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:
- Martin Clarke, new owner of Longwood, and host
- * Bob Morrison, our narrator, a writer
- * Tess Fraser, his fiancée
- * Andrew Hunter, architect
- * Archibald Bentley Logan, grocery wholesaler, "the man who couldn't shudder"
- * Mrs. Gwyneth Logan, a "packet of super-femininity"
- * Julian Enderby, a solicitor
- "Eric the Hand" name given to the ghostly hand
- Detective-Inspector Elliot, Scotland Yard
- Dr. Gideon Fell, Scotland Yard
Locale: England
Synopsis: Martin Clarke is somewhat of an adventurer, and has purchased Longwood, a mansion house with a shady past and a reputation for being haunted. It is said an elderly butler (William Polson) once lost his life by jumping up and swinging on the dining room chandelier, which then fell on him. A chair in the study moves about on its own. Clarke tells his friend, our narrator Bob Morrison, he intends to invite some friends (the six marked * above) to stay for a few days in hopes of seeing for themselves.
As they arrive at Longwood, sexy Gwyneth Logan feels an invisible hand snatch at her ankles, but nothing can be seen. The guests settle in for a four day stay, along with maids Mrs. Winch and her niece Sonia. Clarke proudly displays his collection of antique firearms mounted on the wall of the study, one of two rooms reputed to be haunted (the other is the dining room). Bob Morrison hears a thud in the night, goes downstairs to find Gwyneth in a revealing black nightgown, holding a small key. Jealous husband Bentley Logan finds them, and accuses Morrison - at gunpoint - of being her lover.
Longwood is described in detail, but the book lacks a sketch map. Here is my interpretation:
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The next day, Bentley Logan is trying to keep up with his correspondence by typing in the study. As he adjusts the typewriter position, Gwyneth is shocked to see a pistol jump from the wall display and discharge, killing Bentley instantly. How could this happen? It is found it was Bentlet's own pistol, which had been substituted for one of the antiques.
click to enlarge
Detective Inspector Elliot and Dr. Gideon Fell are on the scene. No one doubts Gwyneth's account, as there were several others who support her story: The gardener MacCarly was looking in a window, Julian Enderby looking in the opposite window, and the maid Sonia in the doorway. The guests speculate on a ghostly hand doing the deed, whom they name "Eric".
While the investigation progresses, a crash is heard, and the chandelier has claimed another victim.
Review: There are bits of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera recycled here - both have a killer chandelier, and both have a phantom named Erik (here spelled Eric). Not quite a locked room mystery - but an impossible murder. Carr sets the scene nicely in a simple setup (albeit lacking the obligatory map) with a concise description and plenty of witnesses. The upstairs is not described, but is irrelevant to the story.
I find some of Carr's books to be hard to follow, but not this one. There are no distracting side stories - just a steady progression of the plot.
[Spoiler clue ahead] The reader may get wind of the explanation when it is revealed the moving chair in the study was not one of the study's wooden ones, but a metal patio chair which had been brought inside.
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