The Lodger

An elderly couple, the Buntings, have fallen on hard times. Only a few coppers keep them from the poorhouse. Mr. Sleuth, a very odd sort willing to pay handsomely for their shabby rooms, becomes their lodger. At this time, London is being plagued by a Ripper-like fiend. Slowly, the Buntings begin to suspect it's Mr. Sleuth, but his money is too important for them to share their suspicions with anyone. Written in 1913, Marie Belloc Lowndes's story explores the psychology of survival in the face of agonizing moral conflict. Lorna Raver's performance is a tour de force. Her dexterity shifting between accents is breathtaking. She creates the precise intensity, uncertainty, or sheer terror called for by each shocking situation. Raver's performance, combined with Lowndes's literate, suspenseful plot, makes this must listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Narrator Anne Hancock convincingly renders this Victorian horror story, which was written just 20 years after the Jack the Ripper murders. Mr. and Mrs. Bunting, retired domestic servants, hope to rent rooms in their modest home to make ends meet. Hancock skillfully captures their poverty and worries until a lodger, Mr. Sleuth, presents himself. Sleuth, who has a hissing, whispery voice, loudly quotes the Bible in his room (focusing on "evil" women), conducts peculiar experiments, and goes out only at night. Listeners will be chilled as the Buntings begin to question his identity. Hancock subtly presents the Buntings' dilemma. Should they reveal their suspicions, losing their lodger and the money they desperately need--or remain silent? Remarkably, the startling conclusion offers little solace. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine