The Lodger

By Marie Belloc Lowndes and Belloc Belloc Lowndes

Book Overview

Mr. Bunting jumped nervously to her feet. She stood for a moment listening in the darkness, a darkness made the blacker by the line of light under the door behind which sat Bunting reading his paper. And then it came again, that loud, tremulous, uncertain double knock; not a knock, so the listener told herself, that boded any good. Would-be lodgers gave sharp, quick, bold, confident raps. No; this must be some kind of beggar. The queerest people came at all hours, and asked--whining or threatening--for money. Mrs. Bunting had had some sinister experiences with men and women --especially women--drawn from that nameless, mysterious class made up of the human flotsam and jetsam which drifts about every great city. But since she had taken to leaving the gas in the passage unlit at night she had been very little troubled with that kind of visitors, those human bats which are attracted by any kind of light but leave alone those who live in darkness. She opened the door of the sitting-room. It was Bunting's place to go to the front door, but she knew far better than he did how to deal with difficult or obtrusive callers. Still, somehow, she would have liked him to go to-night. But Bunting sat on, absorbed in his newspaper; all he did at the sound of the bedroom door opening was to look up and say, "Didn't you hear a knock?" Without answering his question she went out into the hall. Slowly she opened the front door. On the top of the three steps which led up to the door, there stood the long, lanky figure of a man, clad in an Inverness cape and an old-fashioned top hat. He waited for a few seconds blinking at her, perhaps dazzled by the light of the gas in the passage. Mrs. Bunting's trained perception told her at once that this man, odd as he looked, was a gentleman, belonging by birth to the class with whom her former employment had brought her in contact. "Is it not a fact that you let lodgings?" he asked, and there was something shrill, unbalanced, hesitating, in his voice. - Taken from "The Lodger" written by Marie Belloc Lowndes

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08WK9JNF9
• ISBN13: 9798709507180
• Release Date: February 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 108 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Very suspenseful and spooky!

This is one worth reading again, but only with the lights on! A must read.

Master Psychological Thriller

Marie Belloc Lowndes' THE LODGER was first published in 1913 and is as fresh as the newest psychological thriller. The grandmother of them all had what it takes to keep you turning the page with its tight plot, crisp dialogue, terror and suspense. Bunting and his wife, Ellen are down to their last penny when an eccentric gentlemen answers their sign for "Rooms to Let" and engages three by paying a month in advance with gold sovereigns. Their meager lives are again comfortable as "the lodger" requires small meals and light cleaning, but Ellen is torn by her suspicion that the quiet man may be the serial killer who is stalking London's foggy streets. Mrs. Lowndes taught later writers how to build tension, suspense, and fear in the mind of the reader as the story unfolds. THE LODGER is a must read for fans of thriller fiction and mystery readers alike. This classic of the genre set the standard, which was made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock and into an opera by Phyllis Tate. HaintsWriting as a Small Business

Scariest book I ever read!

This is a literate, well-written thriller in the Poe tradition. What happens to the landlords when a strange lodger insists on paying handsomely for simple lodging? And what about the terrible murders that just begin as he moves in? Could they be related? But he is so nice. And he pays so well! The plot is simple. The setting and characters are tightly drawn. But readers are in for a frightening ride!

A Great Book & Story that You'll Never Put Down!

I absolutely loved this book. It had elements of mystery within the story. The question of the identity of Jack the Ripper is always in the back of your mind. I finished the book in two days! That's how good it was-- I couldn't put it down! And the ending-- it's shocking!!! Sort of like the book version of The Usual Suspects. I definately recommend it to everyone!