What do you think?
Rate this book
Dr. Gideon Fell #6
The Hollow Man
Two murders are committed in such a fashion that the murderer must not only have been invisible - but lighter than air!
According to the evidence, this person killed his first victim and literally vanished, and then struck again in the middle of an empty street - with watchers at either end who saw nothing and no footprints in the snow.
It was a problem that Dr. Gideon Fell - huge, rumpled, with flowing cloak, eyeglasses and cane - regarded as one of devilish illusion and impersonation.
'Mr Carr has a sense of the macabre which lifts him high above the average run of detective story writers' - J. B. Priestley
According to the evidence, this person killed his first victim and literally vanished, and then struck again in the middle of an empty street - with watchers at either end who saw nothing and no footprints in the snow.
It was a problem that Dr. Gideon Fell - huge, rumpled, with flowing cloak, eyeglasses and cane - regarded as one of devilish illusion and impersonation.
'Mr Carr has a sense of the macabre which lifts him high above the average run of detective story writers' - J. B. Priestley
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1935
407 people are currently reading
7054 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
417 books447 followersAKA Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn.
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
John Dickson Carr was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1906. It Walks by Night, his first published detective novel, featuring the Frenchman Henri Bencolin, was published in 1930. Apart from Dr Fell, whose first appearance was in Hag's Nook in 1933, Carr's other series detectives (published under the nom de plume of Carter Dickson) were the barrister Sir Henry Merrivale, who debuted in The Plague Court Murders (1934).
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 450 reviews
October 16, 2014
Locked room mysteries are just really magic tricks. This book cleverly and overtly acknowledges this fact. The beauty of the book lies in misdirection; it lies in presenting all the facts but conning the reader into following the wrong ones; it lies in creating a design which produces gasps of amazement and then nods of satisfaction. (All mystery stories do that, obviously, but this is a howdunnit wrapped up with a whodunit and so playing at a higher level than your standard mystery.) Of course, as this book also acknowledges, a locked room mystery has to pull off a trick that most magicians never dare – it has to expose the workings. Most magic tricks or illusions (if we’re being fancy, or GOB Bluth) are just allowed to stand for themselves, the magician doesn’t step back and expose the prosaic and mundane and downright devious way the trick was pulled off. The Magic Circle wouldn’t stand for it, for one thing. But a locked room mystery can’t possibly get away with that. The fun is in the workings, it’s in the downright devious way the murder was achieved. That’s why a book like this, more than any other, stands and falls on its ending.
Post-modern before there was such a term, the characters at one point break off to acknowledge that yes, indeed, they are characters in a detective story and then debate other fictional locked room mysteries. It’s taking a long piece of literary criticism and whacking it into a novel and making it as seamless as possible. And for that stretch it’s most enjoyable, showing a great academic and appreciation understanding of the form. Elsewhere the prose on offer is downright stodgy and lumpy, the London it conjures up flat and lifeless and seemingly borrowed third hard from an imitator of Sherlock Holmes, and the characters just archetypes and cyphers. But in that section, which is placed about two-thirds through, we see the book acknowledge its flaws and gamble its own success or failure on the resolution. It knows you’re not going away being thrilled by the scintillating prose or the vibrant characterisation, instead you’re going to think of the mystery and how cleverly it was resolved and that – and that alone – will be your abiding memory.
So how does the ending stack up? Well, obviously, it’s a little difficult to go into detail. But it has a certain logical amusement to it. It does the job it’s there to do and won’t disappoint anyone who wants clever trickiness. But then clever trickiness may create a book readers admire, however it won’t create one they genuinely love.
Post-modern before there was such a term, the characters at one point break off to acknowledge that yes, indeed, they are characters in a detective story and then debate other fictional locked room mysteries. It’s taking a long piece of literary criticism and whacking it into a novel and making it as seamless as possible. And for that stretch it’s most enjoyable, showing a great academic and appreciation understanding of the form. Elsewhere the prose on offer is downright stodgy and lumpy, the London it conjures up flat and lifeless and seemingly borrowed third hard from an imitator of Sherlock Holmes, and the characters just archetypes and cyphers. But in that section, which is placed about two-thirds through, we see the book acknowledge its flaws and gamble its own success or failure on the resolution. It knows you’re not going away being thrilled by the scintillating prose or the vibrant characterisation, instead you’re going to think of the mystery and how cleverly it was resolved and that – and that alone – will be your abiding memory.
So how does the ending stack up? Well, obviously, it’s a little difficult to go into detail. But it has a certain logical amusement to it. It does the job it’s there to do and won’t disappoint anyone who wants clever trickiness. But then clever trickiness may create a book readers admire, however it won’t create one they genuinely love.
June 11, 2022
"সর্বকালের শ্রেষ্ঠ লকড-রুম মিস্ট্রি"— এই অভিধায় ভূষিত করা হয়েছে, অত্যন্ত বিরক্তিকর, অহেতুক জটিল, হাস্যকর, এবং হরীতকীর মতো রসকষহীন ভাষায় লেখা এই উপন্যাসটিকে।
দুটো খুন হয়েছে। একটা বদ্ধ ঘরে, একটা উন্মুক্ত রাস্তায়। খুনদুটো দেখলে প্রাথমিকভাবে মনে হয়, খুনি বুঝি হাওয়ায় ভেসে এসে খুন করে পালিয়ে গেছে। খুনির কোনো চিহ্ন নেই, কোনো প্রত্যক্ষদর্শী নেই, কিচ্ছু নেই! যেন ভোজবাজির খেলা। গোল্ডেন-এইজ ব্রিটিশ গোয়েন্দাসাহিত্যকে নিয়ে এমনিতেই হাসিমস্করা করা হয়। অলস পাঠকরা তাদের গতিহীন জীবনে যাতে একটু কৃত্রিম রোমাঞ্চের স্বাদ পান, তার জন্যে যতসব আজগুবি আর অবাস্তবসম্ভব গাঁজাখুরি গল্প ফেঁদে গেছেন সেই সময়কার রহস্য-সাহিত্যিকরা— এমন অপবাদ দেওয়া হয় (যারা দ্যায়, তারা অবিশ্যি নিরেট বেরসিক মানুষ)। কিন্তু এই বইটা গঞ্জিকাধুম্র উৎপাদনের সমস্ত পূর্বরেকর্ড ভেঙে দিয়েছে। আরেকটা ব্যাপার হলো, এমন ব্যক্তিত্বহীন, boring, ডিটেকটিভমশাইয়ের সঙ্গে বাপের জন্মে মোলাকাত হয়নি আমার। ন্যাতানো-বিস্কুটমার্কা এই গোয়েন্দাবাবাজি যদি তদন্ত করতে আসেন, স্রেফ হাই তুলতে তুলতেই দু-চারজন বেঘোরে পটল তুলে ফেলবে।
এ হলো সেইরকম বই, যেটা পড়তে পড়তে বারবার ঘরের এক কোণে টান মেরে বইটা ছুঁড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করে ; এবং যারা এটাকে বিভিন্ন উপাধিতে ভূষিত করে মুগ্ধতা বিতরণ করেছেন (যাদের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হয়ে বইটা পড়েছি), তাদের উপর ভরসা লুপ্ত হওয়ার জোগাড় হয়।
দুটো খুন হয়েছে। একটা বদ্ধ ঘরে, একটা উন্মুক্ত রাস্তায়। খুনদুটো দেখলে প্রাথমিকভাবে মনে হয়, খুনি বুঝি হাওয়ায় ভেসে এসে খুন করে পালিয়ে গেছে। খুনির কোনো চিহ্ন নেই, কোনো প্রত্যক্ষদর্শী নেই, কিচ্ছু নেই! যেন ভোজবাজির খেলা। গোল্ডেন-এইজ ব্রিটিশ গোয়েন্দাসাহিত্যকে নিয়ে এমনিতেই হাসিমস্করা করা হয়। অলস পাঠকরা তাদের গতিহীন জীবনে যাতে একটু কৃত্রিম রোমাঞ্চের স্বাদ পান, তার জন্যে যতসব আজগুবি আর অবাস্তবসম্ভব গাঁজাখুরি গল্প ফেঁদে গেছেন সেই সময়কার রহস্য-সাহিত্যিকরা— এমন অপবাদ দেওয়া হয় (যারা দ্যায়, তারা অবিশ্যি নিরেট বেরসিক মানুষ)। কিন্তু এই বইটা গঞ্জিকাধুম্র উৎপাদনের সমস্ত পূর্বরেকর্ড ভেঙে দিয়েছে। আরেকটা ব্যাপার হলো, এমন ব্যক্তিত্বহীন, boring, ডিটেকটিভমশাইয়ের সঙ্গে বাপের জন্মে মোলাকাত হয়নি আমার। ন্যাতানো-বিস্কুটমার্কা এই গোয়েন্দাবাবাজি যদি তদন্ত করতে আসেন, স্রেফ হাই তুলতে তুলতেই দু-চারজন বেঘোরে পটল তুলে ফেলবে।
এ হলো সেইরকম বই, যেটা পড়তে পড়তে বারবার ঘরের এক কোণে টান মেরে বইটা ছুঁড়ে ফেলতে ইচ্ছে করে ; এবং যারা এটাকে বিভিন্ন উপাধিতে ভূষিত করে মুগ্ধতা বিতরণ করেছেন (যাদের দ্বারা প্রভাবিত হয়ে বইটা পড়েছি), তাদের উপর ভরসা লুপ্ত হওয়ার জোগাড় হয়।
December 11, 2024
The Greatest-Ever Locked Room Mystery?
A review of the American Mystery Classics paperback (October 29, 2024) of the Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Harper (US) originals (1935).
The solutions to many locked room mystery puzzles involve pretty far-fetched and improbable methods of murder. The solutions to the two mysteries of The Three Coffins are in the end quite straightforward, even though you may think in hindsight that it is unlikely that anyone would go to so much trouble to commit a crime.
Cover image for the Popular Library paperback edition (1935). Image sourced from The Locked Room.
A feature in this book is the famous Chapter 17, "The Locked Room Lecture," where Dr. Gideon Fell describes the various methods of locked room murders and lists a considerable number of examples from classic detective fiction.
Trivia and Links
This edition of The Three Coffins is part of the Otto Penzler American Mystery Classics series (2018-ongoing). There is a related Goodreads Listopia here with 80 books listed as of early December 2024. There are currently 78 titles listed at the Mysterious Press online bookshop. The official website for the series at Penzler Publishers seems to show only the most recent and upcoming titles.
John Dickson Carr (1906-1977) is one of the 99 authors listed in The Book of Forgotten Authors (2017) by Christopher Fowler. He is No. 20 in the alphabetical listing which you can see towards the bottom of my review here.
John Dickson Carr took the inspiration for Dr. Gideon Fell's appearance from that of author G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), writer of the Father Brown mysteries and other works.
Photograph of G.K. Chesterton. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The source of the name Dr. Fell is apparently from the apocryphal epigram:
A review of the American Mystery Classics paperback (October 29, 2024) of the Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Harper (US) originals (1935).
Those of Dr Fell’s friends who like impossible situations will not find in his casebook any puzzle more baffling or more terrifying. Thus: two murders were committed, in such fashion that the murderer must not only have been invisible, but lighter than air. According to the evidence, this person killed his first victim and literally disappeared. Again according to the evidence, he killed his second victim in the middle of an empty street, with watchers at either end; yet not a soul saw him, and no footprint appeared in the snow.It was only a small panel of 17 mystery writers and reviewers in 1981 who voted The Three Coffins (US title) aka The Hollow Man (UK title) as the best locked room mystery of all time, but I'm not here to dispute their decision.
The solutions to many locked room mystery puzzles involve pretty far-fetched and improbable methods of murder. The solutions to the two mysteries of The Three Coffins are in the end quite straightforward, even though you may think in hindsight that it is unlikely that anyone would go to so much trouble to commit a crime.
Cover image for the Popular Library paperback edition (1935). Image sourced from The Locked Room.
A feature in this book is the famous Chapter 17, "The Locked Room Lecture," where Dr. Gideon Fell describes the various methods of locked room murders and lists a considerable number of examples from classic detective fiction.
But for the greatest long-range murder ever committed in a locked room, gents, I commend you to one of the most brilliant short detective stories in the history of detective fiction. (In fact, it shares the honours for supreme untouchable top-notch excellence with Thomas Burke's The Hands of Mr Ottermole, Chesterton's The Man in the Passage, and Jacques Futrelle's The Problem of Cell 13).This is Melville Davisson Post's The Doomdorf Mystery - and the long - range assassin is the sun. The sun strikes through the window of the locked room, makes a burning - glass of a bottle of Doomdorf's own raw white wood - alcohol liquor on the table, and ignites through it the percussion cap of a gun hanging on the wall: so that the breast of the hated one is blown open as he lies in his bed.
Trivia and Links
This edition of The Three Coffins is part of the Otto Penzler American Mystery Classics series (2018-ongoing). There is a related Goodreads Listopia here with 80 books listed as of early December 2024. There are currently 78 titles listed at the Mysterious Press online bookshop. The official website for the series at Penzler Publishers seems to show only the most recent and upcoming titles.
John Dickson Carr (1906-1977) is one of the 99 authors listed in The Book of Forgotten Authors (2017) by Christopher Fowler. He is No. 20 in the alphabetical listing which you can see towards the bottom of my review here.
John Dickson Carr took the inspiration for Dr. Gideon Fell's appearance from that of author G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), writer of the Father Brown mysteries and other works.
Photograph of G.K. Chesterton. Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The source of the name Dr. Fell is apparently from the apocryphal epigram:
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why – I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell.
September 24, 2018
Even though I was having eye problems last night, I stupidly stayed up to finish this book. It was so good. So many twists and turns and a perfect locked room murder mystery. It reminded me a bit of "The Tokyo Zodiac Murders" as well as "The Murder at the Vicarage" that you have something that is supposedly impossible, becoming possible. The ending was top notch with all revealed after two (I think there were two) red herrings. Loved this book.
Professor Charles Grimaud is confronted by a mysterious man come across him and soem of his friends who claims that men can arise from the grave and walk through walls. Not going to lie here, was a bit confused where Carr was taking us. But all is explained later on to my and potential readers satisfaction.
The man, illusionist Pierre Fley claims that he himself has arisen from a grave and threatens Grimaud by saying that his brother wants him dead. We then follow a few days later and found that Grimaud has been shot and left to die in a room that a man entered and did not leave. When Dr. Gideon Fell and Superintendent Hadley come onto the scene, the question is how did the professor get shot and the would be murderer get away with no one seeing them? Also there are no footprints in the snow so how did the person get away? Did they fly? Believe me I spent most of this book trying out different solutions and was wrong with all of them. Good luck to you if you manage to figure this out.
I don't want to spoil anymore of the plot cause so much happens that at times you are going to go wait a minute? What? And have to go back and re-read.
I loved the writing though at times the story gets a bit bogged down with Fell trying to tell Hadley what he has wrong or telling Hadley that he himself was wrong. I maybe went what a few times. The flow gets better after we get to Grimaud being shot. Not going to lie, the first part confused the life out of me so had to start the story twice in order to get a better sense of people that were being named.
Carr includes diagrams of the room prior to the solution being provided and another diagram after the solution is provided which I totally got a kick out of.
The ending surprised the heck out of me though. I was expecting another paragraph or something, but nothing doing.
Professor Charles Grimaud is confronted by a mysterious man come across him and soem of his friends who claims that men can arise from the grave and walk through walls. Not going to lie here, was a bit confused where Carr was taking us. But all is explained later on to my and potential readers satisfaction.
The man, illusionist Pierre Fley claims that he himself has arisen from a grave and threatens Grimaud by saying that his brother wants him dead. We then follow a few days later and found that Grimaud has been shot and left to die in a room that a man entered and did not leave. When Dr. Gideon Fell and Superintendent Hadley come onto the scene, the question is how did the professor get shot and the would be murderer get away with no one seeing them? Also there are no footprints in the snow so how did the person get away? Did they fly? Believe me I spent most of this book trying out different solutions and was wrong with all of them. Good luck to you if you manage to figure this out.
I don't want to spoil anymore of the plot cause so much happens that at times you are going to go wait a minute? What? And have to go back and re-read.
I loved the writing though at times the story gets a bit bogged down with Fell trying to tell Hadley what he has wrong or telling Hadley that he himself was wrong. I maybe went what a few times. The flow gets better after we get to Grimaud being shot. Not going to lie, the first part confused the life out of me so had to start the story twice in order to get a better sense of people that were being named.
Carr includes diagrams of the room prior to the solution being provided and another diagram after the solution is provided which I totally got a kick out of.
The ending surprised the heck out of me though. I was expecting another paragraph or something, but nothing doing.
April 5, 2022
The Three Coffins , as it is known here in the US, is The Hollow Man elsewhere. It’s a 1935 crime novel featuring investigator Gideon Fell, book six in the Dr. Gideon Fell Series. It has been praised as the best locked room mystery and contains the “locked room lecture” (chapter 17) that addresses ways to commit murder, which has been reprinted singularly. For those reasons and that it is on the Guardian 1000 Books to Read list is why I was interested in reading it.
If you like locked room mysteries, this one is complex and clever. I admit it is at the top of my personal list even though my rating does not reflect that accolade. My problem with the book was the dialogue; it was bland, tedious, and confusing in places. Like a hundred pages worth of this kind of dialogue. Even with skimming, I still had to force myself to keep reading. Fans of play-by-play scenarios, detailed (really detailed) timetables and diagrams (scientific) will have a good old time with this read. I felt like a wonderful premise got buried under extraneous academic stuff. It shouldn’t feel like work to get to the end of a book. Yet, there was a good payoff in the end.
Characterizations suffers here too. I only got a bare sketch of the characters. Hardly enough to remember their names. It could be I missed character arc by starting with book six, but I cannot see how that would affect the characters specific to this murder mystery. And perhaps it was just me, but I immediately mixed up the two main characters: Dr. Gideon Fell (the investigator) and Professor Grimaud (academic and victim) – maybe it was the closeness of Gideon to Grimaud.
The book opens with Grimaud at a tavern with a few friends that meet regularly to hold academic discussions. The usual cronies besides Grimaud are Pettis (ghost story collector), Burnaby (amateur investigator), and Boyd Mangan (journalist and in love with Grimaud’s daughter, Rose). One night Pierre Fley, illusionist, appears with an ominous message for Grimaud. A brief time later, Dr. Fell and his sidekick, Hadley (police inspector and friend) are flummoxed over how Grimaud was murdered in a locked room.
Was is locked room mystery worth reading? It was. Although it isn’t something I’d recommend to all mystery readers. If you are simply curious, like me, and want to know what the hype is about with this book, try this cheat method. Begin reading the book and continue until you get through the second murder, then seriously skim the middle (including chapter 17), and carefully read the last thirty pages or so. I would love to hear your thoughts on the plot.
If you like locked room mysteries, this one is complex and clever. I admit it is at the top of my personal list even though my rating does not reflect that accolade. My problem with the book was the dialogue; it was bland, tedious, and confusing in places. Like a hundred pages worth of this kind of dialogue. Even with skimming, I still had to force myself to keep reading. Fans of play-by-play scenarios, detailed (really detailed) timetables and diagrams (scientific) will have a good old time with this read. I felt like a wonderful premise got buried under extraneous academic stuff. It shouldn’t feel like work to get to the end of a book. Yet, there was a good payoff in the end.
Characterizations suffers here too. I only got a bare sketch of the characters. Hardly enough to remember their names. It could be I missed character arc by starting with book six, but I cannot see how that would affect the characters specific to this murder mystery. And perhaps it was just me, but I immediately mixed up the two main characters: Dr. Gideon Fell (the investigator) and Professor Grimaud (academic and victim) – maybe it was the closeness of Gideon to Grimaud.
The book opens with Grimaud at a tavern with a few friends that meet regularly to hold academic discussions. The usual cronies besides Grimaud are Pettis (ghost story collector), Burnaby (amateur investigator), and Boyd Mangan (journalist and in love with Grimaud’s daughter, Rose). One night Pierre Fley, illusionist, appears with an ominous message for Grimaud. A brief time later, Dr. Fell and his sidekick, Hadley (police inspector and friend) are flummoxed over how Grimaud was murdered in a locked room.
Was is locked room mystery worth reading? It was. Although it isn’t something I’d recommend to all mystery readers. If you are simply curious, like me, and want to know what the hype is about with this book, try this cheat method. Begin reading the book and continue until you get through the second murder, then seriously skim the middle (including chapter 17), and carefully read the last thirty pages or so. I would love to hear your thoughts on the plot.
March 9, 2018
Whew!
I feel like I’ve just been 15 rounds with Gary Kasparov.
Now, I should preface my remarks by saying, this is the first John Dickson Carr novel that I have read – so I didn’t really know what to expect.
Finding that he was born in Uniontown, PA in 1906 I kinda thought I was in for some slick 1930s gumshoe action – and I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Set in a dark and snowy London, seemingly bereft of traffic, the scene is Dickensian – and the characters, led by the unfathomable Dr. Gideon Fell, positively Holmesian.
No problem – I enjoy that kind of thing. And a rather ghoulish opening had me further intrigued – especially when a murderous prophecy quickly comes to pass.
Henceforth, however, I found myself gradually becoming bogged down by a painstaking investigation in which the ‘good guys’ (and there seemed to be two ‘Watsons’) continually debate their findings, and relentlessly test one hypothesis after another... and another... and another.
Indeed, the novel reaches a curious self-referencing climax, when – three-quarters through – this exchange takes place:
‘But, if you’re going to analyse impossible situations,’ interrupted Pettis, ‘why discuss detective fiction?’
‘Because,’ said the doctor, frankly, ‘we’re in a detective story, and we don’t fool the reader by pretending we’re not.’
I’m used to the likes of Captain Hastings speaking from his journal, but this was a whole new take on the omniscient narrator. (Incidentally, the good doctor then proceeds to relate all possible whodunit plots ever known to or imagined by humankind.)
It was with a sigh of relief that I realised the denouement was eventually upon me. But a sting in the tail! It lasted for 27 pages – almost one-seventh of the entire book.
Suffice to say – not only did I become lost in the maze of the main puzzle – but I was disoriented for a second time in the reprise.
Should I blame the author for demanding too much of my little grey cells – or remind myself that I never could think more than one move ahead at chess?
I feel like I’ve just been 15 rounds with Gary Kasparov.
Now, I should preface my remarks by saying, this is the first John Dickson Carr novel that I have read – so I didn’t really know what to expect.
Finding that he was born in Uniontown, PA in 1906 I kinda thought I was in for some slick 1930s gumshoe action – and I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Set in a dark and snowy London, seemingly bereft of traffic, the scene is Dickensian – and the characters, led by the unfathomable Dr. Gideon Fell, positively Holmesian.
No problem – I enjoy that kind of thing. And a rather ghoulish opening had me further intrigued – especially when a murderous prophecy quickly comes to pass.
Henceforth, however, I found myself gradually becoming bogged down by a painstaking investigation in which the ‘good guys’ (and there seemed to be two ‘Watsons’) continually debate their findings, and relentlessly test one hypothesis after another... and another... and another.
Indeed, the novel reaches a curious self-referencing climax, when – three-quarters through – this exchange takes place:
‘But, if you’re going to analyse impossible situations,’ interrupted Pettis, ‘why discuss detective fiction?’
‘Because,’ said the doctor, frankly, ‘we’re in a detective story, and we don’t fool the reader by pretending we’re not.’
I’m used to the likes of Captain Hastings speaking from his journal, but this was a whole new take on the omniscient narrator. (Incidentally, the good doctor then proceeds to relate all possible whodunit plots ever known to or imagined by humankind.)
It was with a sigh of relief that I realised the denouement was eventually upon me. But a sting in the tail! It lasted for 27 pages – almost one-seventh of the entire book.
Suffice to say – not only did I become lost in the maze of the main puzzle – but I was disoriented for a second time in the reprise.
Should I blame the author for demanding too much of my little grey cells – or remind myself that I never could think more than one move ahead at chess?
February 8, 2016
Το βιβλίο κυκλοφορεί στην Ελλάδα με τον τίτλο " ο ασώματος άνθρωπος".
Η πλοκή είναι εξαιρετική. Θα θυμίσει σε πολλούς τον Poe. O λεξικογράφος Δρ. Φείλ καλείται να λύσει ένα έγκλημα που εκ πρώτης όψεως φαίνεται ότι είναι πέρα από κάθε λογική. Η συνέχεια είναι πέρα από κάθε αναγνωστική προσδοκία. Κι ωστόσο είναι ταυτόχρονα απόλυτα πειστική, απόλυτα σατανική στη σύλληψή της, καθώς τα επάλληλα γεγονότα εξηγούν αλυσιδωτά το ένα το άλλο μετατρέποντας με πανούργο τρόπο τον αναγνώστη σε αθέατο "συνένοχο" αυτού του "αδύνατου εγκλήματος". Όσο για τη λύση του μυστηρίου, θεωρείται από τις πλέον πρωτότυπες λύσεις που έχει δώσει συγγραφέας σε βιβλίο με αστυνομική πλοκή.Ίσως στην άρχη να κουράσει μερικούς αναγνώστες αλλά τα υπόλοιπο βιβλίο είναι απλά υπέροχο.
Η πλοκή είναι εξαιρετική. Θα θυμίσει σε πολλούς τον Poe. O λεξικογράφος Δρ. Φείλ καλείται να λύσει ένα έγκλημα που εκ πρώτης όψεως φαίνεται ότι είναι πέρα από κάθε λογική. Η συνέχεια είναι πέρα από κάθε αναγνωστική προσδοκία. Κι ωστόσο είναι ταυτόχρονα απόλυτα πειστική, απόλυτα σατανική στη σύλληψή της, καθώς τα επάλληλα γεγονότα εξηγούν αλυσιδωτά το ένα το άλλο μετατρέποντας με πανούργο τρόπο τον αναγνώστη σε αθέατο "συνένοχο" αυτού του "αδύνατου εγκλήματος". Όσο για τη λύση του μυστηρίου, θεωρείται από τις πλέον πρωτότυπες λύσεις που έχει δώσει συγγραφέας σε βιβλίο με αστυνομική πλοκή.Ίσως στην άρχη να κουράσει μερικούς αναγνώστες αλλά τα υπόλοιπο βιβλίο είναι απλά υπέροχο.
January 25, 2024
2024 reread: It took me a while to get engaged in this mystery this time around. Having read more of the Dr. Fell books now, I think that this one has drier prose than others. But the plot is fiendishly clever! Even for those who don't like locked room mysteries or prefer more character-driven stories should admit that.
------
2015 review:
Clever locked room mystery. Carr's style when writing Dr. Fell is a bit didatic and may turn off some readers but I loved the (somewhat lengthy) exposition Fell gives about the various types of so-called "locked room" mysteries. As he says himself:
" "When the cry of 'This-sort-of-thing-wouldn't-happen!' goes up, when you complain about half-faced fiends and hooded phantoms and blond hypnotic sirens, you are merely saying, 'I don't like this sort of story.' That's fair enough. If you do not like it, you are howlingly right to say so. But when you twist this matter of taste into a rule for judging the merit or even the probability of the story, you are merely saying, 'This series of events couldn't happen, because I shouldn't enjoy it if it did.'"
As I was starting this book, I realized that I had read a few other Gideon Fell mysteries before and that Fell wasn't as much fun as Gervase Fen. In other words, I do not much like Carr's mysteries or perhaps just not his writing style.
However, this seemingly insoluble, improbable locked-room mystery in which the murderer didn't even leave footprints in the snow was extremely clever. I thought I had suspected everyone in turn but not once did I come close to the true culprit! Carr plays fair with the reader -- there are no hidden facts brought out only during the solution. In fact, he tells you in the first chapter the names of certain witnesses whose testimony can be relied on to be truthful and complete!! Yet despite this broad hint and Fell uttering cryptic clues periodically, I only deciphered one small aspect of the crime.
In addition, Gideon Fell did make me chuckle several times with his pronouncements, such as when he gives rules about what ghosts should be like in English fiction (they should be seen in old abbeys or cemeteries, not lemonade stands). I also liked his mention of several other mystery novels and authors who excelled at certain types of mysteries during his discourse mentioned above.
Overall, I would recommend this as an excellent example of a certain style of mystery (the locked room) which is no longer fashionable.
------
2015 review:
Clever locked room mystery. Carr's style when writing Dr. Fell is a bit didatic and may turn off some readers but I loved the (somewhat lengthy) exposition Fell gives about the various types of so-called "locked room" mysteries. As he says himself:
" "When the cry of 'This-sort-of-thing-wouldn't-happen!' goes up, when you complain about half-faced fiends and hooded phantoms and blond hypnotic sirens, you are merely saying, 'I don't like this sort of story.' That's fair enough. If you do not like it, you are howlingly right to say so. But when you twist this matter of taste into a rule for judging the merit or even the probability of the story, you are merely saying, 'This series of events couldn't happen, because I shouldn't enjoy it if it did.'"
As I was starting this book, I realized that I had read a few other Gideon Fell mysteries before and that Fell wasn't as much fun as Gervase Fen. In other words, I do not much like Carr's mysteries or perhaps just not his writing style.
However, this seemingly insoluble, improbable locked-room mystery in which the murderer didn't even leave footprints in the snow was extremely clever. I thought I had suspected everyone in turn but not once did I come close to the true culprit! Carr plays fair with the reader -- there are no hidden facts brought out only during the solution. In fact, he tells you in the first chapter the names of certain witnesses whose testimony can be relied on to be truthful and complete!! Yet despite this broad hint and Fell uttering cryptic clues periodically, I only deciphered one small aspect of the crime.
In addition, Gideon Fell did make me chuckle several times with his pronouncements, such as when he gives rules about what ghosts should be like in English fiction (they should be seen in old abbeys or cemeteries, not lemonade stands). I also liked his mention of several other mystery novels and authors who excelled at certain types of mysteries during his discourse mentioned above.
Overall, I would recommend this as an excellent example of a certain style of mystery (the locked room) which is no longer fashionable.
January 16, 2021
"'I have committed another crime, Hadley,' he said. 'I have guessed the truth again.'"
Critics have wondered whether it is possible to re-read detective fiction with the same enthrallment of the first time even if you remember every detail of the solution. I believe I'm probably in the minority here, but, for me, Carr may have been a great designer of fictional crimes, but not so talented a storyteller, and I would hazard the guess that you would need to be both in order to write truly lasting and engaging detective novels, novels that are worth rereading.
As a personal note, Dr Fell calling for blood and gore in ghost stories is the purest and most endearing thing I've read of late. From now on, I'll be referring to admitting to one's taste for sensation and melodrama in fiction as "channelling your inner Dr Fell" and that's that.
Critics have wondered whether it is possible to re-read detective fiction with the same enthrallment of the first time even if you remember every detail of the solution. I believe I'm probably in the minority here, but, for me, Carr may have been a great designer of fictional crimes, but not so talented a storyteller, and I would hazard the guess that you would need to be both in order to write truly lasting and engaging detective novels, novels that are worth rereading.
As a personal note, Dr Fell calling for blood and gore in ghost stories is the purest and most endearing thing I've read of late. From now on, I'll be referring to admitting to one's taste for sensation and melodrama in fiction as "channelling your inner Dr Fell" and that's that.
October 5, 2024
A special rating for the explanation of mystery stories.
January 12, 2020
Mình là người rất thích đọc các tác phẩm trinh thám lấy đề tài mật thất, giết người trong phòng kín, vì mình thích tìm hiểu về những vụ án tưởng chừng như bất khả, nhưng hóa ra luôn có một lời giải thích hợp lý. Vì thế, khi biết cuốn “Người Rỗng” của John Dickson Carr - nhà văn trinh thám Mỹ nổi tiếng, được mệnh danh là “ông hoàng mật thất” - được xuất bản là mình mua đọc ngay. Công nhận là hay lồng lộn, hay ghê gớm luôn các bạn ạ.
“Người Rỗng” là cuốn tiểu thuyết về hai vụ giết người. Một vụ là cái chết kỳ bí của giáo sư Charles Grimaud - một người không bao giờ tin vào ma quỷ hay thế giới tâm linh. Trước ngày vụ án xảy ra, Pierre Fley - một nhà ảo thuật gia - đã xuất hiện tại quán rượu mà giáo sư Grimaud thường tụ họp với bạn bè của mình và buông ra một lời đe dọa. Vài ngày sau đó, giáo sư Grimaud có hẹn gặp một người đàn ông cao lớn, bí ẩn trong chiếc áo khoác đen và đeo mặt nạ Guy Fawkes màu hồng như thịt, để rồi giáo sư được phát hiện đang thoi thóp trong căn phòng khóa kín cửa, chỉ có thể mấp máy vài từ đứt đoạn, người lạ đó đã biến đâu mất. Nền tuyết trắng không hề có dấu chân ai cả. Cửa sổ quá bé để một người trưởng thành chui ra được. Căn phòng cũng không có cánh cửa bí mật nào thông ra bên ngoài. Như thể hung thủ đã tan biến vào không khí vậy.
Vào cùng đêm giáo sư Grimaud bị bắn, và sau đó qua đời, Pierre Fley cũng bị bắn ở một con phố vắng bởi chính khẩu súng đã giết giáo sư Grimaud. Có nhân chứng đứng ở hai đầu đường nhưng đều không thấy được chuyện gì xảy ra, hay hung thủ là ai. Như thể kẻ thủ ác là một người rỗng dưới vỏ bọc hữu hình, hiện ra gây án để rồi sau đó lại biến mất vào không khí. Và Pierre Fley - người trước đó đã đe dọa giáo sư Grimaud, là kẻ dường như có động cơ giết giáo sư nhiều nhất - cũng chết trong cùng một đêm, hai vụ án chỉ cách nhau vài phút. Vậy rốt cuộc hung thủ thực sự là ai? Có phải là một trong những nhân chứng của hai vụ án hay không?
Bên cạnh bí ẩn về “người rỗng” gây án và sự khó giải thích nổi của hai vụ giết người mà việc tìm hiểu xem chuyện gì thực sự đã xảy ra dường như là bất khả, điều mà mình thích nhất ở cuốn tiểu thuyết này, có lẽ chính là những suy luận của tiến sĩ Fell - một trong những hình tượng thám tử “không chuyên” mà John Dickson Carr sáng tạo nên. Chỉ bằng cách quan sát tỉ mỉ những gì còn lại ở hiện trường trong căn phòng kín, cùng việc lắng nghe lời khai của nhân chứng và cả những từ ngữ đứt đoạn mà nạn nhân Grimaud mấp máy trước khi bị đưa đi chăm sóc y tế, mà tiến sĩ Fell đã có thể dần dần khám phá và phác họa nên cuộc sống trước kia của nạn nhân Grimaud, và tự mình đưa ra những suy luận khả dĩ có thể đưa ra một hướng điều tra cho những người có chuyên môn điều tra phá án.
Lẽ dĩ nhiên, với một cuốn tiểu thuyết giết người trong phòng kín nổi tiếng dường này, thuộc hàng ngũ những tiểu thuyết trinh thám hay nhất mọi thời đại, thì mọi thứ không như những gì chúng ta và cả tiến sĩ Fell luôn hình dung. Nếu bạn chỉ suy luận đơn giản, chỉ suy nghĩ theo cách thông thường, thì sẽ không bao giờ có thể phát hiện ra được sự thật, cùng “màn ảo thuật” gây kinh ngạc đã đánh lừa rất nhiều người. Và quan trọng hơn nữa, là làm sao chúng ta có thể, từ những lời khai của nhân chứng luôn nói thật, suy luận ra được điều gì đã thực sự xảy ra, và nhìn ra chân tướng của toàn bộ vụ việc.
Đoạn kết khi tiến sĩ Fell bóc trần sự thật đã thực sự làm mình ngỡ ngàng, vì mình không bao giờ có thể tưởng tượng được mọi chuyện lại là như thế. Có một chút may mắn giúp hung thủ thực hiện được một phần kế hoạch của mình - cái chút may mắn đã thay đổi và xoay vần toàn bộ cách lẽ ra chúng ta phải suy luận. Phần còn lại là một chuỗi ứng biến có, đã lên kế hoạch sẵn cũng có, để đánh lừa các nhân chứng và xoay chuyển bản ch���t thật của cả hai vụ án. Nói chung là cá nhân mình không thể nào ngờ được lời giải đáp lại là như thế, và mình cũng không thể nào biết được làm cách nào tác giả John Dickson Carr lại có thể nghĩ ra được một câu chuyện như vậy luôn :D
Giờ mình chuẩn bị đặt mua tiếp hai cuốn khác của John Dickson Carr là “Vụ án viên nhộng xanh” và “Chiếc bản lề cong” để ở nhà đọc trong dịp Tết đây ^^ Hy vọng là cũng sẽ hay như cuốn “Người Rỗng” này :D
“Người Rỗng” là cuốn tiểu thuyết về hai vụ giết người. Một vụ là cái chết kỳ bí của giáo sư Charles Grimaud - một người không bao giờ tin vào ma quỷ hay thế giới tâm linh. Trước ngày vụ án xảy ra, Pierre Fley - một nhà ảo thuật gia - đã xuất hiện tại quán rượu mà giáo sư Grimaud thường tụ họp với bạn bè của mình và buông ra một lời đe dọa. Vài ngày sau đó, giáo sư Grimaud có hẹn gặp một người đàn ông cao lớn, bí ẩn trong chiếc áo khoác đen và đeo mặt nạ Guy Fawkes màu hồng như thịt, để rồi giáo sư được phát hiện đang thoi thóp trong căn phòng khóa kín cửa, chỉ có thể mấp máy vài từ đứt đoạn, người lạ đó đã biến đâu mất. Nền tuyết trắng không hề có dấu chân ai cả. Cửa sổ quá bé để một người trưởng thành chui ra được. Căn phòng cũng không có cánh cửa bí mật nào thông ra bên ngoài. Như thể hung thủ đã tan biến vào không khí vậy.
Vào cùng đêm giáo sư Grimaud bị bắn, và sau đó qua đời, Pierre Fley cũng bị bắn ở một con phố vắng bởi chính khẩu súng đã giết giáo sư Grimaud. Có nhân chứng đứng ở hai đầu đường nhưng đều không thấy được chuyện gì xảy ra, hay hung thủ là ai. Như thể kẻ thủ ác là một người rỗng dưới vỏ bọc hữu hình, hiện ra gây án để rồi sau đó lại biến mất vào không khí. Và Pierre Fley - người trước đó đã đe dọa giáo sư Grimaud, là kẻ dường như có động cơ giết giáo sư nhiều nhất - cũng chết trong cùng một đêm, hai vụ án chỉ cách nhau vài phút. Vậy rốt cuộc hung thủ thực sự là ai? Có phải là một trong những nhân chứng của hai vụ án hay không?
Bên cạnh bí ẩn về “người rỗng” gây án và sự khó giải thích nổi của hai vụ giết người mà việc tìm hiểu xem chuyện gì thực sự đã xảy ra dường như là bất khả, điều mà mình thích nhất ở cuốn tiểu thuyết này, có lẽ chính là những suy luận của tiến sĩ Fell - một trong những hình tượng thám tử “không chuyên” mà John Dickson Carr sáng tạo nên. Chỉ bằng cách quan sát tỉ mỉ những gì còn lại ở hiện trường trong căn phòng kín, cùng việc lắng nghe lời khai của nhân chứng và cả những từ ngữ đứt đoạn mà nạn nhân Grimaud mấp máy trước khi bị đưa đi chăm sóc y tế, mà tiến sĩ Fell đã có thể dần dần khám phá và phác họa nên cuộc sống trước kia của nạn nhân Grimaud, và tự mình đưa ra những suy luận khả dĩ có thể đưa ra một hướng điều tra cho những người có chuyên môn điều tra phá án.
Lẽ dĩ nhiên, với một cuốn tiểu thuyết giết người trong phòng kín nổi tiếng dường này, thuộc hàng ngũ những tiểu thuyết trinh thám hay nhất mọi thời đại, thì mọi thứ không như những gì chúng ta và cả tiến sĩ Fell luôn hình dung. Nếu bạn chỉ suy luận đơn giản, chỉ suy nghĩ theo cách thông thường, thì sẽ không bao giờ có thể phát hiện ra được sự thật, cùng “màn ảo thuật” gây kinh ngạc đã đánh lừa rất nhiều người. Và quan trọng hơn nữa, là làm sao chúng ta có thể, từ những lời khai của nhân chứng luôn nói thật, suy luận ra được điều gì đã thực sự xảy ra, và nhìn ra chân tướng của toàn bộ vụ việc.
Đoạn kết khi tiến sĩ Fell bóc trần sự thật đã thực sự làm mình ngỡ ngàng, vì mình không bao giờ có thể tưởng tượng được mọi chuyện lại là như thế. Có một chút may mắn giúp hung thủ thực hiện được một phần kế hoạch của mình - cái chút may mắn đã thay đổi và xoay vần toàn bộ cách lẽ ra chúng ta phải suy luận. Phần còn lại là một chuỗi ứng biến có, đã lên kế hoạch sẵn cũng có, để đánh lừa các nhân chứng và xoay chuyển bản ch���t thật của cả hai vụ án. Nói chung là cá nhân mình không thể nào ngờ được lời giải đáp lại là như thế, và mình cũng không thể nào biết được làm cách nào tác giả John Dickson Carr lại có thể nghĩ ra được một câu chuyện như vậy luôn :D
Giờ mình chuẩn bị đặt mua tiếp hai cuốn khác của John Dickson Carr là “Vụ án viên nhộng xanh” và “Chiếc bản lề cong” để ở nhà đọc trong dịp Tết đây ^^ Hy vọng là cũng sẽ hay như cuốn “Người Rỗng” này :D
March 25, 2018
I am gobsmacked by this book.
I don't know where I picked up the notion that Carr wrote noir, but I cracked this book open expecting dames and hardboiled, hard drinking private dicks and speakeasies. It's hard to imagine how I could've been less accurate. The Hollow Man had gothic overtones, oblique references to vampires and supernatural happenings, direct references to the ghost story writer M.R. James, and an extremely snowy, almost Victorian, London atmosphere.
In other words, the background stuff was right up my alley.
Attach this to not one, but two, miraculous mysteries, and a main character who reminded me strongly of Nero Wolfe, although I can't precisely put my finger on why, and a chapter that waxes eloquent on the locked room mystery and my, oh my, did I enjoy this book. The solution was very well done and - thankfully - did not involve an icicle in any capacity whatsoever.
Unfortunately, this book is not available on kindle and appears to be out of print. I picked up my copy on amazon for under ten bucks, but it looks like the edition that I read isn't available for anything less than $90.00 at this time. I would definitely recommend checking it out, if you can find it.
"But, if you're going to analyze impossible situations," interrupted Pettis, "why discuss detective fiction?"
"Because," said the doctor, frankly, "we're in a detective story, and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let's candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book."
I don't know where I picked up the notion that Carr wrote noir, but I cracked this book open expecting dames and hardboiled, hard drinking private dicks and speakeasies. It's hard to imagine how I could've been less accurate. The Hollow Man had gothic overtones, oblique references to vampires and supernatural happenings, direct references to the ghost story writer M.R. James, and an extremely snowy, almost Victorian, London atmosphere.
In other words, the background stuff was right up my alley.
Attach this to not one, but two, miraculous mysteries, and a main character who reminded me strongly of Nero Wolfe, although I can't precisely put my finger on why, and a chapter that waxes eloquent on the locked room mystery and my, oh my, did I enjoy this book. The solution was very well done and - thankfully - did not involve an icicle in any capacity whatsoever.
Unfortunately, this book is not available on kindle and appears to be out of print. I picked up my copy on amazon for under ten bucks, but it looks like the edition that I read isn't available for anything less than $90.00 at this time. I would definitely recommend checking it out, if you can find it.
"But, if you're going to analyze impossible situations," interrupted Pettis, "why discuss detective fiction?"
"Because," said the doctor, frankly, "we're in a detective story, and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let's candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book."
January 3, 2022
Published in 1935, this is the sixth mystery to feature Dr Gideon Fell and a classic of Golden Age crime. As such, it is an ideal first book for the challenge of Detection Club authors that one of my Goodreads groups have chosen this year. It is the classic locked-room mystery, with Dr Grimauld killed in a locked room and no sign of his murderer...
This is very much a puzzle, with clues to unravel and a number of different suspects. Although, to be honest, the plot is so involved you are a better reader than me if you manage to unravel all the threads and discover whodunnit, and how they managed it. I am pleased that I read it, but I was admittedly more interested in finally reading this classic of the genre, than really engaged in plot and certainly in character. Involved, rather than involving, this is a classic, but I feel the author is not really for me.
This is very much a puzzle, with clues to unravel and a number of different suspects. Although, to be honest, the plot is so involved you are a better reader than me if you manage to unravel all the threads and discover whodunnit, and how they managed it. I am pleased that I read it, but I was admittedly more interested in finally reading this classic of the genre, than really engaged in plot and certainly in character. Involved, rather than involving, this is a classic, but I feel the author is not really for me.
April 18, 2009
You know pretty much immediately that this is not going to be your average mystery story. A group of friends who meet regularly to discuss odd & diverse supernatural topics such as ghosts & ghost stories are interrupted by a strange man by the name of Pierre Fley who addresses himself to one of the group, a Dr. Charles Grimaud. The stranger discusses a story about three coffins and then tells Grimaud that either Fley or his brother would be calling upon him soon. It is not long afterwards that Grimaud is found dead in his study, on the top floor of the house, with the one door locked, the windows too high for an exit, and absolutely no footprints in the snow outside the house. But the kicker is that someone came to the door, was let in, addressed two of the people in the house, and was seen climbing the stairs and entering the study. So...how did it happen? Dr. Gideon Fell is called in, and his investigation makes for one of the best locked-room mysteries I've ever read. It starts off running and does not let up. Most excellent -- a fine challenge to my overtired brain in trying to figure out how the heck this was done.
I will caution you, however, that if you are planning to read any of the following books, Fell, in a very fine discourse upon the subject of crimes in hermetically sealed rooms, tells how various authors plotted some more well-known locked room mysteries. The books are, along with some short stories that I won't mention here (and do read them first before reading this one or they will probably be a disappointment):
Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux
Initials Only, by Anna Katherine Green
The Forty Faces, by Thomas and Mary Hanshew
The Chinese Orange Mystery, by Ellery Queen
The Big Bow Mystery, by Israel Zangwill
I think that fans of modern mystery novels may find Fell and his explanations a bit tedious in places, but if you like these old golden age of mystery classics, then this is probably among the best. Definitely not for cozy readers.
Overall, quite ingenious, well written and well worth the sometimes slog through the five books before this one in the series. I would probably put this as a must-have for serious mystery readers.
I will caution you, however, that if you are planning to read any of the following books, Fell, in a very fine discourse upon the subject of crimes in hermetically sealed rooms, tells how various authors plotted some more well-known locked room mysteries. The books are, along with some short stories that I won't mention here (and do read them first before reading this one or they will probably be a disappointment):
Mystery of the Yellow Room, by Gaston Leroux
Initials Only, by Anna Katherine Green
The Forty Faces, by Thomas and Mary Hanshew
The Chinese Orange Mystery, by Ellery Queen
The Big Bow Mystery, by Israel Zangwill
I think that fans of modern mystery novels may find Fell and his explanations a bit tedious in places, but if you like these old golden age of mystery classics, then this is probably among the best. Definitely not for cozy readers.
Overall, quite ingenious, well written and well worth the sometimes slog through the five books before this one in the series. I would probably put this as a must-have for serious mystery readers.
September 21, 2023
What a pleasant, if a bit technical, locked-room mystery! A stranger comes into a man's room, the door is locked, a shot is fired, and the man is found murdered, stranger having vanished into thin air. Then another man is killed in the middle of the street, the killer having vanished again. Dr. Gideon Fell is amicable as the main character, but the characters and their psychology play little part in this mystery, which I found very refreshing. The solution is extremely satisfying, and there's a "meta" section in the book, where characters discuss techniques used in locked-room mysteries, while paying homage to other authors.
Some things that weren't deal breakers for me, but maybe worth noting:
There's a bit of sexism, which is not surprising for a mystery written in 1935, but it didn't play an important role and came mostly from women characters, which is not necessarily inaccurate – I bet there were quite a lot of opponents of suffrage at the time.
Second thing, also not uncommon in the novels of this period, was an extreme exotification of the characters of Eastern European origin. It was more funny than offensive, but one might get a bit tired of Eastern Europeans being described as having "barbaric" or "fierce" faces or manners. Such as:
In any case, I enjoyed this mystery a lot and I can see the reason why it's in the golden hall of fame of locked-room mysteries.
Some things that weren't deal breakers for me, but maybe worth noting:
There's a bit of sexism, which is not surprising for a mystery written in 1935, but it didn't play an important role and came mostly from women characters, which is not necessarily inaccurate – I bet there were quite a lot of opponents of suffrage at the time.
Second thing, also not uncommon in the novels of this period, was an extreme exotification of the characters of Eastern European origin. It was more funny than offensive, but one might get a bit tired of Eastern Europeans being described as having "barbaric" or "fierce" faces or manners. Such as:
She had her mother's intense personality shaped into blond, square-faced, rather barbaric Slavic beauty. Yet in one moment the face would be hard and the long hazel eyes gentle and uneasy, like the curate's daughter. And in the next moment the face would be softened and the eyes brilliantly hard, like the devil's daughter.
In any case, I enjoyed this mystery a lot and I can see the reason why it's in the golden hall of fame of locked-room mysteries.
January 20, 2022
Set in snowy London, with hints of people walking out of graves and of three coffins, links to Transylvania, two murders committed by an invisible person, and a solution I didn’t see coming at all, John Dickson Carr's The Hollow Man made for an enjoyable read, especially in this season.
Our story, the sixth book to feature Carr's detective Dr Gideon Fell, introduces us to Professor Charles Grimaud, a scholar on all things supernatural but with a view to disproving them. A man of independent means, Grimaud has formed a sort of club with a few others to discuss supernatural subjects in books and otherwise. In one such meeting, an illusionist, Pierre Fley arrives out of the blue threatening Grimaud with his brother who's in his grave. Grimaud laughs it off but some days later when Fley was to call on Grimaud, he does appear at his home, or so it seems and is shown into Grimaud’s study. Soon after a shot is fired in the locked study. Grimaud is found shot but there is no sign of his murderer, not even footprints in the snow outside. And not 15 minutes later, a second death takes place, once again by an invisible hand, this time in the middle of a street with witnesses who swear there was no one near the victim or indeed, in the street.
Alongside in Dr Fell's home are gathered Superintendent Hadley and Fell's friends, the Rampoles; so when the threat to Grimaud is made known to them, all three men rush to his home only to find he has just been shot. While Dr Fell is able to instantly deduce some things about the professor which may relate to his murder, the case is far more complicated than first meets the eye.
This was my introduction to Carr and Dr Gideon Fell, and in the book he came across as rather Holmes-like relying on keen observation and deduction to get to the truth. Seeing the same things as others, he is able to get more out of it, and like Holmes is also into experiments, like in this book to decipher fragments of burnt letters. I enjoyed watching him investigate and also alongside, the Rampoles' efforts at cracking the case. (I noticed from others' reviews that they found Fell's mannerisms somewhat annoying, but these didn’t bother me at all; in fact I hardly noticed).
The book with its winter setting and spooky elements (even when we know and are in fact told from the start that there is nothing magical about the answer but it’s all an illusion) sets up the perfect atmosphere for this mystery since both crimes are committed by a seemingly invisible person.
But how did they make themselves invisible? Not in any way we can think up for the solution of this one was not just ingenious but one it takes some time to get one's head around in terms of all the little details—in fact there were some I’m still not wholly clear about; there are men in masks and a chameleon overcoat, more than one person with a secret and people aplenty around Grimaud but does any of them have a motive to kill him? There is some ‘magic’ involved certainly but in a different way than we think.
Another distinctive aspect of the book is that in one chapter, breaking the fourth wall so to speak, and to an extent perhaps the usual structure of the detective story,
Because…we’re in a detective story and we don’t fool the reader by pretending we’re not. Let’s not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let’s candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book.
Dr Fell goes into a detailed discussion on locked room murders examining possible scenarios and identifying different categories but also having warned uninterested readers to simply skip the chapter. I didn’t actually mind this chapter at all; instead I found myself thinking back to any locked room mysteries I could remember and working out which of his categories they would have fitted. Of course, he does mention plenty of detective fiction with some spoilers (as to who- and how- dunit) so you might want to bear that in mind; for me, I’m fairly sure I’ll have forgotten by the time I get to the stories in question 😊
4 stars!
Our story, the sixth book to feature Carr's detective Dr Gideon Fell, introduces us to Professor Charles Grimaud, a scholar on all things supernatural but with a view to disproving them. A man of independent means, Grimaud has formed a sort of club with a few others to discuss supernatural subjects in books and otherwise. In one such meeting, an illusionist, Pierre Fley arrives out of the blue threatening Grimaud with his brother who's in his grave. Grimaud laughs it off but some days later when Fley was to call on Grimaud, he does appear at his home, or so it seems and is shown into Grimaud’s study. Soon after a shot is fired in the locked study. Grimaud is found shot but there is no sign of his murderer, not even footprints in the snow outside. And not 15 minutes later, a second death takes place, once again by an invisible hand, this time in the middle of a street with witnesses who swear there was no one near the victim or indeed, in the street.
Alongside in Dr Fell's home are gathered Superintendent Hadley and Fell's friends, the Rampoles; so when the threat to Grimaud is made known to them, all three men rush to his home only to find he has just been shot. While Dr Fell is able to instantly deduce some things about the professor which may relate to his murder, the case is far more complicated than first meets the eye.
This was my introduction to Carr and Dr Gideon Fell, and in the book he came across as rather Holmes-like relying on keen observation and deduction to get to the truth. Seeing the same things as others, he is able to get more out of it, and like Holmes is also into experiments, like in this book to decipher fragments of burnt letters. I enjoyed watching him investigate and also alongside, the Rampoles' efforts at cracking the case. (I noticed from others' reviews that they found Fell's mannerisms somewhat annoying, but these didn’t bother me at all; in fact I hardly noticed).
The book with its winter setting and spooky elements (even when we know and are in fact told from the start that there is nothing magical about the answer but it’s all an illusion) sets up the perfect atmosphere for this mystery since both crimes are committed by a seemingly invisible person.
But how did they make themselves invisible? Not in any way we can think up for the solution of this one was not just ingenious but one it takes some time to get one's head around in terms of all the little details—in fact there were some I’m still not wholly clear about; there are men in masks and a chameleon overcoat, more than one person with a secret and people aplenty around Grimaud but does any of them have a motive to kill him? There is some ‘magic’ involved certainly but in a different way than we think.
Another distinctive aspect of the book is that in one chapter, breaking the fourth wall so to speak, and to an extent perhaps the usual structure of the detective story,
Because…we’re in a detective story and we don’t fool the reader by pretending we’re not. Let’s not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories. Let’s candidly glory in the noblest pursuits possible to characters in a book.
Dr Fell goes into a detailed discussion on locked room murders examining possible scenarios and identifying different categories but also having warned uninterested readers to simply skip the chapter. I didn’t actually mind this chapter at all; instead I found myself thinking back to any locked room mysteries I could remember and working out which of his categories they would have fitted. Of course, he does mention plenty of detective fiction with some spoilers (as to who- and how- dunit) so you might want to bear that in mind; for me, I’m fairly sure I’ll have forgotten by the time I get to the stories in question 😊
4 stars!
December 11, 2019
Đây được đánh giá là cuốn tiểu thuyết kinh điển của thể loại mật thất - tội ác bất khả thi. 2 án mạng liên tiếp, một bị bắn chết trong phòng kín một mình, người còn lại bị bắn trong ngõ vắng đầy tuyết mà các nhân chứng trực tiếp không hề thấy hung thủ.
Truyện có nhiều tình tiết, manh mối phức tạp khiến quá trình điều tra gặp khó khăn và bế tắc. Dù tác giả có gợi ý nhưng mình vẫn không thể đoán được chân tướng cho đến khi tiến sỹ Fell giải đáp. Bất ngờ ngoài tưởng tượng.`
Giá trị lớn nhất của truyện là một đoạn đáng giá là tiến sỹ Fell tổng kết các loại ''mật thất'' ở gần cuối. Các bạn chưa hiểu rõ về thể loại locked room nên đọc để biết rõ hơn.
Chấm 7,75-8/10
Truyện có nhiều tình tiết, manh mối phức tạp khiến quá trình điều tra gặp khó khăn và bế tắc. Dù tác giả có gợi ý nhưng mình vẫn không thể đoán được chân tướng cho đến khi tiến sỹ Fell giải đáp. Bất ngờ ngoài tưởng tượng.`
Giá trị lớn nhất của truyện là một đoạn đáng giá là tiến sỹ Fell tổng kết các loại ''mật thất'' ở gần cuối. Các bạn chưa hiểu rõ về thể loại locked room nên đọc để biết rõ hơn.
Chấm 7,75-8/10
July 19, 2008
I picked The Three Coffins (aka Hollow Man) up when, after I started reading the Poirot mysteries, Adam mentioned the term "Locked Room Mysteries". Having not read many classic mysteries before, I was ignorant of the genre. So, what does any internet-savvy person do when they want a superficial introduction to a subject, of course I Wikipedia-ed it (you can burn me later). Anyway, this book was listed as the epitome of the locked-room mystery.
This book is actually a fantastic way to get acquainted with locked-room mysteries, because the main character (the grumbling mumbling Dr. Fell whose employ is unknown) considers himself an expert on literature in general, and the concept "the locked-room mystery" in specific, and goes on a chapters-long diatribe about its conventions in literature and their applications to the mystery at hand. He figures to solve the crime by treating it as if it were a piece of literature. This diatribe, I believe, is what got the book voted as best.
This was such a fun book. I had to read slowly and re-read sections - I wanted to savor the character descriptions and plot twists. In such a celebrated mystery, I knew I'd want to analyze and try to figure it out myself rather than simply reading through it for plot and letting the characters sort out the mystery.
If I hadn't in recent months declared I'd stop starting new series (gees, I hardly have time for non-series reading anymore), I'd go through these from number 1 on up. If you're looking for a great classic mystery series, this one is great. Dr. Fell is just as lovable as Inspector Poirot.
This book is actually a fantastic way to get acquainted with locked-room mysteries, because the main character (the grumbling mumbling Dr. Fell whose employ is unknown) considers himself an expert on literature in general, and the concept "the locked-room mystery" in specific, and goes on a chapters-long diatribe about its conventions in literature and their applications to the mystery at hand. He figures to solve the crime by treating it as if it were a piece of literature. This diatribe, I believe, is what got the book voted as best.
This was such a fun book. I had to read slowly and re-read sections - I wanted to savor the character descriptions and plot twists. In such a celebrated mystery, I knew I'd want to analyze and try to figure it out myself rather than simply reading through it for plot and letting the characters sort out the mystery.
If I hadn't in recent months declared I'd stop starting new series (gees, I hardly have time for non-series reading anymore), I'd go through these from number 1 on up. If you're looking for a great classic mystery series, this one is great. Dr. Fell is just as lovable as Inspector Poirot.
December 27, 2021
DNF after the murder and initial interviews, pretty obvious who did it, just a matter of slogging through to figure out the why, and I really don’t care - checked the last page, and I was right. I think this writer is just not for me, after trying two Dr. Fell mysteries, “Plague Court”, and a short story by Carr. I get distracted by his bizarre character descriptions and word choices - after the murder, Inspector Hadley and company interview the victim’s secretary, an obnoxious young man who sounds grotesque in appearance, refers to the long-time housekeeper as “Pythoness” (while she’s in the room), and Carr says he has a singsong voice, so in writing his dialogue, Carr actually writes, “he sang”. I’m sorry, that’s just bizarre, and annoying- I just can’t picture it in my mind, and it takes me out of the story, along with all of the strange and rather grotesque descriptions of Dr. Gideon Fell, his detective, grunting, snorting, lumbering, etc., makes him sound like a freak! After several attempts with this author, I am moving on, he’s clearly not for me!
March 12, 2017
In the introduction it's written, "He (John Dickson Carr) liked to present the reader with all the clues needed to solve the mystery," so I went into this with all intentions of unraveling this seemingly impossible murder mystery. But MIss Marple, Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Nancy Drew, Charlie Chan, Columbo and Jim Rockford together wouldn't have figured this out. Still it was fun to read and try to guess who did it. Solid 3 stars.
May 24, 2023
ผมเฉยๆมากเลยทั้งเนื้อเรื่องเเละกลวิธีห้องปิดตาย
เข้าใจว่ามันเป็นนิยายที่เขียนในช่วงต้น 1900 ที่ในสมัยนั้นเเนวรหัสคดีให้ความสำคัญกับกลวิธีการก่อเหตุมากกว่าเรื่องของการเขียน การบรรยาย หรือไดอะล็อคของตัวละคร ทำให้หากตัดเรื่องกลวิธีออกไป จะพบว่าการเล่าเรื่องเเห้งเเล้งมากเลย เเถมบทสนทนาก็ดูไปได้ไม่สนิทกับเนื้อเรื่องเท่าไหร่นัก ดูโดดๆเเปลกๆ จนเข้าใจเลยว่าทำไมในช่วงเวลานั้น เเนวรหัสคดีถูกเเซะว่าเป็นนิยายเกรดบี OTL
ส่วนกลวิธีที่ถูกขนานนามว่าห้องปิดตายที่ดีที่สุด จากการโหวตของนักเขียนเเละนักวิจารณ์จำนวน 17 คน ที่ Edward D. Hoch (นักเขียนรหัสคดีชื่อดังอีกท่าน) ชวนมาร่วมโหวตให้คะเเนนเรื่องรหัสคดีห้องปิดตายที่ดีที่สุด ในส่วนนี้็ต้องยอมรับว่าเมื่อคิดจากปีที่มันถูกตีพิมพ์ออกมา ก็ต้องยกนิ้วให้ว่าค่อนข้างล้ำ เเละชาญฉลาดมาพอสมควรเลย เเม้ว่าจะพอเดาๆคนร้ายได้อยู่บ้าง เเต่ในภาพรวมถือว่าทำออกมาได้ดีเลยครับ
ในภาพรวมก็ถือว่าเป็นงานชิ้นที่พออ่านได้เเหละครับ เเม้ว่าหากนำเเว่นของยุคปัจจุบันมาพิจารณา งานชิ้นนี้ออกจะธรรมดาเเละไม่ได้มีอะไรน่าตื่นเต้น โดยเฉพาะวิธีการเขียนที่ต้องติงปู่คารร์หน่อยว่า หากต่อมความอยากรู้ตอนจบไม่ทำงานตลอดเวลาที่อ่าน ก็คิดว่าคงวางเเล้วไปอ่านอย่างอื่นเเล้ว เเต่พอเอาคะเเนนกลวิธีมาบวกด้วย ก็เอาหน่าาาาา หยวนๆให้โอเคละกันนน
เข้าใจว่ามันเป็นนิยายที่เขียนในช่วงต้น 1900 ที่ในสมัยนั้นเเนวรหัสคดีให้ความสำคัญกับกลวิธีการก่อเหตุมากกว่าเรื่องของการเขียน การบรรยาย หรือไดอะล็อคของตัวละคร ทำให้หากตัดเรื่องกลวิธีออกไป จะพบว่าการเล่าเรื่องเเห้งเเล้งมากเลย เเถมบทสนทนาก็ดูไปได้ไม่สนิทกับเนื้อเรื่องเท่าไหร่นัก ดูโดดๆเเปลกๆ จนเข้าใจเลยว่าทำไมในช่วงเวลานั้น เเนวรหัสคดีถูกเเซะว่าเป็นนิยายเกรดบี OTL
ส่วนกลวิธีที่ถูกขนานนามว่าห้องปิดตายที่ดีที่สุด จากการโหวตของนักเขียนเเละนักวิจารณ์จำนวน 17 คน ที่ Edward D. Hoch (นักเขียนรหัสคดีชื่อดังอีกท่าน) ชวนมาร่วมโหวตให้คะเเนนเรื่องรหัสคดีห้องปิดตายที่ดีที่สุด ในส่วนนี้็ต้องยอมรับว่าเมื่อคิดจากปีที่มันถูกตีพิมพ์ออกมา ก็ต้องยกนิ้วให้ว่าค่อนข้างล้ำ เเละชาญฉลาดมาพอสมควรเลย เเม้ว่าจะพอเดาๆคนร้ายได้อยู่บ้าง เเต่ในภาพรวมถือว่าทำออกมาได้ดีเลยครับ
ในภาพรวมก็ถือว่าเป็นงานชิ้นที่พออ่านได้เเหละครับ เเม้ว่าหากนำเเว่นของยุคปัจจุบันมาพิจารณา งานชิ้นนี้ออกจะธรรมดาเเละไม่ได้มีอะไรน่าตื่นเต้น โดยเฉพาะวิธีการเขียนที่ต้องติงปู่คารร์หน่อยว่า หากต่อมความอยากรู้ตอนจบไม่ทำงานตลอดเวลาที่อ่าน ก็คิดว่าคงวางเเล้วไปอ่านอย่างอื่นเเล้ว เเต่พอเอาคะเเนนกลวิธีมาบวกด้วย ก็เอาหน่าาาาา หยวนๆให้โอเคละกันนน
January 29, 2023
Vista en perspectiva, la edad de oro de la literatura de misterio hoy día nos parece un amasijo de nostalgia, lecturas 'cozy' y detectives y personajes que se entremezclan por ser más bien arquetipos en un género literario donde la trama lo es casi absolutamente todo. Sólo el inteligente y reciente homenaje de Rian Johnson (más que las francamente torpes adaptaciones de Branagh) nos ha vuelto a poner este tipo de literatura en una especie de palestra.
Pero incluso viéndola florecer de nuevo, es difícil dimensionar la fiera competencia entre escritores en aquella época. Algo parecido a la segunda mitad de los sesenta con los músicos populares más famosos del siglo luchando por superarse unos a otros. En el caso de los novelistas de misterio, en inventarse la solución más ingeniosa posible. Hoy puede resultarnos desconocidas cosas como el Club de Detección o Los Premios Edgar. Pero entonces la novela de misterio era un campo de batalla donde intelectos finos jugaban con gran delectación a ver de qué cuero salían más correas.
John Dickson Carr es conocido sólo por esta novela, protagonizada por un detective hecho a la imagen de Chesterton. El Hombre Hueco ha pasado a la historia por considerarse el mejor misterio de cuarto cerrado de todos los tiempos... uno que resulta una verdadera bomba de relojería. Carr llega al extremo de romper la cuarta pared y en el famoso capítulo 17, dar cátedra sobre el misterio que está escribiendo. Esto establece un hábil juego metaficticio en una novela que, por demás, adolece de falta de caracterización. Le apuesta todo a la solución final y ésta es, creo, satisfactoria.
Pero incluso viéndola florecer de nuevo, es difícil dimensionar la fiera competencia entre escritores en aquella época. Algo parecido a la segunda mitad de los sesenta con los músicos populares más famosos del siglo luchando por superarse unos a otros. En el caso de los novelistas de misterio, en inventarse la solución más ingeniosa posible. Hoy puede resultarnos desconocidas cosas como el Club de Detección o Los Premios Edgar. Pero entonces la novela de misterio era un campo de batalla donde intelectos finos jugaban con gran delectación a ver de qué cuero salían más correas.
John Dickson Carr es conocido sólo por esta novela, protagonizada por un detective hecho a la imagen de Chesterton. El Hombre Hueco ha pasado a la historia por considerarse el mejor misterio de cuarto cerrado de todos los tiempos... uno que resulta una verdadera bomba de relojería. Carr llega al extremo de romper la cuarta pared y en el famoso capítulo 17, dar cátedra sobre el misterio que está escribiendo. Esto establece un hábil juego metaficticio en una novela que, por demás, adolece de falta de caracterización. Le apuesta todo a la solución final y ésta es, creo, satisfactoria.
September 10, 2020
A locked room mystery with a trick, but I knew there had to be a trick. I can honestly say that I was clueless all throughout and so was glued to the reveal even though it seemed to take so long in coming (some of Fell's antics were interesting but he did go on so very long before getting to the actual resolution).
January 7, 2022
This classic mystery of the Golden Age is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of a ‘locked room’ mystery. It has all the attributes of the ‘puzzle’ mystery where timetables and locations are key in working out the solution, but also contains a good helping of creativity and imagination, which may account for its long lasting appeal.
Professor Charles Grimaud is meeting a group of friends and admirers in a London pub, when he is violently threatened by an illusionist called Pierre Fley. Grimaud responds defiantly but within days he receives a mysterious visitor at his house, and a shot is heard. Grimaud is found dying, but the assailant is nowhere to be found, and there are no footsteps in the snow outside. Dr Gideon Fell investigates and is soon uncovering secrets in the dead man’s past.
I found this mystery very enjoyable - I liked the Gothic feel which made it feel at times like a Sherlock Holmes story, and enjoyed the twists of the puzzle. Some of the secrets are revealed quite early in the novel, which helps to maintain interest until the final revelation of the mystery. At times the writing is a bit clunky and repetitive - Fell is said to be ‘lumbering’ 12 times and ‘wheezing’ or ‘wheezed’ 16 times - but the characters are interesting and quirky, and overall I really liked it.
Professor Charles Grimaud is meeting a group of friends and admirers in a London pub, when he is violently threatened by an illusionist called Pierre Fley. Grimaud responds defiantly but within days he receives a mysterious visitor at his house, and a shot is heard. Grimaud is found dying, but the assailant is nowhere to be found, and there are no footsteps in the snow outside. Dr Gideon Fell investigates and is soon uncovering secrets in the dead man’s past.
I found this mystery very enjoyable - I liked the Gothic feel which made it feel at times like a Sherlock Holmes story, and enjoyed the twists of the puzzle. Some of the secrets are revealed quite early in the novel, which helps to maintain interest until the final revelation of the mystery. At times the writing is a bit clunky and repetitive - Fell is said to be ‘lumbering’ 12 times and ‘wheezing’ or ‘wheezed’ 16 times - but the characters are interesting and quirky, and overall I really liked it.
August 7, 2017
Non fatico a credere perchè Le tre bare venga spesso citato come una delle massime opere esemplari di delitto della camera chiusa: racchiude in sè tutto il mistero dell'impossibilità e dell'incredulità di un delitto compiuto in una stanza chiusa dall'interno, senza vie d'uscite, senza tracce, senza nulla di nulla. Un rompicapo, tipicissimo, intricato, da spaccarsi le meningi. Il Dottor Grimaud, chiuso nel suo studio con un macabro quadro rappresentante tre bare, viene ucciso da un uomo con una maschera di carnevale, il quale scompare poi nel nulla, come non fosse mai esistito. I familiari e gli amici, presenti nella casa all'ora del delitto, restano atterriti e increduli, l'assassino potrebbe essere tutti e nessuno, ma come è entrato nella studio e soprattutto, dove è fuggito? Il geniale Gideon Fell, da me già conosciuto in altri gialli del maestro, ha comunque un sospettato...e questo sospettato, poco dopo, viene a sua volta assassinato in una strada deserta a pochi passi da casa Grimaud, da un individuo che anche qui pare subito dissolversi nell'aria gelida della nottata, mentre i fiocchi di neve continuano a cadere con una lentezza macabra e glaciale. Due delitti impossibili e terribili, che potrebbero essere opera di un fantasma o di un illusionista se fossimo nel pieno regno del gotico o dell'irreale. Ma siamo fra le pagine di un giallo di John Dickson Carr, che qui dà il meglio di sè e ci consegnerà su un vassoio d'argento la soluzione razionale, concreta e al tempo stesso sbalorditiva e impensabile di un mistero intricato e impenetrabile. E resteremo tutti a bocca aperta, stupiti dalla sua intelligenza, ma conscienti anche del fatto che no, a tale soluzione non avremmo mai pensato, troppo difficile per la nostra mente avida di fatti e parole desiderosa di arrivare alla fine. Ormai ho imparato che ogni romanzo di Carr gioca su un'atmosfera particolare. In Le tre bare si fondono varie atmosfere già pregustate in altre letture: troviamo quella delle case borghesi fitte di segreti e ipocrisie già incontrata in La tabacchiera dell'imperatore, quella della Londra gelida e silenziosa già assaporata in L'arte di uccidere, e quella che strizza apparentemente l'occhio al soprannaturale, di cui abbiamo avuto un piccolo assaggio in La casa. La struttura del romanzo, diviso in tre parti (due delle quali corrispondono alla storia dei due delitti) ricorda invece lo splendido Delitti da mille e una notte, l'unico che forse, per mio gusto personale, batte questo giallo. Giallo che, comunque, resta per me una conferma dell'assoluta genialità e dell'incredibile intelligenza del maestro.
January 3, 2009
If you like traditional whodunnits, you may well love this book. In my case, The Three Coffins served to remind me why I quit reading traditional whodunnits.
The best part of the book is its famous twenty-seventh chapter, "The Locked-Room Lecture." This disquisition could be read with enjoyment apart from the rest of the novel. (Indeed, this is what I wish I had done myself.) Here, John Dickson Carr's detective-hero, Dr. Gideon Fell, gives an entertaining history and theory of locked-room mysteries. (This chapter and this chapter alone is responsible for me giving this novel two stars rather than one.) As well, Dr. Fell, aware that he is participating in one of the most ridiculous novels in the history of an often ridiculous genre, seeks to preempt criticism of this sort: "A great part of our liking for detective fiction," he says, "is based on a liking for improbablity." But Dr. Fell speaks only for fans of certain types of mysteries (not including, obviously, me). In some cases, I do not mind improbable plots, but these stories must compensate with memorable characters. (See, for example, Sherlock Holmes.) In The Three Coffins, however, the characters are paper-thin, and all they ever do is talk, trading their tedious theories back and forth. After the first chapter, all the action takes place off stage, and we are treated to page after page after page of talk, talk, talk.
Ugh.
The best part of the book is its famous twenty-seventh chapter, "The Locked-Room Lecture." This disquisition could be read with enjoyment apart from the rest of the novel. (Indeed, this is what I wish I had done myself.) Here, John Dickson Carr's detective-hero, Dr. Gideon Fell, gives an entertaining history and theory of locked-room mysteries. (This chapter and this chapter alone is responsible for me giving this novel two stars rather than one.) As well, Dr. Fell, aware that he is participating in one of the most ridiculous novels in the history of an often ridiculous genre, seeks to preempt criticism of this sort: "A great part of our liking for detective fiction," he says, "is based on a liking for improbablity." But Dr. Fell speaks only for fans of certain types of mysteries (not including, obviously, me). In some cases, I do not mind improbable plots, but these stories must compensate with memorable characters. (See, for example, Sherlock Holmes.) In The Three Coffins, however, the characters are paper-thin, and all they ever do is talk, trading their tedious theories back and forth. After the first chapter, all the action takes place off stage, and we are treated to page after page after page of talk, talk, talk.
Ugh.
September 13, 2020
A very good locked room mystery.
I would give it 3.5.
The mystery was good, I was off until the end. But I’m good for missing clues.
It was sluggish at times for me and there was a long boring lecture I entirely skipped over.
While I was looking to get the mystery solved it lacked the engrossed, page turning I’d prefer in a good mystery.
I would give it 3.5.
The mystery was good, I was off until the end. But I’m good for missing clues.
It was sluggish at times for me and there was a long boring lecture I entirely skipped over.
While I was looking to get the mystery solved it lacked the engrossed, page turning I’d prefer in a good mystery.
February 12, 2022
Impossible…
Professor Charles Grimaud is found shot to death in his room one night. The murderer couldn’t have left by the door since it was in the view of Grimaud’s secretary all through the relevant time. But the murderer also couldn’t have escaped through the window, since there had been a deep snowfall that evening, and the snow was undisturbed. It’s up to Gideon Fell to work out how the murder was done in the hope that that will also reveal whodunit. But just to complicate matters, another “impossible crime” is committed the same evening – a man is shot in an empty street in front of reliable witnesses, but the shooter is nowhere to be seen and again there is an absence of footprints in the snow.
I’ve long known that impossible crimes only interest me when they are packaged into a traditional whodunit with good characterisation, a range of suspects and plenty of motives. This would appear not to be how Carr works in the Gideon Fell stories – the emphasis is almost entirely on the way the crimes are committed, and frankly, in this one at least, the background story of why the murders were committed is a bit of a mish-mash of horror tropes and a convoluted and incredible motive backed up by a bunch of cartoonishly drawn mysterious characters. I loved his early Bencolin books, but this is my second Fell and they’re proving not to be my kind of thing, unfortunately.
Apparently what makes this one a classic for impossible crime aficionados is that, in the middle of the book, Carr pulls his characters right out of the story, has them admit that they are in fact characters in a book rather than real people, and then has Fell give a lecture on the history of the impossible crime mystery, including many examples, complete with spoilers, of other books in the genre. While I fully accept that this is interesting as an essay, it felt entirely out of place to me within the novel, and the spoilers really annoyed me since I don't feel that any author has the right to give spoilers in his book for the books of other authors. Therefore the very thing that many people praise this book for was the part that annoyed me most.
I really wish I had enjoyed this more and because I enjoyed some of Carr’s earlier books so much I'm not yet ready to give up on him, so will continue to read at least a couple more of the Fell novels to see if by any chance I can get back in synch with him. I certainly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys the impossible crime style of mystery, but less so to people who prefer the traditional whodunit.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
Professor Charles Grimaud is found shot to death in his room one night. The murderer couldn’t have left by the door since it was in the view of Grimaud’s secretary all through the relevant time. But the murderer also couldn’t have escaped through the window, since there had been a deep snowfall that evening, and the snow was undisturbed. It’s up to Gideon Fell to work out how the murder was done in the hope that that will also reveal whodunit. But just to complicate matters, another “impossible crime” is committed the same evening – a man is shot in an empty street in front of reliable witnesses, but the shooter is nowhere to be seen and again there is an absence of footprints in the snow.
I’ve long known that impossible crimes only interest me when they are packaged into a traditional whodunit with good characterisation, a range of suspects and plenty of motives. This would appear not to be how Carr works in the Gideon Fell stories – the emphasis is almost entirely on the way the crimes are committed, and frankly, in this one at least, the background story of why the murders were committed is a bit of a mish-mash of horror tropes and a convoluted and incredible motive backed up by a bunch of cartoonishly drawn mysterious characters. I loved his early Bencolin books, but this is my second Fell and they’re proving not to be my kind of thing, unfortunately.
Apparently what makes this one a classic for impossible crime aficionados is that, in the middle of the book, Carr pulls his characters right out of the story, has them admit that they are in fact characters in a book rather than real people, and then has Fell give a lecture on the history of the impossible crime mystery, including many examples, complete with spoilers, of other books in the genre. While I fully accept that this is interesting as an essay, it felt entirely out of place to me within the novel, and the spoilers really annoyed me since I don't feel that any author has the right to give spoilers in his book for the books of other authors. Therefore the very thing that many people praise this book for was the part that annoyed me most.
I really wish I had enjoyed this more and because I enjoyed some of Carr’s earlier books so much I'm not yet ready to give up on him, so will continue to read at least a couple more of the Fell novels to see if by any chance I can get back in synch with him. I certainly recommend this one to anyone who enjoys the impossible crime style of mystery, but less so to people who prefer the traditional whodunit.
www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com
April 17, 2020
Took me a few chapters to warm to Dr Fell and his mannerisms and way of speaking, once I did I found this to be very enjoyable and certainly was puzzling and very interesting how it was all set up and the explanation.
A highlight for me is Chapter 17 when fell outlines the various ways and mechanics of 'locked door' fiction.
I can see why this novel and author are held in high regard today as the pinnacles of locked door fiction. I believe this is the sixth Gideon Fell novel and I will seek out the others. I do have the huge volume of locked door stories to get through containing 60+ including one by John Dickson Carr.
I would recommend this for lovers of crime novels and mystery authors like Agatha Christie. Though some of the dialogue is a bit dated and of it's time, especially in regard to a man being henpecked by his lady lol.
A highlight for me is Chapter 17 when fell outlines the various ways and mechanics of 'locked door' fiction.
I can see why this novel and author are held in high regard today as the pinnacles of locked door fiction. I believe this is the sixth Gideon Fell novel and I will seek out the others. I do have the huge volume of locked door stories to get through containing 60+ including one by John Dickson Carr.
I would recommend this for lovers of crime novels and mystery authors like Agatha Christie. Though some of the dialogue is a bit dated and of it's time, especially in regard to a man being henpecked by his lady lol.
August 25, 2022
Really spooky beginning, clever solution, and an (apparently famous) lecture in one chapter about the mechanics of the locked-room mystery.
The only thing was, none of the characters did much for me. I found it odd that the brilliant sleuth had *two* Everyman sidekicks and wasn’t sure what the point of that was. And Dr. Gideon Fell is less interesting than Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. But as a locked-room mystery it’s first in its class.
'But, if you're going to analyse impossible situations,' interrupted Pettis, 'why discuss detective fiction?'
'Because,' said the doctor, frankly, 'we're in a detective story, and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories.’
Soooo meta 😂 And possibly the funniest conversational gambit I’ve ever read in a whodunnit.
The only thing was, none of the characters did much for me. I found it odd that the brilliant sleuth had *two* Everyman sidekicks and wasn’t sure what the point of that was. And Dr. Gideon Fell is less interesting than Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes. But as a locked-room mystery it’s first in its class.
'But, if you're going to analyse impossible situations,' interrupted Pettis, 'why discuss detective fiction?'
'Because,' said the doctor, frankly, 'we're in a detective story, and we don't fool the reader by pretending we're not. Let's not invent elaborate excuses to drag in a discussion of detective stories.’
Soooo meta 😂 And possibly the funniest conversational gambit I’ve ever read in a whodunnit.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 450 reviews