Death and the Conjuror
Death and the Conjuror (Joseph Spector #1)
By: Tom Mead
“I’ve gone from clueless to completely hornswoggled.”
This is a classic locked-room mystery set in London during the 1930s.
It was a fun read and a break from the intense thrillers I’ve read lately.
It’s a great setting for this type of mystery because there isn’t a lot of technology that can explain away the impossibilities. I was, indeed, ‘hornswoggled’ throughout the book as idea after idea was eliminated. How did it happen?!
[BTW- conjuror is another name for magician… this is not a book of sorcery or conjuring spirits…]
Joseph Spector is a “magician-turned-sleuth” and when I found that out, I knew I had to read it.
Personal Attachment
Many years ago my friends, husband, and I created a twenty minute scary movie based on true events (a light was mysteriously left on in our house while we were gone) and we took some… creative liberties. It would definitely be embarrassing to broadcast but to us it was hilarious.
BUT. One of our main characters was Devon— a MAGICIAN… AND… a DETECTIVE. There to solve the seemingly impossible murders. And is it not just the perfect combination?
I really kept expecting Spector to strike a Devon line, pulling a quarter from behind someone’s ear and saying ‘The quarter never lies.’
Unfortunately, it didn’t come to fruition but we get some other good lines in there from Spector.
The magician-turned-sleuth is an awesome character and I’m here for it.
Bonus: they do reveal how some magic tricks are done and that also gave me satisfaction. I love magic but I also want to know how they do it. I mean, for real, have you seen some of these people on AGT?!
Summary
Dr. Rees, a psychiatrist, is found dead in his study. The room was locked, the windows locked, and no other means of escape. He did have one visitor late that night who came and went, but the housekeeper knew Dr. Rees was alive after the visitor left because he took a phone call in his study.
In such a short window of time, how could someone have entered, murdered him, and fled the scene without leaving any traces?!
Of course there are several suspects: the housekeeper, three of his mysterious and well-known patients, his daughter, and his daughter’s fiancé.
The plot thickens when two more impossible crimes are committed shortly after: a stolen painting from a locked room of a different house and another murder in a different building— the elevator operator found dead in the elevator of which no one entered or left.
George Flint, the police inspector, acquires the help of Joseph Spector to figure out how these impossible crimes were committed.
Comments
True to this type of book, we follow Flint and Spector as they make their rounds interrogating suspects, checking alibis, getting theories, testing theories, and eventually the lightbulb moment!
Then, of course, everyone is gathered in a room as Spector presents the case and reveals the killer/s and/or thief!
I did not have it figured out. It was a tough case to crack. But the pieces were all there if you had the wits and time to think it through.
I was happy with the reveal. I thought it was clever and complex.
The writing style and flow as well as the vocabulary definitely put this book in the vicinity of Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Charles Finch type of stories. Some reviewers commented that some of the vernacular was Americanized, but I’m not from London so I didn’t notice at the time. (Mead is from the UK so not sure why there were inconsistencies.)
However, one thing that did bother me a bit was how, at the beginning, they made a big deal about how Dr. Rees’ patients maintained a high level of secrecy and how people would pay big money to know who his patients were. Plus there is the client/patient confidentiality business.
Well, after the doctor was murdered, Flint and Spector are questioning people and ask them, basically- ‘Did you know such and such was a patient of Rees? Why do you think they needed a psychiatrist?’ Um. I don’t think you can do that… Plus they completely negated all of the secrecy they tried to maintain up until that point.
Another thing that could have been a bit better was the character development of Joseph Spector. If this is a series and he will be the unifying thread I think we should have learned more about him and gotten a better grasp of who he is and why we care. It wasn’t overly obvious that he was ‘the main character’ persay.
However, my primary goal in reading this book was for the mystery, not necessarily the characters. That being said, I will definitely read the next one in the series, but I will be hoping for more personality and characterization of Spector as the face of the series.
Recommendation
I love a good locked-room mystery. And if you do too, you will definitely enjoy this book!
It was a quick and easy read. No profanity or sexual content.
Would recommend.
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
This book just released July, 2022. You can purchase a copy of this book using my affiliate link below.
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