Interesting and gripping story! The magic thrown in was a fun touch that wasn’t something you read about often. The characters were interesting and overall a good read!

Death and the Conjuror is a locked room murder mystery. There were many twits in this first book in a new series. Joseph Spector is an illusionist that assists Inspector Flint in trying to solve murders and robberies in 1930's London. I enjoyed the story and it keeps you turning the pages to try and put the pieces together.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The publishers summary says this book has a “baffling plot.” And that’s true, though the feeling the reader takes away from it is something different than what they surely meant to convey.

The setup for this mystery is a fine one, an homage to John Dickson Carr and the Locked Room Mystery. Accompanying that is a solid set of suspects and an amateur sleuth who plays the archetypal role well enough.

But the positives end there. First, there’s the aforementioned “baffling plot.” Which might have been fun had it led to a logical conclusion. Alas, the solve for this was incredibly convoluted in a way that just renders it poorly done. And contrary to the through-the-fourth-wall moment that the author half-jokingly inserts into the narrative to mimic genre structure, you actually do NOT have all the information you need to solve this. Or anything close to it.

Mysteries that rely on an info dump at the end to solve the case are almost always terrible unless they have some other element to recommend the reading experience, like strong atmosphere or excellent characters. Both of those things can at least partially save a book for me even if the solve is a mess. Unfortunately, this book has very little atmosphere and the characters, while satisfactory enough, are not uniquely intriguing.

Audiobook readers: Obviously I’m not recommending this book in any format, but it certainly doesn’t lose anything in audio format if you’re still interested in it. The story works fine for the medium and the narrator is excellent.

It’s a locked room mystery! I like them as they’re fun puzzles that hinge on who was where and when.

The murdered is a psychiatrist with a number of clients he saw in his study, located on the first floor of his home. He had an unexpected visitor (one his housekeeper had never seen before) the evening he was killed. His daughter was out to dinner with a male friend, and the doctor had had two other clients that day: one earlier in the day, and the second who arrived a few minutes before his housekeeper found him dead in his locked study.

Inspector Flint gets a retired magician to help him, precisely because of the locked study and apparent impossibility that anyone could have killed the man in between two visitors.


This is a fairly light story, with a relatively small suspect list, and much hinging on the dead psychiatrist’s patients. (There is some dodgy psychology spouted by the characters, based on the limited understanding people had of the field in 1936.)

Spector seemed both fascinating, and a little too fascinating, easily overshadowing Flint. Spector’s past as a magician and his eclectic knowledge came in handy during the investigation. Amusingly, author Tom Mead has Spector refer to a John Dickson Carr, the writer who made the “Locked Room Mystery” famous, in the course of the investigation, making the Golden Age mystery writer a character in this mystery.

Regarding the case in this book, yhe murderer wasn't hard to deduce, and I knew who it was very early on in the book. And, I thought the reveal of the overly convoluted methods used in the murders was the author being a little too clever, for which the book loses a star.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penzler Publishers for this ARC in exchange for my review.

{3.5 stars}

When a psychiatrist is killed in his locked office late one evening, inspector Joseph Spector is called in to investigate. Spector is a magician and super sleuth akin to Holmes or Poirot; he sees the scene like no one else. Quickly we are down to a few suspects: his three famous patients, his daughter and her boyfriend. We spend quite a bit of time running in verbal circles as Spector hops from obvious, mundane explanations to complex, fantastical ones. I was fully immersed in the journey for the first half and then it felt a bit to me like we kept treading the same ground. Then when we finally got the explanation, it was over too quickly.

I wanted a little more detail on the actual culprit, we got the basics but some more flesh on those bones would have been appreciated. I had a solution concocted in my own head that I felt was better, which is not my job as the reader I know. I did enjoy this one but not as much as I hoped for based on the premise. I did like that during the explanation section, the author gave us references to the actual clues back on their original pages, more authors should do this!

Thanks to Netgalley for advanced access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

I’ll admit; the cover is what drew me to this book. It’s so interesting and lovely. And when the synopsis claimed it to be reminiscent of Golden Era mysteries, I was sold.

I loved the setting, the thirties being one of my favorite eras. That period in time is portrayed well in the book and harkens back to the beloved Agatha Christie. I also liked the magician theme, adding to the mystique of the book.

However, I found it hard to connect with the characters. None of them seemed very well described to me and it made the book difficult to follow. This was disappointing because I wanted so badly to love this book.

While elements of this book weren’t for me, if you love Golden Era mysteries, then you might want to try Death and the Conjuror.

I received a complimentary copy from Mysterious Press through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Joseph Spector, magician and amateur sleuth, aids Scotland Yard in solving this classic locked room mystery set in between-the-wars London. The victim is a psychiatrist, and the suspects are his patients and the members of his household. There are multiple crimes at work, and soon, multiple murders.

The novel is a "fair play" mystery, and the author takes pains during the denouement to point out where the crucial clues were dropped. Even though the clues were evident, I was completely unable to put them together for a solution.

I look forward to more from this author and series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I love how so many things happened in the book. I could not keep myself from the book because it was so good

A retired stage magician named Spector is asked to help solve a locked room murder. The dead body of Dr Anselm Rees, celebrity psychiatrist, has been discovered in his study. Both the door & windows were locked from the inside & the room is thoroughly searched by the police & no note or weapon is found virtually ruling out suicide. Witnesses can vouch for the fact that after the departure of the final visitor of the day, Rees dismisses his housekeeper for the night & continues his work, even taking a phone call, but soon after is found dead. Suspects include the doctor's prickly daughter, her boyfriend, & three anonymous patients referred to as Patient A, B. & C.

This sounded like an intriguing read. I used to love watching Jonathan Creek & this sounded along similar lines, someone to explain the sleight of hand that allows a murderer to almost get away with it. Unfortunately this story did not work for me. Although the two main characters (Spector & Inspector Flint) show promise for further adventures, there's no real introduction to the characters to let the reader get to know them, just straight into the story. The story line itself was too convoluted, plot points came from out of nowhere, & Spector was, at times, irritating & condescending. Finally, it was supposedly set in 1930s but it could have been from any time to be honest. as there's not enough scene setting. As a reader I like to be able to picture the scenes, it allows me to become invested in the story line, & when you can't, you find yourself with the experience I had reading this - my attention wandered constantly & a book that should have taken me two days to read at the max took five, 2.5 stars (rounded down on sites without half star ratings).

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Death and the Conjuror is the first book in a series about elderly magician Joseph Spector, who assists his friend Detective Flint in solving some complicated locked room type murders. It’s set in 1930s London, and plays out as an homage to the Golden Age of Crime novels of that time, with the enigmatic amateur detective patiently following the clues to get to the truth when no one else can.
I’m not sure what made me request it as I’m limiting requests for new authors, possibly a friend’s recommendation. Overall I enjoyed it and didn’t guess whodunnit, but was slightly disappointed by the superficiality of the characters.

When famous psychiatrist Anselm Rees is found inside his home office, locked from the inside, with his throat slashed, Scotland Yard are stumped, so call on retired trickster Spector to help solve the crime. Could it have been one of Rees’ celebrity clients - a reclusive writer, a kleptomaniac actress and an anxious musician, his cool and composed daughter or her foppish fiancé, or the mystery man who turned up on the night of the crime?

For a mystery set in 1936, this felt uncomfortably modern - there were few period details to fix us in that particular time period and some of the language was rather anachronistic, including Americanisms that I doubt were in use at the time. I did learn some wonderful new words though, like hornswoggle and persiflage, and what mullions are (thanks Google!) The writing style is chatty - at one point breaking the fourth wall to invite the reader to solve the mystery themselves - and the plot moves along at a decent clip. I didn’t feel involved with any of the characters though - even Spector, we got very little backstory or insight into his personality, and I didn’t feel the relationship with bumbling detective George Flint. I did like the explanations for the various “magic” tricks though. I’m not sure if I will continue the series, but do recommend this for Agatha Christie fans who like a devious murderer. 3.5 rounded up for thoroughly bamboozling me!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the ARC; I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
Death and the Conjuror is available now.

Many thanks to NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for this Advanced Reader Copy and the opportunity to review “Death and the Conjuror.” All opinions and comments are my own.

Fans of Locked Room mysteries will find much to keep them occupied in “Death and the Conjuror” by Tom Mead, set in 1936 London. The plot is straightforward enough -- psychologist seeing three rather unique patients is found dead in his locked study. But nothing else is straightforward about “Death and the Conjuror,” as readers will soon learn.

Inspector George Flint is delegated to solve the “murder as a puzzle,” as our author has it. He knows he needs help, and calls upon Joseph Spector -- the “old magician.” The conjuror of our title. What follows is a careful setting out of clues, details about past events, and especially, motives for murder. The author even obligingly goes over the seven different scenarios for a locked room mystery (as first advanced by John Dickson Carr in his book, “The Hollow Man” in 1935).

The body count increases by one, in another impossible crime. The press begins looking for “the phantom killer.” Readers may begin to agree that, as Spector says, they’re faced with a “puzzle with too many pieces.” But he is a magician, after all. Never fear, gentle reader, because you will be “rewarded” with the Golden Age Interlude: solve the mystery before those in the book do. Go on. I’ll wait. Ah, all done? Well, then, sit back and get ready for the gathering of the suspects and the Big Reveal.

Before that happens, however, we are told that Flint does not trust Spector. This, after everything? Oh, ye of little faith. Locked room mysteries have to be explained, of course. So, the magician weaves his magic, and a murderer appears. And at this point, if this was an old-time radio drama, the narrator would be intoning, “Crime Does Not Pay.”

“Death and the Conjuror” is very plot- and character-driven, as you can imagine. It ticks all the boxes for a locked room mystery. That being said, I never thought I got a handle on Joseph Spector as “detective,” nor as a well-rounded individual. There was a kind of cypher quality to him that I couldn’t get past. Perhaps the plot was supposed to be the “everything” in this book. Maybe in the next one (I’m sure that’s the plan) Mr. Mead can conjure up a better personality for his main character.

1936 London. Famous psychologist Dr Anselm Rees is killed in his study, the door and windows locked from the inside. So how, and why was he killed. Also how did the murderer escape. Inspector George Flint knows that he needs help in the case and recruits professional trickster Joseph Spector.
An entertaining, well-plotted, and well-written locked room mystery. With its cast of varied and likeable characters it is a good start to this new series.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

What a muddled mish-mash this book is. I’m very surprised a publisher actually considered adding it to their list. From the outset the premise seems very odd. While one has seen detectives of every stamp, it is stretching credulity rather far to believe that a detective would consult an ex-magician on his cases. The rest of the story seems peppered with nonsense, all of which makes for a very unsatisfying read. While there is not much that can be said in its favour, there is much to criticise.

Firstly, the poor grammar is unforgivable, and as this is an advance copy, one can only hope that this will be picked up prior to publication (although this is doubtful). The number of sentences begun with prepositions is shocking. And (!) what is with all the Americanisms? Elevator for lift, apartment for flat – why? The anachronistic term ‘mental health’ also struck a discordant note. Hardly a term that was in use within this book’s setting.

Mead’s sloppy prose has made a bumbling idiot of Flint, his Scotland Yard detective. He has him asking the deceased doctor’s patient whether the doctor mentioned fearing for his life or having any enemies. The man was a psychiatrist – is it likely he would confide such a thing to his patient? Another time a suspect mentioned bumping into the doctor’s daughter on the stairs, and the detective asked whether she seemed someone capable of violence. How on earth could he tell from such an encounter? Mead has one character state categorically that he is not comfortable discussing his mental issues, then he goes on to describe his symptoms at great length and detail. For a detective, Flint has an extremely poor interview technique, accepting the vaguest answers at face value, and probing not at all. He also misrepresents facts. At one time he tells his conjurer sidekick, of one suspect “Publisher says he blundered out of the restaurant like he was in a trance”. He said nothing of the kind. Again, Spector says “Claude Weaver, the novelist famed for his fugue-like blackouts”. This is not true at all, as only Dr Rees knew of the blackouts.

The plot galumphs along with all the subtlety of a brickbat upside the head. The character Edgar Simmonds comes from absolutely nowhere, then is mentioned by two characters virtually simultaneously – a very heavy deus ex machina.

The author seems to lack a basic understanding of the social structure and behaviour of the times. Lidia Rees is hardly the ‘wealthy debutante’ that the detective Flint dubs her. She works for a living! Mead’s characters act erratically in every situation and their inconsistent behaviour defies credulity.


There is much more, but enough said. A quotation from the book – “Like all novice efforts it lacks a certain finesse. But makes up for it in enthusiasm”. Mead could have been writing about this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Mysterious Press for this ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Set in 1930s London on a rainy night, accomplished Psychiatrist, Dr. Rees, has a slew of phone calls and visitors, only to wind up dead in his office. But who could have done it?? With only a small window of time for the crime to have occurred, no foreseeable way in or out of his office, and a whole cast of characters, this is one locked room mystery you won’t want to miss out on!

Could it be his daughter Lidia or her fiancé, Marcus? What about his three patients, A, B, and C?

With so many twists and turns in this case, Inspector Flint brings in retired magician to help him solve what happened to poor Dr. Rees. I honestly had no idea what happened or whodunit the entire story and it was so fun to see it all come together in the end.

I definitely recommend this book if you love classic whodunits, magicians, and lots of twists.

I don't think this wonderful character Joseph Spector will be disappearing soon......as the retired stage magician turned detective he helps with a classic locked room mystery that evokes the many classic golden age of crime novels.
This is a debut and a mighty fine one! London in the 1930s is grey foggy and covered in suspense. There are many twists in the search for the murderer and as readers it's a mystery worth solving intelligently and slowly. Immersed in the plot characters are very subtly drawn but will add I am sure to further tricks up the sleeve for this amateur detective.

Set in 1930s London, a celebrity psychiatrist is found dead locked in his study. No possible exit to be found and practically no evidence, just questions and a list of suspects. Detective Flint calls on Mr. Spector, a retired stage magician, to help with the ‘tricky’ aspects of this impossible case.

This was delightfully fun! It was fast paced and the suspects kept things interesting. I really enjoyed how information/clues were delivered. Every time I would think I had it figured out something new was thrown in to derail my theories and keep me guessing. Some of the time I would think, ‘why a magician for help?’ But then I was delighted with the illusionist’s input and how later he unveiled the murder. The author’s interlude was a fun addition as well.
If you enjoy quick paced mysteries like Agatha Christie, you will likely be delighted by this book.
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Book release date 12 July 2022.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for an ARC copy.

1930s London and psychiatrist Anselm Rees is found dead in his locked study. There was simply no way a killer could have escaped the scene unseen and there are no clues or murder weapon found. Faced with the seemingly impossible, Scotland Yard detective Flint employs retired magician Joseph Spector to assist. Can a man who traffics in illusions and misdirection solve the case?

This is undoubtedly a nod to the Golden Age of mysteries with references to Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr scattered throughout. Spector is our ‘Poirot’ in this instance and adds a fun twist to the genre. Think Jonathan Creek without the windmill.
The classic ingredients are all here; the eccentric and varied cast of characters, the red herrings and even the obligatory big reveal at the end, with all suspects gathered together.

This is a thoroughly fun read and if you like locked room mysteries then you’ll certainly enjoy this. Mead breaks the fourth wall at one point and invites the reader to solve the case, insisting that all we need to know is hidden in the previous pages. This, and the fact he includes the page numbers where the clues are located during the reveal, really adds to the reader experience.

At times it felt as if there was too much going on, creating an overly complex storyline which detracted a little from the main mystery and led me to feel a little bit lost. However, if you’re looking for a new mystery series and are a fan of the crime classics then look no further. This entertaining and clever volume may be just what you’re after.

If you’re a fan of locked room mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this puzzler of a book. The setting is 1936 London, and it’s a police procedural with a twist. The Scotland Yard detective asks for help from a retired magician (the conjuror of the title), Joseph Spector. Along the way, Spector explains a few magician’s tricks, which I found interesting. I wasn’t completely drawn into the narrative for some reason and so the book felt much longer than it is (under 300 pages). I loved that while there was a traditional “big reveal” at the end of the book, the author included asterisks with footnotes, noting where in the book you would find the clue Spector was referring to (something he observed or something someone said earlier in the book), so the reader could, if they chose to, easily go back and reread that section.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a fun read!

Everyone thinks they could be a sleuth; especially with so many podcasts and books out there, who wouldn’t find themselves at least somewhat “qualified” to come to some conclusions. There are so many different tales of outsiders combining forces with police/Scotland Yard/other branches of enforcement, but it was really fun to have a conjuror/magician as their crime-solving partner.

This was a fairly fast-paced story with a lot of characters, and yet, you still got to know everyone and really feel like you could picture everything quite clearly in your minds eye. It’s always fun to find someone’s take of a locked-room mystery, but then pile on another locked-room mystery and more to confuse the readers scent that they thought they’d picked up on.

There were so many layers to the characters for their motivation and end goals. Now, what’s next for Joseph Spector to solve?

Many thanks to the author, Tom Mead, NetGalley, and The Mysterious Press for the advanced eARC of Death and the Conjuror!

This did such a good job of mimicking those Golden Age books, celebrating the locked room mystery and making the world seem very real (as much as those worlds always were "real"). The characters were great examples of types: the actress, the somewhat dim Oxbridge moneyed fiance, the devoted maids, etc.. Even the way Joseph Specter demonstrated the different tricks and illusions in his arsenal as examples of what probably happened during the theft and murder was well done. But at times this book was trying to be too clever, and then occasionally a modern turn of phrase crept in ("unpack" in relation to events, not items, really stuck out).

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.