The Tragedy at Brookbend Cottage

Blind amateur sleuth, Max Carrados investigates a dastardly husband's plot to murder his wife.

Out in the London suburbs, mystery piles upon mystery. What does the urgent telegram say? Why is there a metal plate bolted to the floor? Max thinks he knows, but can he halt the deadly machinations?

Read by Arthur Darvill.

Max Carrados first featured in a series of mystery books in 1914. Carrados also shared top billing alongside Sherlock Holmes in 'The Strand Magazine". The character often boasts how much his blindness means his other senses are heightened.

Ernest Bramah excelled in his detailed writing and uncovering of clues. The beneficiary of a large inheritance from an American relative, Carrados is foremost a gentleman who undertakes sleuthing only as an avocation. Though equipped with a keen observer in the perfect manservant Parkinson, Carrados doesn't just sit around deducing. He makes his own observations with ears, nose and fingertips.

Abridged by Paul Kent.

Producer: Neil Gardner

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Ladbroke Radio Productions and first broadcast in 2011.