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A Spector Locked-Room Mystery #3
Cabaret Macabre
This latest puzzle mystery from the author of Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel takes stage magician sleuth Joseph Spector to a grand estate in the English countryside.
Victor Silvius has spent nine years as an inmate at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for the crime of attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, the judge’s wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that Silvius is the one responsible for a series of threatening letters her husband has recently received. Eager to avoid the scandal that involving the local police would entail, Lady Elspeth seeks out retired stage magician Joseph Spector, whose discreet involvement in a case Sir Giles recently presided over greatly impressed her.
Meanwhile, Miss Caroline Silvius is disturbed after a recent visit to her brother Victor, convinced that he isn’t safe at The Grange. Someone is trying to kill him and she suspects the judge, who has already made Silvius’ life a living hell, may be behind it. Caroline hires Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard to investigate.
The two cases collide at Marchbanks, the Drury family seat of over four hundred years, where a series of unnerving events interrupt the peace and quiet of the snowy countryside. A body is discovered in the middle of a frozen pond without any means of getting there and a rifle is fired through a closed window, killing a man but not breaking the glass. Only Spector and his mastery of the art of misdirection can uncover the logical explanations for these impossible crimes.
An atmospheric and puzzling traditional mystery that pays homage to the greatest writers of the genre’s Golden Age, Cabaret Macabre is the third book in Tom Mead’s Joseph Spector series, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “a recipe for pure nostalgic pleasure.” The books can be enjoyed in any order.
Victor Silvius has spent nine years as an inmate at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for the crime of attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, the judge’s wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that Silvius is the one responsible for a series of threatening letters her husband has recently received. Eager to avoid the scandal that involving the local police would entail, Lady Elspeth seeks out retired stage magician Joseph Spector, whose discreet involvement in a case Sir Giles recently presided over greatly impressed her.
Meanwhile, Miss Caroline Silvius is disturbed after a recent visit to her brother Victor, convinced that he isn’t safe at The Grange. Someone is trying to kill him and she suspects the judge, who has already made Silvius’ life a living hell, may be behind it. Caroline hires Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard to investigate.
The two cases collide at Marchbanks, the Drury family seat of over four hundred years, where a series of unnerving events interrupt the peace and quiet of the snowy countryside. A body is discovered in the middle of a frozen pond without any means of getting there and a rifle is fired through a closed window, killing a man but not breaking the glass. Only Spector and his mastery of the art of misdirection can uncover the logical explanations for these impossible crimes.
An atmospheric and puzzling traditional mystery that pays homage to the greatest writers of the genre’s Golden Age, Cabaret Macabre is the third book in Tom Mead’s Joseph Spector series, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as “a recipe for pure nostalgic pleasure.” The books can be enjoyed in any order.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2024
83 people are currently reading
7993 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 174 reviews
August 17, 2024
Witty, wry, twisty and massive fun.
July 14, 2024
Another wonderfully intricate, superbly enjoyable mystery from Tom Mead. Spector and Flint are a delight to read and the mixture of puzzle and story is great. It’s the former that draws you in, but the characters are so well depicted that you get pulled into their messy lives as well. Great stuff.
July 5, 2024
If you enjoy Golden Age mysteries, you're in for a treat with Cabaret Macabre. This is the third volume in Tom Mead's Joseph Spector series. Spector is a retired magician who has become fast friends with Scotland Yard Detective Flint. When cases get twisted, Flint welcomes Spector's assistance, and between the two of them they accomplish more than they could on their own. Flint has the usual investigative skills and a good team; Spector sees analogies to the magician's craft in the confusion clever killers create.
Cabaret Macabre has a passel of mysteries at its heart: a likely killing ten years ago; a Judge used to pulling strings to protect himself and his family; a madman who has blamed that earlier killing on the Judge and attempted to murder him—and is now in a hospital for the criminally insane; the madman's sister, determined to prove his innocence; threats and a new attempt on the Judge's life; heirs vying against one another to gain the bulk of an inheritance; a blackmailer; and an increasing number of murders at the Judge's country house. I've probably left something out, but you get the picture. Mead has the whole riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma thing going on bigtime.
Cabaret Macabre is exactly the kind of mystery you'll want to take along on vacation, with its sudden twists, red herrings, and overlapping motivations. Give yourself the pleasure of reading it, whether you're celebrating some time off or just wishing you were.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
Cabaret Macabre has a passel of mysteries at its heart: a likely killing ten years ago; a Judge used to pulling strings to protect himself and his family; a madman who has blamed that earlier killing on the Judge and attempted to murder him—and is now in a hospital for the criminally insane; the madman's sister, determined to prove his innocence; threats and a new attempt on the Judge's life; heirs vying against one another to gain the bulk of an inheritance; a blackmailer; and an increasing number of murders at the Judge's country house. I've probably left something out, but you get the picture. Mead has the whole riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma thing going on bigtime.
Cabaret Macabre is exactly the kind of mystery you'll want to take along on vacation, with its sudden twists, red herrings, and overlapping motivations. Give yourself the pleasure of reading it, whether you're celebrating some time off or just wishing you were.
I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
May 22, 2024
This book was a miraculous balancing act. So many deaths, so many guilty parties (and I’m not talking only guilty of murder). Just an astounding piece of crime writing from a writer pushing himself to write a plot that is as complex as he can craft it, while also being fair and reasonable to his readers. I don’t want to give away any of this novel’s secrets, so I will just recommend going into it blindly. One doesn’t need to have read the two prior books in the series to enjoy this one, although those are just as masterful. The fourth Spector book can’t come soon enough.
Thank you to both Netgalley and Mysterious Press for the ARC of this upcoming release!
Thank you to both Netgalley and Mysterious Press for the ARC of this upcoming release!
August 6, 2024
Cabaret Macabre is the third book in the author’s series of ‘locked room’ mysteries featuring illusionist and private detective Joseph Spector. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the two previous books – Death and the Conjuror or The Murder Wheel – because Cabaret Macabre can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. Plus the good news is that although there are references to events in the earlier books, these are not spoilers so you could still go back and read them.
Marchbanks, the country home of Sir Giles Drury and his wife Lady Elspeth, makes the perfect location for a murder mystery. Set in large grounds, there’s a lake, a boathouse and a bedroom in which a previous (and unsolved) murder took place. There’s even a housekeeper who gave me Mrs Danvers (from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca) vibes. As Spector remarks, ‘It was a place of secrets… Secrets, and death’.
Perhaps the best way to give you an idea of the complexity of the plot is this quote from Inspector Flint who for much of the time is just as baffled as the reader. ‘The whole thing feels like a jigsaw with all the wrong pieces. They should fit, but they don’t.’ But don’t worry, although even Spector acknowledges the challenge, you just know he’ll be able to unravel all the threads to reveal the full picture… eventually. ‘A puzzle. An enigma. A conundrum. But never impossible, Flint. Nothing is impossible.’
When it comes to inventive – and, yes, macabre – ways for people to meet their end, Cabaret Macabre absolutely delivers with scenarios worthy of an Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers crime novel including, of course, the obligatory ‘locked room’ murder.
I’ll say it now, don’t even attempt to work out who did it, why they did it and how they did it because the effort will make your brain spin. Just sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for Spector to explain it all at the end. But give yourself a pat on the back if you spotted any of the clues (although helpfully the author does occasionally point you in their direction) but award yourself a ‘How clever am I?’ prize if you managed to work out their relevance. The barometer anyone?
Cabaret Macabre is another fiendishly intricate and skilfully plotted murder mystery that fans of Golden Age crime will absolutely love.
Marchbanks, the country home of Sir Giles Drury and his wife Lady Elspeth, makes the perfect location for a murder mystery. Set in large grounds, there’s a lake, a boathouse and a bedroom in which a previous (and unsolved) murder took place. There’s even a housekeeper who gave me Mrs Danvers (from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca) vibes. As Spector remarks, ‘It was a place of secrets… Secrets, and death’.
Perhaps the best way to give you an idea of the complexity of the plot is this quote from Inspector Flint who for much of the time is just as baffled as the reader. ‘The whole thing feels like a jigsaw with all the wrong pieces. They should fit, but they don’t.’ But don’t worry, although even Spector acknowledges the challenge, you just know he’ll be able to unravel all the threads to reveal the full picture… eventually. ‘A puzzle. An enigma. A conundrum. But never impossible, Flint. Nothing is impossible.’
When it comes to inventive – and, yes, macabre – ways for people to meet their end, Cabaret Macabre absolutely delivers with scenarios worthy of an Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers crime novel including, of course, the obligatory ‘locked room’ murder.
I’ll say it now, don’t even attempt to work out who did it, why they did it and how they did it because the effort will make your brain spin. Just sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for Spector to explain it all at the end. But give yourself a pat on the back if you spotted any of the clues (although helpfully the author does occasionally point you in their direction) but award yourself a ‘How clever am I?’ prize if you managed to work out their relevance. The barometer anyone?
Cabaret Macabre is another fiendishly intricate and skilfully plotted murder mystery that fans of Golden Age crime will absolutely love.
August 18, 2024
CABARET MACABRE by Tom Mead was a clever locked-room murder mystery that had me fully entertained!
A huge Thank You to @mysteriouspress @penzlerpub @w.w.norton for this advanced copy that was published on July 16th.
I am occasionally in a slump where I need a classic mystery story. Hot weather has made me grouchy toward characters that I may normally give grace to, and thus, when a book comes where many people die, I can rest in my dislike, knowing they will get their comeuppance.
A man is discovered killed in a canoe in the middle of a frozen lake with no evidence of him getting there. Not long after, another man is shot to death inside of his room...where everyone else is just outside or impossibly elsewhere. This is just the start of Spector's case in which his cohort Inspector Flint is investigating.
I don't even try to solve these kinds of puzzles. I love being taken on the journey, however, and found it quite lovely that the author put footnotes of the clues imbedded previous as the mysteries were solved. The "art of misdirection" is clearly used as Spector's illusionist background gives insight. This was a fun touch that felt both a stretch and highly entertaining!
I've found a new slump-buster author to add to my Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz.
A huge Thank You to @mysteriouspress @penzlerpub @w.w.norton for this advanced copy that was published on July 16th.
I am occasionally in a slump where I need a classic mystery story. Hot weather has made me grouchy toward characters that I may normally give grace to, and thus, when a book comes where many people die, I can rest in my dislike, knowing they will get their comeuppance.
A man is discovered killed in a canoe in the middle of a frozen lake with no evidence of him getting there. Not long after, another man is shot to death inside of his room...where everyone else is just outside or impossibly elsewhere. This is just the start of Spector's case in which his cohort Inspector Flint is investigating.
I don't even try to solve these kinds of puzzles. I love being taken on the journey, however, and found it quite lovely that the author put footnotes of the clues imbedded previous as the mysteries were solved. The "art of misdirection" is clearly used as Spector's illusionist background gives insight. This was a fun touch that felt both a stretch and highly entertaining!
I've found a new slump-buster author to add to my Agatha Christie and Anthony Horowitz.
August 2, 2024
I feel like this series has hit full stride in this book. You get to see Spector and Flint working together to solve a case through the entire book. Somethings Flint can find out and others Spector notices (always looking for the trick of misdirection) the details as well as his vast knowledge of the world he lives in. But in the end, Spector know so so much more than he lets on to Flint or to one person beyond himself. He’s a locked closet of secrets and that makes him wonderful to watch.
The body count is high in this story, and the absolute devilish events make it an absorbing who what why read? Read this through in 2 days. You begin the story with a conundrum and them another and another; and yes, they do all sync up in the end. Is justice served? Hm. You’ll have to read and decide on your own. However, the problem starts far back in time - and ends in so much misery gives you a glimpse of the butterfly effect in a mystery setting. I feel good that I guessed one thing right about a person in the story.
The body count is high in this story, and the absolute devilish events make it an absorbing who what why read? Read this through in 2 days. You begin the story with a conundrum and them another and another; and yes, they do all sync up in the end. Is justice served? Hm. You’ll have to read and decide on your own. However, the problem starts far back in time - and ends in so much misery gives you a glimpse of the butterfly effect in a mystery setting. I feel good that I guessed one thing right about a person in the story.
November 20, 2024
Actual Rating: 4.25
Once again, this series is such a smooth-reading experience! While the puzzle(s) at hand is complex, Mead's writing is impressively accessible. For the ultimate experience, I highly recommend you start where the magic begins: Death and the Conjuror. This series is perfect for those who enjoy locked room mysteries/impossible crimes, and the golden age detective fiction style (think Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, etc).
How did I read this book? In one sitting!
I was able to finish the book in one day during a reading-sprint event hosted by Krystal @bon_bookreviews on YouTube. She, Danni @danni.dabbles, and I had a blast returning to the world of Joseph Spector, and we already look forward to book 4!
Thank you Tom Mead and Mysterious Press for a free ARC in exchange for this honest review. Since then, I have acquired one of the gorgeous hardbacks to add to my growing Joseph Spector collection!!
Once again, this series is such a smooth-reading experience! While the puzzle(s) at hand is complex, Mead's writing is impressively accessible. For the ultimate experience, I highly recommend you start where the magic begins: Death and the Conjuror. This series is perfect for those who enjoy locked room mysteries/impossible crimes, and the golden age detective fiction style (think Agatha Christie, John Dickson Carr, Ellery Queen, etc).
How did I read this book? In one sitting!
I was able to finish the book in one day during a reading-sprint event hosted by Krystal @bon_bookreviews on YouTube. She, Danni @danni.dabbles, and I had a blast returning to the world of Joseph Spector, and we already look forward to book 4!
Thank you Tom Mead and Mysterious Press for a free ARC in exchange for this honest review. Since then, I have acquired one of the gorgeous hardbacks to add to my growing Joseph Spector collection!!
January 29, 2025
Great puzzle, after the Golden Age masters, with all the facts provided, even though the criminal methodology was so complicated that it is unlikely the reader would be able to figure it out, even if spotting the clues as they arise.
July 25, 2025
3,5/5
Asi to bol prepracovanejší prípad než tie predchádzajúce, ale z nejakého dôvodu ma bavil menej. A tiež mi prišlo, že je tam toho až zbytočne moc.
Asi to bol prepracovanejší prípad než tie predchádzajúce, ale z nejakého dôvodu ma bavil menej. A tiež mi prišlo, že je tam toho až zbytočne moc.
August 23, 2025
This is a delightful series with intricate plot lines and quirky characters…just so much fun to read!
August 13, 2024
Two reluctant stars for this pretentious book trying so hard to be more than it is. I am not a fan of 'locked room" mysteries even when written by the best of hands, which this decidedly is not. All of them tend to rely too heavily on split-second timing as well as ingenious, and frankly, outlandish, means. I doubt that in the history of real murder, there are even a handful of such artfully constructed killings, let alone the orgy of death we are subjected to here! But, okay, it's pure fiction, I get that. It's supposed to present a cerebral exercise, NOT a blueprint for actual murders.
To continue: I was willing to forego realism in the interest of amusement, only to come up against the most farcical vocabulary I have ever read in a legitimately published book! Once I began noting all the incorrect word usages, it got to be my main motivation for reading, to see what the next glaring misuse would be. To give but a few of the more outrageous examples: windows described as having "peccadillos" meaning moral indiscretions rather than the straightforward "flaws in the window frame." Then we were given "humanoid tableaux" actual meaning: a set piece showcasing human-like creatures, rather than genuine humans being displayed in a gruesome way! And "ennui" a French word meaning "boredom," only it was implied in the book to mean "frustration!" More of the same can be found on every page. It became very tedious to slog through the author's vain showing off when the esoteric words he inserted do not fit the story. I feel this effort to display his erudition backfired by just proving what a lazy writer he is! (He's either too lazy to choose the correct term, OR he's too dumb to know any better. Take your pick.)
There are plenty of other problems too. There are internal errors, such as the location of the north and south lawns and the question of what can be seen out of them by whom...a lot hinges on such details, yet they are frequently wrong. Then there is the weather aspect. We are told repeatedly that there is a heavy snowstorm happening, only to have it conveniently fluctuate between wild and mild, depending on if the characters wish to take an hour-long stroll through the foot of snow that hasn't been cleared, in the pitch dark, with Judge and Lady Drury stepping out in a shawl and dinner jacket! Sometimes the snow is fresh, allowing for footprints to be seen, only to be suddenly too icy for a foothold.
And finally, there is nothing that evokes the era of the 1930's, other than the makes of the cars and the lack of modern technology.
I had to laugh at the "clues" so coyly presented in the last part of the book! They were not helpful at all in deducing who the murderer was. I clocked nearly all of them and while I came up with one or two of the true killer's threads, those were NOT the main giveaways! I will admit that the convoluted solution was beyond my musings and there were definitely parts to it that I didn't foresee, and even after the explanation was given in gloating detail, I still had a hard time accepting the conclusion and would have much preferred a more believable ending.
To continue: I was willing to forego realism in the interest of amusement, only to come up against the most farcical vocabulary I have ever read in a legitimately published book! Once I began noting all the incorrect word usages, it got to be my main motivation for reading, to see what the next glaring misuse would be. To give but a few of the more outrageous examples: windows described as having "peccadillos" meaning moral indiscretions rather than the straightforward "flaws in the window frame." Then we were given "humanoid tableaux" actual meaning: a set piece showcasing human-like creatures, rather than genuine humans being displayed in a gruesome way! And "ennui" a French word meaning "boredom," only it was implied in the book to mean "frustration!" More of the same can be found on every page. It became very tedious to slog through the author's vain showing off when the esoteric words he inserted do not fit the story. I feel this effort to display his erudition backfired by just proving what a lazy writer he is! (He's either too lazy to choose the correct term, OR he's too dumb to know any better. Take your pick.)
There are plenty of other problems too. There are internal errors, such as the location of the north and south lawns and the question of what can be seen out of them by whom...a lot hinges on such details, yet they are frequently wrong. Then there is the weather aspect. We are told repeatedly that there is a heavy snowstorm happening, only to have it conveniently fluctuate between wild and mild, depending on if the characters wish to take an hour-long stroll through the foot of snow that hasn't been cleared, in the pitch dark, with Judge and Lady Drury stepping out in a shawl and dinner jacket! Sometimes the snow is fresh, allowing for footprints to be seen, only to be suddenly too icy for a foothold.
And finally, there is nothing that evokes the era of the 1930's, other than the makes of the cars and the lack of modern technology.
I had to laugh at the "clues" so coyly presented in the last part of the book! They were not helpful at all in deducing who the murderer was. I clocked nearly all of them and while I came up with one or two of the true killer's threads, those were NOT the main giveaways! I will admit that the convoluted solution was beyond my musings and there were definitely parts to it that I didn't foresee, and even after the explanation was given in gloating detail, I still had a hard time accepting the conclusion and would have much preferred a more believable ending.
April 16, 2024
This was an excellent historical mystery. Cabaret Macabre had a compelling by plot full of mystery. This book was beautifully written and the author’s writing style made this a very atmospheric read. This mystery had me completely intrigued and had me questioning everything. Mystery lovers are sure to love this historical read.
Thank you to Tom Mead and Mysterious Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
Thank you to Tom Mead and Mysterious Press for sending me an advanced copy of this book for an honest review.
August 19, 2024
unreal ending
Halfway through the book, the story went totally unreal. The ending was definitely not believable or rationl in any way. Waste of my time
Halfway through the book, the story went totally unreal. The ending was definitely not believable or rationl in any way. Waste of my time
August 3, 2024
It begins with a body in a steamer trunk. A body whose face was so badly mutilated that it will be difficult to make identification. Especially as the time is 1938 and the place is London and forensic science is merely science fiction that will not be around to assist in the detection of corpses for many decades.
Thus opens CABERET MACABRE, the third novel in the Joseph Spector series. It also continues to grow author Tom Mead’s reputation as the modern-day master of the locked room mystery. This story has not just one but two murders that can qualify as ‘locked room’ in their conception and fans of murder mysteries will be squealing in glee with this brilliantly conceived novel.
Inspector George Flint is on the case and he frequently calls on retired magician/conjurer Joseph Spector to lend his particular expertise in cases that are not easy to explain away. The pairing of Flint and Spector would have occurred anyway in this story as they are each separately sought out by individuals that are involved in the same investigation that will eventually tie to the mystery man in the steamer trunk as well.
First off, a young woman named Caroline Silvius urges Inspector Flint to investigate allegations that her brother Victor, currently confined to a psychiatric hospital for attacking a Judge, is being victimized there. At the same time, Spector is approached by Lady Elspeth, wife of that very same judge Sir Giles Drury, as she fears his life is in danger based upon a number of cryptic and threatening notes that have been sent to their home. Lady Elspeth believes the person behind these notes is none other than Caroline Silvius’ brother Victor, who holds the Judge responsible for the death of his fiancée while in his employ. He believed she was coaxed into an affair with Sir Giles and then was poisoned whilst staying at the Drury family vacation estate.
Both Flint and Spector will converge on this very estate, known as Marchbanks, especially once a body turns up there. There is a list of Dramatis Personae provided by Mead at the start of the tale which is very helpful. It lists out all of the players in this wonderful mystery as well as their relationship to each other. This comes in handy when the first body to turn up is that of Sylvester Monkton, the illegitimate sone of Sir Giles and also someone rumored to have been having an affair with his wife, Lady Elspeth. To make it particularly confounding, the body was found inside a small boat that was launched from the dock at the small lake in front of Marchbanks and then caught frozen in suspension mid-lake due to the overnight snow and ice storm. How did it get there without anyone leaving behind footprints?
As Flint and Spector begin to query of this dilemma, a second murder takes place at Marchbanks --- this one truly of the locked room sort. Jeffrey Flack, Lady Elspeth’s son from a previous marriage, had a bad reputation as someone who got in trouble playing around with girls who were yet of the age of consent. There were many out there who might want him dead, including the husband of a woman named Ida Cosgrove who allegedly killed herself after being spurned by Flack. He is literally blown away by a high-powered shotgun that blew him through the locked door to his room and into the hallway amongst the doors shattered remains.
A figure dressed all in black was seen running from Marchbank shortly thereafter. However, no one was seen entering or exiting Flack’s room while he was in it and the window to his room was warped and could not be opened. We now have another mysterious murder that plays right into Spector’s strengths with sleight of hand as not one, but two confounding murders will drive he and Flint to all possibilities and a delightful denouement.
There is a great cast of characters and potential suspects --- see the Dramatis Personae --- to choose from as well as the truth to be discovered in the murder of Victor Silvius’s fiancée allegedly at the hands of Sir Giles. Nothing and no one are what they seem in CABARET MACABRE and this simply ups the ante for Tom Mead who merely sits back and composes a murder mystery that is beyond clever and will make you think about all you have read long after the mystery is solved.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
Thus opens CABERET MACABRE, the third novel in the Joseph Spector series. It also continues to grow author Tom Mead’s reputation as the modern-day master of the locked room mystery. This story has not just one but two murders that can qualify as ‘locked room’ in their conception and fans of murder mysteries will be squealing in glee with this brilliantly conceived novel.
Inspector George Flint is on the case and he frequently calls on retired magician/conjurer Joseph Spector to lend his particular expertise in cases that are not easy to explain away. The pairing of Flint and Spector would have occurred anyway in this story as they are each separately sought out by individuals that are involved in the same investigation that will eventually tie to the mystery man in the steamer trunk as well.
First off, a young woman named Caroline Silvius urges Inspector Flint to investigate allegations that her brother Victor, currently confined to a psychiatric hospital for attacking a Judge, is being victimized there. At the same time, Spector is approached by Lady Elspeth, wife of that very same judge Sir Giles Drury, as she fears his life is in danger based upon a number of cryptic and threatening notes that have been sent to their home. Lady Elspeth believes the person behind these notes is none other than Caroline Silvius’ brother Victor, who holds the Judge responsible for the death of his fiancée while in his employ. He believed she was coaxed into an affair with Sir Giles and then was poisoned whilst staying at the Drury family vacation estate.
Both Flint and Spector will converge on this very estate, known as Marchbanks, especially once a body turns up there. There is a list of Dramatis Personae provided by Mead at the start of the tale which is very helpful. It lists out all of the players in this wonderful mystery as well as their relationship to each other. This comes in handy when the first body to turn up is that of Sylvester Monkton, the illegitimate sone of Sir Giles and also someone rumored to have been having an affair with his wife, Lady Elspeth. To make it particularly confounding, the body was found inside a small boat that was launched from the dock at the small lake in front of Marchbanks and then caught frozen in suspension mid-lake due to the overnight snow and ice storm. How did it get there without anyone leaving behind footprints?
As Flint and Spector begin to query of this dilemma, a second murder takes place at Marchbanks --- this one truly of the locked room sort. Jeffrey Flack, Lady Elspeth’s son from a previous marriage, had a bad reputation as someone who got in trouble playing around with girls who were yet of the age of consent. There were many out there who might want him dead, including the husband of a woman named Ida Cosgrove who allegedly killed herself after being spurned by Flack. He is literally blown away by a high-powered shotgun that blew him through the locked door to his room and into the hallway amongst the doors shattered remains.
A figure dressed all in black was seen running from Marchbank shortly thereafter. However, no one was seen entering or exiting Flack’s room while he was in it and the window to his room was warped and could not be opened. We now have another mysterious murder that plays right into Spector’s strengths with sleight of hand as not one, but two confounding murders will drive he and Flint to all possibilities and a delightful denouement.
There is a great cast of characters and potential suspects --- see the Dramatis Personae --- to choose from as well as the truth to be discovered in the murder of Victor Silvius’s fiancée allegedly at the hands of Sir Giles. Nothing and no one are what they seem in CABARET MACABRE and this simply ups the ante for Tom Mead who merely sits back and composes a murder mystery that is beyond clever and will make you think about all you have read long after the mystery is solved.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
July 31, 2024
"Closing the doors again, Spector looked up at the exterior of Marchbanks. It was a place of secrets, he thought. Secrets and death."
Clever, twisty and addictive, Cabaret Macabre sees the return of sleuth and illusionist Joseph Spector in his most intricate mystery to date.
Hampshire, 1938. Spector is asked to investigate after Sir Giles Drury, a prominent judge, begins receiving sinister letters that his wife thinks are being sent by Victor Silvius, a man who was sent to a sanatorium after attacking Sir Giles nine years ago. Meanwhile, Victor’s sister, Caroline, fears for her brother’s safety and is convinced that Sir Giles is plotting to kill Victor and turns to Inspector Flint for help. Their and their investigations collide after the discovery of a body at the Drury’s country house. As they investigate a snowstorm hits, trapping potential victims with the killer and the race is on to identify the culprit before they kill again.
Locked-room mysteries are my favourite sub-genre of thrillers, so I was very excited to finally read a book from this series. Tom Mead drew me in immediately, transporting me back to pre-war England with the books’ old-fashioned mystery vibes. This was my first time reading this author and this series, and while it is a great standalone, I will definitely be going back and reading the other books in the series as I enjoyed it so much. Well-written, sharply plotted and pacy, this complex web had so many different threads that I have no idea how the author came up with this or kept things straight in his head. I’m usually quite good at figuring out culprits and predicting what will happen next, but this one had me completely stumped. And when the truth was finally revealed my jaw hit the floor, astounded at the small, detailed clues I’d missed that unveiled the killer.
"It's like a jigsaw, but with all the wrong pieces."
The story is filled with a large cast of colourful, fascinating and memorable characters that leaped from the pages. Joseph Spector is a compelling protagonist and I think that having an investigator who used to be an illusionist is such an original concept that allows for some really fun and intriguing moments. There is no obvious villain and everyone has a possible motive, which I liked as it made it impossible to unravel the mystery and I got to simply enjoy the wild ride.
Nostalgic, riveting and inventive, Cabaret Macabre is a must-read for anyone who enjoys an entertaining cosy mystery.
Clever, twisty and addictive, Cabaret Macabre sees the return of sleuth and illusionist Joseph Spector in his most intricate mystery to date.
Hampshire, 1938. Spector is asked to investigate after Sir Giles Drury, a prominent judge, begins receiving sinister letters that his wife thinks are being sent by Victor Silvius, a man who was sent to a sanatorium after attacking Sir Giles nine years ago. Meanwhile, Victor’s sister, Caroline, fears for her brother’s safety and is convinced that Sir Giles is plotting to kill Victor and turns to Inspector Flint for help. Their and their investigations collide after the discovery of a body at the Drury’s country house. As they investigate a snowstorm hits, trapping potential victims with the killer and the race is on to identify the culprit before they kill again.
Locked-room mysteries are my favourite sub-genre of thrillers, so I was very excited to finally read a book from this series. Tom Mead drew me in immediately, transporting me back to pre-war England with the books’ old-fashioned mystery vibes. This was my first time reading this author and this series, and while it is a great standalone, I will definitely be going back and reading the other books in the series as I enjoyed it so much. Well-written, sharply plotted and pacy, this complex web had so many different threads that I have no idea how the author came up with this or kept things straight in his head. I’m usually quite good at figuring out culprits and predicting what will happen next, but this one had me completely stumped. And when the truth was finally revealed my jaw hit the floor, astounded at the small, detailed clues I’d missed that unveiled the killer.
"It's like a jigsaw, but with all the wrong pieces."
The story is filled with a large cast of colourful, fascinating and memorable characters that leaped from the pages. Joseph Spector is a compelling protagonist and I think that having an investigator who used to be an illusionist is such an original concept that allows for some really fun and intriguing moments. There is no obvious villain and everyone has a possible motive, which I liked as it made it impossible to unravel the mystery and I got to simply enjoy the wild ride.
Nostalgic, riveting and inventive, Cabaret Macabre is a must-read for anyone who enjoys an entertaining cosy mystery.
August 14, 2024
After enjoying the first two books in Tom Mead’s Joseph Spector mystery series, Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel, I was pleased to see that he had written a third one. I think this might even be my favourite of the three! If you haven’t read any of them, you could start here if you wanted to; although there are some references to Spector’s earlier cases, there are no spoilers and all three mysteries work perfectly as separate standalones.
It’s December 1938 and retired magician Joseph Spector has been approached by the wife of Sir Giles Drury, a prominent judge, who wants him to identify the sender of some threatening letters. She believes the culprit may be Victor Silvius, who attacked her husband nine years earlier and has been confined in a private sanatorium ever since. Having noted Spector’s involvement in solving the recent Dean case (described in The Murder Wheel), she hopes he will be able to find out who is behind the letters.
Coincidentally, Spector’s friend Inspector Flint of Scotland Yard has had a visit from Caroline Silvius, sister of Victor Silvius. Caroline believes someone is trying to murder her brother and she’s convinced that person is Sir Giles Drury. With Spector and Flint both investigating the same situation from opposite sides, it’s inevitable that their paths will cross. Arriving at Marchbanks, the Drurys’ country estate, during a period of heavy snow, both men are baffled when a member of the family is found dead under very unusual circumstances. Can they solve the mystery before another murder takes place?
I really enjoyed Cabaret Macabre. It’s very cleverly plotted, with not one but two locked room style murders for Flint and Spector to investigate, but unlike the previous book, which I found too complicated, this one was easier for me to follow. That doesn’t mean it was easy to solve, however, because it certainly wasn’t! I had no idea how the murders were carried out or who was responsible for them, even though the clues were all there in the text. Tom Mead really is a master of this type of mystery and it’s easy to see the influence authors like John Dickson Carr and Agatha Christie have had on his work.
The book has a large number of suspects (and also potential victims) including Sir Giles, his wife and their four sons and stepsons, Victor and Caroline Silvius and an assortment of servants at Marchbanks. There’s also another murder case – or was it suicide? – from nine years earlier (the source of the animosity between Victor and Sir Giles), which could provide the key to what’s happening in the present. It’s impressive that Mead manages to pull all of this together without leaving any obvious holes in the plot. What I particularly love about this series, though, is the idea of a former magician becoming an amateur detective and using his special knowledge of illusions and deceptions to solve crimes and assist the police. Although Spector is still something of a mystery himself and reveals very little of his past or his private life, I think he’s a great character and the perfect partner for the more practical, less imaginative Inspector Flint.
If you haven’t tried a Joseph Spector book yet and are a fan of Golden Age mysteries, I do recommend them; this one and the first one, in particular, have quite an authentic 1930s feel, as well as being fun and entertaining. I’m hoping there’ll be more!
It’s December 1938 and retired magician Joseph Spector has been approached by the wife of Sir Giles Drury, a prominent judge, who wants him to identify the sender of some threatening letters. She believes the culprit may be Victor Silvius, who attacked her husband nine years earlier and has been confined in a private sanatorium ever since. Having noted Spector’s involvement in solving the recent Dean case (described in The Murder Wheel), she hopes he will be able to find out who is behind the letters.
Coincidentally, Spector’s friend Inspector Flint of Scotland Yard has had a visit from Caroline Silvius, sister of Victor Silvius. Caroline believes someone is trying to murder her brother and she’s convinced that person is Sir Giles Drury. With Spector and Flint both investigating the same situation from opposite sides, it’s inevitable that their paths will cross. Arriving at Marchbanks, the Drurys’ country estate, during a period of heavy snow, both men are baffled when a member of the family is found dead under very unusual circumstances. Can they solve the mystery before another murder takes place?
I really enjoyed Cabaret Macabre. It’s very cleverly plotted, with not one but two locked room style murders for Flint and Spector to investigate, but unlike the previous book, which I found too complicated, this one was easier for me to follow. That doesn’t mean it was easy to solve, however, because it certainly wasn’t! I had no idea how the murders were carried out or who was responsible for them, even though the clues were all there in the text. Tom Mead really is a master of this type of mystery and it’s easy to see the influence authors like John Dickson Carr and Agatha Christie have had on his work.
The book has a large number of suspects (and also potential victims) including Sir Giles, his wife and their four sons and stepsons, Victor and Caroline Silvius and an assortment of servants at Marchbanks. There’s also another murder case – or was it suicide? – from nine years earlier (the source of the animosity between Victor and Sir Giles), which could provide the key to what’s happening in the present. It’s impressive that Mead manages to pull all of this together without leaving any obvious holes in the plot. What I particularly love about this series, though, is the idea of a former magician becoming an amateur detective and using his special knowledge of illusions and deceptions to solve crimes and assist the police. Although Spector is still something of a mystery himself and reveals very little of his past or his private life, I think he’s a great character and the perfect partner for the more practical, less imaginative Inspector Flint.
If you haven’t tried a Joseph Spector book yet and are a fan of Golden Age mysteries, I do recommend them; this one and the first one, in particular, have quite an authentic 1930s feel, as well as being fun and entertaining. I’m hoping there’ll be more!
August 14, 2024
I've been a big fan of Tom Mead's mysteries ever since reading Death and the Conjuror last spring, and I've been eagerly anticipating the release of this one ever since. Normally one is warned against anticipating something too much, as it more often than not will disappoint you in the long run, but this is the exception. I truly think this is the best of the Spector books thus far, and the first two were great to phenomenal too. But this ticked all the right boxes for me: eerie atmosphere, a sizeable pile of bodies, an unlikeable pool of suspects, and some doozies of impossibilities, all of which are intricately connected in well-clued ways. While I'll always say to read the entire catalogue of a series, if people wanted to jump in with this one for a good experience, I'd encourage them, even with the slight nod to the events of The Murder Wheel at the beginning. Well worth the read, and as I said after The Murder Wheel last August, book 4 (which according to his newsletter he has written/is writing) can't come soon enough.
My rating: 5/5
Would I own/re-read?: Absolutely!
TW: Gore, Death, Mental Illness, Men Being Horrible, Dysfunctional Families, Blackmail, Conspiracy, Adultery
Does the animal die?: While there are a lot of bodies over the course of this macabre cabaret, none to my memory are animals.
How difficult was the mystery?: I love a Tom Mead story because, like Brand, he can leave me surprised with solutions that have been well-planted. But unlike Brand, I can find footholds to solving them easier. But this was a complicated one, I'll give him that! For those in the know:
My rating: 5/5
Would I own/re-read?: Absolutely!
TW: Gore, Death, Mental Illness, Men Being Horrible, Dysfunctional Families, Blackmail, Conspiracy, Adultery
Does the animal die?: While there are a lot of bodies over the course of this macabre cabaret, none to my memory are animals.
How difficult was the mystery?: I love a Tom Mead story because, like Brand, he can leave me surprised with solutions that have been well-planted. But unlike Brand, I can find footholds to solving them easier. But this was a complicated one, I'll give him that! For those in the know:
July 30, 2024
If you have read either of Tom’s previous books, you already know you are in for a tantalising story of murder most foul. The books all feature Spector and Flint, two characters who work so well together.
Tom is an amazing ‘locked room’ author. I have no idea how he comes up with such intricately devised plots. The perfect Golden Age mystery and perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.
In this outing, set in 1938, we have a particularly dodgy set of characters. Lots of murders. Mostly apparently unexplainable. But, we have illusionist extraordinaire Spector helping Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint get to the bottom of the murders.
I love a good murder mystery set in an old mansion in the snow. Tick, tick and tick again.
After a rather gruesome discovery of a body in a suitcase, which someone clearly did not want to be identified, the plot gets deliciously twisty and there are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader on their toes!
I enjoyed the summary speech at the end and was kicking myself that I had failed to recognise so many seemingly minor details as clues which were very relevant!
Thoroughly enjoyable old fashioned detective work and puzzle solving at its best.
Thank you Sophie and Poppy at Ransom PR for my spot on the blog tour.
Tom is an amazing ‘locked room’ author. I have no idea how he comes up with such intricately devised plots. The perfect Golden Age mystery and perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes.
In this outing, set in 1938, we have a particularly dodgy set of characters. Lots of murders. Mostly apparently unexplainable. But, we have illusionist extraordinaire Spector helping Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint get to the bottom of the murders.
I love a good murder mystery set in an old mansion in the snow. Tick, tick and tick again.
After a rather gruesome discovery of a body in a suitcase, which someone clearly did not want to be identified, the plot gets deliciously twisty and there are plenty of red herrings to keep the reader on their toes!
I enjoyed the summary speech at the end and was kicking myself that I had failed to recognise so many seemingly minor details as clues which were very relevant!
Thoroughly enjoyable old fashioned detective work and puzzle solving at its best.
Thank you Sophie and Poppy at Ransom PR for my spot on the blog tour.
August 6, 2024
Dust off the old brain pan folks. This one will put it to the test. How does a man get shot to death in a locked room and there are no bullet holes in the windows? How does a body get in the middle of a frozen pond? See, I told you this would be a tough solve. I love it when it’s tough. Makes me wish I was Peter Falk’s character, Lt. Columbo. Remember that show. He knew who did it, how they did it and why from the first time he met the suspect. The fun was seeing how he figured it out and proved it.
The cast or characters couldn’t be more fascinating…. or different. An inmate at an insane asylum. A judge and his wife. A retired stage magician. An inspector from Scotland Yard. They all brought something to the table.
And the author did his best to keep my thoughts spinning and leading me down the garden path to some dead ends. Gotta love it when you have no clue of the who and how and still derive so much pleasure in not knowing.
This is the third book in the series and didn’t require my having to read the first two. It read easily as a stand alone. But, I want more by this author and will be grabbing those too.
I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
The cast or characters couldn’t be more fascinating…. or different. An inmate at an insane asylum. A judge and his wife. A retired stage magician. An inspector from Scotland Yard. They all brought something to the table.
And the author did his best to keep my thoughts spinning and leading me down the garden path to some dead ends. Gotta love it when you have no clue of the who and how and still derive so much pleasure in not knowing.
This is the third book in the series and didn’t require my having to read the first two. It read easily as a stand alone. But, I want more by this author and will be grabbing those too.
I received a complimentary copy. My review is voluntarily given.
August 2, 2024
Joseph Spector is a conjuror and someone who is used to a magician's penchant for misdirection, illusions and trickery. What you think you see is nothing but an elaborately constructed artifice. And so in this sense readers will be more like Flint, the police officer, trying to understand what is happening without ever having a real chance of solving the murders, unlike Spector who seems to operate with a crystal ball up his sleeve! There is a tremendous, and complex, effort put into planning the deaths, so convoluted that I defy anyone to know who did what and when. One of the murders appears to be impossible, so it is like a massive riddle only understood (and even then I am not sure I fully understood everything!) thanks to a rather lengthy explanation by way of dialogue between Spector and Flint at the end of the book.
I enjoyed the Golden Age angle and credit has to be given to the author for creating such an intricate plot, however my rating reflects the extensive 'telling' which I never really enjoy in a book.
Having said that, on the strength of the first few chapters of Cabaret Macabre, I did decide to purchase the previous two novels in this series,which has to stand as a reasonable recommendation to others!
I read via Pigeonhole, enjoying a 10 day serialisation, so the usual thanks to all those involved in allowing me, an avid reader and Pigeonhole Patron, to discover a 'new' series and a 'new'author.
Can you solve the riddles?!
I enjoyed the Golden Age angle and credit has to be given to the author for creating such an intricate plot, however my rating reflects the extensive 'telling' which I never really enjoy in a book.
Having said that, on the strength of the first few chapters of Cabaret Macabre, I did decide to purchase the previous two novels in this series,which has to stand as a reasonable recommendation to others!
I read via Pigeonhole, enjoying a 10 day serialisation, so the usual thanks to all those involved in allowing me, an avid reader and Pigeonhole Patron, to discover a 'new' series and a 'new'author.
Can you solve the riddles?!
March 7, 2024
Thank you to Mysterious Press and Edelweiss for an eARC of this book. The title is perfect for this book. This is the most macabre and shocking installment in the Joseph Spector series yet. I guarantee that readers won’t be able to anticipate all the tricks Tom Mead has up his sleeve! The twisting plot combined with Mead’s sophisticated writing style make this an irresistible read and a standout in the historical mystery genre. This particular book might be almost too gruesome for some readers, but I liked it because I like being surprised and shocked.
I noticed in the previous Spector book that Mead seemed to be developing a theme about justice and its complexities. He explored that theme even more explicitly in this book and definitely left me pondering. I missed the theatrical/magic aspect of the previous novels, but there were still plenty of elements of misdirection in this one. I’m excited to see where the series goes next!
I noticed in the previous Spector book that Mead seemed to be developing a theme about justice and its complexities. He explored that theme even more explicitly in this book and definitely left me pondering. I missed the theatrical/magic aspect of the previous novels, but there were still plenty of elements of misdirection in this one. I’m excited to see where the series goes next!
March 12, 2024
This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
Magician-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector is back when he is approached by Lady Elspeth Drury to come to her estate to investigate a poison pen letter threatening the life of her husband, renowned judge Sir Giles Drury. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard Inspector George Flint is engaged by Caroline Silvius to investigate freeing her brother Victor from an asylum where that same judge sentenced him nine years ago after he attacked the judge. Both cases intersect at the Drury's manor where murders occur, leading to a web of intrigue and further death before the case is solved.
This entry in the series features two locked door murders of a sort, one conventional and one seemingly impossible killing that in its own way is of the locked door variety. The book had more deaths, more mysteries, more suspects and more ingenious methods of killing than the previous ones in the series, definitely succeeding in the one-up factor. As the stakes grew higher and the body count rose, the intensity in the book never let up. While I did correctly guess the conventional locked door killer and roughly how it was enacted, as well as picked up on a few fairly obvious clues as to culprits of some of the crimes in the story, there was so much going on that I in no way could have guessed it all. This series just keeps getting better, though it will be hard to top all that went on in this edition.
Magician-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector is back when he is approached by Lady Elspeth Drury to come to her estate to investigate a poison pen letter threatening the life of her husband, renowned judge Sir Giles Drury. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard Inspector George Flint is engaged by Caroline Silvius to investigate freeing her brother Victor from an asylum where that same judge sentenced him nine years ago after he attacked the judge. Both cases intersect at the Drury's manor where murders occur, leading to a web of intrigue and further death before the case is solved.
This entry in the series features two locked door murders of a sort, one conventional and one seemingly impossible killing that in its own way is of the locked door variety. The book had more deaths, more mysteries, more suspects and more ingenious methods of killing than the previous ones in the series, definitely succeeding in the one-up factor. As the stakes grew higher and the body count rose, the intensity in the book never let up. While I did correctly guess the conventional locked door killer and roughly how it was enacted, as well as picked up on a few fairly obvious clues as to culprits of some of the crimes in the story, there was so much going on that I in no way could have guessed it all. This series just keeps getting better, though it will be hard to top all that went on in this edition.
April 18, 2024
3.5 stars. This was "Knives Out if written by Agatha Christie." Set in 1938, multiple murders, lots of characters, detectives, an illusionist - there was a lot going on here. I took a screenshot of the family tree at the beginning of the book and referred to it a few times. This book would be ideal for fans of Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes, but if you're used to more modern fast paced thrillers in the style of Freida McFadden, Taylor Adams, this book may not be for you.
Expected release date: July 16, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Expected release date: July 16, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 18, 2024
This was such an outstanding historical mystery. I was completely captivated by the old-time feel of the story and the intriguing premise.
The author’s writing style was so immersive and I couldn’t help but be drawn into the story that was being told. The book had a nice flow and I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting the author created.
This is the third book in A Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery series, but they can be read in any order. The story itself takes place in the 1930s.
This one is perfect for lovers of mystery and historical reads.
Thank you Mysterious Press for sending me a copy of the book.
The author’s writing style was so immersive and I couldn’t help but be drawn into the story that was being told. The book had a nice flow and I really enjoyed the atmospheric setting the author created.
This is the third book in A Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery series, but they can be read in any order. The story itself takes place in the 1930s.
This one is perfect for lovers of mystery and historical reads.
Thank you Mysterious Press for sending me a copy of the book.
June 23, 2024
My head is abuzz
October 20, 2024
A good book with a good story line. Well worth a read.
May 23, 2025
For me, this is the best one yet.
January 3, 2026
Nicely done but a little too messy and complicated for my taste. Curious to see what others in the series read like.
August 30, 2024
There's a lot going on in this fast-paced book, so many murders, so many suspects, so much quilt and sleight of hand. This is the first I've read from the author, but I think I will pick up his first two in this series now. A good old-fashioned murder mystery.
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