In the third installment of this locked-room mystery series, Joseph Spector is called in to help when the life of judge Sir Giles Drury is threatened. His wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that the man behind the intimidating letters is Victor Silvius who has spent the last nine years in an asylum (The Grange) after attacking Sir Giles.

Meanwhile, Victor’s sister, Caroline, is concerned about his safety at The Grange. She thinks someone might be trying to kill her brother, and Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard is on the case.

Both cases come to a head when Spector and Flint head to the Drury family estate of Marchbanks. When bodies start piling up, Spector will have to rely on his keen observation skills and instincts honed as a stage magician to find a logical conclusion to a series of seemingly unexplainable mysteries.

I love this series! I was so proud of myself for identifying a clue early on in the story that came back into play when the mystery was unraveled. But I was nowhere near solving the whole case the way Joseph Spector did. Spector is a great character – smart, witty, and perceptive. The Golden Age mysteries in this series are very enjoyable and able to be read in any order.

This is the third book in the Joseph Spector locked room mystery series. If you are a fan of mysteries, where you never know what the author will pull out of his sleeve or hat, this is an amazing series. Joseph Spector was a magician, but now he spends his time as an amateur sleuth. He has a gift for figuring out impossible crimes. Ones where you can imagine a killer getting away with murder. That is, if Joseph isn’t called in to investigate.
A judge is receiving threatening letters, while a sister tries to assist her brother. What is the common denominator? Why the brother, Victor Silvius, tried to kill the man, Sir Giles Drury. But Victor is locked up tight in a sanatorium, so how could he possibly still be a threat to the judge?
I could say more, but I don’t want to risk falling into spoiler filled waters. There were numerous pieces to this puzzle, and I actually guessed, drumroll, please, one. One who, zero why’s, and I think that means that the author is still winning. Another great locked room mystery and I hope the author chooses to write many more.

3.5 stars. This was "Knives Out if written by Agatha Christie." Set in 1938, multiple murders, lots of characters, detectives, an illusionist - there was a lot going on here. I took a screenshot of the family tree at the beginning of the book and referred to it a few times. This book would be ideal for fans of Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes, but if you're used to more modern fast paced thrillers in the style of Freida McFadden, Taylor Adams, this book may not be for you.

Expected release date: July 16, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a strong third entry in the Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mystery, it worked with the mystery genre and I enjoyed getting to figure out what was going on. It had the element of everything that I was expecting from the previous two books. Tom Mead has a great writing style and I enjoyed everything about this book. The characters were everything that I was looking for and worked with the Golden Age. It left me wanting to read more in this series and from Tom Mead.

Magician-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector is back when he is approached by Lady Elspeth Drury to come to her estate to investigate a poison pen letter threatening the life of her husband, renowned judge Sir Giles Drury. Meanwhile, Scotland Yard Inspector George Flint is engaged by Caroline Silvius to investigate freeing her brother Victor from an asylum where that same judge sentenced him nine years ago after he attacked the judge. Both cases intersect at the Drury's manor where murders occur, leading to a web of intrigue and further death before the case is solved.
This entry in the series features two locked door murders of a sort, one conventional and one seemingly impossible killing that in its own way is of the locked door variety. The book had more deaths, more mysteries, more suspects and more ingenious methods of killing than the previous ones in the series, definitely succeeding in the one-up factor. As the stakes grew higher and the body count rose, the intensity in the book never let up. While I did correctly guess the conventional locked door killer and roughly how it was enacted, as well as picked up on a few fairly obvious clues as to culprits of some of the crimes in the story, there was so much going on that I in no way could have guessed it all. This series just keeps getting better, though it will be hard to top all that went on in this edition.