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Malice Aforethought: The Story of a Commonplace Crime

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Arrives Tuesday, May 21
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Description

"Possibly the best shocker ever written." — The English ReviewDr. Edmund Bickleigh married above his station. Although popular and well respected in his little Devonshire community, he seethes with resentment at the superior social status of his domineering wife, Julia. Bickleigh soothes his inferiority complex by seducing as many of the local women as he possibly can — but with the collapse of his latest fling and a fresh dose of sneering contempt from Julia, the doctor resolves to silence his wife forever and begins plotting the perfect murder. With Malice Aforethought, Francis Iles produced not just a darkly comic narrative of psychological suspense but also a landmark in crime fiction: for the first time, the murderer's identity was revealed at the start of the tale. Hailed as a tour de force by the British press of its day, the book retains its shock value and stands at 16 in the Crime Writers' Association ranking of the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications (September 12, 2018)


Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2018


Language ‏ : ‎ English


File size ‏ : ‎ 2576 KB


Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled


Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported


Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled


X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled


Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled


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If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Tuesday, May 21

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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Good read.
Another good read by this author.
Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2023 by Cachafaz
    • Good story but strange edition
The book that came had gilded edges, rice paper thin pages and was tiny. The print was equally tiny. Kind of reminded me of the tiny hand sized gideon bibles my grandmother had. Well, the story was good but I just didn't enjpy reading it in this edition. No jpy in the holding of it. Hard to find title though so I would still recommend if you don't care about the book feel. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2023 by Jeanna F.
    • This novel has been ranked No. 16 out of the Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time!
Review Image by N.T. N.T.
A landmark in crime fiction, the identity of the murderer is revealed at the beginning of the novel. Dr. Bickleigh, a village doctor, drives his old Jowett, pictured, around the countryside to visit his patients. He is well-known and well-liked. But many dark secrets soon become apparent as the novel progresses. "Malice Aforethought" has all the hallmarks of its author, Anthony Berkeley, including in-depth character analysis, suspense, continuous detail, and of course, the "double-twist". I regard this as Berkeley's most brilliantly crafted mystery! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2021 by N.T. N.T.
    • Criminal Intent
Dr. Edmund (Teddy) Bickleigh is the local GP in the comfortably middle-class hamlet of Wyvern’s Cross; well-liked, he thinks his frequent advances on various women of the region all represent true love, until he meets newcomer Madeleine Cranmere and realizes what true love really is. Unfortunately the good doctor is married - to a harridan of a wife named Julia - but in almost no time, he conceives of a means to rid himself of her once and for all…. “Malice Aforethought” is considered one of the first psychological mysteries in the field, in part because we know from the very first page that Dr. Bickleigh is intending to murder his wife; the story is really about how he goes about it, and what happens next. My feminist sensibilities would be somewhat outraged by the point-of-view musings of Bickleigh about women in general, were it not for the fact that he is such a *little* man, in all meanings of the word; as such, I found him quite funny, if contemptuous and rather despicable overall. Published in 1931, the story remains quite believable, grounded as it is in human nature, although some particulars are dated. And I never saw the ending coming at all; always a pleasure in this type of novel! Recommended, keeping in mind that it is of its time. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2021 by Alison S. Coad
    • A real page turner; and you find you want the murderer to get away with it!
It was surprisingly difficult to find a copy of this excellent book. I remember seeing a TV version of it back in the '70s and it was excellent but it has never been available for VHS or DVD. But it is a surprisingly fast read considering how long it is and that it was written back in the '20s. Also, this is probably the first murder story that wasn't a "whodunit," the author tells you in the first paragraph, something that had never been done before and except for another book he wrote, probably wasn't done again until "Columbo" came to TV. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 16, 2015 by Jade Midnight
    • However there are sufficient turns in the story line to keep the reader interested including one final twist that wraps everythi
This book is a clever take on the traditional whodunit. It is no spoiler to say that the killer confesses since it happens on the first page. We are privy to the inner workings of his mind throughout the book. He justifies and rationalizes all of his actions in a way that is quite shocking. However there are sufficient turns in the story line to keep the reader interested including one final twist that wraps everything up nicely. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2016 by Hard-boiled
    • Beautiful Design
This is a review of the book itself, not the story. The book is a tiny little hardcover with beautiful design. Beware how small it really is , though. It's essentially pocket size. I enjoyed reading it though. Easy to port around and loved the built in ribbon bookmarker.
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2019 by Whip
    • Not a Mystery but a Crime Story
I read this for my mystery book club. Unlike most mysteries, the reader is made aware of the identity of both the murderer and his victim at the beginning of the story. The author does a good job revealing the inner thoughts of the main character, the murderer, throughout the story. Character development is front and center in this book. While I am not particularly excited to read British crime books of this era, this book gave me a clear understanding of this sub-genre and respect for the development of this style. A more modern approach suits my taste and I find the psychological aspects of crime most appealing. I recommend it highly. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020 by reBecca in TN

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