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The Great Merlini
The Great Merlini: The Complete Stories of the Magician Detective
Stories from the Edgar Award–winning author of the famous locked-room mystery, Death of a Top Hat, “a cornerstone of detective fiction” (The New York Times). The Great Merlini waits impatiently at the door of the Hotel Astor. Inspector Church is late for his meeting with the famed magician, with whom he consults when homicide cases venture outside the realm of the possible. A ventriloquist has attempted suicide in the wake of his wife’s mysterious strangulation. Among the suspects are a snake charmer, a nine-foot giant, a tattooed man, and a gaggle of crap players—and this is one of Merlini’s simple cases. He will pick out the killer, with no more effort than he might a rabbit in a top hat. In these twelve short stories, all originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, cofounder of Mystery Writers of America and Special Edgar Award winner Clayton Rawson’s greatest detective confronts puzzles that would leave a lesser magician’s head spinning. From vanishing blackmailers to murderous mediums, no cosmic crime can baffle the Great Merlini.
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1979
About the author
Clayton Rawson
42 books16 followersAka Stuart Towne.
Clayton Rawson (1906 - 1971) was an American mystery writer, editor, and amateur magician. His four novels frequently invoke his great knowledge of stage magic and feature as their fictional detective The Great Merlini, a professional magician who runs a shop selling magic supplies. He also wrote four short stories in 1940 about a stage magician named Don Diavolo, who appears as a principal character in one of the novels featuring The Great Merlini. "Don Diavolo is a magician who perfects his tricks in a Greenwich Village basement where he is frequently visited by the harried Inspector Church of Homicide, either to arrest the Don for an impossible crime or to ask him to solve it.
Clayton Rawson (1906 - 1971) was an American mystery writer, editor, and amateur magician. His four novels frequently invoke his great knowledge of stage magic and feature as their fictional detective The Great Merlini, a professional magician who runs a shop selling magic supplies. He also wrote four short stories in 1940 about a stage magician named Don Diavolo, who appears as a principal character in one of the novels featuring The Great Merlini. "Don Diavolo is a magician who perfects his tricks in a Greenwich Village basement where he is frequently visited by the harried Inspector Church of Homicide, either to arrest the Don for an impossible crime or to ask him to solve it.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
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June 4, 2019Collection of stories about a magician detective solving impossible crimes. Ingenious enough, with endless varioations on locked rooms, though you wouldn't want to read them in a sitting.
August 31, 2019
A somewhat mixed bag, but contains three classic mystery tales
April 3, 2015
One of my favorite mystery writers, who unfortunately didn't write enough. Clayton Rawson was both an author and a very talented amateur magician. His detective, the Great Merlini, solved puzzles using the skills he applied to his magic shows and in creating magic tricks for other people. There is a great deal of light humor in his tales, and you get the impression that Merlini takes most of very lightly.
Clayton Rawson shared his detective's mischievous sense of homor. He sent a telegram for his assistant that stated, "THERE IS A BOA CONSTRICTOR IN YOUR BOTTOM DRAWER AND A NEST OF MADAGASCAR SPIDERS IN CONNIE’S DRAWERS. STOP. DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS."
The stories are listed below:
1. "The Clue of the Tattooed Man" - Merlini investigates the murder of the snake handler.
2. "The Clue of the Broken Legs" - a theatrical producer is shot.
3. "The Clue of the Missing Motive" - a man is shot - did the killer get the wrong guy?
4. "From Another World" - "A man is killed in a supposedly sealed wrong - the only person present is an unconscious medium.
5. "Off the Face of the Earth" - "A chorus girl vanishes into the night after being told by a psychic that is exactly what would happen; weeks later, a judge also vanishes after being warned by the psychic; this time, though, there were also two cops watching the judge, and they can attest he never left the phone booth!
6. "Merlini and the Lie Detector" - two suspects, Don Sutton and Helen Lowe, are found with a dead boy; both blame the crime on the other person; it is up to Merlini to find out who's telling the truth.
7. "Merlini and the Vanished Diamonds" - a thief and cardsharp finds a very clever hiding place for stolen diamonds.
8. "Merlini and the Sound Effects Murder" - a well thought out murdered involving audio recordings, which don't fool Merlini long.
9. "Nothing is Impossible" - a man named North wants to spend all his money hunting UFOs, but someone else has a different idea - North is found dead and the only other person in his office is his son-in-law, who is unconscious - and nude. All his clothes have been turned wrong side out.
10. "Miracles - All in the Day's Work" - A very smart murder committed by the last person you would think of committing it; a wanted criminal walks into an office and never comes out. When the door is opened, all that is there is the dead executive who owned the house. The killer is long gone, but how?
This is also the source of funny quotes:
"Ten minutes later Doran and Merlini entered the sixty-fourth floor offices of the Hi-Fly Rod & Reel Company. The reception room was like a thousand others except that its decor was extremely fishy. On one wall hung a stuffed, mounted, five-foot marlin. This somewhat incredible specimen of the taxidermist’s art seemed to have just leaped from the briny deep and now, back arched, mouth open hungrily, and with a mean look in its glassy eyes, was diving with murderous intent down at Gavigan who stood just below. Gavigan’s eyes also had a glassy look."
"When Courtney’s phone rang, she had just started on her nonstop movie synopsis. She had her phone in her left hand and was still waving her right hand to dry the nail polish. After the second ring she swiveled around in her chair looking toward Courtney’s door as if wondering why he didn’t answer. Her elbow knocked the bottle of nail polish off onto the floor, and she was picking that up when the phone rang again and then cut off as Courtney answered. Then, still talking, she put her polishing equipment away in a desk drawer that contains a wide assortment of bottled beauty preparations, face powder, facial tissues, bobby pins, lipstick, and a couple of paper clips that must have got there by mistake. Does that answer your question?”
11. "Merlini and the Photographic Clues" - The use of photos and some sleight of hand solve the case.
12. "The World's Smallest Locked Room" - There is no murder this time around, just someone trying to teach an arrogant, obnoxious, two-time producer a lesson he'll never forget.
These stories are great, but the books - No Coffin for the Corpse, The Footprints on the Ceiling, The Headless Lady, and Death from a Top Hat are even better. Personally, I always see William Powell as Merlini. If you've ever watched the "Thin Man" movies, you'll who know that is.
Clayton Rawson shared his detective's mischievous sense of homor. He sent a telegram for his assistant that stated, "THERE IS A BOA CONSTRICTOR IN YOUR BOTTOM DRAWER AND A NEST OF MADAGASCAR SPIDERS IN CONNIE’S DRAWERS. STOP. DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS."
The stories are listed below:
1. "The Clue of the Tattooed Man" - Merlini investigates the murder of the snake handler.
2. "The Clue of the Broken Legs" - a theatrical producer is shot.
3. "The Clue of the Missing Motive" - a man is shot - did the killer get the wrong guy?
4. "From Another World" - "A man is killed in a supposedly sealed wrong - the only person present is an unconscious medium.
5. "Off the Face of the Earth" - "A chorus girl vanishes into the night after being told by a psychic that is exactly what would happen; weeks later, a judge also vanishes after being warned by the psychic; this time, though, there were also two cops watching the judge, and they can attest he never left the phone booth!
6. "Merlini and the Lie Detector" - two suspects, Don Sutton and Helen Lowe, are found with a dead boy; both blame the crime on the other person; it is up to Merlini to find out who's telling the truth.
7. "Merlini and the Vanished Diamonds" - a thief and cardsharp finds a very clever hiding place for stolen diamonds.
8. "Merlini and the Sound Effects Murder" - a well thought out murdered involving audio recordings, which don't fool Merlini long.
9. "Nothing is Impossible" - a man named North wants to spend all his money hunting UFOs, but someone else has a different idea - North is found dead and the only other person in his office is his son-in-law, who is unconscious - and nude. All his clothes have been turned wrong side out.
10. "Miracles - All in the Day's Work" - A very smart murder committed by the last person you would think of committing it; a wanted criminal walks into an office and never comes out. When the door is opened, all that is there is the dead executive who owned the house. The killer is long gone, but how?
This is also the source of funny quotes:
"Ten minutes later Doran and Merlini entered the sixty-fourth floor offices of the Hi-Fly Rod & Reel Company. The reception room was like a thousand others except that its decor was extremely fishy. On one wall hung a stuffed, mounted, five-foot marlin. This somewhat incredible specimen of the taxidermist’s art seemed to have just leaped from the briny deep and now, back arched, mouth open hungrily, and with a mean look in its glassy eyes, was diving with murderous intent down at Gavigan who stood just below. Gavigan’s eyes also had a glassy look."
"When Courtney’s phone rang, she had just started on her nonstop movie synopsis. She had her phone in her left hand and was still waving her right hand to dry the nail polish. After the second ring she swiveled around in her chair looking toward Courtney’s door as if wondering why he didn’t answer. Her elbow knocked the bottle of nail polish off onto the floor, and she was picking that up when the phone rang again and then cut off as Courtney answered. Then, still talking, she put her polishing equipment away in a desk drawer that contains a wide assortment of bottled beauty preparations, face powder, facial tissues, bobby pins, lipstick, and a couple of paper clips that must have got there by mistake. Does that answer your question?”
11. "Merlini and the Photographic Clues" - The use of photos and some sleight of hand solve the case.
12. "The World's Smallest Locked Room" - There is no murder this time around, just someone trying to teach an arrogant, obnoxious, two-time producer a lesson he'll never forget.
These stories are great, but the books - No Coffin for the Corpse, The Footprints on the Ceiling, The Headless Lady, and Death from a Top Hat are even better. Personally, I always see William Powell as Merlini. If you've ever watched the "Thin Man" movies, you'll who know that is.
June 7, 2017
What a fun group of shorts (12 of them) featuring the Great Merlini, helping Insp. Gavigan solve crimes in NYC. First off the Great Merlini is featured in four full length books, these shorts were first printed in the Ellery Queen Magazine (which Rawson was also the main editor of for a time.) Merlini a circus man, magician and magic shop owner gets pulled into help solve a number of murders sometimes just by paying close attention to the details. These are all "fair play" mysteries so pay close attention and see if you can figure them out yourself before getting the reveal at the end.
Quite fun to read, showing how the misdirection and slight of hand can easily cover up a murder. A couple stories are very very short, and yet he can still bamboozle you if you don't pay attention to every detail! Fun.
Quite fun to read, showing how the misdirection and slight of hand can easily cover up a murder. A couple stories are very very short, and yet he can still bamboozle you if you don't pay attention to every detail! Fun.
January 16, 2024
The Great Merlini is a little-known detective who is primarily a magician. The kind who can not only produce silver coins out of thin air but even make an elephant disappear. I like that he talks about how so much of conjuring tricks is psychological manipulation, not just sleight of hand (although that's vital too). All of them are fair play puzzles in that it is reasonably possible to make a guess about whodunit from the descriptions. My favourites are:
* From another world
* Off the face of the earth
* Broken legs
* Lie detector
* Miracles
If you like impossible crimes and locked room mysteries that encourage you to stretch your imagination to the limits of plausibility, you'll enjoy this book.
* From another world
* Off the face of the earth
* Broken legs
* Lie detector
* Miracles
If you like impossible crimes and locked room mysteries that encourage you to stretch your imagination to the limits of plausibility, you'll enjoy this book.
July 12, 2020
Some very cool and original mysteries with a fun and smart protagonist, Merlini, and a quick viewpoint character, Ross Harte. This edition also has a great foreword.
October 18, 2022
Magic and Murder
Happy to find this author & his mysterious murders. Good plots, interesting characters & clever settings! Magic element very interesting!
Happy to find this author & his mysterious murders. Good plots, interesting characters & clever settings! Magic element very interesting!
April 10, 2014
Twelve fascinating short stories about a magician detective, The Great Merlini, published from 1946-1971 in the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Using his logical mind and knowledge of magic and mis-direction, he helps the police solve crimes.
Most readers today have probably not heard of Clayton Rawson, a magician, writer and editor. He wrote four locked-room mystery novels published in the 1930s and 1940s about The Great Merlini. He was the editor of several mystery magazines, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
For mystery aficionados, these stories should be a wonderful change of pace. They are easy to read and very interesting. I first read one or two novels and a couple of short stories about Merlini in the early 1950s. Recently, I discovered this collection of all the short stories. I loved the ones I had read originally and loved this collection. Now, I need to see if I can acquire the four novels.
Most readers today have probably not heard of Clayton Rawson, a magician, writer and editor. He wrote four locked-room mystery novels published in the 1930s and 1940s about The Great Merlini. He was the editor of several mystery magazines, including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.
For mystery aficionados, these stories should be a wonderful change of pace. They are easy to read and very interesting. I first read one or two novels and a couple of short stories about Merlini in the early 1950s. Recently, I discovered this collection of all the short stories. I loved the ones I had read originally and loved this collection. Now, I need to see if I can acquire the four novels.
June 15, 2017
The Clue of the Tattooed Man--2
The Clue of the Broken Legs--3
The Clue of the Missing Motive--2
From Another World--3
Off the Face of the Earth--3
Merlini and the Lie Detector--2
Merlini and the Vanished Diamonds--2
Merlini and the Sound Effects Murder--3
Nothing is Impossible--3
Miracles: All in the Day's Work--3
Merlini and the Photographic Clues--2
The World's Smallest Locked Room--2
The Clue of the Broken Legs--3
The Clue of the Missing Motive--2
From Another World--3
Off the Face of the Earth--3
Merlini and the Lie Detector--2
Merlini and the Vanished Diamonds--2
Merlini and the Sound Effects Murder--3
Nothing is Impossible--3
Miracles: All in the Day's Work--3
Merlini and the Photographic Clues--2
The World's Smallest Locked Room--2
January 25, 2014
Rawson isn't a great writer, but his locked room ideas are the match of John Dickson Carr's. Most of these stories are just serviceable, but "Off the Face of the Earth" and "From Another World" are terrific.
March 30, 2016
A mixed bag of 12 short stories of varying quality.2 of the stories are fantastic(From another World,Off The Face Of The Earth),whilst the other 10 are just about passable.So worth picking up for those 2 tales alone tbh.
October 11, 2013
An excellent book for a collection of short stories, though despite the disclaimers at the beginning some of them certainly felt far too improbable for me.
November 27, 2014
A great set of stories about a magician who also helps solve crimes. Fairly clued and a fast read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews