Death and the Conjuror: A Locked-Room Mystery
Death and the Conjuror: A Locked-Room Mystery book cover

Death and the Conjuror: A Locked-Room Mystery

Hardcover – July 12, 2022

by
Price
$20.40
Format
Hardcover
Pages
288
Publisher
Mysterious Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1613163184
Dimensions
5.9 x 1.1 x 8.6 inches
Weight
1.01 pounds

Description

"An engrossing tale of murder and magicians, and a revealing exploration of the ever-popular locked-room mystery, Mead’s debut is a novel to intrigue and delight." ― John Connolly "Tom Mead has created an intriguing set of puzzles on par with John Dickson Carr in Death and the Conjuror . A true delight for mystery lovers!" ― Charles Todd "With a deviously intricate locked-room plot, Death and the Conjuror unfolds as both an elegant tribute and a cunning update of the classic “impossible crime” story. Somewhere, the great John Dickson Carr is smiling." ― Daniel Stashower, two-time Edgar-winner and author of the Harry Houdini mysteries "This debut, a tribute to John Dickson Carr and other Golden Age masters of the locked-room mystery, will appeal to nostalgia buffs and fans of the classics." ― Library Journal "Mead’s debut novel is a valentine to the locked-room puzzles of John Dickson Carr, to whom it is dedicated... Mead faithfully replicates all the loving artifice and teasing engagement of golden-age puzzlers in this superior pastiche." ― Kirkus "Mead’s stellar debut and series launch [is] an homage to golden age crime fiction, in particular the works of John Dickson Carr… Mead maintains suspense throughout, creating a creepy atmosphere en route to satisfying reveals. Puzzle mystery fans will eagerly await the sequel." ― Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "This ingenious (and fair-play) locked-room mystery should win over a new generation of readers to this delightfully devious style of classic mystery." ― Gigi Pandian, USA Today-bestselling author of Under Lock & Skeleton Key "A loving tribute to the locked-room master John Dickson Carr and a sharply drawn period piece." ― Sarah Weinman, The New York Times "An intricate, elegantly written 'impossible' crime that completely fooled me. Tom Mead is already a master of the art of misdirection." ― Peter Lovesey "A real treat for mystery fans." ― Ragnar Jonasson "Both a splendid homage to the Golden age of impossible crimes and its great exponent John Dickson Carr and a witty reconstruction of the classic locked room mystery with tongue in cheek bravado and a gallery of attendant, endearing characters, Tom Mead’s debut is a sheer delight." ― Maxim Jakubowski, author, editor and CWA chairman "This clever mystery combines a delightful homage to Golden Age detective fiction with a highly entertaining impossible crime puzzle – what more could any fan of classic crime wish for?" ― Martin Edwards, Crime novelist and winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger 2020 "An absolute delight. The Golden Age of detective fiction comes brilliantly alive. Great characters, wonderful locked-room puzzles, it kept me hooked." ― Jim Eldridge, author of the Museum Mystery series "One of the best locked-room mysteries I’ve read. I was both baffled and enthralled by every twist and am now a firm Spector enthusiast! A true golden age gem, right up there with the greats!" ― T.A. Willberg, author of Marion Lane and The Midnight Murder Tom Mead is a UK-based author specializing in crime fiction. His stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine , Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine , Litro Online , Flash: The International Short-Short Story Magazine , Lighthouse , Mystery Scene and Mystery Weekly (among others). Several of his pieces have also been anthologized, most recently “Heatwave” in The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021 (ed. Lee Child). His debut novel Death and the Conjuror was selected as one of the top ten best mysteries of the year by Publishers Weekly .

Features & Highlights

  • A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Best Mysteries of 2022 Selection
  • In this "sharply-drawn period piece" (
  • New York Times
  • ), a magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes
  • In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions?
  • Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets―or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.
  • A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader,
  • Death and the Conjuror
  • joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(114)
★★★★
20%
(76)
★★★
15%
(57)
★★
7%
(27)
★
28%
(105)

Most Helpful Reviews

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An enjoyable throwback to the Golden Age of puzzle mysteries

John Dickson Carr, to whom the author dedicates this book, called the relationship between the mystery writer and his readers "the grandest game in the world," and those who take the game seriously will enjoy this first novel by Tom Mead. Mead, a lover of the locked-room sub-genre of mystery novels, lays out at least three "impossibilities" which are eventually solved by his magician-detective, Joseph Spector. Mead honors Carr, and he also inserts an Ellery Queen-like "challenge to the reader" near the end of the mystery.

My suspicion is that few readers will be able to solve each of the various impossibilities Mead presents. I myself was confident that I had met the challenge and painstakingly explained to my wife precisely who the culprit was before I read the concluding chapter. Needless to say, I was wrong; I had been thoroughly bamboozled by one of Mead's numerous red herrings.

I look forward to another of Tom Mead's locked-room mysteries.
10 people found this helpful
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Homage, Spoof, or very bad Imitation?

I can't decide if this book is a serious attempt at writing a very bad Imitation of a Golden Age mystery, or just a very bad book.

There are no characters to care about. No real protagonist except for a quasi cryptic Conjuror whose "special knowledge" bears no relationship to the solving of the mystery. The quintessential "locked room puzzle" is "solved" in the last chapter, but through a mechanism that begs disbelief. The only semi-sympathetic character (the Doctor's Daughter) is basically absent in the last three chapters. The magical trick of a bird in a cage bears no resemblance to the actual solution.

The pacing is slow, with numerous numbing recaps and restatements. No real surprises, very pedestrian drama, and the weakest of murderers.

OMG, the Cliches! At first they are distracting, then they become incessant. 3 or 4 or 5 per page. The laziest kind of writing. Its funny and then it's really annoying.

Listen up, people, if you love these golden age mysteries, there are thousands available online at The Gutenberg Project or Roy Glashan's Library. Go, read the Masters, not this "pale imitation."
6 people found this helpful
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A locked room mystery that left me stumped

I was really excited to read this locked-room mystery. Set in 1930s London, it tells the tale of a world-renowned psychiatrist who is killed in his study. At the time of his death, both the room and the windows were locked from the inside. There were other people in the residence who swore that no one else entered or left the house. To make it more confounding, the murder happened within a five minute window of time.

The cast of characters were led by Joseph Spector, a magician who was called in to assist on the case by Scotland Yard. The suspects included the doctor’s daughter, her fiancé, and three famous patients - a musician, an actress, and a novelist. Everyone had an alibi. Whodunnit?

This novel boasts not one, but three locked room mysteries. Two are murderr, one is an art theft. Honestly, I couldn’t make heads or tales of any of them since all of my assumptions and theories were disproven in short order so I gamely read on, hoping some new clue would come to light to help me solve at least one of the mysteries before the big reveal.

That never happened.

The characters all had at least a minor motive, but all were dispatched in short order. If you read this book, pay attention to every subplot because it will tie in at the end. However, it was the big reveal that disappointed me and ultimately caused me to drop my rating a little bit. Let me rephrase, it wasn’t the reveal itself but the execution.

When Spector gathers all of the suspects together at the end, he launches into pages and pages of dialogue, explaining all three mysteries at one time with only one or two action breaks. The author provided notes on which pages the clues were hidden but I completely missed them on the first read and honestly was too mentally exhausted by the time I got to the end of the third crime to go back and look them up. The style reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes episode, but at least in that I would have been shown quick visuals of what Holmes had noticed as he investigated. This would actually be really interesting as a miniseries or TV show, given the time period. I imagine the visuals would be gorgeous. But reading the reveal not only lost me, since I didn’t pick up on the majority of clues/events that Spector laid out. Although, that might say more about me than it does about the story; I’m not discounting that for a second.

In the end, I rated this novel 3 stars. ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for providing the ARC copy of this book. I have left my review honestly and voluntarily.
1 people found this helpful
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A new take on classic "locked door" mysteries

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
Death and the Conjuror is take on the classic "locked door" mysteries, especially famous in the time period in which the book is set. While investigating a murder that occurred in a locked room, the police inspector calls upon a local magician as an expert in such things to help solve the case. As the investigation begins a second locked door crime occurs in which a famous painting is stolen from where it was safely locked away. As some of the suspects from the murder are found to also be suspects for the theft questions arise as to how much both cases are intertwined. The author does a good job of keeping the story going with interesting characters, red herrings and plot twists that will keep you guessing (I did figure out the painting theft pretty easily), and present a different and very likable amateur sleuth in Joseph Spector. This novel feels very much like the mystery novels that inspired it and I would be interested in reading the further adventures of Spector.
1 people found this helpful
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A Nod to Golden Age Detective Fiction

Take a locked-room murder mystery. Add three mental patients, an aloof daughter, an old magician, and a no-nonsense inspector. Throw in a stolen painting for good measure. That’s this book.

I found the story fast-paced and engaging. It’s written in the style and setting of golden age detective fiction complete with a brilliant amateur sleuth and a you-dunnit explanation to all the suspects. The author also incorporates stage tricks and mental diagnoses of that era, which was a nice touch.
1 people found this helpful
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Classic Golden Age homage

Death and the Conjuror is the first Joseph Spector locked room mystery by Tom Mead. Released July 2022 by Penzler, it's 288 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out second quarter 2023. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is such a stylish and well written historical mystery set in the interwar period in England. Stage magician Joseph Spector joins forces with Scotland Yard inspector Flint to solve several "impossible" crimes. Readers who enjoy figuring out how before the sleuths will find a fiendishly clever puzzle. I gave up trying to beat the mystery about halfway in (impossible crimes upon impossible crimes) and just enjoyed the ride.

The writing is top shelf; engaging and smooth. The characters are believably rendered and the plotting is well engineered and sophisticated. The whole is redolent of the time period without being clunky or archaic.

Four stars. A strong series start. For fans of Golden Age classic mysteries, this one definitely delivers. The classic great authors of the period aren't producing any more stories, and this one really does evoke the time without being derivative or precious. The second volume (The Murder Wheel) is due out in late 2023.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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Traditional but Fresh locked room mystery

This is a fun throwback locked room mystery set in 1936 London. Renowned psychiatrist Anselm Rees is found dead in his study. The cast of characters includes his adult daughter who he trained in the field, her fiancé, the housekeeper, Detective Flint, Spector the conjurer, a variety of interesting walk-ons and Patients 1, 2 and 3, all successful in the arts. There's an actress, a writer and a famed musician and the notes on their sessions reveal much. Having been a fan in my earliest years of mystery ready of the classic authors to produced these confections, this had great characters and was well plotted. A bit of magic and old fashioned police work save the day.
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Such a fun cozy mystery

Death and the Conjurer was such a fun read. Spector was a charismatic protagonist and I loved the concept of a magician turned consultant. If you are looking for an engaging cozy mystery, then definitely give this a look-see. I give this book 4/5 stars.
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Eh

The writing was so clunky that it got in the way of what might have been a good puzzle. All the characters are completely one-dimensional, also. Disappointed.
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A Golden Age Gem

A brilliantly clever locked-room mystery.

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