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Dr. Gideon Fell #22
Panic in Box C
. Pan, clean copy light age toning to pags, Professional booksellers since 1981
253 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
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199 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
418 books465 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 4, 2020
Sometimes it doesn't pay to go back and reread. I'm not sure when I read John Dickson Carr's Panic in Box C the first time--but I liked it well enough to originally assign it four stars on Virtual Bookshelf. I'm not sure why. This is one of Carr's later mysteries and reading it this time around...well, it just didn't sit quite right.
The story begins on board ship. Dr. Gideon Fell and his friend Philip Knox, a writer, are sailing from England to America. Each have been invited to the States for a lecture tour. While crossing the Atlantic, they are introduced to an odd assortment of characters--Lady Tiverton (the former actress, Margery Vane), her latest young lover, and her female companion of over 30 years. There is, as Fell remarks, an atmosphere surrounding Lady Tiverton and she brings that atmosphere to him as she insists on meeting both Fell and Knox and gathering them into her circle. As they are all exchanging secrets, as it were, a shot rings out. Did someone intend to kill and miss? Or was it just a warning?
Some weeks later, all paths lead to a dress rehearsal of Romeo & Juliet in Connecticut at a theatre recently endowed by Miss Vane--a theatre where she happened to begin her career. Unfortunately, it will also be the theatre where her career will end. While occupying Box C at the theatre, Miss Vane is struck by a quarrel (a bolt from a cross bow) which has apparently been shot at her from either the stage or the box opposite. Who among this new crop of actors could want their benefactress dead? Or is it someone she brought with her? Or maybe even someone from her past?
The mystery is a bit of a disappointment. Dr. Fell is not nearly as prominent as one might like and the wit and humor that one is accustomed to falls flat. There is a bar scene with grown men singing college songs and a bit of a brawl that's obviously meant to be funny, but isn't. The supposedly snappy dialogue between the men and women doesn't work all that well either. The explanation of the "impossible" crime is a good one (as always). Truly, the best parts are the intro scenes aboard ship and the wrap-up at the end...but there's a long way in between the two. I miss the Gideon Fells of the vintage years. Out of fondness for those, I'll give it three stars on this go-round.
The story begins on board ship. Dr. Gideon Fell and his friend Philip Knox, a writer, are sailing from England to America. Each have been invited to the States for a lecture tour. While crossing the Atlantic, they are introduced to an odd assortment of characters--Lady Tiverton (the former actress, Margery Vane), her latest young lover, and her female companion of over 30 years. There is, as Fell remarks, an atmosphere surrounding Lady Tiverton and she brings that atmosphere to him as she insists on meeting both Fell and Knox and gathering them into her circle. As they are all exchanging secrets, as it were, a shot rings out. Did someone intend to kill and miss? Or was it just a warning?
Some weeks later, all paths lead to a dress rehearsal of Romeo & Juliet in Connecticut at a theatre recently endowed by Miss Vane--a theatre where she happened to begin her career. Unfortunately, it will also be the theatre where her career will end. While occupying Box C at the theatre, Miss Vane is struck by a quarrel (a bolt from a cross bow) which has apparently been shot at her from either the stage or the box opposite. Who among this new crop of actors could want their benefactress dead? Or is it someone she brought with her? Or maybe even someone from her past?
The mystery is a bit of a disappointment. Dr. Fell is not nearly as prominent as one might like and the wit and humor that one is accustomed to falls flat. There is a bar scene with grown men singing college songs and a bit of a brawl that's obviously meant to be funny, but isn't. The supposedly snappy dialogue between the men and women doesn't work all that well either. The explanation of the "impossible" crime is a good one (as always). Truly, the best parts are the intro scenes aboard ship and the wrap-up at the end...but there's a long way in between the two. I miss the Gideon Fells of the vintage years. Out of fondness for those, I'll give it three stars on this go-round.
August 12, 2022
John Dickson Carr is known for the subgenre of whodunit fiction called the "locked room" mystery, where an apparently impossible crime has been committed inside enclosed premises to which no one has access. Before this book, I had read only the short story "The Footprint in the Sky" which I really loved, for the cleverness of the solution.
That cleverness is there in this novel too. But that is just about it! The writing is pedestrian, the story rambling (I fell asleep multiple times while reading it), and the characters weird. Most of the dialogue is in a curious form of hyperbole. To tell the truth, by the time the I had passed the midway mark, I was reading just to find out how the murder was committed, and who did it. The story had lost all its attraction for me.
That's it, folks! I can't be bothered to do a detailed review.
That cleverness is there in this novel too. But that is just about it! The writing is pedestrian, the story rambling (I fell asleep multiple times while reading it), and the characters weird. Most of the dialogue is in a curious form of hyperbole. To tell the truth, by the time the I had passed the midway mark, I was reading just to find out how the murder was committed, and who did it. The story had lost all its attraction for me.
That's it, folks! I can't be bothered to do a detailed review.
October 18, 2020
Durante un ensayo de Romeo y Julieta, una acaudalada actriz retirada, devenida en mecenas de un grupo teatral, es asesinada. Gideon Fell, el detective creado por Dickson Carr se encarga de aclarar el crimen.
Una vez más, el autor repite aquí la fórmula que lo caracterizó: un reducido grupo de sospechosos y un asesinato casi imposible de cometer; y, pese a que siempre es atrayente el mundo teatral como escenario del crimen; en este caso, la novela nos suena arcaica, lenta, y aburrida. Ocurre que este tipo de subgénero en el que se especializó Dickson Carr, que centra el eje de la trama en asesinatos casi imposibles de cometer; para entretener, debe ir acompañada de otros elementos, como diálogos ingeniosos, personajes bien caracterizados, buena ambientación, toques de suspenso o acción; pero muy poco de esto ocurre en este caso; la lectura por momentos se nos hace lenta, hay historias narradas por los protagonistas o situaciones que poco ayudan al desarrollo de la trama; y, por estar ambientada la historia a mediados de los 60 en los Estados Unidos, muchas de las ideas y posturas de los personajes, ya resultan arcaicas para esa época.
En síntesis, una obra tardía y menor, de un muy buen autor que, en este caso, repite una fórmula que en su momento le dio éxito, pero en una época en que los lectores ya pretendían otra cosa, y sin esa chispa que supo mantener en muchas de sus novelas.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...
Una vez más, el autor repite aquí la fórmula que lo caracterizó: un reducido grupo de sospechosos y un asesinato casi imposible de cometer; y, pese a que siempre es atrayente el mundo teatral como escenario del crimen; en este caso, la novela nos suena arcaica, lenta, y aburrida. Ocurre que este tipo de subgénero en el que se especializó Dickson Carr, que centra el eje de la trama en asesinatos casi imposibles de cometer; para entretener, debe ir acompañada de otros elementos, como diálogos ingeniosos, personajes bien caracterizados, buena ambientación, toques de suspenso o acción; pero muy poco de esto ocurre en este caso; la lectura por momentos se nos hace lenta, hay historias narradas por los protagonistas o situaciones que poco ayudan al desarrollo de la trama; y, por estar ambientada la historia a mediados de los 60 en los Estados Unidos, muchas de las ideas y posturas de los personajes, ya resultan arcaicas para esa época.
En síntesis, una obra tardía y menor, de un muy buen autor que, en este caso, repite una fórmula que en su momento le dio éxito, pero en una época en que los lectores ya pretendían otra cosa, y sin esa chispa que supo mantener en muchas de sus novelas.
https://sobrevolandolecturas.blogspot...
October 26, 2016
#22 in the Gideon Fell series, and I think the bloom has long been off the rose for me with these books. Something changed in Carr’s writing after World War II: and note how long a break he took between Fell books during that time period [eight or nine years, I think]. Although I really like the pre-war Fell books, with one or two exceptions, I really dislike the post-war volumes, which is sad. I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that Carr was trying too hard to be modern, to fit into the changed times. All the Golden Age mystery writers struggled with this, I think, but some handled the transition more gracefully than others.
Carr’s characters seem contrived, even more artificial than most in a classic mystery. I especially dislike Carr’s female characters, who–as in this book-are all flighty, highly-strung, and mercurial in their behavior. The women are more liberated sexually than I would have expected in a book from this era, but they are nonetheless somewhat ashamed of it. And the men insist on treating them as creatures who are at the mercy of their hormones and emotions and therefore need a kind of condescending sympathy—that is, when they aren’t insisting that what they really want is a strong male hand to keep them in line. Ugh. Give me Nero Wolfe’s much-vaunted disdain for women any day of the week. To me, the author Rex Stout shows more respect for his female characters by portraying Wolfe that way. Although he may not have intended this, Carr seems like the true misogynist in the way he his male characters—with the notable exception of Fell himself—treat women.
Also, as I’ve noted even in a couple of the pre-war books, Carr lets his over-the-top sense of humor get the better of him in some scenes: especially one later in the book where he spends nearly an entire chapter in a bar with a bunch of successful yet drunken middle-aged Ivy Leaguers having a war of college fight songs. Seriously? If this was meant to be funny, it misfired badly. And the timing is wrong. The book doesn’t need comic relief at this point; it needs to get to the point and solve the murder.
Only one more Gideon Fell mystery to go, and I am actually looking forward to being done with the series: again, that is sad, because I loved the books so much when I first started reading them.
Carr’s characters seem contrived, even more artificial than most in a classic mystery. I especially dislike Carr’s female characters, who–as in this book-are all flighty, highly-strung, and mercurial in their behavior. The women are more liberated sexually than I would have expected in a book from this era, but they are nonetheless somewhat ashamed of it. And the men insist on treating them as creatures who are at the mercy of their hormones and emotions and therefore need a kind of condescending sympathy—that is, when they aren’t insisting that what they really want is a strong male hand to keep them in line. Ugh. Give me Nero Wolfe’s much-vaunted disdain for women any day of the week. To me, the author Rex Stout shows more respect for his female characters by portraying Wolfe that way. Although he may not have intended this, Carr seems like the true misogynist in the way he his male characters—with the notable exception of Fell himself—treat women.
Also, as I’ve noted even in a couple of the pre-war books, Carr lets his over-the-top sense of humor get the better of him in some scenes: especially one later in the book where he spends nearly an entire chapter in a bar with a bunch of successful yet drunken middle-aged Ivy Leaguers having a war of college fight songs. Seriously? If this was meant to be funny, it misfired badly. And the timing is wrong. The book doesn’t need comic relief at this point; it needs to get to the point and solve the murder.
Only one more Gideon Fell mystery to go, and I am actually looking forward to being done with the series: again, that is sad, because I loved the books so much when I first started reading them.
September 4, 2017
As my Dickson Carr to-read list gets smaller and smaller i tended to put this one further and further back.Its not held in particulary high esteem and Carr's work at this late stage was in decline.
But on occasion he would still put out an good book and this is a case in point.
It has an impossible crime of sorts,a woman shot with a crossbow bolt in a locked theatre box.
Carr has done better problems than this one,but this is certainly plausible apart from an alibi which is perhaps a little unfair to the reader trying to guess the murderer.
Not essential then,but certainly worth a look for fans of the writer and the impossible crime/locked room genre.
But on occasion he would still put out an good book and this is a case in point.
It has an impossible crime of sorts,a woman shot with a crossbow bolt in a locked theatre box.
Carr has done better problems than this one,but this is certainly plausible apart from an alibi which is perhaps a little unfair to the reader trying to guess the murderer.
Not essential then,but certainly worth a look for fans of the writer and the impossible crime/locked room genre.
October 28, 2023
Dr. Gideon Fell, the massive private investigator who reminds avid mystery readers of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe, is at it again. We are introduced to Fell and his companion, the historian Phillip Knox during a ship crossing to New York.
During the cruise they meet the retired actress Margery Vane and her entourage, who is returning to the small town where her career began, where she plans to reopen the theater where she was supposed to have starred in the play, "Romeo and Juliet" with her first husband. But tragedy struck and her husband died.
The first of mysterious happenings occur — an unknown figure fires a gun, apparently at Vane, through a window. The shot misses and the shooter vanishes.
In the states, the trio come back together in Connecticut where Vane is reopening the theater and once again planning a production of "Romeo and Juliet." And it is at a dress rehearsal where Vane is killed.
Police begin investigations struggling with how was the murder done when Vane was sitting in a locked theatre box and by who, when the play was being performed and most of the suspects were either on stage?
I have generally liked the Carr books but this one threw me. First off, I didn't like most of the characters at all, and most of their reactions make absolutely no sense. Take Knox's wife, who he hasn't seen in 20 years — she appears to hate him and is so obnoxious, how can he continue to fawn over the woman? Then there are the actors, who for some inane reason are given actual weapons on stage and actually play around with them, firing them in the theatre.
Then there is Fell himself. For quite a bit of the story, he is totally passive or in some circumstance, not even at the scene. And while the solution in clever, I'm not surprised at all — the way it occurred, nor the guilty individual. It took a long time for the murder to occur and there was a long time where nothing seems to be happening. The red herrings weren't that diverting.
This is the second to last book in the Dr. Gideon Fell books, which began in 1932. Perhaps, readers are supposed to think that Fell, while is mind is still sharp, is slowing down. I think that I tend to think that its Carr who is slowing down — he suffered a stroke in 1963 which paralyzed his left side and would die of lung cancer in 1977 — and while I enjoyed this book a bit, there was a lot to grumble about while doing so.
During the cruise they meet the retired actress Margery Vane and her entourage, who is returning to the small town where her career began, where she plans to reopen the theater where she was supposed to have starred in the play, "Romeo and Juliet" with her first husband. But tragedy struck and her husband died.
The first of mysterious happenings occur — an unknown figure fires a gun, apparently at Vane, through a window. The shot misses and the shooter vanishes.
In the states, the trio come back together in Connecticut where Vane is reopening the theater and once again planning a production of "Romeo and Juliet." And it is at a dress rehearsal where Vane is killed.
Police begin investigations struggling with how was the murder done when Vane was sitting in a locked theatre box and by who, when the play was being performed and most of the suspects were either on stage?
I have generally liked the Carr books but this one threw me. First off, I didn't like most of the characters at all, and most of their reactions make absolutely no sense. Take Knox's wife, who he hasn't seen in 20 years — she appears to hate him and is so obnoxious, how can he continue to fawn over the woman? Then there are the actors, who for some inane reason are given actual weapons on stage and actually play around with them, firing them in the theatre.
Then there is Fell himself. For quite a bit of the story, he is totally passive or in some circumstance, not even at the scene. And while the solution in clever, I'm not surprised at all — the way it occurred, nor the guilty individual. It took a long time for the murder to occur and there was a long time where nothing seems to be happening. The red herrings weren't that diverting.
This is the second to last book in the Dr. Gideon Fell books, which began in 1932. Perhaps, readers are supposed to think that Fell, while is mind is still sharp, is slowing down. I think that I tend to think that its Carr who is slowing down — he suffered a stroke in 1963 which paralyzed his left side and would die of lung cancer in 1977 — and while I enjoyed this book a bit, there was a lot to grumble about while doing so.
August 23, 2025
Роман написан в 1960-е гг, в связи с веяниями времени автор отошел от целомудренных стандартов "золотого века" и вдоволь насладился темой близких взаимоотношений мужчины и женщины. На страницах мы встретим роман "взрослой" дамы и молодого человека, фривольные заигрывания, обзывания любимой "проституткой" любя и шутя, шлепки по попе, публичное выяснение отношений любовников и т.п.
С точки зрения правдоподобия у Карра ничего не меняется. Полицейский традиционно заглядывает в рот Гидеону Феллу, признанному авторитету в области раскрытия преступлений, водит за собой толпу очевидцев и раскрывает им все нюансы расследования. На этот раз очевидцем стал популяризатор английский истории и американец по происхождению мистер Нокс. Действие романа также происходит в США. Снова ненужная для сюжета любовная история, происходящая между пятидесятилетним Ноксом и его сбежавшей и нашедшейся женой. Больше всего в романах Карра раздражают эти совершенно ненужные для сюжета переживания влюбленных.
Убийство происходит в театре, ждать придется примерно 1/3 книги. Жертвой стала известная актриса, не столь талантливая, сколько стервозная и богатая с завышенной самооценкой. Подозреваемых много - любовник, верная подруга-компаньонка, финансист с женой, труппа во главе с режиссером и исполнителем главных ролей, жена Нокса, местный бомж и т.п. Полиция тупит, носится по городу, изображая рвение и бросая нелепые обвинения. Все рассуждения происходят в голове Фелла и выдаются читателям оптом в готовом виде.
В книгах Карра не следует искать логику или мораль, но они вполне подходят для разгрузочного чтения.
С точки зрения правдоподобия у Карра ничего не меняется. Полицейский традиционно заглядывает в рот Гидеону Феллу, признанному авторитету в области раскрытия преступлений, водит за собой толпу очевидцев и раскрывает им все нюансы расследования. На этот раз очевидцем стал популяризатор английский истории и американец по происхождению мистер Нокс. Действие романа также происходит в США. Снова ненужная для сюжета любовная история, происходящая между пятидесятилетним Ноксом и его сбежавшей и нашедшейся женой. Больше всего в романах Карра раздражают эти совершенно ненужные для сюжета переживания влюбленных.
Убийство происходит в театре, ждать придется примерно 1/3 книги. Жертвой стала известная актриса, не столь талантливая, сколько стервозная и богатая с завышенной самооценкой. Подозреваемых много - любовник, верная подруга-компаньонка, финансист с женой, труппа во главе с режиссером и исполнителем главных ролей, жена Нокса, местный бомж и т.п. Полиция тупит, носится по городу, изображая рвение и бросая нелепые обвинения. Все рассуждения происходят в голове Фелла и выдаются читателям оптом в готовом виде.
В книгах Карра не следует искать логику или мораль, но они вполне подходят для разгрузочного чтения.
September 16, 2024
The post-war Gideon Fell books seem to really fall off in quality. The core aspect of strong mystery is still there, but it's overshadowed by horrendous gender politics, annoying characters, and attempts at humor that fall flat. The main character here is completely annoying, a charmless smug hanger-on who must be enamored with the sound of his own voice, considering how much his irrelevant dialogue dominates in the book. His relationship with his wife is so irritating that it's hard to wave it away even under the guise of period-accurate sexism. It's honestly just painful to read, and it makes it so that all the women seem like shallow copies of each other, simultaneously oversexed and full of shame about it.
The actual mystery is not exceptional but decent, but it takes the plot forever to even get to it because we have to spend so much time on all these side characters that don't matter. I would recommend sticking with Carr's earlier works and avoiding these ones.
The actual mystery is not exceptional but decent, but it takes the plot forever to even get to it because we have to spend so much time on all these side characters that don't matter. I would recommend sticking with Carr's earlier works and avoiding these ones.
June 17, 2020
Well, I’m really curious what other people think of this one. It definitely falls into the mediocre range of Carr’s output, for me. It’s just this side of serviceable but it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that even minor Carrs possess. A Norma Desmond-type gets killed like Abe Lincoln while watching Romeo and Juliet, whodunit?
And how ‘bout that ending?! I don’t mean the solution to the mystery, which was okay. Carr and many men and women of their time get so much flak for not holding 21st century politically-correct opinions, but here we have a Pretty Woman-ish situation and it’s presented without moralizing. Very strange to see in JDC, especially because I associate his romance with the sort found in 1940s screwball comedies. It took me by surprise, for sure.
(As I’m writing this HBO has recently announced that they won’t air Gone With the Wind due to the current trend in corporate America of pretending to care about people for good PR. Good thing not too many of the suckers who fall for that shite read, else we would be in for a world of trouble. In so many respects, we are living in Orwellian times.)
And how ‘bout that ending?! I don’t mean the solution to the mystery, which was okay. Carr and many men and women of their time get so much flak for not holding 21st century politically-correct opinions, but here we have a Pretty Woman-ish situation and it’s presented without moralizing. Very strange to see in JDC, especially because I associate his romance with the sort found in 1940s screwball comedies. It took me by surprise, for sure.
(As I’m writing this HBO has recently announced that they won’t air Gone With the Wind due to the current trend in corporate America of pretending to care about people for good PR. Good thing not too many of the suckers who fall for that shite read, else we would be in for a world of trouble. In so many respects, we are living in Orwellian times.)
May 16, 2017
BRAVO, JOHN DICKSON CARR! WHILE WATCHING A REHEARSAL OF A PLAY, A WOMAN IS MURDERED WHILE SEATED IN A BOX SEAT IN A LOCKED ROOM. WHO DID IT, HOW DID HE DO IT, AND WHY DID HE DO IT? READ THIS EXCELLENT MYSTERY, AND BE SURPRISED. MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH A JOHN DICKSON CARR MYSTERY NOVEL, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO READING MORE BY HIM.
May 11, 2018
A fun book set in a theatre performing Romeo and Juliet. Not overly wonderful and lots of padding fuss that has nothing to do with possible suspects nor the murder, but not too distracting. A lesser locked room mystery with a less implausible solution that the author has used at times.
May 10, 2020
Not one of Carr's best, I'm afraid. The theatrical setting (in Westchester County!) holds some interest, and certain characters are lively, but the conversations are full of jarring non sequiturs, and the mystery doesn’t add up at all.
August 20, 2019
Read in Danish. 3 pluss
January 5, 2023
A real let-down. Characters with bright meaningless chatter and a flat denouement with a flatly spurious "solution". Walk on by, mystery reader, and choose an earlier Carr.
June 19, 2023
Some fair Shakespeare integrated. Otherwise increasingly fantastical.
July 30, 2023
I think this book was not particularly well written. There are way too many characters, none of them interesting. It was hard to keep reading and on page 100 I decided to move on to another book.
June 10, 2024
Определенно, ранние произведения Джона Диксона Карра мне нравились гораздо больше - так, что я ставила его в один ряд с Агатой Кристи.
К сожалению, чем дальше я его читаю, тем больше разочаровываюсь. К примеру, в этой книге преступление произошло на 46% книги. То есть половину книги все раскачивалось и раскачивалось, да так , что уже порядком поднадоело.
Да и сама суть истории не то, чтобы очень увлекательная - некое странное событие на корабле и через несколько месяцев связанное с ним убийство. Очень косвенно связанное, надо сказать.
Отдельно отмечу, что у Д.Д. Карра какая-то необъяснимая страсть к любовным историям, там где они уместны и не очень. Казалось бы, зачем нужна подростковая влюбленность среди героев старше 40 лет?... Это выглядит неумно и неинтересно, при этом сюжет никак не связан с этими увеселениями.
Словом, я уже сильно задумалась над своим решением перечитать все его детективы - как-то уже становится жалко времени на это.
К сожалению, чем дальше я его читаю, тем больше разочаровываюсь. К примеру, в этой книге преступление произошло на 46% книги. То есть половину книги все раскачивалось и раскачивалось, да так , что уже порядком поднадоело.
Да и сама суть истории не то, чтобы очень увлекательная - некое странное событие на корабле и через несколько месяцев связанное с ним убийство. Очень косвенно связанное, надо сказать.
Отдельно отмечу, что у Д.Д. Карра какая-то необъяснимая страсть к любовным историям, там где они уместны и не очень. Казалось бы, зачем нужна подростковая влюбленность среди героев старше 40 лет?... Это выглядит неумно и неинтересно, при этом сюжет никак не связан с этими увеселениями.
Словом, я уже сильно задумалась над своим решением перечитать все его детективы - как-то уже становится жалко времени на это.
January 15, 2015
Una ricca e capricciosa vedova viene uccisa, (come sempre nei romanzi di Carr) in maniera alquanto elaborata, durante le prove della compagnia teatrale che stava finanziando.
La storia è ok fino al momento in cui non si svela il modo in cui l'assassino ha compiuto il proprio crimine. Lì, mi spiace dirlo, ogni genere di sospensione dell'incredulità (elemento necessario per gustarsi i delitti della camera chiusa, specie se si è assuefatti alla banalità della cronaca nera nel mondo reale) è andata a farsi benedire. Sì, la soluzione arzigogolata c'è, ma per lo meno per quanto mi riguarda è del tutto inverosimile. E quindi va a invalidare il resto del romanzo.
La storia è ok fino al momento in cui non si svela il modo in cui l'assassino ha compiuto il proprio crimine. Lì, mi spiace dirlo, ogni genere di sospensione dell'incredulità (elemento necessario per gustarsi i delitti della camera chiusa, specie se si è assuefatti alla banalità della cronaca nera nel mondo reale) è andata a farsi benedire. Sì, la soluzione arzigogolata c'è, ma per lo meno per quanto mi riguarda è del tutto inverosimile. E quindi va a invalidare il resto del romanzo.
May 26, 2020
Weak later Carr, when the tricks are showing and there is little substance. The murder is clever and well-explained, but there is far too much "atmosphere" around such a slight story. There are far better Carr novels, even among the later ones, but this isn't a strong example of the Carr mastery. Dark of the Moon (immediately after this one) and House at Satan's Elbow (immediately before) are both better. And, of course, the earlier novels--particularly those from the 1930's--are the real standouts.
May 5, 2016
I generally love John Dickson Carr, but this was not one of his best. Dialogue has not worn well with time, characters (other than Dr Fell) are unlikeable. This was one of his last books so perhaps his heart was no longer in his character. The one thing that held up, other than Gideon Fell, was the trademark "locked room", which is what kept me reading until the end.
May 15, 2013
The explanation of murder is not satisfactory, in my opinion: Carr, when he explains how the arrow is stuck in the back of the victim, climbs a bit on the mirrors.
However, the atmosphere of the novel is magnificent.
However, the atmosphere of the novel is magnificent.
July 22, 2013
reread this. Love Dr. Fell. read the series as an adolescent and young adult.
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