Customer Reviews

The Arabian Nights Murder

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The master of the locked room murder has tried his hand at a novel wich is more in the line of Van Dine or Ellery Queen but it has produced startling results.The book is very complex the suspects have cast iron alibis the murder is most strange and even a systematic and logical solution by the investigator proves to be wrong and Dr Fell solves it after hearing the acount of the crime by three investigators in charge of the case.Dr Fell becomes an arm chair sleuth and presents the actual solution which is most strange.A mystery novel as it should be with a plot which is very complex the investigation a genuine use of logic and the atmosphere very well done.Carr at his best but fans of Ellery Queen or S.S van dine will also be delighted.

The Gideon Fell mysteries of John Dickson Carr are unquestionably his best-known books, though some are much better than others.

This novel, from early in the run, struck me as a very successful entry in the franchise for several reasons:

1) The overbearing, sometimes irritating personality of Dr. Fell himself is hardly even present! The material of the book is presented as the testimony of three members of Scotland Yard (each with a distinct personality and point of view) summarizing their own investigations into a complex murder situation in a private St. James museum, accidentally stumbled upon due to a bizarre run-in with an eccentric character by a constable. Fell has nothing to say until the very end, and he's highly subdued even then.

2) The details unfold in an unorthodox fashion which keeps the reader surprised and bewildered throughout, despite there regularly being substantial new facts presented which clear up several of the questions all along the track of the narrative. The book is paced well, with revelations well-placed and new complications introduced in such a way to make this book more of a "page-turner" than many of Carr's novels.

3) Through the indirect means of the "perceptions" of the three representatives of the Yard, different reactions to and insights about the various protagonists and suspects help the reader to enjoy a different approach to characterization than in many other Carr novels.

I found the actual conclusion slightly contrived (there were a few minor questions that remained unconvincing to me by the end), yet I found the book thoroughly enjoyable, and one of the best examples among Carr's work of our suspicions constantly being redirected, our sympathies evolving, and our understanding of the motives and actions of the odd bunch of eccentric characters (represented by both "modern" young people and stodgier older people)constantly being led down new avenues.

All in all, a solid 30's mystery with some lively characters, well-told and mercifully free of Fell's histrionics! :)

Another fine mystery from John Dickson Carr! This one starts out slow but has a bang-up conclusion. As sometimes happens in his novels, the great detective (in this case the brilliant Dr. Gideon Fell) hardly appears at all. Unlike Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, the personality of the detective hardly comes into play at all! This is somewhat unfortunate. The detective, in Carr's mysteries, is more a device than a character.

As in some of his other books, Carr (aka Carter Dickson) in this book portrays a group of young, prankish, aristocratic Brits. These characters can be quite insufferable. Unlike P.G. Wodehouse (surely an influence on Carr), the author does not seem to recognize how annoying these upper-class twits can be! But in Carr mysteries the puzzle is all, and few authors have constructed more entertainingly and elaborately misleading traps.