Customer Reviews

Mystery of the Yellow Room, the

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I've been looking for this story for many years, as it's always listed as being one of the first in the locked room mystery genre, and one of the best. I am so happy to have found it (thank you, internet!!) as I was not disappointed.

Let me say upfront, that if you read Phantom of the Opera, and were disappointed in the writing style, do not shy away from The Mystery of the Yellow Room. I can hardly believe the same author wrote both stories. It's a great read, it flows well, and I could hardly put it down. The characterization and style are very similar to Conan Doyle's works. The locked room mystery kept me guessing. Ultimately all the clues were there, and the ending was "fair", even if I was suprised. I wish there were more tales about our detective, as this first book was fabulous!The ending had a very good twist to it, and is a precursor to some of Dame Agatha Christie's works.

In summary, a great read, a great mystery plot, and decent characterizations. This is worth finding, to see a classic in the locked room genre.

The plot by itself is very intriguing; an attempted murder has been committed; in a sealed room and the culprit has vanished without a trace. Loroux keeps you on the hinge; by feeding the reader with tid-bits of information which keeps the curiosity and suspense elevated through out. He does not reveal everything the detective is thinking all at once; but leaves the reader creating their own theory, based on all the clues that are collected. In the end all the knots are tied. The novel is also about the rivalry between detective Frederick Larson and a young investigative journalist, Rouletabille. Larson finds a suspect who is put on trial, only to have him cleared by Rouletabille, who dramatically reveals the identity of the real murderer. The Mystery of the Yellow Room is a novel which consciously tries to outdo the traditional detective novel with classic intellectual conundrums.