Book excerpt: Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents) Trent Last Case: The Woman In Black is a detective novel written by Edmund Clerihew Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character reappeared subsequently in the novel Trent's Own Case (1936) and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes (1938).Trent's Last Case is actually the first novel in which gentleman sleuth Philip Trent appears. The novel is a whodunit with a place in detective fiction history because it is the first major sendup of that genre: Not only does Trent fall in love with one of the primary suspects—usually considered a no-no—he also, after painstakingly collecting all the evidence, draws all the wrong conclusions.Convinced that he has tracked down the murderer of a business tycoon who was shot in his mansion, he is told by the real perpetrator over dinner what mistakes in logical deduction he has made in trying to solve the case. On hearing what really happened, Trent vows that he will never again attempt to dabble in crime detection. Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents) Detective Philip Trent investigates the mysterious murder of a leading financier. Despite the title, Trent's Last Case is the first novel in which the gentleman sleuth Philip Trent appears. The novel is a whodunit with a place in detective fiction history because it is the first major sendup of that genre: Not only does Trent fall in love with one of the primary suspects—usually considered a no-no—he also, after painstakingly collecting all the evidence, draws all the wrong conclusions! This novel was much praised, numbering Dorothy L. Sayers among its admirers, and with its labyrinthine and mystifying plotting can be seen as the first truly modern mystery. It was adapted as a film in 1920, 1929, and 1952. The success of the work inspired him, after 23 years, to write a sequel, Trent's Own Case. Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents) Trent's Last Case is a detective novel written by E.C. Bentley and first published in 1913. Its central character reappeared subsequently in the novel Trent's Own Case (1936) and the short-story collection Trent Intervenes (1938). Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents) Trent's Last Case is actually the first novel in which gentleman sleuth Philip Trent appears. The novel is a whodunit with a place in detective fiction history because it is the first major sendup of that genre: Not only does Trent fall in love with one of the primary suspects—usually considered a no-no—he also, after painstakingly collecting all the evidence, draws all the wrong conclusions. Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents) Convinced that he has tracked down the murderer of a business tycoon who was shot in his mansion, he is told by the real perpetrator over dinner what mistakes in logical deduction he has made in trying to solve the case. On hearing what really happened, Trent vows that he will never again attempt to dabble in crime detection. Trent’s Last Case THE WOMAN IN BLACK (Detective Novel) Trent's Last Case (Classic Detective Presents)