A fun locked room mystery, for any fan of the mystery classics. The case was intriguing and the involvement of both psychiartrists and a magician kept it interesting from all angles. A page turner in just the way it should be. I'm sure a lot of people are going to enjoy this one.

"Death and the Conjuror" by Tom Mead is an excellent first novel. It has great style about it and the character of Joseph Spector is likeable. It really is an enjoyable Golden Age of Mystery novel coupled with some elements of Jonathan Creek and Death in Paradise. If you like a locked room mystery which is explained clearly then do read this book. I'd be delighted to hear that there would be more to be written!

A locked-room mystery in which no one could get in or out and with seemingly no motive for anyone to want to kill the Doctor. A real conundrum.

I love a classic whodunit mystery and this definitely ticked all the boxes. The atmosphere and settings were spot on and left nothing to be desired in that respect.

The cast of characters was intriguing and the author did a good job of making them real enough to not overthink them. There was definitely room to expand on certain characters but nothing that made it a disservice.

I liked the fact that the sometimes sleuth was a magician. It was something totally different than what I was used to and made it more interesting. Also, there is a list of characters, which I loved! It was a little intimidating seeing all the characters but it didn’t get overwhelming.

This is one, that will leave you guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers, Mysterious Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"I am truly amazed by this wonderful masterpiece."

The storyline is set in the early 1930s. The author has expertly used the language of that era along with incredible descriptions that can easily transport us there. The plot is very engaging and the mystery is slowly built. The twists came one after the other which made the book a bit confusing at times for me. Plus, this definitely didn't help in finding who the killer was.
There were some hints for each character that you might have thought could have been helpful, but to me, they weren't. The fact that it keeps your attention, and has you keep guessing, shows how incredibly written is this book. The characters were very unique and a bit quirky. My favorite part was the explanation of what truly happened.

"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?

Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets - or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.

A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader, Death and the Conjuror joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery."

Will this fill the Elly Griffiths Magic Men hole in my life?

Death and the Conjuror
by Tom Mead
Pub Date: July 12, 2022
Mysterious Press
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a truly delightful read! I was drawn in by the publisher blurb. This book did not disappoint. I am highly recommending it for a variety of reasons. Death and the Conjuror is the perfect whodunit mystery. A psychiatrist is murdered in a room locked from the inside with his housekeeper not far away. A mysterious man visits the house that night, but the doctor is heard on the phone later. Then, a client tries to visit the doctor and he is found murdered.
It felt like going back in time, it was so entertaining. I loved the whole atmosphere. I don't know how to explain it but the writing was just so aesthetic. The book was the perfect length to tell the story.
5 stars

Scotland yard is stuck while investigating the murder of a famous psychiatrist. Found in his locked office, they can’t understand how someone could have gotten in and out, so they engage with a magician who knows the tricks that are employed in magic shows, hoping to make some headway. With the classic locked room scenario and a long list of suspects, can they figure out what happened and whodunit?

I was intrigued with this book from he start and truly enjoyed it. It reminds me of some of the old classics and I highly recommend it for the mystery lover!

Great story for arm-chair detectives. A man murdered alone in a locked room. Theft of painting from a crowded party yet witnessed by no-one. As the mysteries compound these sleuths follow clues that seem to lead nowhere and suspects that all seem to have alibis.

Is it magic or slight of hand? Were these crimes so perfectly planned or did luck play a part? Things are never as clear as you think as you try to unravel the story...or is it stories?

A fun read that will keep you guessing until the satisfying conclusion.

This is a locked room mystery set in London in the period between world wars. I think the author tried really hard but the solution to the locked room mystery was so ridiculous that it appeared contrived. Mead can write but this type of book is really hard to bring off and I just don’t think he did it. You might think otherwise.

tl;dr
A great book for fans of classic mysteries where the reader is challenged to solve the mystery before the reveal. Very little by way of character development or time spent in the titular detective.

About
When Scotland Yard is baffled by an impossible locked room mystery, they call upon the aid of Joseph Spector, a retired stage magician with a knack for unravelling the impossible.

What I Liked
This is an absolutely classic "Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction" mystery that leaves all the clues out for the reader to unravel without making the culprit too obvious. It will take some keen reading to catch all the clues, and some sneaky ones are even hidden away in the chapter titles. The plot unfolds at a very nice clip, with suspects holding onto secrets just long enough to be tantalizing, and not so long as to be frustrating. The interconnected mysteries all come to a very satisfying conclusion. What little we learn about the amateur detective Joseph Spector is interesting.

What Wasn't For Me
The text itself promises an "intellectual distance" from the mystery, which lines up with the very classic feel of the writing. But these days I tend to prefer a little more emotional insight, if not with the suspects, then at least with the detective. We learn disappointingly little about the titular magician, and that only from outside sources. This appears to be the start of a series, so I hope that more will be unveiled later.

This book is a delightful old fashioned (in the best possible way) locked room mystery that will keep you guessing as to the murderers identity till the very end. To the authors credit the clues were sprinkled throughout the book and when the magician turned part time sleuth Joseph Spector gathers the suspects he lays them all out. I am always looking for new mystery series and hopefully this will be the first of many more to come.

[Book Review]

Death and the Conjuror | Tom Mead
Genre: Historical Fiction, Murder/Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Penzler Publishers/WWNorton
⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

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?

From the first page Tom Mead had me invested.
Historical fiction, a magician, and a sneaky theatrical actress sets the scene.

If you are a fan of Monsieur Poirot or the enigmatic Sherlock Holmes, you will love magician-turned-sleuth Joseph Spector and his inspector at-hand, George Flint.

The end-of-chapter hooks make you want to continually read and pull a #bookishallnighter
I read this book overnight easily and is perfect for a Sunday read in your favourite reading armchair. Put the kettle on!

Tom Mead’s writing flow is everything you would expect from the classic whodunnits: FOMO (fear of missing out) fast paced, gently pulling you from one chapter to the next, and no doubt influencing a book binge reading session.

Take note: once you start Death and the Conjuror, you will find it incredibly hard to stick to your “just one more chapter” justifications.

I love the mention of other literary favourites such as Macbeth by William Shakespeare, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, and also Edgar Allan Poe’s name was also acknowledged.

The ending was perfect and no, I had zero idea of the perpetrator. An amazingly written book that I could no doubt re-read over and over.

I find myself patiently waiting a follow up, to hopefully, a must anticipated Joseph Spector series.

Death and the Conjuror is take on the classic "locked door" mysteries, especially famous in the time period in which the book is set. While investigating a murder that occurred in a locked room, the police inspector calls upon a local magician as an expert in such things to help solve the case. As the investigation begins a second locked door crime occurs in which a famous painting is stolen from where it was safely locked away. As some of the suspects from the murder are found to also be suspects for the theft questions arise as to how much both cases are intertwined. The author does a good job of keeping the story going with interesting characters, red herrings and plot twists that will keep you guessing (I did figure out the painting theft pretty easily), and present a different and very likable amateur sleuth in Joseph Spector. This novel feels very much like the mystery novels that inspired it and I would be interested in reading the further adventures of Spector.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It has all the key elements to make a good mystery. I was hooked by the first couple of pages & could not put it down. It’s the perfect read for any setting or mood!

In the book Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead, Inspector George Flint enlists the help of a magician and part-time sleuth, Joseph Spector to solve the locked door murder of a famous psychiatrist. There are as many suspects as there are twists and turns. If you're anything like me, the ending will leave you very surprised!

First of all, and I don't particularly know why, but I love books that have a cast of characters at the beginning. Guess what this book has?!

With that out of the way, this book was really great! Tom Mead is a wordsmith. From descriptions, to tone, dialogue, and choice of words in general (i.e. burble, whirligig, and gewgaws), I was definitely impressed. This helped me to become quickly and easily invested in this story.

Like I mentioned above, the ending came as a surprise to me, which I love. I had absolutely no idea "whodunit" or how it was done, but I all came together quite nicely at the end. I was so sure it had to be one character, but no, I was completely off base.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in mysteries, crime fiction, or a good read in general.
And I do hope we see more of Spector in future stories!

I received this e-book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A classic locked door mystery, with all the usual suspects. Although I enjoyed the storytelling, I just couldn’t truly get into this book with my whole heart. There were moments that dragged on and suspenseful moments that could have done with a pinch more intrigue.

This was a very good book, the first in hopefully a series, while reading it I was reminded of stories I had read in the Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock mystery magazines in the manner in which the mystery was solved. The author had also acknowledged that these two magazines were inspiration. Inspector Flint of the Scotland Yard is called to investigate a murder that has taken place at the residence of a respected psychiatrist, Dr Anselm Rees, who had been found in a locked room with his throat slit. Inspector Flint asks Joseph Spector, a sort of magician, for assistance, Spector's observation and thought process soon lead them to another crime, this one the robbery of a valuable painting, they wonder if the two crimes are somehow connected. There are no shortage of suspects, Dr Rees had been treating three individuals that he referred to as Patient A, B and C to keep their real name unknown, was one of these the killer? Spector and Flint doggedly pursue each lead as it comes up and eventually gather all the suspects together where Spector (in a sort of Agatha Christie type manner) lays out who did the deed in both crimes. I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. Thank you to #Netgalley and #Mysterious Press for the ARC.

This book was so engrossing I lost track of the time and almost forgot to make the dinner. So prepare the dinner first, make a cuppa and then read this book. It is a great locked room mystery in the classic style and I loved it.

Psychiatrist Anselm Rees is found brutally murdered in his home office but the door and windows were locked from the inside. How did the murderer commit the crime? Tom Mead brings back the hugely popular locked room mysteries from the early 20th century and in fact his story is set in the 1930s London. Scotland Yard detective George Flint is called to the case and immediately enlists the help of an old stage magician Joseph Spector. Who hated Rees enough to cut his throat to the point of almost severing his head? Rees had three patients with disguised names Patients A, B, C. Each has emotional problems and could have been the murderer. Spector is wise and calmly goes about putting clues together as Flint becomes more and more frustrated by revealed motives and complex twists Mead plants in the novel. When Spector summons all the suspects together in Rees office, the big revealing scene hints of classic Christie works but fans of Phryne Fisher’s mysteries will also be thrilled.

Death and the conjuror / Tom Mead. A deliciously twisty locked room mystery. Scotland Yard detective is baffled when psychiatrist is stabbed to death in a locked room, and calls on a local conjuror for help. Several suspects.