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Henri Bencolin #1
It Walks by Night
Ten minutes after the Duc de Saligny entered the card room, the police burst in - and found he had been murdered. Both doors to the card room had been watched yet the murderer had gone in and out without being seen by anyone . '
253 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1930
76 people are currently reading
927 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
423 books486 followersAKA 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).
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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
January 12, 2010
This was my first John Dickson Carr mystery, read as a teenager, and I still remember not being able to sleep at night, thinking, "How could it possibly have been done?" For, of course, it's about an apparently impossible crime, which is Carr's specialty. It is also permeated with the atmosphere of a horror tale, and features one of my favorite fictional detectives, Bencolin, who also cannot sleep until he solves the mystery.
My impression is, and I must reread to confirm it, that Carr never surpassed his performance here in regard to the smooth blending of detective story and thriller. Often it is the case (and I write as an ardent detective story fan) that the mechanics of this genre are clunky, entailing a fair amount of tedium. One must, according to the rules, make sure the reader has access to all the pertinent clues, and the solution must be crystal clear, with no loose ends. Sometimes you feel you've been through the mill after this has been accomplished.
It Walks By Night goes down smoothly, like good neat whiskey.
My impression is, and I must reread to confirm it, that Carr never surpassed his performance here in regard to the smooth blending of detective story and thriller. Often it is the case (and I write as an ardent detective story fan) that the mechanics of this genre are clunky, entailing a fair amount of tedium. One must, according to the rules, make sure the reader has access to all the pertinent clues, and the solution must be crystal clear, with no loose ends. Sometimes you feel you've been through the mill after this has been accomplished.
It Walks By Night goes down smoothly, like good neat whiskey.
June 22, 2021
This mystery had too much side romance, but that complaint aside, I found this mystery to take me to all sorts of unexpected places and I never saw the conclusion coming. Carr fans with love this book and I would think that mystery fans would too.
June 22, 2020
Set in Paris, this is a classic, fairly short Dickson Carr locked room mystery. It’s gory, somewhat creepy at times and has some well written characters and settings.
It’s designed to shock - and it does, with more than one reveal to keep you on your toes. I have to admit, the solution to the locked room element was so blindingly simple, i had to read it twice - and to me didn’t entirely feel like fair play. Despite that, I enjoyed!
It’s designed to shock - and it does, with more than one reveal to keep you on your toes. I have to admit, the solution to the locked room element was so blindingly simple, i had to read it twice - and to me didn’t entirely feel like fair play. Despite that, I enjoyed!
October 6, 2023
I actually read this in September, but I seem to be continuously playing catch up with posts. Better late than never, I guess.
full post here:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2023/10/...
Published in 1930, It Walks by Night is the first novel in the series featuring Carr's French detective M. Henri Bencolin, "juge d'instruction , the adviser of the courts, and the director of the police." As revealed by Martin Edwards in his excellent introduction, it had started out life as a novella entitled "Grand Guignol," anonymously published in 1929 in an issue of The Haverfordian, "Haverford's first literary magazine." Carr went on to rework his novella into a novel called With Blood Defiled, which Harper & Brothers wanted to publish, changing the title to It Walks by Night for its 1930 publication. While the title may have changed, there is a still a sort of Grand Guignol vibe to this book, so Carr's original title actually makes more than a bit of sense, but renaming it as It Walks by Night was definitely a good move.
In this story, Bencolin has teamed up with his friend (and Watson-ish colleague) Jeff Marle to help Raoul de Saligny, a man "in the greatest danger of his life," who has appealed personally to Bencolin to "oversee his protection." When they meet in Paris , Marle notes that at first there is very little conversation except for a strange "reference to danger from werewolves." As it happens, the reader has already been introduced to the idea of werewolves in a passage from a 15th-century book (opening Chapter One) that Bencolin had sent Marle describing
"a certain shape of evil hue which by day may not be recognized, inasmuch as it may be a man of favored looks, or a fair and smiling woman; but by night becomes a misshapen beast with blood-bedabbled claws"
and I have to admit to wondering from the outset if perhaps we were going to be in for a bit o' the supernatural here, an idea that later seemed to be cemented by more than one mention of Poe, and of course, werewolves. But no, the crimes that follow are very much rooted in the real world, and the two crimesolvers come to realize that they are dealing with
"a murderer who is utterly cold-blooded and cynical, and who firmly believes that these acts are done justifiably, to avenge wrongs. The crimes are the means of venting on the world a spite too deep for ordinary expression."
The armchair detective in me did not solve this crime (did not get anywhere even close), and if there is anyone out there who actually figured out the entire solution ahead of the big reveal, my hat is off to you. Carr's biographer Douglas G. Greene said (as quoted in the introduction) that there were "many clues to the solution," but evidently I missed a few; I think my jaw dropped down to the floor when all was made known. Still, as with the best mysteries, it's the getting there that counts, and I did not put this book down until the journey was over.
Bencolin (and Carr) can certainly go on and on in some cases so you will need a bit of patience, but I can most certainly recommend It Walks by Night for readers who enjoy impossible crimes and the concomitant piecing together of the puzzle.
full post here:
http://www.crimesegments.com/2023/10/...
Published in 1930, It Walks by Night is the first novel in the series featuring Carr's French detective M. Henri Bencolin, "juge d'instruction , the adviser of the courts, and the director of the police." As revealed by Martin Edwards in his excellent introduction, it had started out life as a novella entitled "Grand Guignol," anonymously published in 1929 in an issue of The Haverfordian, "Haverford's first literary magazine." Carr went on to rework his novella into a novel called With Blood Defiled, which Harper & Brothers wanted to publish, changing the title to It Walks by Night for its 1930 publication. While the title may have changed, there is a still a sort of Grand Guignol vibe to this book, so Carr's original title actually makes more than a bit of sense, but renaming it as It Walks by Night was definitely a good move.
In this story, Bencolin has teamed up with his friend (and Watson-ish colleague) Jeff Marle to help Raoul de Saligny, a man "in the greatest danger of his life," who has appealed personally to Bencolin to "oversee his protection." When they meet in Paris , Marle notes that at first there is very little conversation except for a strange "reference to danger from werewolves." As it happens, the reader has already been introduced to the idea of werewolves in a passage from a 15th-century book (opening Chapter One) that Bencolin had sent Marle describing
"a certain shape of evil hue which by day may not be recognized, inasmuch as it may be a man of favored looks, or a fair and smiling woman; but by night becomes a misshapen beast with blood-bedabbled claws"
and I have to admit to wondering from the outset if perhaps we were going to be in for a bit o' the supernatural here, an idea that later seemed to be cemented by more than one mention of Poe, and of course, werewolves. But no, the crimes that follow are very much rooted in the real world, and the two crimesolvers come to realize that they are dealing with
"a murderer who is utterly cold-blooded and cynical, and who firmly believes that these acts are done justifiably, to avenge wrongs. The crimes are the means of venting on the world a spite too deep for ordinary expression."
The armchair detective in me did not solve this crime (did not get anywhere even close), and if there is anyone out there who actually figured out the entire solution ahead of the big reveal, my hat is off to you. Carr's biographer Douglas G. Greene said (as quoted in the introduction) that there were "many clues to the solution," but evidently I missed a few; I think my jaw dropped down to the floor when all was made known. Still, as with the best mysteries, it's the getting there that counts, and I did not put this book down until the journey was over.
Bencolin (and Carr) can certainly go on and on in some cases so you will need a bit of patience, but I can most certainly recommend It Walks by Night for readers who enjoy impossible crimes and the concomitant piecing together of the puzzle.
March 13, 2024
And thus endeth my return to discovering good books. I enjoyed the beginning of this, the set-up, the mystery ... I guarantee you I won't remember the solution to the locked-room mystery next week, because I pretty much tuned out at some point. I'm not a fan of Bencolin, I hated the female characters, I didn't get much of a sense that this was set in France apart from the occasional epithet in the language, and I kind of wanted to kick the first person character several times. The narrator was excellent, though, and I do recognize that this was Carr's first published book, so it doesn't put me off him. Much.
Oh, and I guessed wrong. Oops. To be fair, I wanted the killer to be the person I named because I hated them, too.
Oh, and I guessed wrong. Oops. To be fair, I wanted the killer to be the person I named because I hated them, too.
December 26, 2019
Deliciously decadent...
Young Jeff Marle has been summoned to Paris by an old friend of his father: the legendary detective Henri Bencolin, director of the Paris police. Bencolin has a peculiar case on his hands and feels Jeff may be interested in observing his methods. So Jeff becomes our “Watson”, and it’s through his eyes that we see the great detective at work. The case involves a madman – perhaps these days we would say psychopath – Alexandre Laurent, who was locked up after trying to kill his young and beautiful wife, Louise. That wife, her first marriage annulled, is now about to get married again to the famous all-round sporting legend, Raoul de Saligny. But Laurent has escaped and rumour has it that he may have visited a plastic surgeon to change his appearance. He has sent a letter warning Raoul not to marry Louise and Bencolin fears that he will turn up in Paris, bent on killing Raoul and possibly Louise too. On the night of their wedding day, Raoul, Louise and the wedding party go to a fashionable gambling house, and Bencolin has his men there in force to guard them. But Laurent has the true cunning intelligence of the madman...
This is Carr’s first mystery novel, and my first introduction to his work. I thought it was totally marvellous! There are a couple of plots weaknesses, some moments where you have to take a deep breath and just let your suspension of disbelief have full rein, and it occasionally goes over the top into high melodrama. But the writing is great, and Carr creates a wonderfully creepy, almost hallucinatory atmosphere of horror and tension. In fact, it seemed to me draw as much, if not more, on the tradition of the Decadent horror writing of the fin de siècle period as on the mystery conventions of the Golden Age.
Published in 1930 and set in Paris, it offers a darker take on the “lost generation” of that time – of those living after one devastating war and seeing the approaching inevitability of another on the horizon. There is a great sense of amorality, of sensuous egoism, of a kind of cruelty of empty friendships and brutal infidelities. Drugs and drink play their part in the glittering hopelessness of the characters’ lives, and even in Jeff’s observations. One scene, where he has dinner with a young woman caught up in the case, is a masterpiece of fear heightened by the befuddling effects of alcohol – Poe-like in its creation of an atmosphere of impending horror. Grand Guignol was in my mind for much of it, since there’s no holding back in the gruesome bloodiness of the crimes, nor the pointless cruelty of them.
As a mystery, I do think it’s just about fair play, although one has to be willing to let one’s imagination run riot a bit. There’s a locked room aspect to it, and as usual I failed to get that at all and frankly felt the solution to that part of the mystery was a bit too contrived. But in terms of the whodunit aspects – in this case, the who-is-Laurent aspect – I spotted several of the clues without realising that that’s what they were; in fact, I had sort of thought they were accidental inconsistencies rather than clues until all was explained at the end. But when the solution comes it’s wonderfully twisted, carrying the atmosphere of decadent horror right through to the end.
I’m aware that part of the reason I loved it so much is because of the horror aspects and that this may not appeal to all Golden Age mystery fans as much as it does to me. But the mystery aspect is good too and while Bencolin can be a bit too full of himself, as many of the great detectives are, Jeff is a wonderfully original creation as Watsons go, becoming deeply involved not just in the investigation but in the characters’ lives and the playing out of the plot. Wonderful stuff, and I can’t wait now to read more Carr – no wonder he’s considered one of the greats.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
Young Jeff Marle has been summoned to Paris by an old friend of his father: the legendary detective Henri Bencolin, director of the Paris police. Bencolin has a peculiar case on his hands and feels Jeff may be interested in observing his methods. So Jeff becomes our “Watson”, and it’s through his eyes that we see the great detective at work. The case involves a madman – perhaps these days we would say psychopath – Alexandre Laurent, who was locked up after trying to kill his young and beautiful wife, Louise. That wife, her first marriage annulled, is now about to get married again to the famous all-round sporting legend, Raoul de Saligny. But Laurent has escaped and rumour has it that he may have visited a plastic surgeon to change his appearance. He has sent a letter warning Raoul not to marry Louise and Bencolin fears that he will turn up in Paris, bent on killing Raoul and possibly Louise too. On the night of their wedding day, Raoul, Louise and the wedding party go to a fashionable gambling house, and Bencolin has his men there in force to guard them. But Laurent has the true cunning intelligence of the madman...
This is Carr’s first mystery novel, and my first introduction to his work. I thought it was totally marvellous! There are a couple of plots weaknesses, some moments where you have to take a deep breath and just let your suspension of disbelief have full rein, and it occasionally goes over the top into high melodrama. But the writing is great, and Carr creates a wonderfully creepy, almost hallucinatory atmosphere of horror and tension. In fact, it seemed to me draw as much, if not more, on the tradition of the Decadent horror writing of the fin de siècle period as on the mystery conventions of the Golden Age.
Published in 1930 and set in Paris, it offers a darker take on the “lost generation” of that time – of those living after one devastating war and seeing the approaching inevitability of another on the horizon. There is a great sense of amorality, of sensuous egoism, of a kind of cruelty of empty friendships and brutal infidelities. Drugs and drink play their part in the glittering hopelessness of the characters’ lives, and even in Jeff’s observations. One scene, where he has dinner with a young woman caught up in the case, is a masterpiece of fear heightened by the befuddling effects of alcohol – Poe-like in its creation of an atmosphere of impending horror. Grand Guignol was in my mind for much of it, since there’s no holding back in the gruesome bloodiness of the crimes, nor the pointless cruelty of them.
As a mystery, I do think it’s just about fair play, although one has to be willing to let one’s imagination run riot a bit. There’s a locked room aspect to it, and as usual I failed to get that at all and frankly felt the solution to that part of the mystery was a bit too contrived. But in terms of the whodunit aspects – in this case, the who-is-Laurent aspect – I spotted several of the clues without realising that that’s what they were; in fact, I had sort of thought they were accidental inconsistencies rather than clues until all was explained at the end. But when the solution comes it’s wonderfully twisted, carrying the atmosphere of decadent horror right through to the end.
I’m aware that part of the reason I loved it so much is because of the horror aspects and that this may not appeal to all Golden Age mystery fans as much as it does to me. But the mystery aspect is good too and while Bencolin can be a bit too full of himself, as many of the great detectives are, Jeff is a wonderfully original creation as Watsons go, becoming deeply involved not just in the investigation but in the characters’ lives and the playing out of the plot. Wonderful stuff, and I can’t wait now to read more Carr – no wonder he’s considered one of the greats.
NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, the British Library.
October 29, 2020
A classic golden age locked room murder mystery which for the period is very violent and dark. When a famous newlywed sportsman is found decapitated in the card room of a casino, the French police find they have a complex case to solve. It feels very modern and yet was written around 90 years ago.
February 1, 2025
More like mystery/horror. Language used to describe characters, places, ambiance of that time is fantastic. Can see this as a movie or a series...
September 30, 2017
Carr's first of eighty-something novels starts off with an escaped madman stalking his newly-remarried wife, but quickly turns into a locked room mystery with the madman almost an afterthought. While the first murder is pleasingly set up and visualized, the plot drags, and the book is most interesting as a way of seeing his themes before he knew how to best present them. Already in place are the impossible crime elements and extremely detailed solutions with well-placed clues that would become standards in his future work, but what's missing are the sympathetic protagonists and the foreboding sense of doom that colored the atmosphere of his classics. Written in 1929 or 1930, it's also a refreshingly different take on Paris in the 20's, set in drug dens, gambling houses, and provincial estates, a world away from the city Hemingway and other American expatriates knew. Worth a look for those interested in tracing the evolution of Carr's career.
February 19, 2020
Not a patch on The Hollow Man, but still good.
June 23, 2018
And so Carr shows he can write a French mystery novel. Here, a mad lunatic announces he will seek vengeance against the woman who divorced him after turning psychopath, and the man who married him! And it opens with the man who married her getting killed, in the most grotesque way.
After a second murder, it becomes more confusing as to who the murderer could be. Now, I can’t say this completely fair play mystery, but it certainly has the all the strange personality that you find.
An interesting switch to the other Carr stories that I’ve read.
After a second murder, it becomes more confusing as to who the murderer could be. Now, I can’t say this completely fair play mystery, but it certainly has the all the strange personality that you find.
An interesting switch to the other Carr stories that I’ve read.
December 28, 2019
Full review at classicmystery.blog
February 9, 2025
Here Dickson Carr makes his full novel debut, as does his character Henri Bencolin. Whilst this lacks the clarity of his later work, it is very good fun nonetheless!
August 6, 2023
Just ok. Took me forever to get through and a bit convoluted in the resolution. Would’ve liked to see more time with Detective Bencolin as he had much more character than the other kind of one dimensional people around him
September 20, 2023
One of my favorite authors, Gigi Pandian, is a Carr devotee, while I have never read any of his work. I decided to take the plunge with this, Carr's first novel and... ooof.
I enjoyed the Poe-esque atmospherics and moodiness, the foggy streets, the candle-lit bar rooms. I'm not entirely sure what Carr was aiming for with his repeated descriptions of lead character Henri Bencolin as being akin to the devil, but sure, why not. Unfortunately, that was all that I could enjoy with this one. The dialogue was particularly brutal; long sections of speech with little indication of who was talking, making it incredibly difficult to follow. Much of the interaction between the characters was melodrama, with little reason for me as the reader to care about any of them. For all the talking they did, none of the characters were memorable. Bencolin himself seemed little more than a means to an end. The antics of Bencolin and the narrator Jeff Marle... whose name I'm not sure was mentioned more than once and I just had to look up because I couldn't remember it... they struck me as being a riff on Christie's Poirot and Hastings. Here, Bencolin is the (in)famous detective, a brilliant analytic mind (though a bit more fond of hard evidence than Poirot) while Marle is more interested in women then anything of note. Marle's involvement in the case seemed little more than Carr following the Conan Doyle model of "sidekick who is also narrator."
I found the resolution of the "locked room" mystery to be unsatisfying. The clues were all there from the start and it was all neatly tied up, but it still felt flat. I will acknowledge that I'm accustomed to the works of those inspired by Carr, so all of the "tricks" employed in this book were obvious to me.
I'm not writing off Carr just yet, I understand this is his first work and have read that his Gideon Fell books are more polished. But this one didn't give me much reason to follow up with M. Bencolin as a character.
I enjoyed the Poe-esque atmospherics and moodiness, the foggy streets, the candle-lit bar rooms. I'm not entirely sure what Carr was aiming for with his repeated descriptions of lead character Henri Bencolin as being akin to the devil, but sure, why not. Unfortunately, that was all that I could enjoy with this one. The dialogue was particularly brutal; long sections of speech with little indication of who was talking, making it incredibly difficult to follow. Much of the interaction between the characters was melodrama, with little reason for me as the reader to care about any of them. For all the talking they did, none of the characters were memorable. Bencolin himself seemed little more than a means to an end. The antics of Bencolin and the narrator Jeff Marle... whose name I'm not sure was mentioned more than once and I just had to look up because I couldn't remember it... they struck me as being a riff on Christie's Poirot and Hastings. Here, Bencolin is the (in)famous detective, a brilliant analytic mind (though a bit more fond of hard evidence than Poirot) while Marle is more interested in women then anything of note. Marle's involvement in the case seemed little more than Carr following the Conan Doyle model of "sidekick who is also narrator."
I found the resolution of the "locked room" mystery to be unsatisfying. The clues were all there from the start and it was all neatly tied up, but it still felt flat. I will acknowledge that I'm accustomed to the works of those inspired by Carr, so all of the "tricks" employed in this book were obvious to me.
I'm not writing off Carr just yet, I understand this is his first work and have read that his Gideon Fell books are more polished. But this one didn't give me much reason to follow up with M. Bencolin as a character.
June 26, 2016
The first Dickson Carr novel and all the elements are in place.Not quite fully formed of course but a clear sign of things to come.The locked room solution is a little weak,relying on chance and luck to pull it off,but on the whole this is an enjoyable,solid debut.I do miss some of the humour from the Merrivale and Fell novels,Bencolin is an engaging but very straight laced protagonist..
July 20, 2020
This is the darkest classic British crime book I've ever read...is it because the author was actually an American? I know most of the Paris streets, so that part was fun. The prose and descriptions were very ethereal.
February 24, 2020
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
It Walks by Night is the first Henri Bencolin Paris mystery by John Dickson Carr. Originally released in 1930, this reformat and re-release from Poisoned Pen Press is 272 pages and due out 3rd March 2020. This edition will be available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats). This book is one of the books in the British Library Crime Classics series and it's really nice to see these gems being brought back into print and presented to new readers. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
As the others in the series, there is an introduction by mystery history maven Martin Edwards. As engaging as these classic mysteries have been, I have also looked forward in equal measure to Mr. Edwards' insightful commentary.
Carr is well known (with good reason) for his 'impossible' locked room mysteries. This is another such. Despite being almost 100 years old, it wears well, and still provides a load of atmosphere (in some places, positively creepy). The first murder is quite gory (a beheading) and there's a varied cast of suspects and a load of red herrings along the way.
The dialogue and style are admittedly a bit dated and true to the period, but I found it charming. For fans of golden age mysteries, it'll definitely be a plus, not a detraction.
Very well done. I have read a lot of Carr's work, but somehow had missed this one. Worth a read, especially for fans of the golden age.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
It Walks by Night is the first Henri Bencolin Paris mystery by John Dickson Carr. Originally released in 1930, this reformat and re-release from Poisoned Pen Press is 272 pages and due out 3rd March 2020. This edition will be available in paperback and ebook formats. (Other editions available in other formats). This book is one of the books in the British Library Crime Classics series and it's really nice to see these gems being brought back into print and presented to new readers. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
As the others in the series, there is an introduction by mystery history maven Martin Edwards. As engaging as these classic mysteries have been, I have also looked forward in equal measure to Mr. Edwards' insightful commentary.
Carr is well known (with good reason) for his 'impossible' locked room mysteries. This is another such. Despite being almost 100 years old, it wears well, and still provides a load of atmosphere (in some places, positively creepy). The first murder is quite gory (a beheading) and there's a varied cast of suspects and a load of red herrings along the way.
The dialogue and style are admittedly a bit dated and true to the period, but I found it charming. For fans of golden age mysteries, it'll definitely be a plus, not a detraction.
Very well done. I have read a lot of Carr's work, but somehow had missed this one. Worth a read, especially for fans of the golden age.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
November 27, 2024
This is my first Carr book, and it may seem illogical to start with one that takes place in Paris, different to most of his other work, but I had read that this is one of his darkest, and that appealed. Also it is the first outing for his first series detective, Bencolin, much more serious and less fun than those to come, Fell and Merrivale, described by his peers as 'satanic' even.
The novel's opening is gripping, and absolutely not what I was expecting from what I had read about Carr's writing. A renowned athlete has just been married, but the bride’s ex-husband is a psychotic killer, and has broken out of prison with the vow to kill any man who comes near her. A chapter afterwards he is found brutally decapitated under seemingly impossible circumstances.
Though what follows never quite lives up to the promise of the first quarter, I did enjoy this. There's definitely an element of horror attached to the opening chapters, but Carr then opts to take the story to more familiar ground. I'm not sure I would be keen on his more 'cosy' and light-hearted books, but certainly will investigate his darker stuff further.
The novel's opening is gripping, and absolutely not what I was expecting from what I had read about Carr's writing. A renowned athlete has just been married, but the bride’s ex-husband is a psychotic killer, and has broken out of prison with the vow to kill any man who comes near her. A chapter afterwards he is found brutally decapitated under seemingly impossible circumstances.
Though what follows never quite lives up to the promise of the first quarter, I did enjoy this. There's definitely an element of horror attached to the opening chapters, but Carr then opts to take the story to more familiar ground. I'm not sure I would be keen on his more 'cosy' and light-hearted books, but certainly will investigate his darker stuff further.
March 22, 2025
The twists left me blindsided. However, there were some loose ends and very lucky coincidences that stop me from giving it a 5.
Carr writes in a very literary style, specializing in heavy-handed descriptions and a Faulkner-esque meticulousness, which did take me out of the groove in certain parts.
E.g. The streets of Paris somehow become more developed and rounded than the key suspects we encounter.
There is also a romance subplot that is rather unnecessary and serves to detract from the tightly-woven overall mystery.
Despite these thoughts, this is Carr's first novel, so I can't fault it too highly, and if what I've read is a good indicator, it certainly won't be my last.
Carr writes in a very literary style, specializing in heavy-handed descriptions and a Faulkner-esque meticulousness, which did take me out of the groove in certain parts.
E.g. The streets of Paris somehow become more developed and rounded than the key suspects we encounter.
There is also a romance subplot that is rather unnecessary and serves to detract from the tightly-woven overall mystery.
Despite these thoughts, this is Carr's first novel, so I can't fault it too highly, and if what I've read is a good indicator, it certainly won't be my last.
February 3, 2022
The only thing I enjoyed about this book was M. Bencolin himself. The story is patently ridiculous, and our unfortunately narrator is a bit of a hormone-driven idiot who spends most of his time mooning over a minor character for basically no reason. This is apparently Carr's first published novel and it is obvious that there is room for him to grow as a writer. This is more of an overwrought melodrama than a crime story or a mystery.
November 8, 2024
An odd, and enjoyable, murder mystery written as though it were a cinematic dream sequence.
The bonus short story is thin of plot but rich in atmosphere.
The bonus short story is thin of plot but rich in atmosphere.
Read
April 13, 2020Nope nope this is just awful.. I don’t understand how people like this guys stuff so much it’s appalling and terrible. The characters are either stiff or vaudeville villainesque to the point where I am just bored. The detective is up his own backside and almost psychotic which would have been hilarious if it turned out to be him. There’s no humanity or even feeling in any of them it’s just crap.
November 6, 2023
3.5 stars JDC’s debut is a grotesque and thrilling homage to Poe. It has a great beginning & a satisfying conclusion but drags when the narrator goes gaga over a woman in the middle-third. Overall, it shows promise of more twisty & unusual books to come.
July 21, 2023
Uno dei primi gialli scritti da John Dickson Carr con il simpatico personaggio di Henry Bencolin in cui la trama tende verso l'horror per poi ritornare nel finale nella logica della realtà grazie al detective protagonista che ne svela i retroscena
June 13, 2017
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
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February 25, 2023
Alexandre Laurent, a man who once tried to kill his ex-wife, has escaped from the asylum for the criminally insane where he was sent after the incident. Louise Laurent is engaged to marry Raoul Jourdain, a handsome successful sportsman. Laurent vows to kill Jourdain because he can't bear the thought of Louise married to another. M. Henri Bencolin, detective, is just as determined to prevent the murder. Following the wedding, the bride and groom go to Fenelli's, a place to see and be seen, a place to dance and drink and gamble, if one chooses. Bencolin and his young American friend, Jeff Marle, as well as Dr. Hugo Grafenstein, a psychoanalyst, also go to the club and install themselves in an alcove directly opposite the card room.
At 11:30 pm, Louise Jourdain is sitting with the trio when they see Raoul enter the card room. Bencolin neve takes his eyes off the door. Stationed outside the only other entrance to the room is one of Bencolin's officers. No one enters until a waiter goes to the card room with drinks. The startled man stumbles out immediately and Bencolin realizes at once that something dreadful has happened. When the three men enter the room, they find Jourdain's body in front of the divan and his head staring at them from the middle of the floor. The only window in the room is open, but the sill is dust-covered and shows that no one went in or out--and even if that were not true, the window is forty feet from the ground and the wall is sheer. How could Jourdain have been killed when no one else went in or out? That is the question that Bencolin must answer.
Oh my. What melodrama. At one point, Carr brings up Jules Barbey D'Aurevilly, a French author of mysterious works from (as Carr implies) "an imperially purple imagination" with "a kind of grotesque smiling detachment." He's comparing the work of Barbey to a play written by one of the characters, but he could have been talking about his own book. Carr's first novel and the first in the Bencolin series has it all. Wild melodrama. Gothic overtones. The implication that there is something evil walking by night. An impossible crime. Horrible death scenes. Indebtedness to Poe for one of the reveals. It also has long drawn-out narrative. When Jeff is on his own with any other character (besides Bencolin), the scene seems to go on for-ev-er.
The only other Bencolin book I've reviewed here on the blog is The Lost Gallows. I was much more impressed with that one and didn't seem bothered by the more atmospheric tones. Maybe thirteen years makes a difference. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for that sort of thing right now. Either way, I didn't warm to Bencolin in this book and I can't say that I was terribly impressed by our narrator either. The plot itself was fairly good and I have to say I completely missed the solution. So, I guess Carr did his job in mystifying me. I may have to revisit this one at another time.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
At 11:30 pm, Louise Jourdain is sitting with the trio when they see Raoul enter the card room. Bencolin neve takes his eyes off the door. Stationed outside the only other entrance to the room is one of Bencolin's officers. No one enters until a waiter goes to the card room with drinks. The startled man stumbles out immediately and Bencolin realizes at once that something dreadful has happened. When the three men enter the room, they find Jourdain's body in front of the divan and his head staring at them from the middle of the floor. The only window in the room is open, but the sill is dust-covered and shows that no one went in or out--and even if that were not true, the window is forty feet from the ground and the wall is sheer. How could Jourdain have been killed when no one else went in or out? That is the question that Bencolin must answer.
Oh my. What melodrama. At one point, Carr brings up Jules Barbey D'Aurevilly, a French author of mysterious works from (as Carr implies) "an imperially purple imagination" with "a kind of grotesque smiling detachment." He's comparing the work of Barbey to a play written by one of the characters, but he could have been talking about his own book. Carr's first novel and the first in the Bencolin series has it all. Wild melodrama. Gothic overtones. The implication that there is something evil walking by night. An impossible crime. Horrible death scenes. Indebtedness to Poe for one of the reveals. It also has long drawn-out narrative. When Jeff is on his own with any other character (besides Bencolin), the scene seems to go on for-ev-er.
The only other Bencolin book I've reviewed here on the blog is The Lost Gallows. I was much more impressed with that one and didn't seem bothered by the more atmospheric tones. Maybe thirteen years makes a difference. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for that sort of thing right now. Either way, I didn't warm to Bencolin in this book and I can't say that I was terribly impressed by our narrator either. The plot itself was fairly good and I have to say I completely missed the solution. So, I guess Carr did his job in mystifying me. I may have to revisit this one at another time.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
April 23, 2023
I've read three books by Dickson Carr at this point (Hag's Nook, The Plague Court Murders, and now this), with a fourth on the way (The Red Widow Murders, as recently put out by American Mystery Classics), I think I have to say that my appreciation for Carr grows with every subsequent one I read. Granted, I don't think the books have necessarily themselves have been better, each subsequent one I read--in fact, I'd still say of the three Hag's Nook I liked the best--but I can understand what Carr's going for a bit better with more experience.
This one--his first novel-length work, if I'm not mistaken--definitely has its rough spots. I'm not sure if the solution was as solvable as he may have hoped, and certain aspects aren't as refined as he'd reach with later books. That being said, this book probably is the most gothic of his mysteries thus far, and all three had gothic overtones. If the introduction was correct, the original name of this story was "Grand Guignol," which is a perfectly befitting name. Carr's strength definitely lies in his ability to build atmosphere and dazzle the reader with the impossibility of the crimes presented. However, when push comes to shove, sometimes the execution doesn't stand up.
That's not to say I think it's bad--far from it. I haven't read a bad Carr yet, in my opinion. I do think that people who are new to Carr would enjoy this one as a good starter, definitely, but it's not the great I'd come to expect. That would be the 5-star ones, which I hope to bestow on my next Carr, coming shortly.
My rating: 4/5
Would I own/re-read?: Maybe!
TW: Death, Murder, Gore, Abusive Relationships, Neck Trauma, Mental Illness
Does the animal die?: No animals are harmed while it walks by night.
How difficult was the mystery?: Personally, I had no problem with the who--that was more evident to me. It was in the how that the problem arose. I'd have to re-read it again, but as it stands I'm not entirely sure of Carr played fair with certain descriptions relating to how the impossibility was achieved, at least from a detection stand-point. eta: The edition I read didn't include a map, which some editions do. Editors in charge of GAD fiction reprintings: if the book came with a map, please keep it??? Unless the author didn't intend for it, the map can significantly help in the understanding!!!
This one--his first novel-length work, if I'm not mistaken--definitely has its rough spots. I'm not sure if the solution was as solvable as he may have hoped, and certain aspects aren't as refined as he'd reach with later books. That being said, this book probably is the most gothic of his mysteries thus far, and all three had gothic overtones. If the introduction was correct, the original name of this story was "Grand Guignol," which is a perfectly befitting name. Carr's strength definitely lies in his ability to build atmosphere and dazzle the reader with the impossibility of the crimes presented. However, when push comes to shove, sometimes the execution doesn't stand up.
That's not to say I think it's bad--far from it. I haven't read a bad Carr yet, in my opinion. I do think that people who are new to Carr would enjoy this one as a good starter, definitely, but it's not the great I'd come to expect. That would be the 5-star ones, which I hope to bestow on my next Carr, coming shortly.
My rating: 4/5
Would I own/re-read?: Maybe!
TW: Death, Murder, Gore, Abusive Relationships, Neck Trauma, Mental Illness
Does the animal die?: No animals are harmed while it walks by night.
How difficult was the mystery?: Personally, I had no problem with the who--that was more evident to me. It was in the how that the problem arose. I'd have to re-read it again, but as it stands I'm not entirely sure of Carr played fair with certain descriptions relating to how the impossibility was achieved, at least from a detection stand-point. eta: The edition I read didn't include a map, which some editions do. Editors in charge of GAD fiction reprintings: if the book came with a map, please keep it??? Unless the author didn't intend for it, the map can significantly help in the understanding!!!
February 28, 2023
2.5 stars. Some fun stuff about this novel from the intro by Martin Edwards: this is part of the British Library Crime Classics library, even though Carr is an American (they grandfathered this ole anglophile in, apparently). Carr was only 24 when he published this, the first full-length novel featuring Bencolin, juge d'instuction and became known for his locked room mysteries. Finally, I also learned that they call it the "Golden Age of Murders" between WWI & WWII for crime novels, something I didn't know, but will now be using officially from now on.
Also, the first edition had a seal around the last third of the book - so if you read up until all clues had been delivered - page 152 (in my copy), you could return the book for a full refund since you knew who the murderer was and presumably had no need to finish. Cool, but don't we all read for the denouement? It's my favorite part when the villain or detective (or what-have-you - juge d'instruction) reveals all. Also, if you figured this shit out though - you're a wizard and you deserve the full refund.
I liked this, but I thought the atmospheric descriptors were the best part. This book does one of those common mystery tropes, where the bumbling sidekick is the reader's viewer, not the detective, and so we have to suffer with the lovesick idiot moron's hot takes on the crime rather than the clever detective who professes to know the answer immediately from the murder's discovery. To be honest, I hate that, and it's why I detest reading Holmes (never again). I would read Carr again --- but I just checked and his bumbling sidekick Jeff Marle is in the next one too, so I think I'll pass.
Some lines I liked:
"The high windows were all swimming in a dazzle of sun, and up in their corners lay a trace of white clouds, like angels' washing hung out on a line over the grey roofs of Paris. The trees had crept into green overnight; they filled the whole apartment with slow rustling; they caught and sifted the light; in short, it was a springtime to make you laugh at the cynical paragraph you had written the night before."
Also, the first edition had a seal around the last third of the book - so if you read up until all clues had been delivered - page 152 (in my copy), you could return the book for a full refund since you knew who the murderer was and presumably had no need to finish. Cool, but don't we all read for the denouement? It's my favorite part when the villain or detective (or what-have-you - juge d'instruction) reveals all. Also, if you figured this shit out though - you're a wizard and you deserve the full refund.
I liked this, but I thought the atmospheric descriptors were the best part. This book does one of those common mystery tropes, where the bumbling sidekick is the reader's viewer, not the detective, and so we have to suffer with the lovesick idiot moron's hot takes on the crime rather than the clever detective who professes to know the answer immediately from the murder's discovery. To be honest, I hate that, and it's why I detest reading Holmes (never again). I would read Carr again --- but I just checked and his bumbling sidekick Jeff Marle is in the next one too, so I think I'll pass.
Some lines I liked:
"The high windows were all swimming in a dazzle of sun, and up in their corners lay a trace of white clouds, like angels' washing hung out on a line over the grey roofs of Paris. The trees had crept into green overnight; they filled the whole apartment with slow rustling; they caught and sifted the light; in short, it was a springtime to make you laugh at the cynical paragraph you had written the night before."
November 20, 2020
A seemingly impossible crime: a killer commits a savage murder...and leaves a guarded room without being seen! Jeff Marle, friend and aide to M. Henri Bencolin, witnesses this event and the reader comes along for the ride.
And what a ride it is. Gruesome, macabre, tense and shocking. The Bencolin stories by John Dickson Carr differ greatly from his Dr. Gideon Fell stories; don't come along with Bencolin if you are expecting a polite country house murder and an amiable detective. Bencolin's world - Paris in this case - is a dark one and Henri Bencolin, with his Mephisto visage and intolerance for fools, is not the cheeriest of companions.
Which made this the perfect choice to read during the Halloween season, when darkness falls earlier and that cold crispness returns in the autumn breeze. Pardon my step into prose, but it fits with this novel. This book has a bit of an overabundance of florid similes and metaphors (many in French), which is probably not at all unusual in the first published novel by an eager young writer (this was Carr's first full novel). That is not a detraction in this case, as those descriptive passages serve to heighten the tension felt by narrator Jeff Marle as he joins Bencolin in the hunt for a killer who claimed he could enter and exit rooms without being seen...
The reveal at the end is a stunner, and all of the clues were fairly planted by the author (who also provides a map of the second floor of Fenelli's, where the crime took place). There is also a point where the reader is invited to stop and consider the solution before continuing (the first edition had a seal around the last third of the novel offering refunds if one had solved it and didn't need to continue on). A bonus in this edition is the first appearance of M. Henri Bencolin: a very clever short story called The Shadow of the Goat.
And what a ride it is. Gruesome, macabre, tense and shocking. The Bencolin stories by John Dickson Carr differ greatly from his Dr. Gideon Fell stories; don't come along with Bencolin if you are expecting a polite country house murder and an amiable detective. Bencolin's world - Paris in this case - is a dark one and Henri Bencolin, with his Mephisto visage and intolerance for fools, is not the cheeriest of companions.
Which made this the perfect choice to read during the Halloween season, when darkness falls earlier and that cold crispness returns in the autumn breeze. Pardon my step into prose, but it fits with this novel. This book has a bit of an overabundance of florid similes and metaphors (many in French), which is probably not at all unusual in the first published novel by an eager young writer (this was Carr's first full novel). That is not a detraction in this case, as those descriptive passages serve to heighten the tension felt by narrator Jeff Marle as he joins Bencolin in the hunt for a killer who claimed he could enter and exit rooms without being seen...
The reveal at the end is a stunner, and all of the clues were fairly planted by the author (who also provides a map of the second floor of Fenelli's, where the crime took place). There is also a point where the reader is invited to stop and consider the solution before continuing (the first edition had a seal around the last third of the novel offering refunds if one had solved it and didn't need to continue on). A bonus in this edition is the first appearance of M. Henri Bencolin: a very clever short story called The Shadow of the Goat.
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