I haven’t read Death and the Conjuror, the first book featuring illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector, so waiting for him to appear in this one was like awaiting the start of the main act. Actually I’m being rather unfair to young lawyer and amateur magician. Edmund Ibbs, who carries a good deal of the first part of the book. I found him a really engaging, sympathetic figure although, as the book progresses, you learn that not everyone may be exactly what they seem. What, even Edmund? Well, he does find himself in a rather incriminating situation… Many thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review The Murder Wheel. All opinions and comments are my own. The case proves to be a web of conspiracy, and Ibbs himself is accused when a second suspicious death occurs, during a magic act at the crowded Pomegranate Theatre. Scotland Yard Inspector George Flint is the official investigator in these books and while it can certainly be said that Joseph Spector out-investigates him, he isn’t your stereotypical blundering yet arrogant policeman, far from it. He’s well aware of his limitations when it comes to these impossible crimes and what’s more, he is really invested in solving the cases which means he not only embraces but also seeks Spector’s assistance. He makes for a refreshing move away from a somewhat tired stereotype in mystery fiction.

I recently finished the second Spector book, a sequel to Death and the Conjuror called The Murder Wheel. With time against him, and a host of hangers-on all having something to hide, can Spector uncover the guilty party, or will he and Inspector Flint of Scotland Yard conclude that Ibbs is the culprit after all? Classic mysteries are fascinating social documents, crammed with insights about class, domestic life, culture, police procedure … you name it! No one is going to buy a half-finished novel. You may not get it right first time, but it’s best to tell your story from beginning to end and worry about the rest later. That’s what editing is for. Author Pet Corner! Chloe! The book opens on Halloween night, as a wealthy law professor named Simon, clutching a burner phone, flees the suburban mansion where a woman has just been murdered. That this scene is not what it seems is a given, and the reader is soon transported into a dizzyingly nonlinear narrative of family secrets, unsolved killings, financial scams, prenuptial agreements, salacious text messages and petty revenge.The pacing is slow, with numerous numbing recaps and restatements. No real surprises, very pedestrian drama, and the weakest of murderers. With no clues, no witnesses, and not one trace of a murder weapon the stumped detective on the case calls on retired stage magician and now sleuth Joseph Spector to help unravel the mystery and bring the person responsible to justice. It seemed natural to write about the 1930s because that was the height of the golden age of detective fiction.

Four stars. A good addition to a well written classic-style historical series. For fans of Golden Age classic mysteries, this is a good one. The classic great authors of the period aren't producing any more stories, and it manages to evoke the time period without being derivative or precious. The third volume (The Cabaret Macabre) is due out from Penzler in July 2024. Do you believe in magic? Well, maybe not, but I do believe in the power of illusions and magicians who are adept at practicing their craft. For the best magicians, it is of course, an art.I loved all the characters. Touching on the different types of psychomachia was clever and made the characters more tangible. Della really was a conundrum and I would have actually liked to have known more about her for my own curiosity. The only character I didn't much care for was the daughter Lidia. I think she was deliberately made unlikeable which shows how much skill the author has. London. Young lawyer Edmund Ibbs has a new client: a woman accused of shooting her husband in the already infamous 'Ferris Wheel Murder' case. I’m a huge fan of live theatre—everything from experimental drama to musicals. Death and the Conjuror features a fictional West End theatre called the Pomegranate, which gave me the opportunity to delve into the history of London’s famous theatre district. I had great fun basing certain characters on real-life historical figures, and hopefully eagle-eyed readers will be able to work out who’s who. What are you working on now? The epilogue didn't do it for me, however. I think the initial solution was perfectly satisfying and the author didn't need to introduce a last-minute twist. This was a pitch perfect pastiche of golden age mysteries, from personae dramatis to the appropriately convoluted solution to the puzzle. Twisting and turning and casting suspicion this way and that, with a bunch of perfectly golden-age-style characters all of whom could theoretically do a murderous turn or two, this challenging murder nugget has a lot to offer. The lead detective and the detecting magician certainly have enough to stay busy.

If Golden Age mysteries are your wheelhouse, don't miss this unique series. It's the genuine article. If I didn't know better I'd promise this was written in the era. German immigrant Dr Anselm Rees has recently relocated to London, along with his daughter, Dr Lidia Rees. Mead wisely sets the story a few years before the gathering war clouds would have complicated things even further. The elder Dr Rees – sometimes referred to as a psychologist and sometimes as a psychiatrist – has gradually acquired a list of only three patients. They are the musician Floyd Stenhouse, actor Della Cookson and author Claude Weaver. the characters' relationships also make no sense. Ex: the detective somehow lets a magician more or less steer the entire case. Ex: the detective and magician talk openly, in public, and even in front of witnesses/suspects, about all the details of the case, including deeply personal information they've uncovered. This somehow never has any bad repercussions. We have a large cast of characters, including Patient A, Patient B, Patient C, the doctor's daughter and her rake of a boyfriend, an actress, a producer, several maids, the staff of a hotel, and more. Just a whole slew of suspicious people and almost witnesses but there are no answers. It will take magician and sleight of hand man such as Spector to figure this one out. The second thing that bothered me was more towards the end of the book, when I realised that Joseph Spector was revealing how everything had happened, but I really felt like he had barely been active in this story. To me it was not shown that he was really trying to investigate the murders, and suddenly he knows how it all happened. It just felt wrong and unrealistic, and since this is a series based on Spector, I expected him to be more in the foreground. While actually Ibbs was taking centre stage the entire book.the characters' behavior only makes sense if you squint and also accept that they all have strange psychological issues.

You would definitely need a sharper mind than mine if you hope to solve this mystery before the main characters do, but that didn’t stop me avidly devouring the book and wanting more of Joseph Spector and his impossible investigations.The writing is top shelf; engaging and smooth. The characters are believably rendered and the plotting is well engineered and sophisticated. The whole is redolent of the time period without being clunky or archaic. Many thanks to NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review Death and the Conjuror. All opinions and comments are my own. Whilst there is a high body count, there’s no gratuitous gore or unnecessary violence so that the reader can relax into the why and how of the crimes rather than having the what of them forced upon them. Tom Mead knows exactly how to engage as he explores means, motive and considerable morality here. The denouement left me wondering just what I might have done with the information he uncovers so that the story resonated long after I’d finished reading it, adding to the enjoyment. I’m growing quite fond of the regular characters in these stories. Joseph Spector is a bit of an enigma. A retired stage magician, he now appears to spend most of his time in a pub which he treats more or less like his office. He appears to be an einzelgänger but does have a keen interest in people and there is very little he doesn’t notice and store away for future reference. Of course, making the main character and investigator of this series a retired magician is a stroke of genius. Who could be better equipped to see beyond the sleight of hand and recognise the ways in which the seemingly impossible can be pulled off?