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Department D-3 #2
The Men Who Explained Miracles
The men who explained miracles - John Dickson Carr's famous detective trio - turn their hands to a set of sinister puzzles in this exciting new collection.
Sir Henry Merrivale growls and prowls through a maze of mystery - with death at the end.
Dr. Fell traps an incautious burglar and an invisible murderer.
Colonel March of the Department of Queer Complaints finds a vanishing fiancé and a murderous ghost.
And espionage and assassins spark two tales of international intrigue to round out this feast for fans of mystery and suspense at its best.
Sir Henry Merrivale growls and prowls through a maze of mystery - with death at the end.
Dr. Fell traps an incautious burglar and an invisible murderer.
Colonel March of the Department of Queer Complaints finds a vanishing fiancé and a murderous ghost.
And espionage and assassins spark two tales of international intrigue to round out this feast for fans of mystery and suspense at its best.
- GenresMysteryShort Stories
159 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1963
3 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
421 books468 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 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2019
A decent collection of short stories. But Carr published better stories.
March 1, 2020
Not a strong collection overall, but “The Empty Flat” is excellent, “The Black Cabinet” is alluringly nightmarish, and “All in a Maze” (a Henry Merrivale novelette) is great fun.
October 15, 2019
This is a compilation of six short stories and a novelette, all but one in the usual locked room / impossible crime theme.
Synopses:
The Department of Queer Complaints stories
William Wilson's Racket - Lady Patricia seeks the help of Colonel March. Her fiancé, Francis Hale, has disappeared. She tracked him to a prestigious office, and walks in to find him locked in embrace with the secretary! She huffs out to the hallway (through the only door), then decides to let him have it and goes back inside. He has vanished, yet his clothes remain!
The Empty Flat - Douglas Chase is bothered by a loud radio playing downstairs. He visits the apartment of Kathleen Mills below his (#10), but it's not coming from there. He and Kathleen find the radio is going in the empty flat next door, #11, and turn it off. The next day a body is found in #11. How did it get there?
Dr. Fell stories
The Incautious Burglar - Marcus Hunt has three valuable paintings on display in plain sight, where they may tempt a burglar. One night a burglar enters, and is killed in the act of stealing them. When the burglar's mask is lifted, his identity is quite a surprise.
The Invisible Hands - Brenda Lastrange goes for a swim every morning. One morning she is found dead on the sand, strangled with her own scarf. Yet the only footprints in the sand are her own!
Secret Service stories
Strictly Diplomatic - M. Dermot is taking a vacation at a French spa. There he meets Betty Weatherill. They are enjoying dinner outside. There is a tunnel-like arbor between the hotel and the dining patio. She gets up suddenly and enters the arbor, yet does not emerge from the other end; which is verified by a witness, diplomat Dr. Vanderver. Only a bloody knife remains. Where did she vanish to?
The Black Cabinet - In 1868 Paris, a woman seeks to assassinate Napoleon III. A mysterious man intervenes to prevent it.
Novelette
All in a Maze - Sir Henry Merrivale sets out to assist Jennifer, who is being receiving anonymous death threats. The first threat comes in a cathedral's whispering gallery, and the action moves to a climax in a hedge maze.
Review:
Six quick little stories - only three are murder mysteries. Fun quick reads. All are of the locked room / impossible crime genre, except The Black Cabinet, which is more of a historical exercise and not as enjoyable.
The novelette All in a Maze is fun and takes us to some exotic places. The challenge here is to find how the whispering gallery trick was worked. This will be more meaningful to those who have actually experienced a whispering gallery.
March 22, 2025
Dept of Queer Complaints:
William Wilson’s Racket – Colonel March is enlisted by a socialite to track down her missing fiancé, who vanished from an office while she was in the outside reception area. Review: no murder occurs, but the solution is a fun one. ****
The Empty Flat – Col March investigates when a dead man is found in an unused flat after tenants try to find out why a radio is blasting from the space. Review: well told, although it would have been nice to learn more about the two tenants. ****
Dr. Gideon Fell:
The Incautious Burglar – A man is stabbed during the commission of an attempted burglary of expensive original art. Review: OK tale where the clues are laid out for the sharp reader. ***
Invisible Hands – a woman is found strangled at a beach where hers are the only footprints with 20 feet of her body. Review: At only 18 pages, there was a lot the reader had to infer about characters past relationships. The method of murder was given away by one word and the motive behind was silly. Even Dr. Fell grated in this (happily) short story. *
Secret Service Stories:
Strictly Diplomatic – An over-worked man resting in a French resort encounters a woman he becomes attracted to, but she disappears under mysterious circumstances. Review: Light tale with a simple explanation for the disappearance (once it’s explained.) ***
The Black Cabinet – A young woman whose family is involved in an assassination plot meets a man in Paris in the late 1800’s. Review: The only mystery is why this story was included in this volume. I never warmed to Carr’s tales set in historical times, and this one was no exception. Confusing and boring. *
Sir Henry Merrivale:
All In A Maze – A man meets a young woman in distress who tells him her life is in danger. Review: Not only does this novelette annoy a reader with the tiresome trope of a young man falling instantly in love with a – naturally – very beautiful woman he accidentally meets, it becomes even worse when HM enters the story, calling this very beautiful woman “dolly” every other sentence. Would have taken a star off for every occurrence, but rating it a minus number was impossible. The tricks used were explained away simply but at that point, who cares? *
William Wilson’s Racket – Colonel March is enlisted by a socialite to track down her missing fiancé, who vanished from an office while she was in the outside reception area. Review: no murder occurs, but the solution is a fun one. ****
The Empty Flat – Col March investigates when a dead man is found in an unused flat after tenants try to find out why a radio is blasting from the space. Review: well told, although it would have been nice to learn more about the two tenants. ****
Dr. Gideon Fell:
The Incautious Burglar – A man is stabbed during the commission of an attempted burglary of expensive original art. Review: OK tale where the clues are laid out for the sharp reader. ***
Invisible Hands – a woman is found strangled at a beach where hers are the only footprints with 20 feet of her body. Review: At only 18 pages, there was a lot the reader had to infer about characters past relationships. The method of murder was given away by one word and the motive behind was silly. Even Dr. Fell grated in this (happily) short story. *
Secret Service Stories:
Strictly Diplomatic – An over-worked man resting in a French resort encounters a woman he becomes attracted to, but she disappears under mysterious circumstances. Review: Light tale with a simple explanation for the disappearance (once it’s explained.) ***
The Black Cabinet – A young woman whose family is involved in an assassination plot meets a man in Paris in the late 1800’s. Review: The only mystery is why this story was included in this volume. I never warmed to Carr’s tales set in historical times, and this one was no exception. Confusing and boring. *
Sir Henry Merrivale:
All In A Maze – A man meets a young woman in distress who tells him her life is in danger. Review: Not only does this novelette annoy a reader with the tiresome trope of a young man falling instantly in love with a – naturally – very beautiful woman he accidentally meets, it becomes even worse when HM enters the story, calling this very beautiful woman “dolly” every other sentence. Would have taken a star off for every occurrence, but rating it a minus number was impossible. The tricks used were explained away simply but at that point, who cares? *
December 22, 2021
My wife has a large collection of golden age murder mystery fiction, mostly Agatha Christie. But in amongst it was this 1964 collection of John Dickson Carr stories, a first UK edition with a Saul Bass-reminiscent cover design (not the 1970s one above). The design, and the superb title, drew me in.
(The cover design is actually by one B.S. Biro who, writing and illustrating with quite a different style as Val Biro, is most famous for the Gumdrop children's books.)
It's all wonderfully promising. The 'locked room' plot set-ups, and Dickson Carr's writing style, carry all the intrigue of the design and title forward. Then disappointment as story after story rang dull at the end and failed to deliver on each one's promising beginning.
Maybe the problem was in the short story format (this is the only Dickson Carr I've ever read), because the final story, a longer 'novelette' featuring Sir Henry Merrivale as detective, redeemed the book. This time the writing had more humour, enough classic pop fiction goodness, a great cast of characters and all leading to a nicely accomplished ending.
(The cover design is actually by one B.S. Biro who, writing and illustrating with quite a different style as Val Biro, is most famous for the Gumdrop children's books.)
It's all wonderfully promising. The 'locked room' plot set-ups, and Dickson Carr's writing style, carry all the intrigue of the design and title forward. Then disappointment as story after story rang dull at the end and failed to deliver on each one's promising beginning.
Maybe the problem was in the short story format (this is the only Dickson Carr I've ever read), because the final story, a longer 'novelette' featuring Sir Henry Merrivale as detective, redeemed the book. This time the writing had more humour, enough classic pop fiction goodness, a great cast of characters and all leading to a nicely accomplished ending.
January 10, 2025
Gideon Fell, Henry Merrivale, Colonel March, and a historical mystery--this certainly provides a wide overview of Carr's material! I can't claim it's his best work, though. Of the two March stories, "The Empty Flat" is great, but "William Wilson's Racket" feels kind of misogynistic and the explanation for the impossible disappearance is totally unsatisfying. Of the Fell stories, one is good, but also an abbreviated version of an HM novel, while the other has a common fault of Carr stories, . Of the non-series stories, "Strictly Diplomatic" is kind of dumb with a not very interesting solution; "The Black Cabinet" isn't a traditional Carr story, but is better, with an unexpected twist.
The traditional thing to say is that of the two HM novellas, "All in a Maze" is the weaker of the two. I'll say that I like it a lot; it's a fun romp, and it does my ego good to occasionally figure things out before all is revealed.
The traditional thing to say is that of the two HM novellas, "All in a Maze" is the weaker of the two. I'll say that I like it a lot; it's a fun romp, and it does my ego good to occasionally figure things out before all is revealed.
October 15, 2023
I most enjoyed "The Empty Flat" and "The Incautious Burglar." The others were OK but didn't click with me, especially "The Black Cabinet" which I simply did noy understand: why the heck did show up in this story?!?
Furthermore, in several of these (same as with Agatha Christie), what is up with people declaring love and proposing marriage to people they've practically just met? Is this how Brits of that generation really behaved? If not, and it's just a ridiculous trope / convention, then why bother including such a patently absurd romance when you are trying to write an otherwise logically-airtight locked-room mystery?
Furthermore, in several of these (same as with Agatha Christie), what is up with people declaring love and proposing marriage to people they've practically just met? Is this how Brits of that generation really behaved? If not, and it's just a ridiculous trope / convention, then why bother including such a patently absurd romance when you are trying to write an otherwise logically-airtight locked-room mystery?
December 20, 2017
A solid collection. Colonel March solves the case of the disappearing politician, and the mystery of the empty flat with a dead man and a radio blaring inside. Dr Fell traps the thief of valuable paintings and reveals the irony of the murder which happened in King Arthur's Chair. Sir Henry Merrivale deals with a girl on an arranged marriage and who is being frightened out of her wits. Didn't like the Secret Service stories, where there's a plot hole in the girl disappearing in the arbor, and the failed assassination plot was just a love story.
March 6, 2024
Not the pinnacle of Carr's career, and none of the stories involves anything close to the titular "miracles". It was mildly entertaining, but very insubstantial and I felt pretty let down at each story's end. That gets old. Not recommended.
January 27, 2019
not the strongest carr short stories but fun all the same the novella all in a maze was a big disappointment I figured out the locked room way before the explanation.
October 18, 2020
A collection of short stories featuring several of John D. Carr's creations.
August 18, 2022
Enjoyable read but eminently forgettable. Maybe that means I can go back and read them again a few years.
August 19, 2020
Read so far:
William Wilson's racket --3
Empty flat --3
Incautious burglar --2
Invisible hands --3
Strictly diplomatic --3
The Black cabinet --2
All in a maze (aka The man who explained miracles as by Carter Dickson)--3
William Wilson's racket --3
Empty flat --3
Incautious burglar --2
Invisible hands --3
Strictly diplomatic --3
The Black cabinet --2
All in a maze (aka The man who explained miracles as by Carter Dickson)--3
Read
April 14, 2017 A delightful blast from the past in a series of cozy short stories. Anyone who likes old fashioned mysteries will enjoy these stories.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews