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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
perfect Introduction to the master of Closed-Room-Mysteries, 1 Jul 2001
By A Customer
John Dickson Carr, for those who don't know him was the epitome of the 1920s-1940s British crime style. This style, perhaps best represented by Agatha Christie herself, and is all about (a) a strange, semi-Victorian phase in British society, (b) having a large, often badly hashed out character-cast and (c) being all about 'whodunnit' and 'howdunnit'.Given the often poor characters, motive, etc, is often fairly obvious (generally all characters would have wanted to have done it). Instead the focus is very much on physically complex crimes (ie the room is locked, the doors were guarded, it happened under-water, etc, etC) and the logistics of pulling such a thing off. Dickson Carr is the _master_ of this. The crimes are usually described fully within the first two chapters and I really don't know of anyone who actually figured out how they're done (they always have very plausible solutions, by the way!), before getting at least 75% through the book. Anyway, as you can see, I haven't given too much away, and that's because to tell you anything of the plot is to spoil it - so fine is the informational balance of what the author writes. All you need to know is that if you really want your mind stretched, try these out. This edition, BTW, is particularly good as it contains more than one story at a cheaper price - gets you into the thing quicker.
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