The Hemlock Avenue Mystery


Read by Roger Melin

(4.5 stars; 182 reviews)

"The Hemlock Avenue Mystery" is one of a series of mysteries written by Lily Augusta Long using the pseudonym Roman Doubleday.

A lawyer is accused of killing a rival lawyer, both having battled in court on numerous occasions. A newspaper reporter following the case is bent on determining the facts behind the murder. As it happens, there are two women also suspected of participating in the crime, and a third who was apparently utterly unconscious of what had occurred. It's up to the reporter turned detective to unravel the clues, few as they are. - Summary by Roger Melin

(6 hr 54 min)

Chapters

Chapter 1 5:27 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 2 12:15 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 3 20:42 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 4 24:25 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 5 18:40 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 6 15:40 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 7 11:43 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 8 25:03 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 9 21:29 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 10 21:31 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 11 25:54 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 12 11:08 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 13 19:43 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 14 12:00 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 15 10:52 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 16 21:24 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 17 18:02 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 18 16:15 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 19 14:13 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 20 19:00 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 21 13:30 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 22 25:51 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 23 21:13 Read by Roger Melin
Chapter 24 8:05 Read by Roger Melin

Reviews

VERY GOOD


(5 stars)

Just the kind of mystery we need more of. There is a plausible plot, well developed; there are shifting elements of suspicions; there is a deserving victim; and there is satisfying ending. Add the great reading by Roger Melin, and we have a winner.

A very unusual murder among friends.


(5 stars)

I greatly enjoyed this sort of "cozy" mystery. The reporter-turned-detective had a likeable and intelligent personality. I never would have guessed the ending. The reader has a pleasant voice and excellent pacing in his manner. Thank you Roger Melin and Librivox.


(5 stars)

A mystery till the end. So nice, So soft. Nothing shocking but very soft and pleasant

Twists and turns-make sense


(4 stars)

Good reader and good book. There are many ways and byways to get to the solution but they all make sense. No need for gothic or supernatural agencies, a little too much luck and serenity perhaps, but those things are available in real life if we are enough on the ball to catch and remember them. Some fun humor and many individual character rations. Each person is themselves and their motivations are in line with their own selves. I didn’t really catch any people acting out of character. The plotting was very good and fairly well written. If guessing the ending is what you want, I suppose you could come to it all before I did, but I only got some of it before the “denouement”. There were several love stories going on but nothing too schmaltzy. Of course, considering the time it was written in and for, it might seem somewhat sedate, but if you look through it from that time’s eyes, it was fairly “forward”. Especially in its treatment of female actions and emotions. It also contained some rather racy bits, again for that time. Perhaps it could be considered a “pulp” book or perhaps it was serialized in a women’s magazine a man would never think of opening. I don’t know. We don’t always know the past reality as well as we think we do. There are also different environments and social milieu that provide differing views and actions. There is also the influence of a people’s ethnicity vs. the ethnicity of the USA, whatever that may be. The USA is a mixture of ethnicities, both from newer citizens and from those who’ve come from a longer history of descent from their origins. All this mixture of different views and cultural influences are part of what has contributed to the American Persona. I’ve always felt that there is a need for other viewpoints for a group to grow and adapt and create new futures . We always need more than one perspective when trying to solve a problem. (Didn’t proofread, sorry.)

terrific story, terrific reader


(5 stars)

Roger Merlin knocked it out of the park again, a wonderful narration of this interesting murder mystery. I liked the plot and I really enjoyed the main character not being a detective, but rather a layperson caught up in the case. One of the better selections of female characters from the era, I particularly loved the comparisons of Kitty to a fine april day and Edith to a summer tempest. I thought the ending was a bit weak in that the lawyers do all the hand waving so a lady doesn’t have to inconvenience herself by speaking to the police. I always wonder if that’s how it really worked back then, could you get out of literally anything just by being a lady? I liked the competition with the real detective, working for different sides, and by the end of it you’re certainly glad the murdered man copped it after all. great story, i really enjoyed it

Hemlock.... Good Mystery...


(5 stars)

Yesterday, Today or Tomorrow. The husband is Always the number one suspect in a wifey murder. Always. Louis Tracy has crafted such interested & intriguing story line to put suspect on everyone else. I was surprised at the last, an ending fit to enjoy.

satisfying and complex


(5 stars)

to this book very much I am hoping there are more by this author available


(5 stars)

a really great story that kept me intrigued til the end. the reader has a wonderful voice.