LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Highly entertaining, this murder mystery takes place over the lead-up to the Christmas before the Second World War begins, and absolutely revels in its fiendishly intricate depths. This retelling of a tale from the early 1600’s, set within the Golden Age of crime, is the third in the Spector Locked-Room Mystery series. Joseph Spector leads the charge as magician turned sleuth while Inspector Flint of Scotland Yard is an admirable second. Author Tom Mead sets layer upon twisted layer of mystifying puzzles for the reader to solve. While I found myself celebrating certain wins, I was left reeling by the revelations as they played out in front of me. The setting of a country house suffering from dark deeds is full of atmosphere and plays wonderfully against the theatre of Spector. While the locked-room element sits within this tale with panache, there is so much more to discover. There are a whole host of suspects, and I delighted in how perfectly dreadful they could be. Cabaret Macabre deserves a round of applause, as it takes all of the elements required for a Golden Age crime mystery and magics them into a fabulously twisty yet beautifully readable and satisfying novel.
Liz Robinson
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Cabaret Macabre Synopsis
Hampshire, 1938. Victor Silvius is confined in a private sanatorium after attacking prominent judge Sir Giles Drury. When Sir Giles starts receiving sinister threatening letters, his wife suspects Silvius. Meanwhile, Silvius’ sister Caroline is convinced her brother is about to be murdered... by none other than his old nemesis Sir Giles.
Caroline seeks the advice of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint, while the Drurys, eager to avoid a scandal, turn to Joseph Spector. Spector, renowned magician turned sleuth, has an uncanny knack for solving complicated crimes – but this case will test his powers of deduction to their limits.
At a snowbound English country house, a body is found is impossible circumstances, and a killer’s bullet is fired through a locked window without breaking the glass. Spector and Flint’s investigations soon collide as they find themselves trapped by the snowstorm where anyone could be the next victim – or the killer...
The third gripping locked-room mystery featuring illusionist Joseph Spector from critically acclaimed Derbyshire author Tom Mead.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781837932573 |
| Publication date: |
1st August 2024 |
| Author: |
Tom Mead |
| Publisher: |
Head of Zeus -- an Aries Book an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
291 pages |
| Series: |
A Spector Locked-Room Mystery |
| Primary Genre |
Crime and Mystery
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Tom Mead Press Reviews
'It made such a refreshing change to read something so different. It really had it all, and his characters are so well 'fleshed out' that you can picture them with ease. The twisted and complex puzzle totally foxed me, and although I hate to admit it, I really didn't have a clue whodunnit! Entertaining, even if it did give me one heck of a headache trying to work out the fiendishly clever answer to both the locked room mystery and the body in the lake!' - Joy Ellis, #1 bestselling author
'For the lover of locked room mysteries, for the devotee of Golden Age tales, for the book connoisseur whose heart leaps at the sight of maps and diagrams, and—above all—for the reader who won’t be satisfied with anything less than a twisty and ingenious plot: Ladies and gentlemen, I offer you the incomparable Tom Mead.' - G.M. Malliet, Agatha Award-winning author of the St Just and Max Tudor mysteries
'A tour de force of devious plotting and malicious wit.' - Judith Cutler, author of the Matthew Rowsley Victorian Mysteries
'Cabaret Macabre, the third book in Tom Mead’s Joseph Spector series, is absolutely stunning—a locked room mystery that’s so masterfully executed, “twisty” doesn’t begin to describe it. With its atmospheric setting and characters as real as your next-door neighbors, this book is a pure delight.' - Karen Dionne, author of the #1 international bestseller The Marsh King's Daughter and The Wicked Sister
Author
About Tom Mead
Tom Mead is an aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Lighthouse, as well as Best Crime Stories of the Year (ed. Lee Child). Death and the Conjuror, his debut novel, featuring illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector, was highly acclaimed by the UK and US press and was one of Publishers Weekly's Mysteries of the Year.
He lives in Derbyshire, England.
More About Tom Mead
