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The Locked Room Reader: Stories of Impossible Crimes and Escapes
The Locked Room, by John Dickson Carr
The Dauphin's Doll, by Ellery Queen
Nothing is Impossible, by Clayton Rawson
His Heart Could Break, by Craig Rice
The Oracle of the Dog, by G. K. Chesterton
When a Felon Needs a Friend, by Morris Hershman
The Doomdorf Mystery, by Melville Davisson Post
The Big Bow Mystery, by Israel Zangwill
The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr, by William Brittain
The Long Way Down, by Edward D. Hoch
Time Trammel, by Miriam Allen deFord
Reprieve, by Lawrence G. Blochman
The Smoke-Filled Locked Room, by Anthony Boucher
Bones for Davy Jones, by Joseph Cummings
The Fine Italian Hand, by Thomas Flanagan
The Narrowing Lust, by Henry Kane
The Dauphin's Doll, by Ellery Queen
Nothing is Impossible, by Clayton Rawson
His Heart Could Break, by Craig Rice
The Oracle of the Dog, by G. K. Chesterton
When a Felon Needs a Friend, by Morris Hershman
The Doomdorf Mystery, by Melville Davisson Post
The Big Bow Mystery, by Israel Zangwill
The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr, by William Brittain
The Long Way Down, by Edward D. Hoch
Time Trammel, by Miriam Allen deFord
Reprieve, by Lawrence G. Blochman
The Smoke-Filled Locked Room, by Anthony Boucher
Bones for Davy Jones, by Joseph Cummings
The Fine Italian Hand, by Thomas Flanagan
The Narrowing Lust, by Henry Kane
464 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 10, 2019
Page-for-page, a pretty good collection. The weakest stories are also the shortest.
The Locked Room by John Dickson Carr - A compact story - pretty well done; questionable description of the subjective sensation of being drugged.
The Dauphin's Doll by Ellery Queen - Somewhat over-written in the opening pages, but otherwise a thoroughly engaging story involving theft rather than murder.
Nothing is Impossible by Clayton Rawson - Very good use of contemporary "flying saucer" craze, the introduction of an additional criminal, a con man, was especially good in this context.
His Heart Could Break by Craig Rice - A jail cell rather than the usual locked room, not particularly outstanding either for plotting or writing.
The Oracle of the Dog by G. K. Chesterton - A reminder why I gave up on Father Brown: questionable psychology and even more dubious theology. A decent mystery and solution.
When a Felon Needs a Friend by Morris Hershman - A humorous story evidently included as comic relief, not at all a locked room puzzle. Good-natured joking about enthusiasts of modern poetry, perhaps a sort of counter-punch at those like Edmund Wilson who disdain dtetective stories in favor of a staedy high-brow diet.
The Doomdorf Mystery by Melville Davisson Post - I'm not encouraged to read more of Uncle Abner after this: a portentous style and solution lifted from "Murder by Proxy" by M. McDonnell Bodkin (see Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: The Crooked Counties or Victorian Tales of Mystery and Detection: An Oxford Anthology)
The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill - Demonstrates the inadequacy of the basic mystery plot to sustain even a relatively short novel. Rather than red herrings, Zangwill pads out the pages with satirical asides and character sketches; whatever false leads are provided, however, are used to build a perfectly workable alternate solution which is, in motive at least, more believable than the "real" solution offered in the closing pages. Having two rival detectives pursuing different suspects is a clever idea that I have never seen employed by subsequent writers.
The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr by William Brittain - A very short story, we see the crime being prepared and committed; the ending straddles the line between stupid / clever.
The Long Way Down by Edward D. Hoch - A good story - suicide by leaping from a window, but the body disappears without hitting the ground.
Time Trammel by Miriam Allen deFord - Another humorous short, actually fantasy, not very good.
Reprieve by Lawrence G. Blochman - A good PI story, takes a while to get to the locked-room murder.
The Smoke-Filled Locked Room by Anthony Boucher - Not a great locked-room puzzle, but more interestingly character-driver than other stories.
Bones for Davy Jones by Joseph Cummings - A refreshing outdoors setting - a sunken ship variation on the locked room.
The Fine Italian Hand by Thomas Flanagan - Historical story featuring Machiavelli (revealed at the end) - not a particularly good example of a locked room story.
The Narrowing Lust by Henry Kane - Not sure why the editor decided to use the British title instead of the original Too French And Too Deadly. A hard-boiled PI novel from 1955, pretty good on the whole, with not-unexpected incidents of homophobia (“Yassoo had more swish than a tennis racket wielded by a powerful forearm.”) and a more generous helping of objectification of women (“She was small but the pajamas bulged like a paper bag filled with beer bottles, only these bulges were much more enticing.”). I liked its evocation of mid-century Manhattan. The locked room murder is the novel's centerpiece, but there is plenty of incidental intrigue, some implied sex, and several incidents of violence. I thought the plot hung together well and the solution to the murder was reasonable, involving no far-fetched gadgets or bait-and-switch legerdemain.
The Locked Room by John Dickson Carr - A compact story - pretty well done; questionable description of the subjective sensation of being drugged.
The Dauphin's Doll by Ellery Queen - Somewhat over-written in the opening pages, but otherwise a thoroughly engaging story involving theft rather than murder.
Nothing is Impossible by Clayton Rawson - Very good use of contemporary "flying saucer" craze, the introduction of an additional criminal, a con man, was especially good in this context.
His Heart Could Break by Craig Rice - A jail cell rather than the usual locked room, not particularly outstanding either for plotting or writing.
The Oracle of the Dog by G. K. Chesterton - A reminder why I gave up on Father Brown: questionable psychology and even more dubious theology. A decent mystery and solution.
When a Felon Needs a Friend by Morris Hershman - A humorous story evidently included as comic relief, not at all a locked room puzzle. Good-natured joking about enthusiasts of modern poetry, perhaps a sort of counter-punch at those like Edmund Wilson who disdain dtetective stories in favor of a staedy high-brow diet.
The Doomdorf Mystery by Melville Davisson Post - I'm not encouraged to read more of Uncle Abner after this: a portentous style and solution lifted from "Murder by Proxy" by M. McDonnell Bodkin (see Further Rivals of Sherlock Holmes: The Crooked Counties or Victorian Tales of Mystery and Detection: An Oxford Anthology)
The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill - Demonstrates the inadequacy of the basic mystery plot to sustain even a relatively short novel. Rather than red herrings, Zangwill pads out the pages with satirical asides and character sketches; whatever false leads are provided, however, are used to build a perfectly workable alternate solution which is, in motive at least, more believable than the "real" solution offered in the closing pages. Having two rival detectives pursuing different suspects is a clever idea that I have never seen employed by subsequent writers.
The Man Who Read John Dickson Carr by William Brittain - A very short story, we see the crime being prepared and committed; the ending straddles the line between stupid / clever.
The Long Way Down by Edward D. Hoch - A good story - suicide by leaping from a window, but the body disappears without hitting the ground.
Time Trammel by Miriam Allen deFord - Another humorous short, actually fantasy, not very good.
Reprieve by Lawrence G. Blochman - A good PI story, takes a while to get to the locked-room murder.
The Smoke-Filled Locked Room by Anthony Boucher - Not a great locked-room puzzle, but more interestingly character-driver than other stories.
Bones for Davy Jones by Joseph Cummings - A refreshing outdoors setting - a sunken ship variation on the locked room.
The Fine Italian Hand by Thomas Flanagan - Historical story featuring Machiavelli (revealed at the end) - not a particularly good example of a locked room story.
The Narrowing Lust by Henry Kane - Not sure why the editor decided to use the British title instead of the original Too French And Too Deadly. A hard-boiled PI novel from 1955, pretty good on the whole, with not-unexpected incidents of homophobia (“Yassoo had more swish than a tennis racket wielded by a powerful forearm.”) and a more generous helping of objectification of women (“She was small but the pajamas bulged like a paper bag filled with beer bottles, only these bulges were much more enticing.”). I liked its evocation of mid-century Manhattan. The locked room murder is the novel's centerpiece, but there is plenty of incidental intrigue, some implied sex, and several incidents of violence. I thought the plot hung together well and the solution to the murder was reasonable, involving no far-fetched gadgets or bait-and-switch legerdemain.
September 20, 2025
Read so far:
The locked room / John Dickson Carr --3
The Dauphin's doll / Ellery Queen --3
Nothing is impossible / Clayton Rawson --3
His heart could break / Craig Rice --2
The oracle of the dog / G.K. Chesterton --3
When a felon needs a friend / Morris Hershman --2
The Doomdorf mystery / Melville Davisson Post --3
The big bow mystery / Israel Zangwill --3
The man who read John Dickson Carr / William Brittain --3
The long way down / Edward D. Hoch --3
Time trammel / Miriam Allen deFord --2
Reprieve / Lawrence G. Blochman --3
The smoke-filled locked room / Anthony Boucher --2
Bones for Davy Jones / Joseph Commings --2
The fine Italian hand / Thomas Flanagan --2
The narrowing lust / Henry Kane--not read
The locked room / John Dickson Carr --3
The Dauphin's doll / Ellery Queen --3
Nothing is impossible / Clayton Rawson --3
His heart could break / Craig Rice --2
The oracle of the dog / G.K. Chesterton --3
When a felon needs a friend / Morris Hershman --2
The Doomdorf mystery / Melville Davisson Post --3
The big bow mystery / Israel Zangwill --3
The man who read John Dickson Carr / William Brittain --3
The long way down / Edward D. Hoch --3
Time trammel / Miriam Allen deFord --2
Reprieve / Lawrence G. Blochman --3
The smoke-filled locked room / Anthony Boucher --2
Bones for Davy Jones / Joseph Commings --2
The fine Italian hand / Thomas Flanagan --2
The narrowing lust / Henry Kane--not read
March 31, 2026
“The problem is not who did it or what did it, but how it was done. We might find many men and even many tools—pins and shears and lancets. But how did a man get into the room?”
A very solid collection of impossible crimes. I really only read this for A Fine Italian Hand, which was the only story that I hadn't read previously, and it's peak. Well worth reading, apart from the final novel.
November 3, 2014
Really good anthology. I enjoyed all but one of the stories.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews