Below Suspicion

Dr. Gideon Fell #18

by John Dickson Carr

A terrifying cult of devil-worshippers makes murder part of its evil ritual. An arrogant lawyer cynically defends a woman he's sure is guilty and finds himself helpless to clear one he knows is innocent. Here is a chilling story of horror and brutality told in the heavy atmosphere of marihuana-filled chapels of the Devil.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Detective, Thriller, Fiction, Classics

186 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1949

About the author

AKA 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).

Reviews

[Anto M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ai classici del giallo Mondadori sono affezionata. Sono i primissimi libri che ho letto da ragazzina, dato che casa mia ne era invasa e ogni tanto ci ritorno per ritrovare quelle sensazioni. Sono datati, è vero, ma li trovo sempre piacevoli. In questo caso l'indagine si complica per la presenza di una "setta" che è devota a Satana...una croce era il segnale!

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carr is unmatched at the locked room game. I love his mysteries...except the historical ones.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carr only wrote two Patrick Butler books, and I think that was probably enough. Butler reminds me of Johnny Bravo, every woman he meets he falls for. Thankfully Dr Gideon Fell provides some balance in this book.

Set in the aftermath of WW2. There are mentions of limits on electricity usage and queues for food. Satanism, marijuana and masked nightclubs make it all a bit bonkers. But the actual method of poisoning is in true Carr style very well plotted.

[Ken · Rating 1 out of 5]

If this is your first encounter with Carr, don't be turned off. He could write pulp, as here, but his usual, especially in the Fell and Merriweather series, is absolutely first-rate. (Some of the non-series novels are also excellent.)

This book was a great disappointment. It looks like it was written to feature Patrick Butler and then re-written to include Fell, still in a secondary position. (Carr did another novel featuring Butler, which I've never wanted to read.) Butler is a rather implausible and not particularly interesting or appealing pulp-level character, and the events of the story run accordingly. The plot deserves better.

(Fell, on the other hand, becomes surprisingly plausible if you go to YouTube and look up some film clips of G.K. Chesterton, on whom the character of Fell was based. And Fell is quite interesting and appealing enough for any suspension of disbelief required. I say this who have a number of points of disagreement with Chesterton, and with Carr, on intellectual and social matters. But Chesterton, like Carr, sure could write.)

[Robert Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read but quite dated with the references to Devil worshiping and the supposed effects of marijuana. A nice quck mystery without any padding and introducing a fun character, Patrick Butler, KC.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Witchcraft!!Gold toothed thugs!!Mysterious poisoning’s!!Inane dialogue!!This has it all!
This has all the elements of a great story.but it just doesn’t come together.A neat solution to the murders though edge this from 2 stars to 3.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Gideon Fell mystery, but also it seems the introduction to Patrick Butler who seems to take center stage here. A mystery that brings up past cases of how various cults have operated in England, and in this case a serial poisoner is loose.

The mystery is certainly twisted and has a limited supply of suspects to choose from which keeps you guessing for a bit. There is more action in this than other stories due to Butler’s presence. Would prefer a little less of that and more detective work, or a bit more fair play in the story.

While I didn’t dislike Butler, I found the lack of Fell made the story less interesting. In this story Fell’s strong point is history and all the interesting bits from that part were only in bits and pieces during the telling.

Would say this is a 2.5 story. If you are seeking Fell only stories this could be an easy pass, if you like more action then this will be to your liking. Also, it seems there are other stories featuring Butler so this is his intro.

[Fabio Pucci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imperfetto ma serratissimo e avvincente, un altro romanzo in cui Carr spiazza continuamente il lettore coi suoi cambi di rotta (giudiziario, whodunit con camera chiusa, hard boiled, occultismo), tra cui un inaspettato, lunghissimo blocco centrale in unità di tempo e di azione. Stupisce poi in positivo il personaggio principale, un narcisista con onore e una certa dose di follia inizialmente detestabile ma che, poco a poco, diventa sempre più spassoso nei suoi eccessi e nei suoi principi inossidabili. Sarebbe stato un capolavoro se non fosse per una componente "horror" gestita in maniera eccessivamente didascalica e non senza qualche ingenuità. Notevole e suggestiva, invece, tutta l'ultima parte, con una soluzione decisamente all'altezza e un ottimo crescendo (attesa della resa dei conti, scontro finale) che sembra anticipare quello del film "4 mosche di velluto grigio" di Argento. Al di là dei difetti, un prodotto della fascia alta del suo autore, che senza quell'inutile postilla consolatoria (di poche righe, peraltro) avrebbe meritato anche mezzo punto in più.

***!

[Padmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indicazioni editoriali
L'avvocato Patrick Butler è uno che non sbaglia una causa. Il "Grande Difensore", come lo conoscono nell'ambiente londinese, ha una predilezione per la clientela femminile. E se le sue assistite sono colpevoli tanto meglio, farle assolvere è una sfida ancora più stimolante. Joyce Ellis è accusata di aver avvelenato l'anziana signora presso la quale lavorava come dama di compagnia: è senza dubbio un'assassina per l'arrogante e cinico Butler, che per scagionarla dispiega in aula le sue arti sopraffine. Delusione in vista per l'infallibile principe del foro, quando un secondo omicidio viene commesso con identiche modalità durante il processo. La ragazza potrebbe dunque essere innocente come ha sempre sostenuto, mentre sullo sfondo si materializza la presenza agghiacciante di un culto satanico. Nonché quella piuttosto ingombrante del criminologo Gideon Fell, con una teoria tutta sua per risolvere il rebus.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

For most of its 240 pages, this is an entertaining Gothic mystery. It falls down badly at the end, as a lengthy conversation reveals all the answers to questions raised in the story. It is curiously flat and lacking in narrative drive in the last pages, a surprisingly weak denouement from a writer famous for atmosphere and tension in his books. It is nominally a Gideon Fell mystery, but Fell is rarely in it, and the "solution" is unveiled by the main character, Patrick Butler. Butler is not a success as a character, coming across like a minor character in a forties movie melodrama, all arrogance and bluster. One of the weakest Carr novels I've read. Not recommended.

[Jameson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a decent Dr. Fe— I mean, this was a decent Patrick Butler story. The ending didn’t live up to the beginning, but overall it was a nice way to spend an afternoon by my fake fireplace under quarantine. I wonder, did Carr set out to use Butler more than once or had he become smitten with his arrogant Irishman?

(She Died a Lady reminded me of Christie’s Roger Ackroyd, and this one reminded me of Pale Horse.)

[Henrik Brynildsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Den beste Dickinson Carr-boka jeg har lest. Mer spennende, action-fylt og mørk enn de foregående. Denne henger litt mer på greip, selv om jeg synes plottet igjen er noe søkt. Jeg har vanskelig for å tro at noen kan løse denne før oppklaringen.

Karakterene er imidlertid sterkere, tydeligere og mer levende. Vi får også et gripende inntrykk av uroen og snevet av anarki som etterfulgte krigen mot slutten av 40-tallet.

[Andie Samar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Se me hizo un libro bastante meh. A pesar de tener una buena premisa con una historia interesante, los personajes simplemente no me atraparon lo suficiente para meterme por completo en la historia.
Entretenida y de fácil lectura pero nada en especial, no tengo mucho que decir acerca de este libro (en el final casi la salva y llega al 3, pero no lo logró).

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about John Dickson Carr on the She Dunnit podcast. Shortly after I was at an estate sale and saw the book.
It was quite an entertaining read.
At another estate sale I found other books by him, and by other authors mentioned on She Dunnit.
I have a fun summer and fall ahead reading books from the golden age of detective fiction.

[Jan Sørensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet again a golden classic by Carr. In one and same book a wonderful mixture of horror, crazy comedy and a mystery -and a little witchcraft too set in post-WW2 London. Patrick Butler takes a lead here too!

[Nat · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "it was satanists" reveal is among the silliest Carr has ever used, and Butler is possibly the most annoying character from any of these books. I was greatly disappointed that he survives until the end.

[Theda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of Carr's Gideon Fell books. I couldn't figure out if Butler was sardonic or narcissistic. Either way, his character was an unwelcome addition to this series.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

Er han hekta på hekser eller....... owned

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read a pulp set in 1940s London for a change. With Satanic/witch cults. Who wanted to murder people. Totally ridiculous but still fun.

[Victoria & David Williams]

We have the 1976 Award edition.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Gidein Fell whodunit and he assits in the discovery of the killer. Always a joy to read Carr. He puts Patrick Butler in his place.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick Butler is insufferable and much of the book is overdone. Full review at https://murderatthemanse.substack.com...

[Nancy Butts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #18 in the Gideon Fell series, and one of my least favorites. This book introduces a new character, the Irish barrister Patrick Butler, who was apparently intended to be a regular. I didn’t like Butler at all: I thought he was an absolute idiot! Perhaps he was meant to be a figure of either humor or irony, a kind of anti-hero, but I didn’t warm to him at all. He was so convinced of his own intelligence and perception, and he was so wrong! I can’t say more than that without giving away the plot, but I also felt that was a weakness of the book: it seemed ridiculous. And we don’t see anywhere near enough of my favorite, Gideon Fell.

I will say that the murder was carried out in a neatly inventive way, so that was good. But I doubt this is a book I will want to re-read, as I do so many of the other Fell mysteries.

[Maria Sviridova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Показалось немного затянутым, и раздражает ужасно этот самый самоуверенный адвокат Патрик Батлер, как раз своей идиотской самоуверенностью и излишней романтичностью. Ну и история какая-то очень уж закрученная, отдаленная от реальности. Итог таков: все эти отправления (которых было даже больше двух) связаны с сатанинским культом. Сатанисты, помимо регулярных сборов в собственной часовенке и отправлении черных месс еще и занимались отравлениями неугодных родственников прихожан (по просьбе, собственно, прихожан). Они организовывали приобретение ядов, которое затрудняло определение отравителя, так что убийства оставались нераскрытыми. И все бы ничего, но одна из прихожанок, будучи любовницей главного священника, очень расстроилась, что он ее бросил, и задумала отомстить ему, а заодно стать главной в этой своей церкви. Она задолго до событий подмешала ему в воду яд, кувшин стоял себе у него на ночном столике, никого не трогал, пока он не выпил его как-то перед сном. Но это была вторая смерть, в которой обвинили его жену. А первая произошла совершенно случайно, но умерла правая рука этого главы, а по совместительству хозяйка дамочки, которую обвинили в этом убийстве, хотя повинна она была во втором. Ну и еще в парочке других, - кровожадная мадам. В общем, ее раскрыли, обвинили, культ разрушен - все молодцы.

[Paul Hasbrouck · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this mystery the reader travels back in time, to London 1947. Two years after the WII, Britain is still recovering, power cuts darken the streets and buildings, London's fogs still plague the people, and a murderer has stuck.
Patrick Butler, a famous defense lawyer, faces a case of poisoning, two beautiful women and two impossible crimes! With the help of the great Dr. Gideon Fall, Dennis will confront a evil that is hiding in the darkness of the great city.
John Dickson Carr is my favorite mystery writer, a master of the locked room murder plot and creating a atmosphere of chills and dread. With Carr the reader returns to days of the puzzle mystery, were the reader pits himself against the detective to solve the case.
Sadly most of Carr's works are out of print, so reader must go on the hunt! Search your local libraries, paperback bookstores and when you a copy of any of his works, clap it to your breast with a silent shout of joy!

[Anu Korpinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saatananpalvontaa pula-ajan Lontoossa, nyrkkitappeluita ja myrkytysmurhia? Epäilysten ulkopuolella (Below Suspicion) on selkeä poikkeus Gideon Fell kirjojen joukossa, hienostuneesta suljetun huoneen mysteeristä on ajauduttu selkeästi pulp-kirjallisuuden puolelle. Mustat kynttilät palavat saatanan messussa ja sankaria jahtaavalla roistolla on kultahampaat.

Toiminnallisempana ja shokeeravampana tämäkään kirja ei ole silti ole huono, vaikka päähenkilönä seikkaileekin Carrin kolmas salapoliisi, vain kahdessa kirjassa esiintynyt asianajaja Patrick Butler, ja Fell jää lähinnä taustahenkilön asemaan. Pelottavaa ja ahdistavaa tunnelmaa ei kaikista huumehuuruista huolimatta saada aikaan. Esimerkiksi Vääntynyt sarana on mielestäni paljon jännittävämpi ja koukuttavampi kirja, joka saa kauhunväreet selkäpiihin joka kerta.

Nopeaa kesälukemista. Noin kaksi ja puoli tähteä.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because of a clue in the NYT crossword: English mystery writer who used the "locked" room plot. In other words, a body is found but in a room locked from the inside and apparently unaccessible. The writer was John Dickson Carr, who I had heard of but never before read so decided to try one. I liked the writing, the plot, and the veddy veddy British ambience, England immediately post WWII. These are fun and if you like Christie and Sayers, think you will like Carr.

[Lee Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good. It doesn't really play fair but more than makes up for it. The allure of a satanist death cult in the midst of post-war rationing was sharp and effective. Patrick Butler returns as the protagonist. The subplot of Goldteeth and sportsmanship was a quaint touch. The idea of it centers the story in a certain cultural moment. It's certainly not the UK today.

[Steve Banes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another decent JD Carr nail biter, the cover bills it as a Gideon Fell mystery but the doc takes a serious backseat instead to brilliant pompous ass lawyer Patrick Butler as he steamrolls his way through brutal henchmen, the dark arts, and women like butter. Definitely could've benefited with more scenes of devil worshipin' and murder, but overall a solid read and a very funny twist ending too!

[Dave D'aguanno · Rating 3 out of 5]

Patrick Butler I found to be a great character, and I wish that he appeared in more of this author's novels (the only other one he's in is "Patrick Butler for the Defense" -- as far as I know). This one started out quite well, but I began to lose interest when the devil-worshipping business got introduced into the plot. Other readers may certainly feel differently, of course.