The Corpse in the Wax Works by John Dickson Carr (1932)

 

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About the author: John Dickson Carr (1906 – 1977) was an American author, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and is often grouped among "British-style" mystery writers. Most (though not all) of his novels had English settings, especially country villages and estates, and English characters. His two best-known fictional detectives (Dr. Gideon Fell and Sir Henry Merrivale) were both English. (excerpt from this Wikipedia article.)

Major characters:

• Jeff Marle, narrator
• M. -- Augustin, owner of the wax museum
• Mlle. Marie Augustin, his daughter
• Mlle. Odette Duchêne, deceased
• Mlle. Claudine Martel, her friend
• Mlle. Gina Prêvost, a.k.a. Estelle, a singer
• M. Etienne Galant, wealthy underworld man-about-town
• Captain Robert Chaumont
• Inspector Henri Bencolin

Locale: Paris

Synopsis: Inspector Henri Bencolin, along with narrator Jeff Marle, investigate the death of Mlle. Odette Duchêne. She was found in the Seine, and had last been seen entering the Musée Augustin, a wax museum. The museum is operated by M. Augustin and his daughter Mlle. Marie Augustin. 

Accompanied by Captain Robert Chaumont, who had been Odette's fiancé, they investigate the museum. They find another woman, Claudine Martel, dead in the display area. There is evidence she was killed just outside a rear door of the museum, in a passageway which is shared with the adjacent building.

Odette and Claudine had been good friends with Gina Prêvost, working as a singer under the name Estelle. She had also been seen in the museum. Bencolin finds the adjacent building hosts The Club of the Silver Key (a.k.a. The Club of the Colored Masks), where men and women wear masks to meet for clandestine trysts. The club is entered by a door in the passageway, which may also be accessed through passing through the museum for those who do not wish to be observed. Members have numbered keys to enter, which correspond to individual private rooms within. 

Bencolin wishes to infiltrate the club. He finds Gina has set up a tryst with wealthy underworld figure Etienne Galant, obtains a key to the club, and sends Jeff Marle in to spy.

Review:

This one is a twist on the usual Carr locked-room mystery. In this case, instead of a locked room, all the action focuses on a narrow passageway running between two buildings. The passageway has three doors - the museum's rear door, the club entrance, and a door out to the street. All have locks, of course. The key to tracking down the murderer(s) is to find who used which door in what order.

The wax museum is a creepy setting, and it sounds just like one I remembered visiting once. Waxy smells, dim lighting, staring figures in various poses.

The club was interesting, with the color-coded masks indicating whether an individual was looking for a partner, had a partner already, just looking, or one of the staff. It was quite an establishment with all the numbered rooms, a bar, and even an orchestra.

I have a hard time following the action in some of Carr's books, but not this one. Everything was clear and progressed right along. A good way to spend a creepy evening, it takes you back to the days when wearing a mask was for fun!