THE LODGER

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 [Published: MARCH 2019]