1936, London. A celebrity psychiatrist is discovered dead in his locked study. There seems to be no way a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, Inspector Flint, the Scotland Yard detective on the case, calls on retired stage magician turned part-time sleuth Joseph Spector.
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 colourful cast of suspects, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets… or motives for murder. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realise the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.
I reviewed Tom Mead's second Joseph Spector novel, The Murder Wheel back in October but although I'd already read Death and the Conjuror at that point, I've not managed to write my review of this one until now. It's too good a book not to recommend, however and as a lover of locked room mysteries, I'm delighted to have discovered a new favourite in 2023.
The first victim here is Dr Anselm Rees, a celebrated psychiatrist who has only recently moved to London from Vienna, along with his daughter Lidia, who has just completed her own doctorate in psychology. When Rees is found with his throat slit in his locked study, suspicion naturally turns to his three patients – referred to in his notebooks as Patient A, B and C – as well as to Lidia herself, as his heir. It's inevitable, of course, that his patients should each have their problems and secrets and therefore potential motives for killing the doctor. Patient A is actually Floyd Stenhouse, a Philharmonic musician, Patient B is actress Della Cookson and Patient C is a reclusive author, Claude Weaver. The artistic contingent is swelled still further by Joseph Spector himself, a retired stage magician turned sleuth. The novel is set in 1936 and exudes all the slightly tawdry glamour of the period. Indeed, Lidia's fiancé, Marcus Bowman is one of the Bright Young Things of the age. Tom Mead's elegant, witty prose is pitch-perfect and this homage to the Golden Age is entirely convincing.
As well as the investigation into both the death of Dr Rees and a subsequent murder, there is also a subplot featuring the apparently inexplicable theft of the El Nacimiento, a painting by Manolito Espina. It seems as though the crimes may possibly be linked but how and why isn't clear. With all of the well-drawn suspects being flawed, unreliable characters, the novel abounds with teasing suggestions of guilt and fiendish red herrings.
Spector himself is a brilliant character; his skill as an illusionist means he is better placed than anybody to figure out the seemingly impossible but he is also a shrewd reader of human behaviour. In comparison, Flint could have become rather pedestrian but there's a wry perceptiveness to him which makes him aware of his limitations and astute enough to seek the assistance of Spector.
Eventually the stage is set for the singular Spector to reveal who the double murderer is and as is customary in Golden Age mysteries, all of the possible suspects are present. Of course, readers are expected to also attempt to identify the clues hidden within the storyline and towards the end of the book, there is even a challenge presented to any would-be sleuths to put themselves forward for no other prize than the 'quiet glory of having triumphed at what a wise man once termed "the greatest game in the world"'. For those of us unable to figure out the truth, Tom Mead includes some handy footnotes which refer back to the page on which the relevant clue appears.
Death and the Conjuror is a really impressive debut and I highly recommend this inventive, intricately plotted and thoroughly entertaining read.
Death and the Conjuror is published by Aries, a Head of Zeus imprint. It can be purchased from bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Kobo, Amazon or your favourite independent bookshop.
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