The Mystery of a Hansom Cab
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3.5 • 99 Ratings
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Publisher Description
An Apple Books Classic edition.
We’ve all heard of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. But what about the novel that inspired Doyle—and outsold him? Fergus Hume’s The Mystery of a Hansom Cab made him the bestselling crime writer of the 19th century.
The story opens in the dead of night in Victorian-era Melbourne. A man pulls up to a police station and tells them he’s shuttling the body of a murder victim inside his hansom cab. And although he’s laid eyes on the man he believes to be the murderer, the driver can offer no concrete leads.
Hume’s novel is as famous for its plot as it is for its depiction of Melbourne’s class divides at the time. With its portraits of grimy, impoverished neighborhoods alongside scenes of high-society opulence, The Mystery of a Hansom Cab is an absorbing historical mystery.
Customer Reviews
Loved it
Loved it,was great to listen to and was calm.
Amazing mystery
First I must address people’s dissatisfaction with the narrator. He is Australian, because this is an Australian writer and the novel is set in Australia. I think he does a very good job with pacing his words, and does other accents and voices (such as English and Irish) very well. It takes some getting used to if you are accustomed to listening to American or English narrators, but I enjoyed his reading of it.
The novel itself is a great mystery. It seems to have no real “protagonist” allowing the writer to rotate around his cast of characters - so you are privy to the knowledge of what certain people are thinking or feeling, but it still remains a puzzle and keeps you guessing until the very last pages.
Since it was written in the 1800s, it is a wordy book, but if you are used to classics then you will understand this. The characters are endearing - some are likeable and realistic, others are more caricature-like, but they are always entertaining. I love mysteries - Poirot was previously my favourite (and remains my favourite detective) but I think this is a wonderful and unique mystery novel and definitely one of the best.
Very poor narration
This might be an interesting story and worth listening to, were it not for the appalling narration. A very irritating and tedious voice. I could not stomach more than the first 10 minutes.