solve murder turns into many plot twists filled with secret identities. At one point or another, I thought that each character in the story could be the murderer. Recommended.
11 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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marinella
4.0 out of 5 stars ambientazione misteriosa
Reviewed in Italy on May 16, 2023
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Una storia di mistero molto scorrevole. Intrigante l'ambientazione del delitto in una casa su cui girano molte storie e si ritiene infestata dagli spiriti, proprio al di là della strada dove alloggia il giovane protagonista.
3 people found this helpful
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Aletheuon
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining period whodunnit
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 10, 2014
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All Fergus Hume's novels are enjoyable. They have a straightforward, colloquial style which hasn't dated like some of the more wordy, turgid offerings of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. This one is set in a London Square, where one house is said to be haunted. Lucian is a 'barrister without a brief' who therefore has time to wonder about the strange house opposite his, which is said to be haunted. Usually untenanted, it now has a strange, unhappy tenant whom, rather uncomfortably, Lucian encounters. On Christmas Eve, the tenant is murdered and a much younger, seemingly American woman turns up and identifies the man as her husband. Lucian is intrigued with the story, especially when the beautiful daughter of the deceased also appears.
The story has many twists and turns and plenty of surprises. Some of them seem a bit contrived (to say the least) compared with the sophisticated offerings of today, but there is enough there to keep one interested and wanting to know the solution to the mystery. Hume is very good at evoking place and atmosphere and his characters are always colourful and interesting and usually psychologically convincing, too. He claimed that some of the strangest of them were taken from life, fact being stranger than fiction.
It would be a shame to judge Fergus Hume by this book. It isn't one of his best, but it is still enjoyable and entertaining. It certainly deserves four stars. The occasional somewhat unconvincing twists in the plot and the too-frequent use of coincidence prevented it from getting five stars from me. I still love Fergus Hume's books, though!
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Patricia Gibson
3.0 out of 5 stars MIssing Story in this Collection!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 30, 2018
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This publication is advertised as containing three mystery stories - it only contains two. The real mystery is where is “The Crowned Skull” which is meant to be the third story in this collection? Only two stories are in this collection, despite its description as having three stories on Amazon, and these are “The Silent House” and “ The Mystery of the Hansom Cab”.
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suemg
4.0 out of 5 stars Murder mystery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2014
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I have enjoyed this book as a holiday read and would recommend it to others wanting a fairly light mystery to pass the time in a relaxing way, it presents lots of solutions each leading to another problem.
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