When a prominent psychiatrist Dr. Rees is murdered it is up to Inspector George Flint to find the killer. It's a locked room mystery but with so many people with secrets to hide amongst them a prominent actress, an author and a musician. Helping the Inspector is a magician Joseph Spector. Finding out the murderer is a journey into the secrets that people hide, keep and try not to reveal in a truly twisty journey. I am a fan of mysteries even though I am terrible at figuring out the murderer. Half the fun of this novel was finding out exactly what each suspect was hiding and why.

1930s London, and famed psychiatrist Dr Anselm Rees is alone in his study. After telling his housekeeper to expect a visitor, a mysterious figure arrives, with his hat and scarf obscuring his face. After meeting with Rees, the visitor departs. And soon thereafter, Rees is found in his study with his throat cut.

With no one entering the house after the departure of the mysterious visitor, it would seem obvious that he was the murderer. Except that Rees’ housekeeper, someone with a habit of listening at doors, heard her employer in the study making a telephone call after the stranger left. And the fact that both the door and window to the study, the only entrances, were both locked from the inside. And suicide is out of the question, as there is no trace of a weapon.

The murderer seems to be utterly impossible. And the best person to explain the impossible is a magician. Enter Joseph Spector…

“Once upon a time, this would be the point in the narrative where a challenge is issued to the reader. […] These days such practices are antiquated and rather passé. But who am I to stand in the way of a reader’s fun?”

I’m in a bit of a bad mood today. I was supposed to go to the Bodies From The Library conference but thanks to a conflagration of events (including an actual conflagration) getting to London proved to be more trouble than it was worth. So it would take one hell of a book to impress me today.

This is one hell of a book.

Tom Mead is someone who I’ve had a bit of contact with on the Interwebs, someone who I’ve managed to convert to the way of the Flynn, so it was a massive amount of trepidation that I approached this book. What if I didn’t like it? If I was critical about it, would he start bad-mouthing Brian? Note, I don’t think he’s read The Grim Maiden yet, so he might start doing that anyway one day. Thankfully, this is something I don’t have to worry about. As I go through the year, I keep a mental list of titles that might end up being best book of the year. There were four books on it before today – The Red Death Murders, The Book Of Murder, The Botanist and The Chapel In The Woods. And now there are five.

This is the sort of homage to the Golden Age that I want to read. Because this book could have been written in the Golden Age – people who want to set books in that era should really take notes (apart from Dolores Gordon-Smith, she gets it). Every character in the tale is in the tale for a reason. They all contribute something to the plot with nobody being there merely as a distraction. There’s a complex but followable plan from the villain, with everything happening for a reason. The characters are all distinctive from the minute they appear on the page. The sleuthing team – Joseph Spector and Inspector Flint, a good copper who knows when he is out of his depth – work well together. The plot keeps moving forward, without huge chunks of water-treading dialogue, and nobody lies just for the sake of it. Oh yes, and it’s got clues in it! Proper clues! That makes a pleasant change from my recent reads.

I’m not going into the plot – I’ll not spoil that for you – but it’s the sort of book, even before Tom presents his beautifully written Challenge To The Reader, that had me thinking and theorising (almost completely incorrectly) as each chapter came and went.

You could describe this book as a homage to John Dickson Carr (note the similarity in set-up, and only in set-up, to The Hollow Man) and possibly to Clayton Rawson, but I’m going to go one step further. I don’t think this is hyperbole, but I think this book is on a par with the best of John Dickson Carr. This is how you write books set in the Golden Age – other homage and pastiche authors should take note. This is a magnificent book and deserves the widest audience possible.

Not one, not two, but three locked room mysteries prove to be no match for magician Joseph Spector in 1930s London. Keeps you continually surprised and guessing until the end.

Greatly enjoyed this! This was very much in the golden age mystery pattern and Joseph Spector reminded me quite a lot of Ellery Queen and Philo Vance. I also liked the little quotes and mentions of other authors of that time, just as Carr. Great read!

I really enjoyed this classic mystery. Usually I read more thrillers but the idea of a magician solving a mystery seemed like an interesting concept. He definitely gave me Poirot vibes at times. The story kept me guessing the whole time- I had no idea who the killer was! Overall a fun mystery that I will be recommending to patrons.

It is London 1936 and Dr. Anselm Rees is found murdered in his study with all of the doors and windows locked and with no murder weapon left behind. Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard is puzzled and can't determine how the murder was committed so he defers to the expertise of magician and conjurer Joseph Spector. Spector works on both this case and a case that he was separately hired for that involved a painting that went missing from a locked room. The two cases end up being intertwined and combo of Flint and Spector work together to solve both mysteries.

I loved not only the mystery of this book but also the atmosphere and vibe that the story gave. I hope that there are more books involving Flint and Spector.

Plot: 4
Characters: 4
Writing Style: 5
Cover: 3.5
Enjoyment: 4
Buyable/Re-readable?: Yes

A very quick, quirky, and witty read. Sometimes I am able to "turn off" my brain and allow myself to not guess who the culprit is and I was able to do so with this; thus, I didn't know who the murderer was and upon the reveal found it made sense and was acceptable. There is even a pause wherein the book allows the reader a moment to reflect; titled 'INTERLUDE WHEREIN THE READER’S ATTENTION IS RESPECTFULLY REQUESTED', it references times of olde when the narrative would challenge you to sort through the clues and figure it all out. Very charming, very nostalgic.

The pacing was perfect, the switches in third POV chapters fresh, and I wouldn't mind reading more of Spector's adventures (as I'm assuming, this being book one, we will be getting). Can't say I saw the point in one of the characters, unless she was meant to be a distraction? On that note, the red herrings were fun. Definitely reminded me of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes series and Rian Johnson's "Knives Out". Hell, even a little bit of Landis and Lynn's "Clue: The Movie".

Bonus points for keeping British English spellings!

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