A delightfully thorough and well-built mystery. This story kept me guessing until the end, and did a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters along the way. I liked learning about each patient, the family, plus the detective and magician on the case! It all fit together well and I feel little to no dialogue was wasted on the irrelevant. The writing style was particularly enjoyable and taught me a handful of new words, which I always appreciate.
A fun read that I won't hesitate to recommend to mystery lovers. Nothing jaw dropping or genre defining, but a pleasant and thoroughly enjoyable read.

A fun and classic mystery book. Keeps you guessing until the end. The characters were well developed and I found myself eager to get back to the back and to solving the mystery. I sincerely enjoyed this title and would recommend.

The title of "Death and the Conjuror" is what first drew me to request an ARC of Tom Mead:s book, from Netgalley. After reading it, I am so happy that I did and that Netgalley saw fit to fulfill my request. This is a classic murder mystery that could if been written many years ago. The characters are few, but extremely well portrayed,. And the story is told in a simple way, but one that makes it hard to stop reading..

I saw that this might possibly the first book in a series and I am hoping that is true. I will eagerly await the publication if each one! Anyone who loves a true classic murder mystery, with just a touch of sleight of hand, will certainly enjoy this book.

A magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes. In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions? This is an incredible locked room mystery. I couldn’t put it down and I love the main character, Joseph Spector. Not all locked room mysteries have credible endings but this one did. Definitely time well spent! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Death and the Conjuror
By Tom Mead

This is a cleverly done murder mystery – one that revolves around a murder committed in a room locked from the inside, with no murder weapon and seemingly no way for the killer to have escaped the scene.

When psychologist Anselm Rees is murdered in his own locked study, there is a plethora of suspects with a wide range of possible motives.
The doctor's three patients; Della Cookson, an actress, Floyd Stenhouse, a musician, and Claude Weaver, a writer, are all potential suspects. But then, so are Rees' daughter, Lidia, and her fiancé, Marcus Bowman. Add to all this a second murder which muddies the waters and you have a murder mystery served up neat!

I enjoyed this mystery, but I was puzzled by the fact that the housekeeper was never considered among the suspects. Everyone else was!

Hello! Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for a copy of Death and the Conjuror. This book and the concept surrounding it are awesome. Such a unique idea to create a magician and detective team! I felt like I was watching this book play out in a BBC Period mini-series. The Golden Age has become 'all the rage' lately, and this mystery is certainly timely. Murders in a locked room are extremely exciting as the crimes to be solved, and the writing in this book is top-notch. I love mysteries, and this puzzle within a puzzle mystery is brilliant. The concept of a crime in a locked room summons images of crimes eithin a modern-day escape room. I do not want to give anything away, but I highly recommend this book! These are my honest opinions. Thank you! :)

I loves reading this book! The characters were interesting, felt real, and believable as people. The story was was interesting and kept me guessing how it would all come together at the end. The wrap-up was well conceptualized and (though I am sure this was because it was the unedited version of the text) having the page references of when events referenced occurred helped me place the clues together. I look forward to future books in this series.

Is Tom Mead a time traveler? Death and the Conjuror is such a wonderful Golden Age-style mystery that it is hard to believe he wrote it in 2022! If, indeed, he is a time traveler, I hope he takes this book with him; I am sure it will be widely enjoyed.
From the very first chapter the descriptions of the physical settings, the stage, the homes, the cast of characters, and the writing style carried me to 1936. The subjects that arose during the course of the book were very appropriate to the time: like psychiatry, the stage, the significance of dreams. Spector even specifically acknowledges the seven types of locked-room problems identified by John Dickson Carr in his book The Hollow Man.
Joseph Spector is a wonderful character, definitely quirky but not incredible, with the air of intellectual superiority characteristic of such sleuths. The other characters were also nicely drawn, like Inspector Flint, whose “attitude towards crime was philosophical; while largely against it, he could still see it as a societal necessity”. Here is our introduction to Marcus Bowman, ”The fellow was tall and spindly, rather spiderish in a pin-striped suit and garish bow tie. He has a film-star moustache and slick, brilliantined black hair. His eyes were as damp and unintelligent as a dog’s. ”
The plot moves along nicely with lots of unexpected events and false leads during the investigation. Solutions in locked room mysteries are often very convoluted and verge on the implausible. After all, if it were obvious, it wouldn’t be much fun. Certainly I did not figure out the solution, which was clever but a bit less credible than ideal (but no worse than many other locked room mysteries I have read, so to a degree it is true to the genre) . To say more risks spoilers, and the flaws were certainly not serious enough for me to recommend skipping the book. This mild dissatisfaction cost this otherwise wonderful book one star.
This appears to be Tom Mead’s first novel, but he has written much short fiction, and this does not read like a debut.
As a bonus, in the Acknowledgments the author mentions a number of Golden Age mystery writers who inspired him, among which were several with whom I was not familiar. Now I can look forward to some Golden Age mysteries while I wait for Joseph Spector #2!

I enjoyed this locked door murder mystery set in 1930s London with a cast of characters which includes a psychiatrist and his daughter, an actress, a magician and a musician amongst others. If you can guess whodunnit then you're better than me, as I was stumped until the big reveal(s) as there is also a parallel mystery of a stolen painting from a locked room to solve. This story romps along with glamour, intrigue and a little bit of magic.

Take a locked-room murder mystery. Add three mental patients, an aloof daughter, an old magician, and a no-nonsense inspector. Throw in a stolen painting for good measure. That’s this book.

I found the story fast-paced and engaging. It’s written in the style and setting of golden age detective fiction complete with a brilliant amateur sleuth and a you-dunnit explanation to all the suspects. The author also incorporates stage tricks and mental diagnoses of that era, which was a nice touch.

This was a fun cozy locked-room mystery that felt like British Classics of the genre. It was engaging and easy to read and didn't require a lot of effort - and I mean that in a good way. I like the idea of a magician as unofficial detective - as with Elly Griffiths Magic Men series, it feels very plausible to me that those whose career depends on misdirection would be extremely good at detecting it in other situations. That being said though, the bumbling police who basically turned everything over to this magician seemed a little unbelievable. As a result, some of the setup and resolution felt a little contrived, but on the whole it was a nice distraction from real life and a pleasant read.

Absolutely loved this book, raced through it to find out who dunnit. A classic locked room murder story that kept me guessing. Eminently readable.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read this in advance. Love a good who done it and this lived up to expectations. Great reading

A fun locked room mystery, for any fan of the mystery classics. The case was intriguing and the involvement of both psychiartrists and a magician kept it interesting from all angles. A page turner in just the way it should be. I'm sure a lot of people are going to enjoy this one.

"Death and the Conjuror" by Tom Mead is an excellent first novel. It has great style about it and the character of Joseph Spector is likeable. It really is an enjoyable Golden Age of Mystery novel coupled with some elements of Jonathan Creek and Death in Paradise. If you like a locked room mystery which is explained clearly then do read this book. I'd be delighted to hear that there would be more to be written!

A locked-room mystery in which no one could get in or out and with seemingly no motive for anyone to want to kill the Doctor. A real conundrum.

I love a classic whodunit mystery and this definitely ticked all the boxes. The atmosphere and settings were spot on and left nothing to be desired in that respect.

The cast of characters was intriguing and the author did a good job of making them real enough to not overthink them. There was definitely room to expand on certain characters but nothing that made it a disservice.

I liked the fact that the sometimes sleuth was a magician. It was something totally different than what I was used to and made it more interesting. Also, there is a list of characters, which I loved! It was a little intimidating seeing all the characters but it didn’t get overwhelming.

This is one, that will leave you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I am truly amazed by this wonderful masterpiece."

The storyline is set in the early 1930s. The author has expertly used the language of that era along with incredible descriptions that can easily transport us there. The plot is very engaging and the mystery is slowly built. The twists came one after the other which made the book a bit confusing at times for me. Plus, this definitely didn't help in finding who the killer was.
There were some hints for each character that you might have thought could have been helpful, but to me, they weren't. The fact that it keeps your attention, and has you keep guessing, shows how incredibly written is this book. The characters were very unique and a bit quirky. My favorite part was the explanation of what truly happened.

"A magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes.

In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions?

Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets - or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.

A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader, Death and the Conjuror joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery."

Will this fill the Elly Griffiths Magic Men hole in my life?

Death and the Conjuror
by Tom Mead
Pub Date: July 12, 2022
Mysterious Press
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a truly delightful read! I was drawn in by the publisher blurb. This book did not disappoint. I am highly recommending it for a variety of reasons. Death and the Conjuror is the perfect whodunit mystery. A psychiatrist is murdered in a room locked from the inside with his housekeeper not far away. A mysterious man visits the house that night, but the doctor is heard on the phone later. Then, a client tries to visit the doctor and he is found murdered.
It felt like going back in time, it was so entertaining. I loved the whole atmosphere. I don't know how to explain it but the writing was just so aesthetic. The book was the perfect length to tell the story.
5 stars

Scotland yard is stuck while investigating the murder of a famous psychiatrist. Found in his locked office, they can’t understand how someone could have gotten in and out, so they engage with a magician who knows the tricks that are employed in magic shows, hoping to make some headway. With the classic locked room scenario and a long list of suspects, can they figure out what happened and whodunit?

I was intrigued with this book from he start and truly enjoyed it. It reminds me of some of the old classics and I highly recommend it for the mystery lover!