Trent's Own Case

Weak, belated sequel to the very entertaining Trent's Last Case. Completely lacks the sparkle of that book, constantly going off on tangents both unrelated to the “case” and uninteresting to this reader. The denouement is unconvincing and staged in a ludicrous way. The book felt dated in a way that transcended its period setting, and left the impression that it would have felt dated even in 1936. It is hard to say whether the participation of co-author Walter Allen helped or hindered, but there is an unevenness of tone which betrays the dual authorship. Some of it was entertaining but it was never sustained beyond short bursts. Very disappointing to a big fan of Trent's Last Case.