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This page lists novels and short story collections that feature the writer and amateur investigator Roger Sheringham.

Cover images are, where possible, of the first UK edition and a recent paperback or digital edition.

The Layton Court Mystery

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1925

Later editions credited to Anthony Berkeley.

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"Mr Victor Stanworth, a genial old man of sixty, apparently without a care in the world, is entertaining a party of friends at his summer residence, Layton Court. One morning he is found shot in the library. Was it suicide or murder? Roger Sheringham, one of the guests, determines to solve the mystery. He sets about it as he might do in real life. He is not one of those hawk-eyed, tight-lipped detectives who pursue their inexorable and silent way to the very heart of things. He makes a mistake or two occasionally, but he does not conceal any of the evidence and the reader has the same data to go upon as the detective, and is carried breathlessly through to the end."

The Wychford Poisoning Case: An Essay in Criminology

By the author of 'The Layton Court Mystery'

1926

Later editions credited to Anthony Berkeley.

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"In this exciting book the author breaks away from the usual artificial atmosphere of the conventional detective story and substitutes that of a typical cause celebre in real life, sensationalised by the newspapers and with the guilt or innocence of the suspected person on every one's lips. Mrs Bentley has been arrested for the murder of her husband by poisoning him with arsenic, and the evidence against her id overwhelming. Roger Sheringham, to whom psychological values are as important as police clues, is convinced of her innocence, and sets out to prove it. After an exciting series of developments the denoument is as unexpected as it is logical."

Roger Sheringham and the Vane Mystery

Anthony Berkeley

1927

Subsequently published by Collins as The Vane Mystery. Published in the US as The Mystery at Lovers’ Cave.

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"When the Daily Courier sends Roger Sheringham to Hampshire, it's a job after his own heart. The body of a woman has been found at the bottom of the cliffs at Ludmouth Bay, and despite a verdict of accidental death, the local sighting of Inspector Moresby from Scotland Yard suggests otherwise. Unable to resist a little amateur sleuth work, Sheringham starts digging around. Events lead him down one blind alley after another as he attempts to rival Inspector Moresby and devise the correct theory about the tragic death of Mrs Vane."

The Silk Stocking Murders

Anthony Berkeley

1928

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"This is a study of a type of murder (fortunately rare in this country) in which the criminal, though sane in every other aspect, suffers from an homicidal mania, the murders he commits thus affording no motive for then police to investigate. Roger Sheringham, who finds himself drawn into the case as a consequence of his connection with the Daily Courier, realises this, and though officially attached to Scotland Yard for the time being, follows an unorthodox line of his own, while Chief Inspector Moresby, his old rival, who is in charge of the investigation, relies on Scotland Yard's conventional methods. Two entirely different lines of detection, both attempting to bring to justice an unusually dangerous criminal, are thus shown in contrasting operation, and around this main theme is woven a story of suspicion, pursuit and cunning."

The Poisoned Chocolates Case

Anthony Berkeley

1929

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"Graham and Joan Bendix have apparently succeeded in making that eighth wonder of the modern world, a happy marriage. And into the middle of it there drops, like a clap of thunder, a box of chocolates. Joan Bendix is killed by a poisoned box of liqueur chocolates that cannot have been intended for her to eat. The police investigation rapidly reaches a dead end. Chief Inspector Moresby calls on Roger Sheringham and his Crimes Circle - six amateur but intrepid detectives - to consider the case. The evidence is laid before the Circle and the members take it in turn to offer a solution. Each is more convincing than the last, slowly filling in the pieces of the puzzle, until the dazzling conclusion."

The Second Shot

Anthony Berkeley

1930

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"John Hillyard, the owner of Milton Deeps Farm, is a writer of detective stories. Some of his friends, who are staying at the farm, decide to amuse themselves by testingbhis capabilities as a detective in practice instead of only on paper, and they therefore arrange a mock murder; one of the party is to pretend to be murdered, and one to be the murderer, and John Hillyard is to find out who is the pseudo-criminal; proper clues are to be laid and the whole thing made to resemble a real murder as closely as possible. In addition to John Hillyard, other detective story writers who live in the district are invited to try their hands. The game is played, apparently, as arranged, but the detective story writers prove dismal failures at their own game; not one of them is able to detect anything. But after the game is over two mysterious shots are heard which have no part in it. Somebody has taken advantage of the farce to shoot Eric Scott-Davies in sober earnest. Enter the police - and Roger Sheringham."

Murder in the Basement

Anthony Berkeley

1932

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"Roger and Molly Dane have something of a surprise in their new house. When Roger explores the basement on return from their honeymoon, he discovers something odd with the flooring. Hoping to find buried treasure, he digs up the body of a woman instead. Chief Inspector Moresby and Roger Sheringham are then left with the task of discovering who the lady was, how she came to be there, and who shot her in the back of the head."

Jumping Jenny

Anthony Berkeley

1933

Published in the US as Dead Mrs. Stratton.

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"Gentleman sleuth Roger Sheringham is at a weekend house party when one of the guests is found hanged. The victim has spent most of the evening talking about suicide and had, apparently, left the party after a row with her husband. Life would be best for everyone if the death was suicide, but is that verdict too much to hope for? The victim was extremely unpopular, and many people's lives would be better off without her. Some might even say that she deserved to die. What conclusion will the Coroner come to?"

Ask a Policeman

Member of the Detection Club

1933

A collaborative novel with contributions by Dorothy L. Sayers, Gladys Mitchell, Anthony Berkeley, John Rhode, Helen Simpson, and Milward Kennedy. In some cases the authors wrote the sections that featured one of the other authors character. Roger Sheringham contributes to the investigation in a section by Dorothy L. Sayers.

"Lord Comstock is a barbarous newspaper tycoon with enemies in high places. His murder in the study of his country house poses a dilemma for the Home Secretary. In the hours before his death, Lord Comstock’s visitors included the government Chief Whip, an Archbishop, and the Assistant Commissioner for Scotland Yard. Suspicion falls upon them all and threatens the impartiality of any police investigation. Abandoning protocol, the Home Secretary invites four famous detectives to solve the case: Mrs Adela Bradley, Sir John Saumarez, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Mr Roger Sheringham. All are different, all are plausible, all are on their own – and none of them can ask a policeman."

Panic Party

Anthony Berkeley

1934

Published in the US as Mr. Pidgeon’s Island.

A Roger Sheringham novel.

"Mr Pidgeon is the unlikely and lucky owner of a large yacht and a desert island. Gentleman sleuth Roger Sheringham is one of the members of the party Pidgeon invites for a cruise. When the ship and its crew return to port without them, the party are marooned for a fortnight on the private island. Sheringham is shocked to discover Pidgeon has organised the whole thing as an experiment. He has brought them together to enact a bizarre murder and detection game. But then the madness starts and tragedy strikes."

The Avenging Chance and Other Mysteries from Roger Sheringham’s Casebook

Anthony Berkeley

Crippen & Landru

2004

Roger Sheringham short stories. An enlarged paperback edition was published in 2015.

"The title story in The Avenging Chance has long been considered one of the greatest formal detective stories. This book also collects all the additional cases of Sheringham and Moresby. "

• Concerning Roger Sheringham
• The Avenging Chance
• Perfect Alibi
• The Mystery Of Horne's Copse
• Unsound Mind
• White Butterfly
• The Wrong Jar
• Double Bluff
• "Mr. Bearstowe Says"
• The Bargee's Holiday (only in 2015 edition)