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The Dr. Gideon Fell Mysteries Volume One: The Blind Barber, Death-Watch, and To Wake the Dead
Three Golden Age British-style whodunits from the Edgar Award-winning writer Agatha Christie called "a master magician . . . the king of the art of misdirection."
One of the most popular Golden Age mystery authors, John Dickson Carr was also lauded by his peers. Agatha Christie offered him the highest praise from one mystery writer to "Very few detective stories baffle me, but Mr. Carr's always do." And Dorothy Sayers "Mr. Carr can lead us away from the small, artificial world of the ordinary detective plot into the menace of outer darkness. . . . Every sentence gives a thrill of positive pleasure."
Featured in Carr's widely acknowledged masterpiece, The Hollow Man, Dr. Gideon Fell is a portly sleuth whose formidable intellect is the terror of every criminal in London and the envy of every detective in Scotland Yard.
The Blind Barber Aboard the majestic ocean liner Queen Victoria, the theft of a reel of top-secret government film sets off a chase involving stolen jewels, massive marionettes, and a corpse that won't stay put. It will take the timely intervention of Dr. Fell to cut through the shipboard shenanigans and unmask a killer.
"A good mystery and lots of fun in the bargain." --The New York Times
Death-Watch A clockmaker is puzzled by the theft of the hands from a monumental new timepiece he is preparing for a member of the nobility. When one of the stolen hands is found buried between a policeman's shoulder blades, stopping his clock for all time, Dr. Fell comes to the aid of Scotland Yard, putting him squarely in the path of a madman with nothing but time on his hands.
"There has probably never been, either in real life or in fiction, a more elaborately planned crime than this one." --The New York Times
To Wake the Dead On a wager, mystery novelist Christopher Kent travels from Johannesburg to London with only the cash in his wallet and the clothes on his back. He arrives with twenty-four hours to spare, his wallet and stomach both empty. But while having breakfast at a luxurious hotel, he is implicated in the murder of a guest. Fleeing the scene, Kent takes refuge with Dr. Fell. For Kent, getting to London was easy. The trick will be avoiding the hangman.
"An excellent novel of crime and puzzlement." --The New York Times
One of the most popular Golden Age mystery authors, John Dickson Carr was also lauded by his peers. Agatha Christie offered him the highest praise from one mystery writer to "Very few detective stories baffle me, but Mr. Carr's always do." And Dorothy Sayers "Mr. Carr can lead us away from the small, artificial world of the ordinary detective plot into the menace of outer darkness. . . . Every sentence gives a thrill of positive pleasure."
Featured in Carr's widely acknowledged masterpiece, The Hollow Man, Dr. Gideon Fell is a portly sleuth whose formidable intellect is the terror of every criminal in London and the envy of every detective in Scotland Yard.
The Blind Barber Aboard the majestic ocean liner Queen Victoria, the theft of a reel of top-secret government film sets off a chase involving stolen jewels, massive marionettes, and a corpse that won't stay put. It will take the timely intervention of Dr. Fell to cut through the shipboard shenanigans and unmask a killer.
"A good mystery and lots of fun in the bargain." --The New York Times
Death-Watch A clockmaker is puzzled by the theft of the hands from a monumental new timepiece he is preparing for a member of the nobility. When one of the stolen hands is found buried between a policeman's shoulder blades, stopping his clock for all time, Dr. Fell comes to the aid of Scotland Yard, putting him squarely in the path of a madman with nothing but time on his hands.
"There has probably never been, either in real life or in fiction, a more elaborately planned crime than this one." --The New York Times
To Wake the Dead On a wager, mystery novelist Christopher Kent travels from Johannesburg to London with only the cash in his wallet and the clothes on his back. He arrives with twenty-four hours to spare, his wallet and stomach both empty. But while having breakfast at a luxurious hotel, he is implicated in the murder of a guest. Fleeing the scene, Kent takes refuge with Dr. Fell. For Kent, getting to London was easy. The trick will be avoiding the hangman.
"An excellent novel of crime and puzzlement." --The New York Times
- GenresMystery
831 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 2, 2018
142 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
423 books493 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 12, 2025
JDC and Dr. Gideon Fell have become an obsession, especially since so many of them are available on Kindle Unlimited. I’m switching between these and Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver. I adore these pre-war and post-war stories. I’m highlighting all the phrases, words and references I don’t understand. It’s pretty rare that I read things I can’t understand, and these words are so old even the dictionary can’t explain them. These stories are so intelligent, so well told, yet it’s the characters I love. I can see why Poirot became famous and Dr. Fell did not. We get almost no backstory and very little personal information about Dr. Fell and Sargent Hadley, unlike Poirot, Hastings, and Miss Lemon, and Miss Marple, who are more the story than the story and far more likeable. Nevertheless, these are great mysteries with memorable side characters and a lot of humor, especially The Blind Barber. I was wiping tears, just dying laughing all through it. I hope to read all these books, God willing I live that long!
May 7, 2020
Not for me
I first head about John Dickson Carr when researching authors who were contemporaries of Agatha Christie, and his name recently came up again in a work of fiction where a bookstore owner creates a list of his favorite mystery books and he’s criticized for not having anything by Carr on his list, so I figured it was high time I gave him a try.
This is a collection of, I believe, the first three books in Carr’s Dr. Gideon Fell series and, to be honest, the first two, The Blind Barber and Death Watch were a real slog. The third was slightly more enjoyable, but I don’t think Carr is for me, though perhaps I’ll try a stand alone at some later date. They haven’t aged well, there’s zero back story on Fell, the sexism of the day is prevalent and they just aren’t much fun. Ah, well. Can’t all be winners.
I first head about John Dickson Carr when researching authors who were contemporaries of Agatha Christie, and his name recently came up again in a work of fiction where a bookstore owner creates a list of his favorite mystery books and he’s criticized for not having anything by Carr on his list, so I figured it was high time I gave him a try.
This is a collection of, I believe, the first three books in Carr’s Dr. Gideon Fell series and, to be honest, the first two, The Blind Barber and Death Watch were a real slog. The third was slightly more enjoyable, but I don’t think Carr is for me, though perhaps I’ll try a stand alone at some later date. They haven’t aged well, there’s zero back story on Fell, the sexism of the day is prevalent and they just aren’t much fun. Ah, well. Can’t all be winners.
August 10, 2025
Excellent, all very good - gleeful mayhem on an ocean liner, was their a murder or wasn't there - Death Watch - a really diabolical method of murder, a real cold blooded monster - To Wake The Dead - How well do we really know our friends, or our relations? - very complicated, quite ingenious
March 24, 2021
When I was much younger, I loved this author. I still admire his plots.
June 27, 2022
An enjoyable collection.
October 5, 2024
Laborious reading.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews