"The very presence of a mask tells us there is something behind it. And so, the very act of deception is itself a revelation."

This novel offers such a wonderfully classic mystery vibe, with a resolution that will make your head spin—in a good way. A haunted house where, one by one, the guests end up dying? A cast of suspicious characters with hidden motives? Murders committed in such a way that only those most knowledgeable in the art of locked-room mysteries can figure it out?
If you like novels like And Then There Were None, you will definitely enjoy this book.

"But whatever you do, don't let on that a member of their weekend party is a suspected murderer."

The story follows Imogen, one of the many guests visiting Devil's Neck, a building seemingly haunted by the ghost of a fallen soldier. Her fellow guest, Joseph Spector, firmly believes that whatever is going on isn't of supernatural origin at all and sets out to uncover the mystery. He's a traditional detective—think early Poirot—someone who has everything figured out while everybody else is confused and nowhere close to the truth. If you love those confident, seemingly all-knowing detectives, he's your guy.

I do feel like the time spent at Devil's Neck compared to the resolution is a bit unbalanced. Everything happens in a very short amount of time, and it felt like the latter half of the book was a monologue explaining exactly how the murders were committed. It did have a lot of twists and turns, and I really enjoyed the characters. I just wish we had gotten to see a bit more of them!

7/10 — I will definitely be checking out more Joseph Spector novels in the future. Recommended to anyone who loves classic mysteries.

3☆
This is the first book from this series that I ever read and I was pleasantly surprised and entertained (through most of the action) by both the plot and the gothic atmosphere.
The story starts off a bit character dumpy but evens out as the events unfold. We come face to face with strong female characters, creepy dols, individuals that are not who they say they are and an inheritance that is at the core of it all. The parallel narratives kept me hooked and guessing while the room maps from the crime scenes gave me a bit more insight in the mystery.
There were some phrases that felt awkward and, while the story was interesting, the plot was picking up then stopping abruptly- both things that took me out of the story a few times. Some character's thought processes were hard to follow as the information wasn't very well structured -certain things were over explained while others were not explained enough.
Approaching the end the pace evens out and the book sets us up for a logical explanation having been both thrilling and mysterious. I appreciated the unique view on automation, how it's used in illusion and magic shows and the role it had in the whole story. Can't wait to read more from this series✨️

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The title of Tom Mead's newest work might immediately bring to mind John Dickson Carr's The House at Satan's Elbow, but prospective readers may rest assured that it's definitely a better book than that one.

I've enjoyed the other three works in the Joseph Spector series, and there has been a noticeable improvement over them, a trend which is continued in this book, which I'd say along with Cabaret Macabre is the best of the series so far.

The book is set over dual plotlines, with Inspector Flint investigating the supposed suicide of one man, and Joseph Spector in the House at Devil's Neck for a seance, and while it's obvious from early on just how the lines are going to intersect, it was still enjoying seeing the two characters approaching the mystery from two different ends.

As for the impossible crimes, while I found some of the solutions to be either overly scientific/mechanical, there was also a sense of simplicity to others that I also enjoyed. However, I found the real highlight of the book to lie in the solution of the mystery itself, and just what exactly was behind the tangled skein of events. Some may find the revelations to be over-the-top and not necessary, but I quite enjoyed the final pages when Spector was explaining. Not that there were no unnecessary subplots, I found the hidden relationship between two characters to add almost nothing of value. Also liked the ending proper, and wonder if it'll bring about any changes to the series.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I literally devoured this book in just a couple of days. And even though the ending might be a bit over the top with all the plot twists and really tested my suspension of disbelief, it still remains an enjoyable read that I will keep suggesting!

The plot is a clear homage to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, with the only difference being that part of the story takes place outside the closed and isolated location, and not all the characters die.

A group of people gathers in a former military hospital, now converted into a sort of guesthouse, to attend a séance. But not everyone is who they claim to be. Among them, a killer has a pressing need to eliminate certain individuals. Meanwhile, the police are investigating an unusual suicide that seems far too much like a murder. What ties these two events together?

The novel has an excellent pace, and like in classic mysteries (still the best kind), the plot twists hit at just the right moments. There’s no shortage of unsettling details, which keep the tension consistently high. As I mentioned, the only flaw of this book is that it pushes the envelope a bit too far with the final twists, offering multiple dramatic turnarounds. Even the murder dynamics, when you think about them rationally, are quite implausible—though the way they’re told in the novel makes them enjoyable nonetheless.

The characters are intriguing, each of them suspicious in turn. The two investigators—former magician Spector, a cross between Poirot and Sherlock Holmes with a slightly Mephistophelian flair, and Police Chief Flint—start off from different places and seemingly unrelated cases, only to converge as they unravel a single, deeply intricate plot that traces back many years...

The novel is part of a series featuring Spector and Flint, but it can easily be read as a standalone story.

I really enjoyed this book. Ghosts, seances, magic and intrigue, is anyone really who they seem to be. I know the story didn’t always flow and it’s possible to pick holes in some of the storyline but read it for what it is, an enjoyable story. I would definitely recommend.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC

entertaining, with an engaging cast and a lovely period feel. . A little slow to start, but I will be seeking out other books in this series

We have a book with an intense “Golden Age of Mystery” flavor and I couldn't be more happier about it!

In this story we have our detective Joseph Spector, who I confess is the first time I've had contact with him, trying to unravel a series of deaths that take place in the Devil's Neck house.

I have to confess that when I started to get into the story I thought there would be a lot of occultism and spiritualism going on, but I was sorely mistaken. Tom managed to make that theme overshadow what was happening in the narrative.

For a reader of classic crime thrillers, I can tell you that there are several tropes here, such as locked room murder, mistaken identities, optical illusions, and suicides disguised as murders and vice versa. In fact, it's these tropes that enrich the story. However, I have to highlight the fact that The Reader's Challenge was so good to have in the story, reminiscent of Ellery Queen in his works.

The only negative point is that at the moment when the truth was revealed, I felt so confused by the names and all the detective's detailed explanations that I had to read that part more than once (note: I'm Portuguese, so maybe that's why it didn't work so well for me).

Finally, the whole narrative is written with detail, a wealth of vocabulary (so I'm Portuguese, I had some difficulty understanding them, but the dictionary helped), and, above all, by an author whose admiration for the Golden Age of Mystery is perfectly evident.

More Tom Mead in this contemporary age, please!

The House at Devil’s Neck by Tom Mead

Synopsis

An apparent suicide in a London townhouse uncannily mirrors a similar incident from twenty-five years ago, prompting Scotland Yard’s George Flint to delve deep into the past in search of the solution to a long-forgotten mystery.

Meanwhile, Joseph Spector travels with a coach party through the rainy English countryside to visit an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island called Devil’s Neck. The house, first built by a notorious alchemist and occultist, was later used as a field hospital in the First World War before falling into disrepair. The visitors hold a seance to conjure the spirit of a long-dead soldier. But when a storm floods the narrow causeway connecting Devil’s Neck to the mainland, they find themselves stranded in the haunted house. Before long, the guests begin to die one by one, and it seems that the only possible culprit is the phantom soldier.

Flint’s and Spector’s investigations are in fact closely linked, but it is only when the duo are reunited at the storm-lashed Devil’s Neck that the truth is finally revealed. Tom Mead once again creates a brilliant homage to John Dickson Carr and the Golden Age of mysteries with this intricately plotted puzzle.

Review

This Agatha–Christie-style locked-room murder mystery was a little of my reading comfort zone but entertaining all the same.

I loved the character list (dramatis personae) introducing the cast of protagonists of the mystery. It brilliantly added to the text’s theatricalism.

I did feel that the narrative was at times convoluted, and I found some of the terminology to be anachronistic. For instance, terms such as “oral fixation”, “expat”, and “hungover” are used.

Below are the plotted graphs for the diachronic usage of the above terms according to the Google Books Ngram Viewer. As you can see, although these terms do crop up in 1939, when this mystery takes place, they were barely in common usage.

While the third part of the novel does get much better and faster in pace, a level of suspension of disbelief is required as Flint’s deductions come seemingly out of nowhere.

The final reveal was very interesting although it did turn into a double twist, which, in my opinion, furthered the slightly over complicated nature of the novel.

Star rating
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 2.5 out of 5.
Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus (Aries Fiction) for this advance reader copy.

This book is full of characters and mystery. It's part of a series that I didn't realise. However, it could easily be a standalone book.
I did find it hard to keep up with the characters and the storyline, however, very cleverly written, maybe too clever for me!

Thank you Head of Zeus for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book generally. I took notes to try and work out who the killer was, but found there were some fairly big leaps of logic to get to the conclusion. The epilogue was quite confusing due to the number of characters and crossed wires, but at face value it's a good atmospheric read.

On the last day of August 1939, a band of travellers make their way to Devil’s Neck House via coach. The house is reputed to be haunted, so on board the coach there is a believer, a sceptic, a writer/companion, a spiritualist and as yet some undisclosed interested parties. Plus, of course, the driver Mr Fred Powell. What makes their journey so interesting is that the house has never before been open to the public, but now under new ownership it is accepting paying guests. Whilst the merry (!) band are on their travels, Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard is up to his ears in an unexplained death. Thought at first to be a suicide, Flint is of the opinion that it is a ‘locked room’ murder, and hopes for the assistance of Mr Joseph Spector, a one time music hall magician (otherwise known as a professional trickster), who has helped him in the past. Regrettably, Mr Spector is one of the mixed bag of passengers on the coach to Devil’s Neck.

This is the fourth book in the series, but is entirely acceptable as a standalone.

Full of purple prose, this book is a flashback to the writing style of the 30’s, with echoes of all the old favourites. Whilst I did enjoy reading something a little different, the laboured explanations and denouement were something of a turnoff. Not the most exciting of reads, though the characters were good. I liked the start of the story, but as it became more convoluted and twisty it lost its way. Sometimes less is more and being too clever doesn’t work for the reader.

As a lover of old time crime and thriller writers I think this was a good attempt at recreating those times, just need to be a bit snappier, less florid and definitely less precocious.

2.5*

Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus.

I love this series, it’s so very clever. This one, however, was a little too clever for me, the twists came so thick and fast that they left me dizzy.

Thanks to Aria & Aries and Net Galley. This is the fourth book in the series and i would say it is the best, it is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't put it down. I loved the back and fourth between Flint's story and Spector's and the time difference slowly catching up until the two merge. The twists just keep coming too. I really hope there will be a fifth, will be interesting with the seting now in WW2

This is a sort of late night review after having turn the last page. it's the best in this series, a series which improves with each new novel.
Fast paced, a page turner that kept reading till very late in the night.
There's gothic atmosphere, plenty of twists and turns, locked rooms, tricksters, plenty of surprises. It's fast paced and I couldn't stop reading if if I had to get up by 6.30 and it was nearly 2 am. Sleep deprived and happy
It also helped to solve my reading slump and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved the different characters in this book! The storytelling is concise and riveting, and I thought this was perfect to read on a plane or train as it’s entertaining and easy to get through. I liked the twists at the end and all the world building.

Set on the cusp of world War 2. This mystery starts in London, when a man is found dead from apparent suicide. Police Inspector Flint recognises the victim's name from a similar and mysterious case that took place 25 years ago.

At the same time a coach is leaving London for Devils Neck, a former field hospital and now apparently haunted house on an island in Essex. Onboard are a group of people who on the surface don't seem to have enough in common to be off on a weekend break together. Soon after arrival Madame La Motte, an apparent medium holds a séance to try to contact a long dead wounded soldier who died near the house after the end of the First World War.. Before the night is over two more people will be dead. Joseph Spector, conjurer and amateur sleuth sets about solving the mystery, during the night while the group are separated from the mainland during a storm.

Although the three deaths don't seem to be related, Inspector Flint and Sergeant Hook head to Devils Neck to join up with Spector and solve the case. I didn't' realise that Tom Mead's book was part of a series until I was quite a way through. But this one stands alone quite well anyway. I enjoyed the intrigue and complex analysis. The characters are intriguing and I'm going to go back and read some more.

Thank you to Netgalley, The Aria and Aries team, and the author for the opportunity to read : The House at Devil's Neck

☆Initially drawn in by the cover and title but stayed because the story was absolutely fantastic.☆

I'm a bit late to the Joseph Spector series, but this could be read easily as a stand-alone. Although there were a few references to other stories, they didn't make me feel excluded as a reader or hinder my enjoyment of the story. It encouraged a spark of curiosity about the other books.

The story moves between two locations and two groups. First, there is a suicide (or is it?) in a London townhouse with the investigation being led by Scotland Yard's George Flint. The incident has similarities to a mystery from 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, Joseph Spector and a couch party arrive at the isolated location of Devil's Neck .

Devil's Neck has a dark past and hides secrets of its own.
The visitors conduct a seance to reach the spirit of a soldier. But things start to get chilling as the guests begin to die one by one.
As flood water rises, the house is cut off, turning it into an island. There's no leaving. The party soon realise they are caught with the killer. One of their own or a phantom solider?

It was a superb cast of characters, and the writing made me feel like I was at Devil's Neck and very suspicious of them all!

I enjoyed reading for clues and piecing it all together. The mystery was so clever, and the reveals and conclusions had me cheering out loud. I loved the intricacies and how the story was put together.

The ending and how everything came together was just wonderfully satisfying.

The author's voice is that of a very good storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading.

🔎🔎🔎🔎/5

This was fine but honestly nothing special.
I found the ‘tricks’ a bit over the top and the fact that the book needed 30 minutes to clarify the end just shows it was too much.
There were so many swaps it just made it tiresome to read rather than surprising.

Not greatly impressed.

Release Date: 14 August 2025

A locked-room whodunnit with a classic, atmospheric feel! The House at Devil’s Neck is the fourth book in the Spector Locked Room series, but as a first-time reader of Tom Mead’s work, I can confirm it absolutely stands alone.

Set in a spooky old mansion that once served as a First World War field hospital, the novel brings together an intriguing mix of characters: Imogen, a determined reporter; Francis, a paranormal enthusiast; Virginia, a grieving mother; Madame Adaline La Motte, a spiritualist; and my personal favourite, Joseph Spector—a professional trickster turned sleuth.

When the house is cut off by floods and a ghostly soldier is rumoured to be causing mischief, the eerie atmosphere intensifies. But when guests start turning up dead, Spector and Inspector Flint must untangle the mystery before another victim—perhaps even Spector himself—falls prey to Devil’s Neck.

With plenty of twists and turns, this is a cleverly plotted, engaging mystery that keeps you guessing. The perfect blend of cosy crime and gothic suspense, it’s a must-read for fans of locked-room puzzles and classic detective fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

#TheHouseAtDevilsNeck #TomMead #LockedRoomMystery #JosephSpector #CosyCrime #BookReview #MysteryLover #NetGalley #Bookstagram #WhoDunnit

This was such a fun read! I haven’t read this series before, but I loved the characters and the descriptions were so vibrant I felt like I was there. Creepy, funny, and clever, I enjoyed it all. It gave off Sherlock/poirot/And Then There Were None vibes. Thank you for letting me read it!