

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. Mysterious, 25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-1-61316-318-4 Set in London, Mead’s stellar debut and series launch, an homage to golden age crime fiction, in particular the. 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. 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.

When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. 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. 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. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. 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.
