Another chilling and gripping locked room murder mystery with Flint (who deserves more praise than he gets) and Spector. By this, the fourth book, the writer really has a handle on his characters, his puzzles and his confidence is very much on show with a story that ties into the real world with the tragedy of the Titanic and the even bigger tragedy of the Great War weaving throughout the story, as plot points, reflections and how things have changes. All the while, history is repeating, not only in a supposed suicide the echoes a death 25 years in the past, but also the larger conflict that is brewing in Europe.

This one was very much like a ghost tale, a horror story conjured up in a house, on an island, not unlike another from 'And Then There Were None'. The bodies start to rack up quickly, as all paths converge on a mysterious house where nobody and nothing is as it seems. And there's a super creepy puppet that freaked me out, so bravo.

As with previous books, there are tricks within tricks, answers within answers and a world that shifts completely depending on how you look at it.

A brilliant read and I'm curious, with history marching on, where book 5 (hopefully there is one) will take us...

~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review of the book~

An apparent suicide mirrors a similar incident from a quarter of a century ago in this new case for Joseph Spector. Quite literally a locked room mystery, as the police head in his direction, Spector and a cast of unpredictable characters are making their way to Devil’s Neck, an island on which the house was built by a famous occultist and alchemist. While there, plenty of dodgy, quite scary things happen (if you are sensitive to gore, some of the scenes are a little gruesome), all until the watchful eye of Spector, who must solve this investigation. With the possibility of a phantom soldier and plenty to unsettle even the most hardened of hearts, can he find out who is responsible, and why? I haven’t read all of the Spector books – there are now four – but this would encourage me to seek them out.

The fourth title in the Joseph Spector series.

This book was excellent. The mystery begins with Spector joining a coach trip to the Haunted ‘Hotel’ called Devil’s Neck. Meanwhile, Inspector Flint and Sergeant Hook are investigating an apparent murder made to look like suicide in London. The two stories run alongside each other with details emerging that show they must be connected, though it’s only at the explosive climax that the true picture is revealed!

I love Mead’s writing. In the characters of Spector and Flint he has created a detective duo that are obviously intelligent but have to work out the solution to the mystery with the same information provided to the reader. The heavy weight left by World War 1 on the characters as the world stands on the cusp of a fresh conflict is also particularly poignant.

As always the mystery is clever and I loved the opportunity to try to solve the case before the main characters (spoiler - I only half managed it!). The setting was also heavily reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (definitely to the benefit of the story) though it remained a unique and original tale.

I thoroughly recommend this book. Although it is the fourth in the series it can easily be read as a standalone as the brief references to previous titles don’t require you to have detailed knowledge and don’t spoil those stories. For those who haven’t had the pleasure though the first title is Death and the Conjurer and I thoroughly recommend it as well!

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher ***

Going into this book I thought it would be everything I enjoy in a mystery but unfortunately it failed to deliver. Set just before the outbreak of WW2, with split locations between London and our ominous house on the coast it has a classic cast of characters who are well introduced in the opening chapter. The charlatan of a medium with her young female companion, the young male believer, the old cynic and our mystery passenger are on board a coach to Devil’s Neck, while the police officers are busy with a locked room case in London.

The book sets up the mystery well but once we get into the second half of the book it all becomes overly complicated and convoluted. There is one big reveal, followed by another and I struggled to care about who was committing the crimes or why. It felt a little like it was trying to be too clever, and none of the characters felt fully fleshed out.

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC.