Drumroll please... My second nomination for Reprint of the Year (The ROY) is Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr. Originally published in 1931, it was reprinted in 2020 by British Library Publishing as part of their Crime Classics series. Henri Bencolin, juge d'instruction of the Seine, travels to Schloss Schadel—Castle Skull—a castle on the Rhine …
Tag: John Dickson Carr
It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr (1930)
Legendary detective Henri Bencolin, director of the Paris police has a peculiar case on his hands and summons Jeff Marle to observe his methods. The case involves Alexandre Laurent who, not long after his marriage, attempted to kill his wife Louise with a razor. After his arrest he went on to confess to killing others, …
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The House at Satan’s Elbow by John Dickson Carr (1965)
Garret Anderson agrees to travel to Greengrove with his old friend, Nicholas Barclay, to bear witness to recent unusual events. As they are arriving they hear a shot. Racing to the library they find Barclay’s uncle Pennington Barclay quite shaken, but unhurt. Pennington insists he was murderously attacked, shot with a blank cartridge by a …
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In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr (1960)
Audrey Page, has come to Geneva for a gathering at the Villa Rosalind, home of retired actress Eve Ferrier. There have been dark rumors following Eve since 1939, when she and fiancé, Hector Matthews, visited Hitler at Kehlsteinhaus in Berchtesgarden. During this visit Matthews fell to his death off a balcony, the only other person …
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The Dead Man’s Knock by John Dickson Carr (1958)
Professor of English, Mark Ruthven thinks his wife Brenda is having an affair with Frank Chadwick, and Brenda thinks Mark is having an affair with Rose Lestrange. There’s also a prankster loose at Queen’s College in Virginia, who is painting graffiti on the gym walls and pushing janitors into pools. Jokes or attempts at murder? …
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Below Suspicion by John Dickson Carr (1949)
Joyce Ellis sits in Holloway Prison, accused of murdering her employer. Elderly hypochondriac Mildred Taylor died of antimony poisoning and Joyce was the only other person in the house at the time. It's possible Mrs. Taylor took the poison accidentally, but it seems unlikely. Patrick Butler, K. C., things she’s guilty, but since he prefers …
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