Indeed, he read very little except detective stories, which he devoured at a rate of one a day. Ronald Knox, The Motive
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, …
Continue reading It Walks by Night by John Dickson Carr (1930)
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 …
Continue reading The House at Satan’s Elbow by John Dickson Carr (1965)
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 …
Continue reading In Spite of Thunder by John Dickson Carr (1960)
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? …
Continue reading The Dead Man’s Knock by John Dickson Carr (1958)
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 …
Continue reading Below Suspicion by John Dickson Carr (1949)
It has been seven years to the day since Donald Holden last saw the woman he loved, Celia Devereux. That was the day her sister Margot married Thorley Marsh, and Holden walked away from Celia. Now, he discovers that Margot died a year previously. Her doctor says it was due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Celia …
Continue reading The Sleeping Sphinx by John Dickson Carr (1947)