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Fire, Burn!
London was wrapped in fog when Inspector John Cheviot got into a twentieth century taxi. The city was still fogbound when he got out - but the cab was a hackney coach, the year was 1829, and murder was a safe and profitable business. There were things Cheviot remembered but couldn't use - like how to analyze fingerprints; and things he didn't know that he could have used - like how advanced his romance with the luscious Lady Flora really was. And there wasn't time to learn, because Cheviot suddenly found himself pitted against the cleverest murderer of his career.
265 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1957
129 people are currently reading
313 people want to read
About the author
John Dickson Carr
418 books462 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).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 10, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 214 (of 250)
HOOK - 4 stars: >>>"The woman couldn't have been killed, in the broad corridor with the fringed lamps. She couldn't have died before the eyes of three witnesses. And yet she had. In short, as Cheviot will tell you, the most baffling murder case in his experience occurred in the year 1829...since Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot is very much alive in these years of the nineteen-fifties...some explanation of such statements ought to be made.<<<< These lines are from the first page of "Fire, Burn!" and Carr presents us quickly with 2 mysteries: 1) An impossible/locked room murder for which he is most famous and 2) some kind of time travel perhaps? I liked this opening very much: is this a syfy murder-mystery mash-up? Yes, it is.
PACE - 2 stars: Once Cheviot steps back in time from the 1950s to 1829 (he does so simply by exiting a mode of transportation) things slow down, as they have to for Carr to come up with a full-length novel that could be a short story.
PLOT - 1: A woman is murdered (shot in the back, through the heart) in the hallway of a Victorian mansion, but how? Only 3 other people are in the hall: Cheviot (our detective), Cheviot's 'lover', Lady Flora (he isn't sure of their relationship, he's time traveling and off-kilter), and a member of the Old Scotland Yard. Only 1 of them has a gun and that's Lady Flora, but the angle is wrong. If you've read any decent amount of murder mysteries, you'll figure it out fast. I did, and very quickly, eliminating all the explanations: the problem here is that this novel is, concerning the murder, a 'one-trick-pony'. The entire time-travel thing is just a gimmick to frame a short story.
CAST - 2: No, Cheviot can't possibly become, within seconds, an 1829 detective, but Carr does his best to convince us that yes, members of the Old Scotland Yard believe it, Lady Flora believes it, the very sharp 80-year-old Lady Cork believes it, Cheviot's friend Freddie believes it...maybe Cheviot has stumbled into a modern-day movie set...maybe Cheviot stays in 1950 and the rest have time-traveled forward. Anyway, it's hard to believe the cast's reactions, it's impossible to believe this impossible crime story, perhaps making it all possible? Carr sometimes just tries to hard.
ATMOSPHERE - 3: 1829 London is nicely done. Old Scotland Yard, horses, mud, the mansion, a ballroom with much dancing and drinking. But the story could happen anywhere, any time, in any kind of room where there are 4 people. I like when a story MUST happen at a certain place, a certain, time only, or it just doesn't come together.
SUMMARY: 2.4 overall. Carr is at his best, imo, with short 'impossible-crimes' stories. But this author's epic, globe-trotting "Crooked Hinge", my favorite novel by Carr, has one guessing at various elements throughout the story, all revolving around the titular 'crooked hinge'...but what is that, and where? Read that one instead.
BOOK 214 (of 250)
HOOK - 4 stars: >>>"The woman couldn't have been killed, in the broad corridor with the fringed lamps. She couldn't have died before the eyes of three witnesses. And yet she had. In short, as Cheviot will tell you, the most baffling murder case in his experience occurred in the year 1829...since Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot is very much alive in these years of the nineteen-fifties...some explanation of such statements ought to be made.<<<< These lines are from the first page of "Fire, Burn!" and Carr presents us quickly with 2 mysteries: 1) An impossible/locked room murder for which he is most famous and 2) some kind of time travel perhaps? I liked this opening very much: is this a syfy murder-mystery mash-up? Yes, it is.
PACE - 2 stars: Once Cheviot steps back in time from the 1950s to 1829 (he does so simply by exiting a mode of transportation) things slow down, as they have to for Carr to come up with a full-length novel that could be a short story.
PLOT - 1: A woman is murdered (shot in the back, through the heart) in the hallway of a Victorian mansion, but how? Only 3 other people are in the hall: Cheviot (our detective), Cheviot's 'lover', Lady Flora (he isn't sure of their relationship, he's time traveling and off-kilter), and a member of the Old Scotland Yard. Only 1 of them has a gun and that's Lady Flora, but the angle is wrong. If you've read any decent amount of murder mysteries, you'll figure it out fast. I did, and very quickly, eliminating all the explanations: the problem here is that this novel is, concerning the murder, a 'one-trick-pony'. The entire time-travel thing is just a gimmick to frame a short story.
CAST - 2: No, Cheviot can't possibly become, within seconds, an 1829 detective, but Carr does his best to convince us that yes, members of the Old Scotland Yard believe it, Lady Flora believes it, the very sharp 80-year-old Lady Cork believes it, Cheviot's friend Freddie believes it...maybe Cheviot has stumbled into a modern-day movie set...maybe Cheviot stays in 1950 and the rest have time-traveled forward. Anyway, it's hard to believe the cast's reactions, it's impossible to believe this impossible crime story, perhaps making it all possible? Carr sometimes just tries to hard.
ATMOSPHERE - 3: 1829 London is nicely done. Old Scotland Yard, horses, mud, the mansion, a ballroom with much dancing and drinking. But the story could happen anywhere, any time, in any kind of room where there are 4 people. I like when a story MUST happen at a certain place, a certain, time only, or it just doesn't come together.
SUMMARY: 2.4 overall. Carr is at his best, imo, with short 'impossible-crimes' stories. But this author's epic, globe-trotting "Crooked Hinge", my favorite novel by Carr, has one guessing at various elements throughout the story, all revolving around the titular 'crooked hinge'...but what is that, and where? Read that one instead.
September 10, 2007
FIRE, BURN! – Good
John Dickson Carr
Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot enters a cab in the 1950’s in steps out into 1829, whereupon he is called to investigate a robbery which turns into a murder.
This is a story involving time travel and Cheviot’s efforts to apply “modern” investigative methods to an earlier time. While the primary female character seems vapid by today’s standards, Carr clearly researched the language and social morays of that time.
John Dickson Carr
Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot enters a cab in the 1950’s in steps out into 1829, whereupon he is called to investigate a robbery which turns into a murder.
This is a story involving time travel and Cheviot’s efforts to apply “modern” investigative methods to an earlier time. While the primary female character seems vapid by today’s standards, Carr clearly researched the language and social morays of that time.
June 2, 2015
Originally published on my blog here in June 2003.
John Dickson Carr is best known to those interested in old-fashioned crime fiction for his detective Gideon Fell, who solved the many variations on the locked room mystery theme which Carr thought up. Fire, Burn!, though still a locked room mystery, is very different. The detective, John Cheviot, is a Scotland Yard superintendent, who finds himself travelling back in time to 1829, to the earliest days of the Metropolitan Police. This is before the days when policemen began to be respected (a situation to which we seem to have been returning for some time), before the institution of the CID, before the ideas on which modern police work is based. He meets a woman with whom he falls in love, but has to risk alienating her and breaking the code governing honourable conduct (in the days when duels were still being fought) in order to solve his case.
Since the publication of Fire, Burn!, historical crime stories have become big business. It is really a precursor to this genre, but it has this unusual time travel aspect as well. One of the major difficulties with the genre is that readers expect modern investigative methods - sifting of evidence, attention paid to forensic detail including examination of the body, elimination of suspects by logical deduction, being willing to suspect anybody - which would have been considered strange and even improper in the past. (The tendency which is still sometimes seen today to automatically blame society's outsiders was often the principal method of criminal investigation.) Difficulties inherent in suspecting or even questioning members of the upper classes are often glossed over for the sake of the plot. By bringing his detective from the future, Carr neatly sidesteps all these problems, and also makes the contrast between the expectations of eighteen twenties society and those of a nineteen fifties policeman the core of the novel.
This makes Fire, Burn! more serious than the majority of Carr's massive output, and it is successful as a carefully documented historical novel as well as in the genre more familiar to the author.
John Dickson Carr is best known to those interested in old-fashioned crime fiction for his detective Gideon Fell, who solved the many variations on the locked room mystery theme which Carr thought up. Fire, Burn!, though still a locked room mystery, is very different. The detective, John Cheviot, is a Scotland Yard superintendent, who finds himself travelling back in time to 1829, to the earliest days of the Metropolitan Police. This is before the days when policemen began to be respected (a situation to which we seem to have been returning for some time), before the institution of the CID, before the ideas on which modern police work is based. He meets a woman with whom he falls in love, but has to risk alienating her and breaking the code governing honourable conduct (in the days when duels were still being fought) in order to solve his case.
Since the publication of Fire, Burn!, historical crime stories have become big business. It is really a precursor to this genre, but it has this unusual time travel aspect as well. One of the major difficulties with the genre is that readers expect modern investigative methods - sifting of evidence, attention paid to forensic detail including examination of the body, elimination of suspects by logical deduction, being willing to suspect anybody - which would have been considered strange and even improper in the past. (The tendency which is still sometimes seen today to automatically blame society's outsiders was often the principal method of criminal investigation.) Difficulties inherent in suspecting or even questioning members of the upper classes are often glossed over for the sake of the plot. By bringing his detective from the future, Carr neatly sidesteps all these problems, and also makes the contrast between the expectations of eighteen twenties society and those of a nineteen fifties policeman the core of the novel.
This makes Fire, Burn! more serious than the majority of Carr's massive output, and it is successful as a carefully documented historical novel as well as in the genre more familiar to the author.
November 2, 2011
I just don't care for Carr's historical mysteries.
December 29, 2017
Interesting trip into history let down a little by the solution to the impossible crime. Full review at classicmystery.wordpress.com
July 2, 2010
This is the third of Carr's three timeslip detections. (The second, Fear is the Same, published as by Carter Dickson, is now on my reading pile.) The title is from the Macbeth line "Fire, burn, and cauldron bubble" -- which line is quoted occasionally within the text, although its relevance at any point is a little stretched, as in the observation that the victim get herself killed because her emotional cauldron briefly bubbled over. Perhaps she paused to muse. mid-bubble, about there being more things in heaven and earth . . .
The taxi of present-day Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot has just pulled up outside the Yard when he spontaneously (or so it seems) timeslips back to 1829 where, with remarkably little pause for acclimatization, he becomes the first Superintendent of the fledgling Metropolitan Police; he also discovers that he has a mistress, the beautiful widow Lady Flora Drayton, and a reputation for loose living. He is immediately told to go investigate the mystery of who has been stealing the seed from the cages of the exotic birds owned by dotty old aristocrat Lady Cork; with the instinct of any detective finding himself in a John Dickson Carr, he realizes there is a far more sinister crime here than mere petfood thievery . . .
Sure enough, at Lady Cork's house it proves that she has taken to hiding her family jewellery in the birdseed reservoirs -- in other words, what's been stolen is not the seed but the baubles. Before Cheviot can really register this, however, his attention is distracted by an impossible murder: as he and Flora, plus sidekick Alan Henley, watch, Lady Cork's beautiful, wanton-looking but somehow strangely repulsive niece Margaret Renfrew is shot dead by an invisible hand in the middle of a broad, brightly lit corridor. Solving the murder, protecting Flora and himself from suspicion, recovering Lady Cork's jewels, setting his relationship with Flora on a sound footing -- all these tasks and more besides involve Cheviot in such escapades as penetrating the notorious London gambling house Vulcan's and taking on its fearsome boss and a gang of his hoodlums; in a subplot, Cheviot must also deal with a vile and treacherous Guards officer, Hugo Hogben, who seems determined to murder Cheviot because the latter, a filthy scum of a policeman, has been insufficiently obsequious to him. At story's end, the case solved, Hogben kills Cheviot . . . who recovers consciousness back in his real life, having been knocked cold when his taxi was involved in a minor accident. Has his timeslip been a genuine event, or was he merely dreaming?
Bizarrely, when Cheviot emerges into the 19th century it's as if his persona there, while coming into existence only with his arrival, does so complete with a past history: his romance with Flora is clearly of long standing, other characters know him, some well, and Lady Cork makes occasional references to knowing his father. Also a little puzzling is the ease, alluded to above, with which he acclimatizes to the 19th-century society; despite a few stumbles and hastily corrected anachronisms, it's almost as if he has indeed been living a life here in the past era. This all becomes plausible if we accept the "it was all a dream" explanation. But if not . . .?
Leaving aside any quibbles as to its mechanism, this novel is tremendous fun in the usual romping John Dickson Carr fashion. The timeslip part of the plot does add a layer of extra interest, although the main tale could have been told perfectly well without it.
The taxi of present-day Detective-Superintendent John Cheviot has just pulled up outside the Yard when he spontaneously (or so it seems) timeslips back to 1829 where, with remarkably little pause for acclimatization, he becomes the first Superintendent of the fledgling Metropolitan Police; he also discovers that he has a mistress, the beautiful widow Lady Flora Drayton, and a reputation for loose living. He is immediately told to go investigate the mystery of who has been stealing the seed from the cages of the exotic birds owned by dotty old aristocrat Lady Cork; with the instinct of any detective finding himself in a John Dickson Carr, he realizes there is a far more sinister crime here than mere petfood thievery . . .
Sure enough, at Lady Cork's house it proves that she has taken to hiding her family jewellery in the birdseed reservoirs -- in other words, what's been stolen is not the seed but the baubles. Before Cheviot can really register this, however, his attention is distracted by an impossible murder: as he and Flora, plus sidekick Alan Henley, watch, Lady Cork's beautiful, wanton-looking but somehow strangely repulsive niece Margaret Renfrew is shot dead by an invisible hand in the middle of a broad, brightly lit corridor. Solving the murder, protecting Flora and himself from suspicion, recovering Lady Cork's jewels, setting his relationship with Flora on a sound footing -- all these tasks and more besides involve Cheviot in such escapades as penetrating the notorious London gambling house Vulcan's and taking on its fearsome boss and a gang of his hoodlums; in a subplot, Cheviot must also deal with a vile and treacherous Guards officer, Hugo Hogben, who seems determined to murder Cheviot because the latter, a filthy scum of a policeman, has been insufficiently obsequious to him. At story's end, the case solved, Hogben kills Cheviot . . . who recovers consciousness back in his real life, having been knocked cold when his taxi was involved in a minor accident. Has his timeslip been a genuine event, or was he merely dreaming?
Bizarrely, when Cheviot emerges into the 19th century it's as if his persona there, while coming into existence only with his arrival, does so complete with a past history: his romance with Flora is clearly of long standing, other characters know him, some well, and Lady Cork makes occasional references to knowing his father. Also a little puzzling is the ease, alluded to above, with which he acclimatizes to the 19th-century society; despite a few stumbles and hastily corrected anachronisms, it's almost as if he has indeed been living a life here in the past era. This all becomes plausible if we accept the "it was all a dream" explanation. But if not . . .?
Leaving aside any quibbles as to its mechanism, this novel is tremendous fun in the usual romping John Dickson Carr fashion. The timeslip part of the plot does add a layer of extra interest, although the main tale could have been told perfectly well without it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2018
I found this book when we went through our bookshelves. I have no recollection of how it came to be there, nor who might have owned it or where it came from. Still, it had an intriguing premise so I figured I'd give it a go.
And I'm glad I did! It's a fun time travel story. A Scotland Yard Inspector -- John Cheviot -- is suddenly (and without explanation) transported back to 1829, when the British police force was just becoming established. He is quickly embroiled in an impossible crime when a woman is murdered right in front of himself and two witnesses, with seemingly no possible culprit or murder weapon!
It's a nice juxtaposition of "modern" (mid 1950's) and pre-Victorian era policing. Cheviot initially thinks it will be easy to detect the culprit but quickly realises he has no modern equipment; fingerprint records, ballistics tests, any powers of a police officer. Instead, he must work with what he has to solve the crime and bring a bit of credibility to a profession shunned by most as unseemingly and little more than thuggery.
And there is the mysterious and beautiful Lady Flora Drayton, with whom Cheviot seems to have a relationship already. WHere does she fit in? Is she involved? Is she, moreover, his soulmate?
Enjoyable.
And I'm glad I did! It's a fun time travel story. A Scotland Yard Inspector -- John Cheviot -- is suddenly (and without explanation) transported back to 1829, when the British police force was just becoming established. He is quickly embroiled in an impossible crime when a woman is murdered right in front of himself and two witnesses, with seemingly no possible culprit or murder weapon!
It's a nice juxtaposition of "modern" (mid 1950's) and pre-Victorian era policing. Cheviot initially thinks it will be easy to detect the culprit but quickly realises he has no modern equipment; fingerprint records, ballistics tests, any powers of a police officer. Instead, he must work with what he has to solve the crime and bring a bit of credibility to a profession shunned by most as unseemingly and little more than thuggery.
And there is the mysterious and beautiful Lady Flora Drayton, with whom Cheviot seems to have a relationship already. WHere does she fit in? Is she involved? Is she, moreover, his soulmate?
Enjoyable.
April 11, 2019
Inspector Cheviot finds himself stepping into a modern taxi and stepping out of a hansom cab in 1829. A dream? Time travel? He's not sure (nor are we). In either case he is confronted with a case of murder committed right in front of his eyes but with no obvious killer. This is the time when the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, has recently established an organized "modern" police force, unfortunately with a reputation for being thugs. Newly appointed Detective Superintendent Cheviot has the unenviable task of applying modern police methods (without modern equipment) to the crime, while fighting a prejudice (particularly by the nobility) against the "Peelers" and their authority.
This is a well-written mystery, though confusing to this reader at times (because he wasn't paying enough attention). There are enough clues to come to the right conclusion, but they are sometimes difficult to rout out. In other words, a good mystery all 'round.
This is a well-written mystery, though confusing to this reader at times (because he wasn't paying enough attention). There are enough clues to come to the right conclusion, but they are sometimes difficult to rout out. In other words, a good mystery all 'round.
March 23, 2019
Not as good as I thought it would be
November 1, 2018
Amazing book, amazing suthor
The is the first book in many years to grip my attention from beginning to end. The characters are so well defined and the story so intricately constructed as to pull the reader into the plot. Well written. Entertaining. Fascinating.
The is the first book in many years to grip my attention from beginning to end. The characters are so well defined and the story so intricately constructed as to pull the reader into the plot. Well written. Entertaining. Fascinating.
December 26, 2018
Gotta re-read this one to give it a proper review.
What I can say about this novel is this. It's a time travel, with a historical setting. It has a clever locked-room mystery; a pinch of romance and swashbuckling adventure. All wrapped beautifully with a bittersweet ending.
What I can say about this novel is this. It's a time travel, with a historical setting. It has a clever locked-room mystery; a pinch of romance and swashbuckling adventure. All wrapped beautifully with a bittersweet ending.
August 16, 2020
A scattered and frustrating book, thick with what Dr. Fell would call “mystification,” and featuring a protagonist who vacillates between being seemingly infallible and being mind-numbingly stupid. Not Carr’s best.
May 11, 2010
Really very good and very engrossing; hard to put down.
March 22, 2011
( Tiro Certeiro )
October 5, 2016
It was ok.
August 2, 2018
Carr really knows history and is a born storyteller -here a thrilling wonderful story set in the London, where Scotland Yeard was really new! To re-read a few times.
January 31, 2024
While I enjoyed the book and wanted to keep going to the end, I must caution any potential readers that it's quite dated. Not just that it's mostly set in 1829, but that Carr's writing in 1957 already had an old feel to it. While he seems to have done his research about the people, speech, dress, and manners of the 1829, his ways of describing those things are narrow. He uses the same words repeatedly to express surprise, interest, and desire.
The plot's a good one, allowing for the odd setup. John Cheviot, a modern day police detective superintendent is inexplicably transported to 1829, the beginning of Scotland Yard. Unlike most time travel stories, Cheviot is already well known. He's a gentlemen (no job, lots of money), educated, a gambler, horseman, marksman, and judo expert. He comes already dressed in the clothes of the time, with time-appropriate money in his pockets, and a hot love affair going with a beautiful and wealthy widow.
John is also a student of history and knows a great deal about the time in which he's found himself. Carr cleverly holds back a piece of information (one used expertly by Doyle in The Adventure of the Empty House) to allow for the big reveal of the criminal and his method.
He's arrived at Scotland Yard to interview for the superintendent position in the new police force and, even before being hired officially is sent on his first assignment. A countess has complained about the theft of bird seed. Of course, it turns out to the much trickier than that, with a jewelry theft and murder, of course.
Colorful characters are introduced, including three villains, an arrogant army officer, a gambling house owner, and a person who is not what he seems.
Instead of Carr's specialty, a locked room mystery, this murder is quite the opposite. Someone walking down a corridor toward a flight of stairs is shot in the back. Three witnesses are in the corridor watching the victim go, and yet no one heard a shot and no one saw anything, except for a recently-fired gun that couldn't have been the murder weapon.
Per Wikipedia, "Carr considered this one of his best impossible crime novels." It's very clever, and Carr has sprinkled enough clues that the revelation of the killer, while a surprise, is plausible.
The writing flaws are minor, the plotting is very good, and it's an entertaining read overall.
The plot's a good one, allowing for the odd setup. John Cheviot, a modern day police detective superintendent is inexplicably transported to 1829, the beginning of Scotland Yard. Unlike most time travel stories, Cheviot is already well known. He's a gentlemen (no job, lots of money), educated, a gambler, horseman, marksman, and judo expert. He comes already dressed in the clothes of the time, with time-appropriate money in his pockets, and a hot love affair going with a beautiful and wealthy widow.
John is also a student of history and knows a great deal about the time in which he's found himself. Carr cleverly holds back a piece of information (one used expertly by Doyle in The Adventure of the Empty House) to allow for the big reveal of the criminal and his method.
He's arrived at Scotland Yard to interview for the superintendent position in the new police force and, even before being hired officially is sent on his first assignment. A countess has complained about the theft of bird seed. Of course, it turns out to the much trickier than that, with a jewelry theft and murder, of course.
Colorful characters are introduced, including three villains, an arrogant army officer, a gambling house owner, and a person who is not what he seems.
Instead of Carr's specialty, a locked room mystery, this murder is quite the opposite. Someone walking down a corridor toward a flight of stairs is shot in the back. Three witnesses are in the corridor watching the victim go, and yet no one heard a shot and no one saw anything, except for a recently-fired gun that couldn't have been the murder weapon.
Per Wikipedia, "Carr considered this one of his best impossible crime novels." It's very clever, and Carr has sprinkled enough clues that the revelation of the killer, while a surprise, is plausible.
The writing flaws are minor, the plotting is very good, and it's an entertaining read overall.
April 24, 2022
A Scotland Yard detective gets into a cab on a foggy evening in 1957, and steps out in 1829. Some freak of nature or wrinkle in time lifts a man out of the middle of the 20th century and casts him back to an age when the police force was in its infancy. An intriguing premise in itself, it then draws the reader into a superficially trifling tale involving the theft of some birdseed from the home of one of the grand ladies of society. There is, of course, much more to it all than meets the eye and it's not long before one of Carr's trademark impossible crimes occurs - a woman is shot dead in passage in which only three other people are present, only one pistol (of the entirely wrong caliber) is to be found, and none of those people present could have killed the victim without being seen or heard to do so by the others.
Add in behind the scenes official wrangling and point scoring, the specter of social unrest bubbling just below the surface, a detour into the world of illicit gambling, some romance, and stir well. The result? Easily one of the best of Carr's historical mysteries.
Add in behind the scenes official wrangling and point scoring, the specter of social unrest bubbling just below the surface, a detour into the world of illicit gambling, some romance, and stir well. The result? Easily one of the best of Carr's historical mysteries.
March 30, 2024
Fire, Burn! by John Dickson Carr combines two of my favorite genres: detective fiction and time travel. John Cheviot is a detective at Scotland Yard in the 1950’s and enjoyed reading about old cases. He reads about a woman being killed in a well-lit corridor with 3 eye witnesses back in 1829, but there was no solution to this crime. Cheviot wishes he could have been there using modern detective methods to solve the crime. He takes a taxi to Scotland Yard and when he steps out, he has arrived at New Scotland Yard and it is the year 1829. He is going to get his chance to solve this long unsolved murder.
Cheviot was so unexcited about his trip through time. As he continues to investigate the crime of the woman killed, his past life seems to fade away and his life in 1829 becomes more and more real to him. I was initially upset with the way the book ended, but there is an epilogue that provides a perfect conclusion to the story. This was a great introduction to a classic mystery writer!
Cheviot was so unexcited about his trip through time. As he continues to investigate the crime of the woman killed, his past life seems to fade away and his life in 1829 becomes more and more real to him. I was initially upset with the way the book ended, but there is an epilogue that provides a perfect conclusion to the story. This was a great introduction to a classic mystery writer!
May 22, 2019
A very nice "locked room" mystery although not as impossible a scenario some of these can be. Cheviot goes back in time to the newly established Scotland Yard to solve a murder that occurs in front of Cheviot. Not as wordy as Carr can be but extremely well researched as detailed in the Author's Notes at the end.
August 22, 2024
I love time travel books but I didn't love this one. I think it was because of the authentic 1820s language and convoluted plot, made it heard to follow. On the positive side, I enjoyed the historical fiction aspect of it and learning more about George IV reign. You always here about him when he was the Prince Regent but not later in the 1820s. It was not all wine and roses that is for sure.
April 21, 2025
Time Travel to Solve a Murder
An interesting story of a policeman traveling back in time to solve a murder.
The plot is well drawn with the characters clearly identified. The story gets a bit long, but does carry you forward to its surprising end.
I’ve read other works of Dickson Carr. Truly one of the finest mystery writers of the last century.
An interesting story of a policeman traveling back in time to solve a murder.
The plot is well drawn with the characters clearly identified. The story gets a bit long, but does carry you forward to its surprising end.
I’ve read other works of Dickson Carr. Truly one of the finest mystery writers of the last century.
July 18, 2022
An exciting read
John Dickson Carr takes his detective back in time to 1829 to solve a murder. Fortunately for all of us, he is a particularly well read 📚 man who uses his knowledge of history to survive this strange Era. The story is an excellent tale of murder and intrigue.
John Dickson Carr takes his detective back in time to 1829 to solve a murder. Fortunately for all of us, he is a particularly well read 📚 man who uses his knowledge of history to survive this strange Era. The story is an excellent tale of murder and intrigue.
March 12, 2024
I am exploring some of the Golden Age of Mystery writers so I decided to try Mr Carr. I enjoyed this time travel story but I think I need to read his series hero, Dr. Gideon Fell, to get a true picture of his talent.
August 5, 2024
A stand alone Impossible Crime. It kept me engrossed, the killer surprised me & I liked the twist at the end but what I really need to read are Dickson Carr’s Golden Age mystery series with Gideon Fell.
August 5, 2019
Early Bird Book Deal | Oddly paced. No time for a proper review.
August 16, 2019
Great time travel mystery adventure with plenty of historical references. Carr really did his homework to make the reader feel and see 1829 London. Interesting and exciting all the way through.
February 8, 2025
Alas, alack - no way would I want to time travel in this fashion. All manly men doing manly men stuff both in the 1960s and the 1830s. The only interesting thing was the weapon used in the crime.
July 6, 2019
Carr è Carr, su questo non ci piove. Oltre ad essere uno straordinario giallista e creatore di atmosfere, egli è anche uno storico. Con questo libro riesce a trasportarti nell'ambiente ottocentesco, quando ancora non esisteva Scotland Yard. Si tratta di un romanzo affascinante e lineare. Non ci sono complicazioni su complicazioni (come in altri suoi capolavori, uno su tutti "Delitti da mille e una notte"), ma un delitto impossibile risolto con arguzia. Forse può risultare un po' difficile da capire la soluzione se non si sappia qualcosa sulle armi ma nel complesso un grande giallo. Anche se il colpevole mi è balenato agli occhi per via della direzione del proiettile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2020
Trojrecenze na věci vyšlé v knize 3x Záhady starého Londýna
Tři klasické kriminálky… a z toho vlastně jedna dobrá.
Ohni, hoř mě v mládí bralo, protože to je v podstatě fantastika alá Life on Mars. Hlavní hrdina se ze „současnosti“ přesune do roku 1825, kde sir Robert Peel zakládá policejní sbor, jemuž se posměšně říká „peelicajti“. A samozřejmě, dojde tam i na neproveditelnou vraždu. Tady je řešení poměrně laciné a příběh stojí spíš na atmosféře.
Druhý příběh, Démon odlivu, má zajímavější zápletku, ale je to označené jako melodram – což znamená, že se všechny ženské postavy chovají tak hystericky, že by to zasloužilo návštěvu u doktora Freuda. Díky tomu je čtené téměř nesnesitelné. Zábavné je, že jen tak mimo hlavní zápletku je tam zmíněný sex starého lorda s čtrnáctiletou dívkou… a je to branné jako něco lehce nezdvořilého, co se gentlemanovi nesluší dělat, ale proti gustu…
Případ se točí kolem pláže a absence stop vraha. Záhada zajímavá, řešení spíš neuspokojivé.
A pak je tu třetí věc, Tři rakve, se kterou přichází na scénu Gideon Fell. Tenhle román mě v mládí uchvátil tím, že hlavní postava na férovku přiznává, že jsou v románu, a že pokud čtenáře téma debaty nezajímá, ať klidně přeskočí na další kapitolu.
Ostatně ústy hrdiny promlouvá sám autor, když celou jednu kapitolu věnuje záhadám zamčeného pokoje a jejich řešení. A v další se pak tak trochu obhajuje, když popisuje kouzelnické triky a to, jak jsou lidi zklamaní z řešení… i když přece museli vědět, že je to podfuk. Myslím, že hlavní fór je v tom, že lidem nevadí být podfouknutí, když je to uděláno zajímavě.
Což tady je. Máte tu hned dva neřešitelné zločiny navíc odehrávající se téměř zároveň.
Autor se tu mnohem víc baví a hned na začátku nastaví pravidla a řekne vám, kdo určitě mluví pravdu. On tenhle skoro akademický přístup je asi taky jediná možnost, protože se tu hodně pracuje s náhodami a šílenými triky, které by v životě nemohly fungovat. Ovšem Carr ani nepředstírá, že by mu šlo o zachycení reality. Jeho knížky jsou prostě kouzelnický výstup… a ty nejlepší vás dodnes dokážou překvapit.
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