When a body is found in a locked room, Inspector Gavigan is puzzled. But when he realizes that all the suspects are magicians, he consults with the Great Merlini, a magician and owner of a magic shop, who knows how trickery really works. Then a second body is found, this one in an even more impossible situation. Merlini is fairly sure who the murderer is, but there's no evidence--until someone tries to catch a bullet in his teeth. This is a wonderful introduction to the books about Merlini (unfortunately, there aren't that many of them) and also a peek at life in the late 1930's.