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Rogan Kincaid #2
Rim of the Pit
"Written in 1944, this is a classic 'locked room' mystery in the tradition of John Dickson Carr, but this time the room is surrounded with snow. It features an amazing map of the crime scene" quoted from publisher's web site
240 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1944
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April 4, 2019
As a bibliophile, I am always glad when an unexpected gem falls into my hands when I least expect it. Our local library does a used book sale once a year to raise funds for various literacy programs and general library upkeep. I always make a point to attend and stock up on cheap goodies. Every now and again, though, I stumble upon something noteworthy on the tables, as it was with this odd little find. What I ended up with was a 1944 first edition Simon & Schuster printing of Hake Talbot’s “Rim of the Pit.” What I initially grabbed as a curiosity turned out not be a mere potboiler but a legitimate piece of mystery and suspense fiction. A bit of research turned up few fun nuggets about this book.
First off, “Hake Talbot” is only the pen name of the author Henning Nelms. Nelms apparently used his real name only for his non-fiction works, which dealt primarily with stagecraft and magic, both of which play an integral part in the plot of “Rim of the Pit.” Nelms wrote a couple of short stories under the Talbot name, as well as a predecessor novel to “RotP” called “The Hangman’s Handyman,” starring the same fictional amateur detective/adventurer Rogan Kincaid.
Secondly, “Rim of the Pit” is a bit of an unheralded classic in mystery circles, as it was voted the second best “locked room” mystery novel of all time behind only John Dickson Carr’s “The Hollow Man” in a poll of 17 writers and critics put together by Edward Hoch as a preface for his anthology, “All but Impossible!”
A third item of note is the classification of “Rim of the Pit” as a part of the “locked-room” mystery subgenre. As it implies, a “locked-room” mystery takes place in an environment of seclusion, where ingress and egress have been cut off or severely reduced. It’s the epitome of the “impossible crime” story, one where logic and reason are often pushed to their limits when trying to sort out the clues and come to a conclusion as to what really happened.
In “Rim of the Pit,” a group of people are gathered at a snowbound lodge and its accompanying master house somewhere in remote New England. They are there to witness a seance, meant to clear up a legal dispute between two families who share a financial interest in a logging company and the patents that secure its continued operation. “I came here to make a dead man change his mind.” is the first sentence of the book, and it’s a startling way to begin this adventure. The seance pits believers against skeptics, but things go awry when it appears a ghost does INDEED materialize, spouting curses in French and leaving a trail of confusion behind. Before long a murder occurs, and it seems to have been performed under impossible circumstances. Events get even more convoluted as evidence indicates that one of the party has been possessed by a “windigo,” the evil spirit of the dead man who seemed to be present at the seance. Implausible impossibilities pile up until it looks like there cannot be any rational explanation for what is going on, surely the supernatural must be at work. But don’t worry, kids. I won’t spoil anything by saying that things get tied up neatly at the end, as they do with any good mystery worth reading. And “Rim of the Pit” is certainly worth reading.
Honestly, this book is so well written that I could literally picture a 1940s-era cast of movie regulars performing this in black and white. Surely Vinnie Price is there, or at least his spirit is. All of the stock characters are duly accounted for. The blonde bombshell. The brunette bombshell. The portly and kindly business owner. The dowdy professor. The ex-jock football hero. The mysterious and physically imposing foreigner. Mr. and Mrs. Odd Couple, made up of the spirit-conjuring wife and the slightly sinister husband, both of whom have a business interest that must be settled with the kindly owner. The brutish French-Canadian guide who ends up playing a pivotal part in the proceedings. And of course our hero, gambler and man of adventure, who would ABSOLUTELY have to be played by Cary Grant. Honestly, reading this book was like sitting down and watching an old murder-mystery movie play out in my head. It was an absolute joy to sit back and imagine myself in a dusky old theater somewhere, clutching my trench coat tight around me as the plot thickened and the scares and suspense piled up. It’s a beautifully concocted stew of mayhem and murder with supernatural overtones, a perfect way to spend a couple of chilly autumn evenings escaping into.
Which is not to say that it’s ABSOLUTELY perfect. The stock characters are great fun, but in the end they are nothing more than stock characters. No one rose above the fray to surprise me at any point. The main character, the gambler and world-wise adventurer Rogan Kincaid, played as a sideman for most of the novel. He did swoop in at the end to demonstrate his awesome powers of detection and logic, but it seemed a bit odd as he spent most of the story hanging out on the periphery of the plot. I can see why the Kincaid character only starred in two novels. He is a less than compelling hero. Another oddity: Kincaid and one of the other male characters named Jeff (the strapping young ex-football star who is the nephew of the kindly business owner) both seem to be of an age where they should be called to military service, seeing as the book was published in 1944 and presumably set during that time frame. World War II is alluded to only twice in the text, but it is referenced. Lastly, there are a couple of unfortunate racial slurs bandied around as a figure of speech. It’s a bit of a shock to read today, but when one considers the time and context of the novel it isn’t so surprising. Words like that were part of the common lexicon during the 1940s, there is no getting around it.
All in all, “Rim of the Pit” ended up being FAR more fun than I expected it to be. I really, REALLY enjoyed reading this mystery novel. I would definitely recommend finding a copy if you are in the mood for a wild and suspenseful ride, chock full of ghosts and magic and blood and subterfuge. It’ll keep you hanging on until the end, turning the pages just to see whodunit. It’s well worth seeking out.
First off, “Hake Talbot” is only the pen name of the author Henning Nelms. Nelms apparently used his real name only for his non-fiction works, which dealt primarily with stagecraft and magic, both of which play an integral part in the plot of “Rim of the Pit.” Nelms wrote a couple of short stories under the Talbot name, as well as a predecessor novel to “RotP” called “The Hangman’s Handyman,” starring the same fictional amateur detective/adventurer Rogan Kincaid.
Secondly, “Rim of the Pit” is a bit of an unheralded classic in mystery circles, as it was voted the second best “locked room” mystery novel of all time behind only John Dickson Carr’s “The Hollow Man” in a poll of 17 writers and critics put together by Edward Hoch as a preface for his anthology, “All but Impossible!”
A third item of note is the classification of “Rim of the Pit” as a part of the “locked-room” mystery subgenre. As it implies, a “locked-room” mystery takes place in an environment of seclusion, where ingress and egress have been cut off or severely reduced. It’s the epitome of the “impossible crime” story, one where logic and reason are often pushed to their limits when trying to sort out the clues and come to a conclusion as to what really happened.
In “Rim of the Pit,” a group of people are gathered at a snowbound lodge and its accompanying master house somewhere in remote New England. They are there to witness a seance, meant to clear up a legal dispute between two families who share a financial interest in a logging company and the patents that secure its continued operation. “I came here to make a dead man change his mind.” is the first sentence of the book, and it’s a startling way to begin this adventure. The seance pits believers against skeptics, but things go awry when it appears a ghost does INDEED materialize, spouting curses in French and leaving a trail of confusion behind. Before long a murder occurs, and it seems to have been performed under impossible circumstances. Events get even more convoluted as evidence indicates that one of the party has been possessed by a “windigo,” the evil spirit of the dead man who seemed to be present at the seance. Implausible impossibilities pile up until it looks like there cannot be any rational explanation for what is going on, surely the supernatural must be at work. But don’t worry, kids. I won’t spoil anything by saying that things get tied up neatly at the end, as they do with any good mystery worth reading. And “Rim of the Pit” is certainly worth reading.
Honestly, this book is so well written that I could literally picture a 1940s-era cast of movie regulars performing this in black and white. Surely Vinnie Price is there, or at least his spirit is. All of the stock characters are duly accounted for. The blonde bombshell. The brunette bombshell. The portly and kindly business owner. The dowdy professor. The ex-jock football hero. The mysterious and physically imposing foreigner. Mr. and Mrs. Odd Couple, made up of the spirit-conjuring wife and the slightly sinister husband, both of whom have a business interest that must be settled with the kindly owner. The brutish French-Canadian guide who ends up playing a pivotal part in the proceedings. And of course our hero, gambler and man of adventure, who would ABSOLUTELY have to be played by Cary Grant. Honestly, reading this book was like sitting down and watching an old murder-mystery movie play out in my head. It was an absolute joy to sit back and imagine myself in a dusky old theater somewhere, clutching my trench coat tight around me as the plot thickened and the scares and suspense piled up. It’s a beautifully concocted stew of mayhem and murder with supernatural overtones, a perfect way to spend a couple of chilly autumn evenings escaping into.
Which is not to say that it’s ABSOLUTELY perfect. The stock characters are great fun, but in the end they are nothing more than stock characters. No one rose above the fray to surprise me at any point. The main character, the gambler and world-wise adventurer Rogan Kincaid, played as a sideman for most of the novel. He did swoop in at the end to demonstrate his awesome powers of detection and logic, but it seemed a bit odd as he spent most of the story hanging out on the periphery of the plot. I can see why the Kincaid character only starred in two novels. He is a less than compelling hero. Another oddity: Kincaid and one of the other male characters named Jeff (the strapping young ex-football star who is the nephew of the kindly business owner) both seem to be of an age where they should be called to military service, seeing as the book was published in 1944 and presumably set during that time frame. World War II is alluded to only twice in the text, but it is referenced. Lastly, there are a couple of unfortunate racial slurs bandied around as a figure of speech. It’s a bit of a shock to read today, but when one considers the time and context of the novel it isn’t so surprising. Words like that were part of the common lexicon during the 1940s, there is no getting around it.
All in all, “Rim of the Pit” ended up being FAR more fun than I expected it to be. I really, REALLY enjoyed reading this mystery novel. I would definitely recommend finding a copy if you are in the mood for a wild and suspenseful ride, chock full of ghosts and magic and blood and subterfuge. It’ll keep you hanging on until the end, turning the pages just to see whodunit. It’s well worth seeking out.
August 2, 2022
The Rim of the Pit (1944) by Hake Talbot is a locked room mystery novel which has in the past been ranked as the second best locked room mystery of all time. Ranked second to the master of locked room mysteries John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man. That being the case, I had fairly high expectations going in. After all, Carr is absolutely the best at this game and for Talbot to follow him that closely, this must be one humdinger of a story.
Well, it's pretty decent. Most of the positive points come from the atmosphere. The claustrophobic nature of a group of people gathered at a remote snowbound lodge in the wilds of upper New England. The ghostly and bizarre seance scheduled to try and reach the spirit of the deceased husband of the medium herself. In this seance her second husband is looking for permission from the dead man to log a section of land that he had previously barred. As Frank Ogden (the second husband) says at the beginning of the story, "I came up here to make a dead man change his mind." Also gathered at the lodge are the dead man's daughter, a Czech refugee who specializes in exposing false mediums, Ogden's partner in the logging business & his girlfriend, a professor who claims to be an old friend of the dead man, Rogan Kinkaid, an adventurer who turns detective, and a native guide who takes visitors to the lodge hunting.
During the seance, it seems that the dead man really does appear. The description of the scene is spell-binding. It almost had me believing the man was there. Yes, there is evidence of a certain amount of fakery...but the wife is genuinely frightened of the spirit she has conjured and there are many points that don't seem susceptible to logical explanation. There is also much talk of spirit possession and when a murder takes place all evidence points to the deranged spirit of the dead man having taking possession of the second husband. Clues abound, but none of them make sense. There are the footprints that begin and end in the middle of a clean track of snow...a hundred feet from the nearest path or building. There are the tracks leading from the murdered woman's bedroom window, across the roof, and then disappearing into nothingness. There are the fingerprints on a gun that rests 12 feet in the air. It appears that the murderer can fly.
Before the adventure is over motives are revealed for nearly every one of the lodge's guests and the finger of suspicion hovers over each of them. But it is up to Kinkaid to make his way through the suggestions of spiritual interference to the true solution. And I found the solution a bit hard to swallow--the "locked room" quality of this mystery is more convoluted and not near the standard of any by Carr. I had to reread portions to make sure I had understood. I never have to do that with Carr. Not that I'm so clever...but Carr always explains the impossibilities in a way that I can understand. I was a little disappointed to find that this story was the next best thing to the master. Three stars--decent mystery, fair locked room explanation, and good atmosphere.
Well, it's pretty decent. Most of the positive points come from the atmosphere. The claustrophobic nature of a group of people gathered at a remote snowbound lodge in the wilds of upper New England. The ghostly and bizarre seance scheduled to try and reach the spirit of the deceased husband of the medium herself. In this seance her second husband is looking for permission from the dead man to log a section of land that he had previously barred. As Frank Ogden (the second husband) says at the beginning of the story, "I came up here to make a dead man change his mind." Also gathered at the lodge are the dead man's daughter, a Czech refugee who specializes in exposing false mediums, Ogden's partner in the logging business & his girlfriend, a professor who claims to be an old friend of the dead man, Rogan Kinkaid, an adventurer who turns detective, and a native guide who takes visitors to the lodge hunting.
During the seance, it seems that the dead man really does appear. The description of the scene is spell-binding. It almost had me believing the man was there. Yes, there is evidence of a certain amount of fakery...but the wife is genuinely frightened of the spirit she has conjured and there are many points that don't seem susceptible to logical explanation. There is also much talk of spirit possession and when a murder takes place all evidence points to the deranged spirit of the dead man having taking possession of the second husband. Clues abound, but none of them make sense. There are the footprints that begin and end in the middle of a clean track of snow...a hundred feet from the nearest path or building. There are the tracks leading from the murdered woman's bedroom window, across the roof, and then disappearing into nothingness. There are the fingerprints on a gun that rests 12 feet in the air. It appears that the murderer can fly.
Before the adventure is over motives are revealed for nearly every one of the lodge's guests and the finger of suspicion hovers over each of them. But it is up to Kinkaid to make his way through the suggestions of spiritual interference to the true solution. And I found the solution a bit hard to swallow--the "locked room" quality of this mystery is more convoluted and not near the standard of any by Carr. I had to reread portions to make sure I had understood. I never have to do that with Carr. Not that I'm so clever...but Carr always explains the impossibilities in a way that I can understand. I was a little disappointed to find that this story was the next best thing to the master. Three stars--decent mystery, fair locked room explanation, and good atmosphere.
May 28, 2015
When a book has been hailed as one of the best locked-room mysteries of all time, readers like me go in with high expectations. Rim of the Pit by Hake Talbot was indeed a very clever mystery filled with several puzzling impossible crimes (thus my rating of 4 stars), but I'm not sure I'd say it was one of the best books in the sub-genre that I've read.
Like many of the best "impossible crime" mysteries, supernatural-seeming elements set up a spooky backdrop (I noticed that some other Goodreads reviewers have commented that it's like an episode of Scooby Doo, saying that like it's a bad thing, but I think of a Scooby Doo comparison as a GOOD thing!). Rim of the Pit was a fun puzzle to read over two days, and although it fell short of being brilliant, the resolution was smart and satisfying. I can see why it's considered by some to be an overlooked gem in the genre.
Like many of the best "impossible crime" mysteries, supernatural-seeming elements set up a spooky backdrop (I noticed that some other Goodreads reviewers have commented that it's like an episode of Scooby Doo, saying that like it's a bad thing, but I think of a Scooby Doo comparison as a GOOD thing!). Rim of the Pit was a fun puzzle to read over two days, and although it fell short of being brilliant, the resolution was smart and satisfying. I can see why it's considered by some to be an overlooked gem in the genre.
January 22, 2021
So in this edition, you get to read The Rim of the Pit, and The Other Side (a short story). Which will mean you have read 1/2 of Talbot's oeuvre. The Rim of the Pit is a very visceral story in that there is a lot of physical action, gore, and a hostile winter setting- and the fact that the set up seems to be very much in the way of a fright fest. Our lead, Rogan Kincaid, ends up in the mix of a wintery setting. The story begins with a bit of an introduction of what's going on by one character with Kincade. Then next you are plunged into a seance to ask a dead husband for permission to cull lumber from an area left to his wife, who happens to also be the medium. The person who wants access is the medium's current husband.
There is a great deal of discussion, not just about events, but about whether one believes in spirits, seances etc.... There is also a half-breed, which I figure means have Indian and maybe French, Madore. Madore certainly believes in spirits, though you find he is also haunted by other things.
An interesting story where you really need to sift through things to figure out who and how someone is murdered. (I saw someone compare it to a Carr's Three Coffins. And like that mystery, you need to keep your mind focused on a lot of things or you won't see the evidence correctly.)
There is also an interesting character Vok, in this story. He is a conjurer. He appears with Kincaid in both Rim of the Pit and The Other Side. The two make for an interesting investigating team. The Other Side is a nice quick short as well! I would need to delve deeper into why Talbot didn't continue with this duo, but at least there are these two. This has been reprinted recently with the map on the back! (And with all the action in Rim of the Pit I referred to it quite a bit.).
Fun winter reading!
There is a great deal of discussion, not just about events, but about whether one believes in spirits, seances etc.... There is also a half-breed, which I figure means have Indian and maybe French, Madore. Madore certainly believes in spirits, though you find he is also haunted by other things.
An interesting story where you really need to sift through things to figure out who and how someone is murdered. (I saw someone compare it to a Carr's Three Coffins. And like that mystery, you need to keep your mind focused on a lot of things or you won't see the evidence correctly.)
There is also an interesting character Vok, in this story. He is a conjurer. He appears with Kincaid in both Rim of the Pit and The Other Side. The two make for an interesting investigating team. The Other Side is a nice quick short as well! I would need to delve deeper into why Talbot didn't continue with this duo, but at least there are these two. This has been reprinted recently with the map on the back! (And with all the action in Rim of the Pit I referred to it quite a bit.).
Fun winter reading!
August 14, 2016
The Setting:
New England wilderness, where a séance is taking place to “change the mind of a dead man”, while wind howls and snow smothers everything around to death.
The Events:
First the medium, who is also the owner of the place that had become the zone of contention, dies, apparently at the hands of her long-dead husband, whose departed soul was being approached during the séance.
She is followed by her husband who, until his death, appeared to have been possessed by the said long-dead first husband of the woman.
The Others:
Two women and several men, all of whom may or may not possess deeply unsettling secrets.
The Mystery:
One murder takes place in a room from where there were no signs of escape, unless the murderer levitated.
Next one resulted in the murdered person lying at a place surrounded by virgin snow.
The Solution:
For that you have to read this book.
Yes, it’s a satisfying piece of neat writing, with striking characters, subtle mixing of sexual & romantic tension, bone-chilling horror, and stark landscape. Above all, the solutions(s) provided by the protagonist at the end ties up everything rather satisfactorily.
Also, it has a bonus story that deals with the solving of another seemingly impossible crime.
And you are still waiting for reasons to read this book??
Highly Recommended, obviously.
New England wilderness, where a séance is taking place to “change the mind of a dead man”, while wind howls and snow smothers everything around to death.
The Events:
First the medium, who is also the owner of the place that had become the zone of contention, dies, apparently at the hands of her long-dead husband, whose departed soul was being approached during the séance.
She is followed by her husband who, until his death, appeared to have been possessed by the said long-dead first husband of the woman.
The Others:
Two women and several men, all of whom may or may not possess deeply unsettling secrets.
The Mystery:
One murder takes place in a room from where there were no signs of escape, unless the murderer levitated.
Next one resulted in the murdered person lying at a place surrounded by virgin snow.
The Solution:
For that you have to read this book.
Yes, it’s a satisfying piece of neat writing, with striking characters, subtle mixing of sexual & romantic tension, bone-chilling horror, and stark landscape. Above all, the solutions(s) provided by the protagonist at the end ties up everything rather satisfactorily.
Also, it has a bonus story that deals with the solving of another seemingly impossible crime.
And you are still waiting for reasons to read this book??
Highly Recommended, obviously.
February 19, 2024
★★★★
A gem categorized as one of the greatest "impossible crime" novels ever. I have to agree. This one was a treat.
Last year I signed up to receive three "American Mystery Classics" curated by The Mysterious Bookshop. Rim of the Pit was the second book that arrived in my mailbox. I can't link their website in Goodreads of course but a quick internet search should find it for anyone interested.
Here's a description from The Mysterious Bookshop web site:
In Rim of the Pit, a group of people gather at a lodge located in a remote part of New England. It is winter and as the story unfolds, the snow continues to pile up which helps to create the claustrophobic atmosphere that permeates the book from start to finish. The people have gathered to attend a seance, being held to resolve a legal dispute between two families who both have a stake in a logging company and the patent associated with the logging process. The first sentence of the book is a compelling "I came here to make a dead man change his mind." The dead man does make an appearance - much to the shock of many sitting around the seance table. Although someone there certainly knows more than they're sharing. Add to that a murder that happens in a locked room, and our story starts to get exciting.
"Hake Talbot" is actually a pen name of author Henning Nelms, whose chief occupation was as a stage magician. Magic and stage performance are a big part of the story and he effectively weaves his experience into the story.
I was hooked from the beginning. The writing is very good - although I will say that the characters are a bit stereotypical. The ex-football player, the gambler, the professor, the blonde bombshell, the intelligent but beautiful brunette family friend, etc. come across as a bit wooden. This does nothing to detract from the mystery however.
One unfortunate issue is that racial slurs are used a few times throughout the story. While I understand that words like that were much more commonly used in the 1940's, it doesn't make them any less offensive and I find them shocking when I come across them in these older novels.
Even though there were some downsides to the book, it kept me trying to figure out "whodunit" until the very end.
A gem categorized as one of the greatest "impossible crime" novels ever. I have to agree. This one was a treat.
Last year I signed up to receive three "American Mystery Classics" curated by The Mysterious Bookshop. Rim of the Pit was the second book that arrived in my mailbox. I can't link their website in Goodreads of course but a quick internet search should find it for anyone interested.
Here's a description from The Mysterious Bookshop web site:
Opened in 1979 by Otto Penzler, The Mysterious Bookshop is the oldest mystery specialist book store in America. Previously located in midtown, the bookshop now calls Tribeca its home.
We publish a weekly update highlighting the best in mystery fiction, including information on upcoming signings and events, new releases, our crime book subscription clubs, and recently acquired rare books. Or, keep in touch on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
We stock the finest selection of new mystery hardcovers, paperbacks and periodicals. Our shop also features a superb collection of signed Modern First Editions, Rare/Collectible hardcovers and Sherlockiana.
Our Bibliomystery series features novellas by some of the biggest authors in the genre, written exclusively for our store. We also publish limited editions of books by authors like Michael Connelly, James Ellroy, and Lee Child.
In Rim of the Pit, a group of people gather at a lodge located in a remote part of New England. It is winter and as the story unfolds, the snow continues to pile up which helps to create the claustrophobic atmosphere that permeates the book from start to finish. The people have gathered to attend a seance, being held to resolve a legal dispute between two families who both have a stake in a logging company and the patent associated with the logging process. The first sentence of the book is a compelling "I came here to make a dead man change his mind." The dead man does make an appearance - much to the shock of many sitting around the seance table. Although someone there certainly knows more than they're sharing. Add to that a murder that happens in a locked room, and our story starts to get exciting.
"Hake Talbot" is actually a pen name of author Henning Nelms, whose chief occupation was as a stage magician. Magic and stage performance are a big part of the story and he effectively weaves his experience into the story.
I was hooked from the beginning. The writing is very good - although I will say that the characters are a bit stereotypical. The ex-football player, the gambler, the professor, the blonde bombshell, the intelligent but beautiful brunette family friend, etc. come across as a bit wooden. This does nothing to detract from the mystery however.
One unfortunate issue is that racial slurs are used a few times throughout the story. While I understand that words like that were much more commonly used in the 1940's, it doesn't make them any less offensive and I find them shocking when I come across them in these older novels.
Even though there were some downsides to the book, it kept me trying to figure out "whodunit" until the very end.
December 22, 2025
If you asked me at the halfway point what I thought of this book, I'd have said that it was absolutely great and I was hooked. The big reveal was dizzying in the extreme like a shell game gone mad. I almost gave up before yet another cascade of reveals shifted the ground once again and made me quite dizzy.
The story begins with a group of folks snowed in at a lodge. There is a seance that upsets everyone. Then a murder.
From then on, we have two locations and folks rushing about inside and out looking for clues. Footsteps that disappear in the snow as if the culprit took to the air. Rumors of a wendigo...
Rather cringy too, is a guide who is part-Indian, so much nonsense about his being a half-breed and even more bizarre, a moment where he attacks someone but then as if he hadn't, they are all coming up with yet another game plan... I'm sorry, but if someone rushed at me with a knife I would not say okay, well let's go back to the cabin and turn my back... that part just didn't even make sense like some got chopped and lost in editing...
There are some memorable characters here, most notably a Czech magician named Vok who resembles a towering Christopher Lee in a cape and makeup.
I feel a bit cheated that there is absolutely no way to have figured this convoluted and manic plot out, especially as much info is withheld until the end...but the reveal was rather fun and while ridiculous and exhausting, quite clever.
My poor brain hurts.
The story begins with a group of folks snowed in at a lodge. There is a seance that upsets everyone. Then a murder.
From then on, we have two locations and folks rushing about inside and out looking for clues. Footsteps that disappear in the snow as if the culprit took to the air. Rumors of a wendigo...
Rather cringy too, is a guide who is part-Indian, so much nonsense about his being a half-breed and even more bizarre, a moment where he attacks someone but then as if he hadn't, they are all coming up with yet another game plan... I'm sorry, but if someone rushed at me with a knife I would not say okay, well let's go back to the cabin and turn my back... that part just didn't even make sense like some got chopped and lost in editing...
There are some memorable characters here, most notably a Czech magician named Vok who resembles a towering Christopher Lee in a cape and makeup.
I feel a bit cheated that there is absolutely no way to have figured this convoluted and manic plot out, especially as much info is withheld until the end...but the reveal was rather fun and while ridiculous and exhausting, quite clever.
My poor brain hurts.
January 22, 2025
C+:
Just really disappointing. Lazy character work, little to invest in. Frantic and deductive without feeling rewarding.
Just really disappointing. Lazy character work, little to invest in. Frantic and deductive without feeling rewarding.
March 20, 2024
5.0 stars.
I’ve waited for a while to read this. In the small world of impossible crime lovers, Rim of the Pit is a *legendary* novel. It’s famous (kind of) for being ranked second on a 1981 list of the best impossible crime novels. Everyone loves it when they read it, mentions how crazy and over the top it is, etc. So naturally of course, I have been very excited to crack into this world.
Rim of the Pit is not only an impossible crime novel, it’s an isolated closed circle mystery. A group of people gather in a small log cabin during a blizzard in the New England wilderness to hold a séance in order to gain permission to log a forest owned by a dead man… huh??? What a set-up!
Within the first few chapters, Hake Talbot presents an INSANE onslaught of impossibilities. A ghost appears in front of the party, floats down a hallway and disappears into a wall. Footsteps are discovered which implies somebody must have jumped over one hundred feet without making a single print in the snow. There’s a report of a man flying outside!
It is ridiculous. You know while reading, that all of these paranormal phenomena will be explained by some trick, like a magic show, but all the while it seems so damn impossible. Each mind boggling moment could be the setup to a book by itself, never mind that there’s so many of them. By the time someone is murdered, the death nearly feels like an afterthought, as so much stuff has occurred.
Rim of the Pit takes place between two neighboring cabins, and we go back and forth as the characters trudge their way back and forth through the snow. This book very much dabbles in Horror/Thriller as much as it does Puzzle plot mystery. There are legitimately chilling (no pun intended) scenes that leave a tingle in you, and each chapter ends with such a crazy revelation you just *have* to read the next chapter.
It is EXTREMELY impressive how much Hake Talbot was able to fit in this book. It is a tour de force of the mystery genre, and a hidden gem that more people should read. It’s not flawless… the solution is revealed in a rather flat manner, and there’s some “of its time” word choice, but Rim of the Pit lived up to my expectations and is one of my favorite impossible crime mysteries I’ve read. Read this book!!!!
I’ve waited for a while to read this. In the small world of impossible crime lovers, Rim of the Pit is a *legendary* novel. It’s famous (kind of) for being ranked second on a 1981 list of the best impossible crime novels. Everyone loves it when they read it, mentions how crazy and over the top it is, etc. So naturally of course, I have been very excited to crack into this world.
Rim of the Pit is not only an impossible crime novel, it’s an isolated closed circle mystery. A group of people gather in a small log cabin during a blizzard in the New England wilderness to hold a séance in order to gain permission to log a forest owned by a dead man… huh??? What a set-up!
Within the first few chapters, Hake Talbot presents an INSANE onslaught of impossibilities. A ghost appears in front of the party, floats down a hallway and disappears into a wall. Footsteps are discovered which implies somebody must have jumped over one hundred feet without making a single print in the snow. There’s a report of a man flying outside!
It is ridiculous. You know while reading, that all of these paranormal phenomena will be explained by some trick, like a magic show, but all the while it seems so damn impossible. Each mind boggling moment could be the setup to a book by itself, never mind that there’s so many of them. By the time someone is murdered, the death nearly feels like an afterthought, as so much stuff has occurred.
Rim of the Pit takes place between two neighboring cabins, and we go back and forth as the characters trudge their way back and forth through the snow. This book very much dabbles in Horror/Thriller as much as it does Puzzle plot mystery. There are legitimately chilling (no pun intended) scenes that leave a tingle in you, and each chapter ends with such a crazy revelation you just *have* to read the next chapter.
It is EXTREMELY impressive how much Hake Talbot was able to fit in this book. It is a tour de force of the mystery genre, and a hidden gem that more people should read. It’s not flawless… the solution is revealed in a rather flat manner, and there’s some “of its time” word choice, but Rim of the Pit lived up to my expectations and is one of my favorite impossible crime mysteries I’ve read. Read this book!!!!
January 8, 2021
Come si fa a non farsi catturare da un romanzo che inizia con "Sono venuto quassù per indurre un morto a cambiare parere"?
Grimaud (dove l’ho già sentito questo nome? ) Désanat, morto durante una tempesta di neve parecchi anni prima degli eventi narrati, ha lasciato alla vedova dei boschi, con il divieto di tagliarli per un certo numero di anni. La vedova si è risposata con un imprenditore che possiede un brevetto per estrarre e trattare la cellulosa dal legno e spera di persuadere la vedova a cedergli il legno dei boschi ereditati. Visto che la donna è una medium, la seduta spiritica accennata nell’incipit viene organizzata. Parteciperanno oltre al socio dell’imprenditore con il nipote e fidanzata di questi, e alla vedova con la figlia, alcuni personaggi estremamente interessanti: Rogan Kinkaid (giocatore di poker professionista, che è di fatto il protagonista – investigatore del romanzo), Peyton Ambler (professore di antropologia), e Svetozar Vok (prestigiatore professionista e profugo dalla Cecoslovacchia). La seduta si svolgerà nel nord del New England, non lontano dal confine canadese, in pieno inverno in una casetta di campagna circondata dalla neve, e il suo risultato sarà sorprendente. Ma questo è solo l’inizio della storia, che vedrà poi un “delitto impossibile” da manuale (per i pignoli, non rientrerebbe nella definizione di camera chiusa), con l’omicidio avvenuto in un locale chiuso a chiave e accessibile solo dalla finestra, che viene trovata rotta e con impronte nella neve davanti a essa, che però si interrompono misteriosamente per poi riprendere qualche decina di metri più avanti, come se chi le ha lasciate fosse in grado di volare… E questa non è né l’ultima né la più misteriosa delle cose che succederanno. La quantità e qualità degli enigmi è al di fuori del comune. E mi fermo qui per non rovinare la sorpresa a chi avesse la fortuna di leggerlo per la prima volta.
L’ambientazione nel mondo dello spiritismo ricorda molto il poco noto ma secondo me molto significativo “Svanito nel nulla” di Horatio Winslow (famoso per il paragone fra assassino, scrittore e prestigiatore da un lato, poliziotto lettore e spettatore all’altro), mentre è forte l’influenza di Carr: l’atmosfera di terrore che si respira è molto simile alle Tre bare e agli altri capolavori del creatore di HM e Fell. Infine, l’autore è anche un prestigiatore, come Rawson, e anche qui ci sono delle affinità. La qualità della narrazione, sia a livello di scrittura sia a livello di trama, è eccezionale e degna dei grandissimi capolavori. Qui, similarmente agli esempi citati, viene lasciato intuire al lettore che esiste una spiegazione razionale agli avvenimenti sconvolgenti che vengono narrati. Ma, ancor più che altrove, qui le cose che succedono, e il modo in cui sono narrate (facendo anche ricorso al folklore popolare, sia europeo sia nativo americano, mirabilmente fusi nel riuscitissimo personaggio del meticcio Madore Trudeau) fa davvero pensare al lettore a qualcosa di soprannaturale.
Il lettore esperto e attento comunque può cercare una spiegazione razionale, nel mio caso andando quasi completamente fuori strada, pur raccogliendo, anche se parzialmente e male interpretandoli, alcuni degli indizi lasciati dall’autore (nei commenti con avvertenza spoiler possiamo parlarne). La spiegazione finale, pur sufficientemente coincisa da non annoiare (come talvolta accade con Carr) è, paradossalmente, più complicata ancora, usa alcuni elementi che avevo intuito e altri invece che mi erano completamente sfuggiti, e ricorda sia per la complessità sia per una certa casualità (comunque qui ben spiegata e giustificata) le Tre bare menzionate prima. Ma risulta, per il grande coinvolgimento del lettore e per l’ottima caratterizzazione dei personaggi, del tutto apprezzabile, e un paio di spiegazioni troppo complesse e non pienamente comprese vengono facilmente perdonate.
Nell’introduzione, Boncompagni dice, citando Bob Adey, che questo romanzo “ha osato sfidare Carr accettando le sue regole e conseguendo un pareggio”. Forse, mi viene da chiosare, addirittura una vittoria, sia pure di misura.
Grimaud (dove l’ho già sentito questo nome? ) Désanat, morto durante una tempesta di neve parecchi anni prima degli eventi narrati, ha lasciato alla vedova dei boschi, con il divieto di tagliarli per un certo numero di anni. La vedova si è risposata con un imprenditore che possiede un brevetto per estrarre e trattare la cellulosa dal legno e spera di persuadere la vedova a cedergli il legno dei boschi ereditati. Visto che la donna è una medium, la seduta spiritica accennata nell’incipit viene organizzata. Parteciperanno oltre al socio dell’imprenditore con il nipote e fidanzata di questi, e alla vedova con la figlia, alcuni personaggi estremamente interessanti: Rogan Kinkaid (giocatore di poker professionista, che è di fatto il protagonista – investigatore del romanzo), Peyton Ambler (professore di antropologia), e Svetozar Vok (prestigiatore professionista e profugo dalla Cecoslovacchia). La seduta si svolgerà nel nord del New England, non lontano dal confine canadese, in pieno inverno in una casetta di campagna circondata dalla neve, e il suo risultato sarà sorprendente. Ma questo è solo l’inizio della storia, che vedrà poi un “delitto impossibile” da manuale (per i pignoli, non rientrerebbe nella definizione di camera chiusa), con l’omicidio avvenuto in un locale chiuso a chiave e accessibile solo dalla finestra, che viene trovata rotta e con impronte nella neve davanti a essa, che però si interrompono misteriosamente per poi riprendere qualche decina di metri più avanti, come se chi le ha lasciate fosse in grado di volare… E questa non è né l’ultima né la più misteriosa delle cose che succederanno. La quantità e qualità degli enigmi è al di fuori del comune. E mi fermo qui per non rovinare la sorpresa a chi avesse la fortuna di leggerlo per la prima volta.
L’ambientazione nel mondo dello spiritismo ricorda molto il poco noto ma secondo me molto significativo “Svanito nel nulla” di Horatio Winslow (famoso per il paragone fra assassino, scrittore e prestigiatore da un lato, poliziotto lettore e spettatore all’altro), mentre è forte l’influenza di Carr: l’atmosfera di terrore che si respira è molto simile alle Tre bare e agli altri capolavori del creatore di HM e Fell. Infine, l’autore è anche un prestigiatore, come Rawson, e anche qui ci sono delle affinità. La qualità della narrazione, sia a livello di scrittura sia a livello di trama, è eccezionale e degna dei grandissimi capolavori. Qui, similarmente agli esempi citati, viene lasciato intuire al lettore che esiste una spiegazione razionale agli avvenimenti sconvolgenti che vengono narrati. Ma, ancor più che altrove, qui le cose che succedono, e il modo in cui sono narrate (facendo anche ricorso al folklore popolare, sia europeo sia nativo americano, mirabilmente fusi nel riuscitissimo personaggio del meticcio Madore Trudeau) fa davvero pensare al lettore a qualcosa di soprannaturale.
Il lettore esperto e attento comunque può cercare una spiegazione razionale, nel mio caso andando quasi completamente fuori strada, pur raccogliendo, anche se parzialmente e male interpretandoli, alcuni degli indizi lasciati dall’autore (nei commenti con avvertenza spoiler possiamo parlarne). La spiegazione finale, pur sufficientemente coincisa da non annoiare (come talvolta accade con Carr) è, paradossalmente, più complicata ancora, usa alcuni elementi che avevo intuito e altri invece che mi erano completamente sfuggiti, e ricorda sia per la complessità sia per una certa casualità (comunque qui ben spiegata e giustificata) le Tre bare menzionate prima. Ma risulta, per il grande coinvolgimento del lettore e per l’ottima caratterizzazione dei personaggi, del tutto apprezzabile, e un paio di spiegazioni troppo complesse e non pienamente comprese vengono facilmente perdonate.
Nell’introduzione, Boncompagni dice, citando Bob Adey, che questo romanzo “ha osato sfidare Carr accettando le sue regole e conseguendo un pareggio”. Forse, mi viene da chiosare, addirittura una vittoria, sia pure di misura.
July 16, 2022
"Hake Talbot" was the pen name of stage magician Henning Nelms. He wrote two mystery novels featuring the gambler Rogan Kincaid. This, the second, is often regarded as one of the greatest impossible crime novels of all time; in a 1981 poll conducted by Edward Hoch (himself a major name in the subgenre), it ranked second, after Carr's The Hollow Man. For whatever reason, having written his masterpiece, he could not get further work published, other than two short stories; at least some editions of Rim of the Pit include one of those stories, "The Other Side." I can find no evidence that the other short story ("The High House") has ever been anthologized.
The central premise of the novel is that a small group of people, in an isolated house in the wilderness, perform a seance; they are attempting to contact a dead man for very matter-of-fact reasons having to do with lumber rights. Although most of the seance is quickly shown to have been faked, it is capped off by a series of seemingly inexplicable supernatural phenomenon, ultimately leading to a seemingly impossible murder. The atmosphere is top notch, and the supporting cast is well-drawn; the conjurer Vok is so good that Talbot used him again in "The Other Side." I'm not so sure about Kincaid; we're told how exceptional he is, but he doesn't really do anything special during the body of the novel, so the last chapter, where he explains everything, comes a bit out of the blue. I also confess that I couldn't follow the entire explanation; it's very intricate for my tastes.
This novel does include a malignant "half-breed" who has sexual designs on one of the White women characters, and has dialog like "W'y for she be fright'? I tol' her me tak' care of her. Wit' me, anwan she's safe." Getting indignant at racism in 1944 genre fiction may be kind of quixotic, but it is a blemish.
The central premise of the novel is that a small group of people, in an isolated house in the wilderness, perform a seance; they are attempting to contact a dead man for very matter-of-fact reasons having to do with lumber rights. Although most of the seance is quickly shown to have been faked, it is capped off by a series of seemingly inexplicable supernatural phenomenon, ultimately leading to a seemingly impossible murder. The atmosphere is top notch, and the supporting cast is well-drawn; the conjurer Vok is so good that Talbot used him again in "The Other Side." I'm not so sure about Kincaid; we're told how exceptional he is, but he doesn't really do anything special during the body of the novel, so the last chapter, where he explains everything, comes a bit out of the blue. I also confess that I couldn't follow the entire explanation; it's very intricate for my tastes.
This novel does include a malignant "half-breed" who has sexual designs on one of the White women characters, and has dialog like "W'y for she be fright'? I tol' her me tak' care of her. Wit' me, anwan she's safe." Getting indignant at racism in 1944 genre fiction may be kind of quixotic, but it is a blemish.
Read
July 2, 2025Voted one of the best locked room/impossible crime mysteries of all time, and you will not be surprised to learn that yeah, the locked room is pretty good. As for the other aspects...
A group of people meets in a remote countryside to have a seance with the goal of asking a deceased man an important question. Some people are true believers, some are rather skeptical. The seance goes awry and then a murder happens (duh). It looks like the killer was a ghost... but that's impossible... or is it?!
Well, it is. Obviously. It's a murder mystery, so that's not really a spoiler. "A ghost did it" is not a valid solution for a locked room story. The characters spend a lot of time discussing the supernatural, though, and on one hand it helps build the atmosphere, on the other - it can get a bit tiring, as you know that, ultimately, this isn't really a ghost story.
The cast of characters is pretty standard, with some standouts being the colorful Czech expert on mediums (a peculiar guy, but much less stereotypical than most Eastern European characters in Western fiction, and I definitely appreciate this) and our detective, Rogan Kincaid, who's a gambler and a bit of a ladykiller. Unfortunately, there's also the cowardly asshole mixed race guide, who's not an enjoyable character to read about, speaks in an atrocious phonetic accent and overall is possibly one of the reasons why this book is unlikely to be reprinted/translated much.
The murder mystery itself is neat, but I was disappointed in one part of the solution (are you telling me that . I'm not a huge locked room nerd, though - if you are, maybe you'll have stronger feelings about the entire thing.
A group of people meets in a remote countryside to have a seance with the goal of asking a deceased man an important question. Some people are true believers, some are rather skeptical. The seance goes awry and then a murder happens (duh). It looks like the killer was a ghost... but that's impossible... or is it?!
Well, it is. Obviously. It's a murder mystery, so that's not really a spoiler. "A ghost did it" is not a valid solution for a locked room story. The characters spend a lot of time discussing the supernatural, though, and on one hand it helps build the atmosphere, on the other - it can get a bit tiring, as you know that, ultimately, this isn't really a ghost story.
The cast of characters is pretty standard, with some standouts being the colorful Czech expert on mediums (a peculiar guy, but much less stereotypical than most Eastern European characters in Western fiction, and I definitely appreciate this) and our detective, Rogan Kincaid, who's a gambler and a bit of a ladykiller. Unfortunately, there's also the cowardly asshole mixed race guide, who's not an enjoyable character to read about, speaks in an atrocious phonetic accent and overall is possibly one of the reasons why this book is unlikely to be reprinted/translated much.
The murder mystery itself is neat, but I was disappointed in one part of the solution (are you telling me that . I'm not a huge locked room nerd, though - if you are, maybe you'll have stronger feelings about the entire thing.
January 17, 2020
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ตั้งแต่หน้าแรก เรางงมากว่าใครพูด ใครเป็นใคร สถานะตัวละครก็ไม่รู้เรื่อง
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ซึ่งครึ่งแรกของเรื่องมันจะวนอยู่กับดารเข้าทรงว การเรียกผี และปริศนาที่ว่า ผีนั้น
ขของจริงหรือปลอม และกว่าจะเข้าเรื่องการฆาตกรรมในห้องปิกตายก็กินพื้นที่
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ปริศนาก็คือมีคนถูกขวานจามหน้าใมห้องที่ล็อคไว้ มีหลักฐานว่าฆาตกรหนีออกไปได้ทางหน้าต่าง
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ตัวฆาตกรออกไปจากทางหน้าต่าง มีรอยเท้าที่แสดงให้เห็นว่ามันหลบหนีโดยการกระโดดลงจากหลังคา
และปริิศนาหลักก็คือ รอยเท้าบนหิมะ ที่ควรจะไปอยู่ด้านล้างใกล้ๆกับตัวบ้าน มันดันไปโผล่อยู่กลางทุ่งหิมะ
ที่ห่างจากตัวบ้านไปหลายสิบเมตร และบริเวณโดยรอบตัวบ้าน ไม่มีต้นไม้หรืออะไรเพื่อให้ใช้เชือกไต่เลย
มาถึงตรงนี้เราก็มีแรงฮึดอ่านอีกครั้ง อยากรู้ว่าฆตกรมันทำได้ยังไง
แต่พอถึงจุดเฉลย เรากลับรู้สึกห่อเหี่ยวมาก การฆาตกรรมต้องใช้ความบังเอิญ
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ตั้งแต่หน้าแรก เรางงมากว่าใครพูด ใครเป็นใคร สถานะตัวละครก็ไม่รู้เรื่อง
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จากนั้นถึงฌฮึดมาอ่านใหม่ ความรู้สึกงง และไม่เข้าใจก็ยังคนอยุ่
แต่เราก็ตีมึน ตัวละครมีใครบ้าง ใครเป็นใคร ตอนนี้เราไม่สนแล้ว
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ขของจริงหรือปลอม และกว่าจะเข้าเรื่องการฆาตกรรมในห้องปิกตายก็กินพื้นที่
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ปริศนาก็คือมีคนถูกขวานจามหน้าใมห้องที่ล็อคไว้ มีหลักฐานว่าฆาตกรหนีออกไปได้ทางหน้าต่าง
แต่ปริศนาก็คือ ฉากในเรื่องคือบ้านกลางเทือกเขาที่มีหิมะ และร่องรอยรอบตัวบ้านทำให้เห็นว่า
ตัวฆาตกรออกไปจากทางหน้าต่าง มีรอยเท้าที่แสดงให้เห็นว่ามันหลบหนีโดยการกระโดดลงจากหลังคา
และปริิศนาหลักก็คือ รอยเท้าบนหิมะ ที่ควรจะไปอยู่ด้านล้างใกล้ๆกับตัวบ้าน มันดันไปโผล่อยู่กลางทุ่งหิมะ
ที่ห่างจากตัวบ้านไปหลายสิบเมตร และบริเวณโดยรอบตัวบ้าน ไม่มีต้นไม้หรืออะไรเพื่อให้ใช้เชือกไต่เลย
มาถึงตรงนี้เราก็มีแรงฮึดอ่านอีกครั้ง อยากรู้ว่าฆตกรมันทำได้ยังไง
แต่พอถึงจุดเฉลย เรากลับรู้สึกห่อเหี่ยวมาก การฆาตกรรมต้องใช้ความบังเอิญ
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นอกนั้นคืองงมาก จนถึงตอนนี้เรายังไม่รู้เลยว่าในเรื่องนี้มีตัวละครกี่คน 55555
October 31, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up.
I don’t know why this very entertaining, and relentlessly creepy, “impossible crime” whodunit should come off as any more far-fetched than any other similar exercise, in explaining several days’ worth of inexplicable events tied to, or obfuscating, a murder or murders - but this one strains believability, if any of them do.
I loved the atmosphere, the seemingly supernatural occurrences piling one on top of each other - seance, ghost, possession by an angry spirit, lurking wendigo (spelled windigo here, and the spellcheck doesn’t seem to like either, so, okay), snow that must have footprints but does not, vice versa, vanishings from sealed rooms, a strange touch from phantom footwear, antique musket removed from wall mounting and yet it couldn’t have been - but there came a point where I suspected that the explanations were going to be wild. And they were. Somewhere, it seems, there is a fine line between feasible, and believable. And I would even say that, at the quantum level, this book proves there can be a difference between believable, and believable.
Recommended for all the suspenseful chaos, the haunted winter wonderland that is a house, a neighbouring lodge, and the snowmansland in between (where the normal rules for footprints don’t apply, and a windigo swoops in from nowhere…), and finally…yes, even the gonzo explanations. The question is simple, I suppose: do the reveals make the whole thing too goofball? That’s a personal judgement - but if you’re up for “goofball and clever and believable and unbelievable”, then it’ll work.
I don’t know why this very entertaining, and relentlessly creepy, “impossible crime” whodunit should come off as any more far-fetched than any other similar exercise, in explaining several days’ worth of inexplicable events tied to, or obfuscating, a murder or murders - but this one strains believability, if any of them do.
I loved the atmosphere, the seemingly supernatural occurrences piling one on top of each other - seance, ghost, possession by an angry spirit, lurking wendigo (spelled windigo here, and the spellcheck doesn’t seem to like either, so, okay), snow that must have footprints but does not, vice versa, vanishings from sealed rooms, a strange touch from phantom footwear, antique musket removed from wall mounting and yet it couldn’t have been - but there came a point where I suspected that the explanations were going to be wild. And they were. Somewhere, it seems, there is a fine line between feasible, and believable. And I would even say that, at the quantum level, this book proves there can be a difference between believable, and believable.
Recommended for all the suspenseful chaos, the haunted winter wonderland that is a house, a neighbouring lodge, and the snowmansland in between (where the normal rules for footprints don’t apply, and a windigo swoops in from nowhere…), and finally…yes, even the gonzo explanations. The question is simple, I suppose: do the reveals make the whole thing too goofball? That’s a personal judgement - but if you’re up for “goofball and clever and believable and unbelievable”, then it’ll work.
May 26, 2024
Hake Talbot is the pen name of American writer and stage magician Henning Nelms. It comes as no surprise that this novel concentrates a lot on exposing the fraudulent seance performed by Irene Ogden who is trying to contact the soul of her first husband, Grimaud Désanat, in an attempt to rectify a dispute between herself and her second husband, Frank, and his business partner, Luke Latham. When Irene is murdered the novel becomes an acclaimed "locked room" mystery. The cast is inclusive though not extensive: Sherry, Grimaud Désanat daughter; Svetozar Vok, a Czech refugee who specializes in exposing false mediums; college ex-footballer and nephew of Luke, Jeff Latham and his girlfriend Barbara; Professor Ambler an old friend of Grimaud; Madore, a native hunting guide and finally the detective, Rogan Kinkaid.
With so few characters there is a lot of misdirection for the reader, as Hake Talbot writes about illusions, “windigo,” superstitions and fables, possession. The novel is a bit over-rated as the solution is slightly perplexing. As it was written in the 1940's there is a lot of American racial vituperation evident, especially considering one of the characters was of Native American descent, which may offend some.
With so few characters there is a lot of misdirection for the reader, as Hake Talbot writes about illusions, “windigo,” superstitions and fables, possession. The novel is a bit over-rated as the solution is slightly perplexing. As it was written in the 1940's there is a lot of American racial vituperation evident, especially considering one of the characters was of Native American descent, which may offend some.
January 18, 2021
A top tier "locked room" mystery novel that basically hardly anyone has heard of. It turns out this was because the author was the pen name of magician Henning Nelms, who only wrote two mystery books before returning to other areas of interest (namely drawing and magic).
The only spoiler in this review is that one of the characters is revealed (about a quarter of the way in) to be a magician. This explains a lot given Nelms' background, and comes in handy for some of the discussions of the events in the book and the rises the killer uses.
It's a pity more people haven't read this book but it was in limited release (and by a virtual unknown); hopefully a reissue or digital.copy will be made available.
Re: the subject matter, It's a "fair play" mystery that deals with a death after a seance attempting to contact a missing (presumed dead) logging businessman to resolve some property rights goes wrong. All sorts of eerie supernatural phenomena appear (the obscure Wendigo gets a look in as a suspected monster) and to the book's remarkable credit, I say again, it is all "fair play". No unresolved questions or the like. A phenomenal effort, and sadly the last by this author.
The only spoiler in this review is that one of the characters is revealed (about a quarter of the way in) to be a magician. This explains a lot given Nelms' background, and comes in handy for some of the discussions of the events in the book and the rises the killer uses.
It's a pity more people haven't read this book but it was in limited release (and by a virtual unknown); hopefully a reissue or digital.copy will be made available.
Re: the subject matter, It's a "fair play" mystery that deals with a death after a seance attempting to contact a missing (presumed dead) logging businessman to resolve some property rights goes wrong. All sorts of eerie supernatural phenomena appear (the obscure Wendigo gets a look in as a suspected monster) and to the book's remarkable credit, I say again, it is all "fair play". No unresolved questions or the like. A phenomenal effort, and sadly the last by this author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2024
This fairly obscure book—which took me forever to track down—was once named the second-best locked-room mystery ever written, so I had to get around to reading it at some point. It's got some good things going for it, like the inclusion of gothic horror and supernatural elements, as well as Talbot's ambitious stacking of impossible mystery on impossible mystery. And it's a nice gimmick to not truly know if the mysteries are indeed impossible until the final 15 pages. But the author struggles to untangle everything in a way that truly makes for a satisfying and coherent resolution. Maybe a better writer could have pulled it off, but Talbot simply has so much to explain, the lack of visual aids outside of the map on the back cover had me frequently thinking "this makes sense to you, so I'll just take your word for it."
You also get your regular casual racism that you should be inured to if you read books of a certain vintage, but the mixed-race guide character regularly being referred to as a "half-breed" and a "mongrel" may explain why this book didn't stand the test of time.
You also get your regular casual racism that you should be inured to if you read books of a certain vintage, but the mixed-race guide character regularly being referred to as a "half-breed" and a "mongrel" may explain why this book didn't stand the test of time.
June 1, 2023
So apparently the general consensus is that this is the masterpiece and Hangman is the weaker novel, yet I think I preferred the elegance of that mystery a lot more than the somewhat complicated business involved in the solution to this. But just as Hangman’s great trump card was the secondary magician character, the magician here more than makes up for my quibbles (and does a good job allowing me to ignore my continued dislike of Kincaid as hero, although he is considerably less insufferable here). Vok is an all time great character, and it’s our loss that nobody has adapted this because so many actor’s could have done glorious things with this complex, complicated hero. The short story is too rushed to fully work, and feels like Talbot actively losing interest in crime fiction as it goes on, but it does tantalise us with a future where Kincaid and Vok could have teamed up as detectives which would have been absolutely *glorious*
May 21, 2017
Rim of the Pit berada pada posisi #2 dalam daftar novel locked-room mystery terbaik dari hasil voting pada tahun 1981. Hal inilah yang membuat saya ngebet banget untuk membaca novel ini, sampai akhirnya tiba kesempatan yang sudah lama saya dambakan.
Overall, misteri dalam novel ini sangat kental unsur supranaturalnya. Mulai dari mind-reading psychic, seance pemanggilan arwah, penampakan arwah yang dipanggil, menghilangnya arwah tersebut, sampai pembunuhan yang hanya bisa dilakukan oleh seseorang dengan kemampuan melayang di udara. Damn right the impossibilities are rich!
This novel should be worth 5 stars! But even though the impossibilities are in my favours, I find the explanation rather weak. Especially in the motive department. But then again, the pacing; the plot; the mysteries; and the atmosphere is more than enough to make up for its weaknesses.
Overall, misteri dalam novel ini sangat kental unsur supranaturalnya. Mulai dari mind-reading psychic, seance pemanggilan arwah, penampakan arwah yang dipanggil, menghilangnya arwah tersebut, sampai pembunuhan yang hanya bisa dilakukan oleh seseorang dengan kemampuan melayang di udara. Damn right the impossibilities are rich!
This novel should be worth 5 stars! But even though the impossibilities are in my favours, I find the explanation rather weak. Especially in the motive department. But then again, the pacing; the plot; the mysteries; and the atmosphere is more than enough to make up for its weaknesses.
May 28, 2022
A masterpiece of the locked-room / impossible murder genre, this golden age murder mystery, written in 1944, is great fun.
It has all the elements required for a golden age mystery -- a secluded location at which all the suspects are stranded for the duration. A dashing hero who turns detective. A plucky heroine. And an assorted number of house guests, many of whom have a motive for the crime. Then it throws in some clever puzzles, including the footprints that begin and end in an unbroken expanse of snow, a locked room, a flying murderer and the disappearance from a watched room of one of the suspects.
Atmospheric yet still retaining a fun, light, "figure-this-out-if-you-can" attitude; it all makes this a perfect book for mystery lovers and those who enjoy a touch of the supernatural in the mix.
Highly recommended.
It has all the elements required for a golden age mystery -- a secluded location at which all the suspects are stranded for the duration. A dashing hero who turns detective. A plucky heroine. And an assorted number of house guests, many of whom have a motive for the crime. Then it throws in some clever puzzles, including the footprints that begin and end in an unbroken expanse of snow, a locked room, a flying murderer and the disappearance from a watched room of one of the suspects.
Atmospheric yet still retaining a fun, light, "figure-this-out-if-you-can" attitude; it all makes this a perfect book for mystery lovers and those who enjoy a touch of the supernatural in the mix.
Highly recommended.
June 6, 2024
One of that subgenre of classic mysteries that gestures at the supernatural, this one quite a bit harder than most (chapter epigraphs cite the Bible, Eliphas Levi, even William James). We get intimations of possession, hypnosis, flying, vanishing, wendigos, locked-room disappearances, seances, ghosts...all of which is more or less satisfactorily explained at the conclusion. Also two bits of gratuitous racism that stick out, in addition to the "half-breed" French-Canadian minor character whose primitive superstitions and broken English tell you all you need to know about his fitness. Also, weirdly, a screwball-comedy aspect with two younger female characters who feel like they're imported from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and are quite clearly rarin' to go with the men. Still, an artfully constructed piece of misdirection that is clearly aware of itself as such.
December 18, 2024
I find this a difficult book to review. It's considered a classic of the genre and all aspects of the 'impossible crime' elements are explained logically so kudos for that, BUT I did have problems with the book. There are characters who are forgettable, not fleshed out and unnecessary. I'd also question the actions/motivations of certain characters.
The book starts with a seance which I'm not normally a fan of, but I thought this one worked well in the story and when aspects of it are explained at the end I thought it added to the book overall.
All in all, this is a complicated book and at times it can be hard to keep track of where everyone is physically which is important if you want to try to figure out the mystery. Having said that, the book does have it's good points and is a must-read for any impossible mystery enthusiast despite the issues mentioned.
The book starts with a seance which I'm not normally a fan of, but I thought this one worked well in the story and when aspects of it are explained at the end I thought it added to the book overall.
All in all, this is a complicated book and at times it can be hard to keep track of where everyone is physically which is important if you want to try to figure out the mystery. Having said that, the book does have it's good points and is a must-read for any impossible mystery enthusiast despite the issues mentioned.
December 4, 2025
Creepy, classic and wonderfully puzzling
Set in a snowed in log cabin in the isolated wilderness of American logging country this is as creepy as it is billed. When a group of people meet to try to persuade a man who’s been dead for year to change his mind on an injunction not to log a pine grove, the séance that follows descend into chaos leaving people dead in locked rooms.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were varied and odd and the mystery itself was very pleasing to unravel. As ever with a book of this age it suffered slightly from some of the language used about minorities, with one character being very badly stereotyped. If you can read that and not absorb it then the story itself is a good creepy puzzler with a lot to recommend it. I think it deserves more fame then it currently has garnered.
Set in a snowed in log cabin in the isolated wilderness of American logging country this is as creepy as it is billed. When a group of people meet to try to persuade a man who’s been dead for year to change his mind on an injunction not to log a pine grove, the séance that follows descend into chaos leaving people dead in locked rooms.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were varied and odd and the mystery itself was very pleasing to unravel. As ever with a book of this age it suffered slightly from some of the language used about minorities, with one character being very badly stereotyped. If you can read that and not absorb it then the story itself is a good creepy puzzler with a lot to recommend it. I think it deserves more fame then it currently has garnered.
February 18, 2024
I should have given up on this book after a few chapters, but it had such great reviews as a locked room mystery. A bunch of people hold a seance to get a dead man's permission to fell a stand of trees and help their company (never mind how the company will survive if one stand of trees is its only hope). There's a bunch of mumbo jumbo about ghosts and possession before the murder finally happens almost halfway through the book. The back half of the book has a bunch of characters with connections not previously known. The characters were very flat and uninteresting. I planned to give this two stars, but frankly the last two chapters ticked me off.
January 8, 2024
Hake Talbot, whose real name was Henning Nelms, was a magician, and you can clearly see the influence of being a conjuror in Rim of the Pit. This story is in the classic locked-room vein, but this time we're in the equally isolated snowbound realm of the upper northeast US, hard by the Canadian border. The clues are topsy-turvy, since they pop up in places where they seem impossible, and don't appear where they logically should. Quite the conundrum.
The best things here are the dialogue and characterizations. People mostly speak and behave in normal ways, free of the archness that haunts much of Golden Age works. It reads more like a novel than a mystery.
The best things here are the dialogue and characterizations. People mostly speak and behave in normal ways, free of the archness that haunts much of Golden Age works. It reads more like a novel than a mystery.
November 5, 2019
I had high hopes for this title,this coming at number second on the ed hoch list but if you are trying to fit as many impossibilities as in this some will work and some will fall flat,thats what has happened here the set up was way too great and the reveal fell flat. Carr praised this book but it doesn't come close to the simplicity and wow moments carr offers. Out of the 10s of minor and four major impossibilities only two were done beautifully.Still a gripping read which hurtles on at break neck speed with impossibility piled upon another impossibility.
December 11, 2023
Solid mystery with some nice Gothic touches. A seance in a lodge in the snow secluded hills of New York State results in two deaths and the mystery of whether the cause of the deaths was human or supernatural.
The characterization and setting are rendered well, though a trigger warning is probably called for regarding a novel from the 1940s displaying some 1940s attitudes: A character who is not well-educated and with a French and Native American ancestry is too often characterized by his superstitions, thus becoming a stereotype.
The characterization and setting are rendered well, though a trigger warning is probably called for regarding a novel from the 1940s displaying some 1940s attitudes: A character who is not well-educated and with a French and Native American ancestry is too often characterized by his superstitions, thus becoming a stereotype.
August 1, 2025
On the upside, this is a reasonably atmospheric "impossible" mystery that's very easy to imagine as a black and white film with stars of the time (Vincent Price as Vok, perhaps...). And I did enjoy the collection of suspects trying to solve the mystery along. That gave it a bit of a different feel. (And leans into feeling like a movie of the time.)
On the downside, the racism. Dear god, the racism.
Also, the solution was a bit convoluted. Convoluted as it was, I do think all the pieces were there, so it does qualify as a fair play mystery.
Alas, however, the racism.
On the downside, the racism. Dear god, the racism.
Also, the solution was a bit convoluted. Convoluted as it was, I do think all the pieces were there, so it does qualify as a fair play mystery.
Alas, however, the racism.
January 3, 2026
Usually, I quite enjoy locked-room mysteries. This one, though, didn’t work for me at all. I’m not entirely sure why—it may be the rather dull characters (my interest was only briefly sparked once or twice), or it may be that I don’t particularly care for séances.
More likely, I’m just not the right reader for this type of storytelling. I prefer the psychological aspects of a closed-circle mystery, whereas this is more of a treat for an analytical mind. It’s a puzzle in its purest form—so if that’s the kind of story you enjoy, go for it.
More likely, I’m just not the right reader for this type of storytelling. I prefer the psychological aspects of a closed-circle mystery, whereas this is more of a treat for an analytical mind. It’s a puzzle in its purest form—so if that’s the kind of story you enjoy, go for it.
February 5, 2020
This is one of the very few (possibly the only one?) classic mysteries to have a patent as at least a motive for murder. But then it is so (cloyingly) mystical and tricksterish that a lot of the terrific atmosphere built up over the course of the work is undone quite a bit.
PS: UVA is referred to as "The University" here by Professor Ambler. And, of course, there are references to Charlottesville.
PS: UVA is referred to as "The University" here by Professor Ambler. And, of course, there are references to Charlottesville.
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