The Indian Rope Trick And Other Violent Entertainments

by Tom Mead, Martin Edwards (introduction)

One of the most enjoyable resurgences in mystery fiction has been the return of the locked room mystery, a crime scene where the victim is found in a secure space with no visible means of entrance or egress. Crippen & Landru has published some of the best locked rooms mysteries with collections by John Dickson Carr and Edward Hoch. While locked rooms have been around since Edgar Allan Poe, we are enjoying the new generation of talented mystery authors.



One of these clever new authors is Tom Mead, who pens the Joseph Spector series. In three novels and numerous short stories, Mead has shown that Golden Age mysteries are not gone-or forgotten. Spector appears in all but two of the stories in this collection. (One of non-Spector works is "The Wager," the additional chapbook included with the clothbound signed and numbered edition.) Three of the remaining stories are new- never been published until now.



So read the brand-new stories here and match wits with Joseph Spector - and Tom Mead.

Genres: Mystery, Short Stories

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Adam Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of impossible mysteries featuring Joseph Spector, reminiscent of John Dickson Carr and Jonathan Creek. Full review at https://murderatthemanse.substack.com...

[J.S. Savage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent collection of impossible crimes, there's not a whiff of a bad story among them. Largely locked room (including murder in a cable car), there is also the classic 'no footprints in snow' and 'the killer being miles away from the murder scene' type scenarios here.
Although Mead's greatest influence is undoubtedly John Dickson Carr, some tales contain flavours of Chesterton and Conan Doyle.
If you like impossible crimes, good atmospheric writing, and plenty of plot squeezed into short stories, this collection is definitely for you.

[Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s not easy to write impossible crime fiction so hats off to Mead. I especially love that he tells stories in the traditional way. I’ve owned his first novel for some time but fully expected it to be not my cup of tea. Now I want to read all of the Spector stuff. Probably jumping straight to the fourth book because I love those tropes. Recommended, and I hope Mead puts out another collection.

[Life · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I felt most of the tricks were too mechanical for my liking, and the ones that weren't were really simple. My favourite stories of the lot was probably The Three-Minute Miracle, Incident at Widow's Perch, and Lethal Symmetry, though for the last, I wish there was more fun with the theme.

[Acantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A devilish delicious collection of short stories all based around an 'impossible' kill.

These range from classics such as a locked room with people outside and no way for the killer to have escaped, to a body with only the footprints of the victim leading up to it, to a killer who is apparently in two places at once.

They are all highly entertaining reads, short and sweet puzzles that are almost all solved by the ever wonderful Joseph Spector.

Some were highly atmospheric, and one in particular - The Octagonal Room - would fit perfectly on screen, as the reveal really begged for it to be shown.

Already hungry for more.

[Lisa Kucharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read the three novels (so far) featuring Spector, and it was really nice to see him featured in many of these short stories (not all.) And it really shows how adept Mead is at constructing plots and then having Spector reveal the trick. If you like puzzle crimes this is a collection for you.

Mead writes in the era of the Golden Age of mystery and uses many of its charms and gruesome details well. And it's fair play.

[Ozymandias · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite stories were Lethal Symmetry and The Octagonal Room. The overwhelming majority of tricks were mechanical, which aren't my thing. The eponymous Indian Rope Trick story was impressive, for it embodies everything that I absolutely despise about the locked room niche.
My personal taste aside, this is a solid collection.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories by Tom Mead, featuring his character Joseph Spector. Spector is a retired magician and all-around problem solver, and he's the protagonist in each of these closed-room mysteries.

The stories are entertaining, and if you don't have time for an entire novel, they're great bite-sized pieces to enjoy if you have 20 minutes.

[Richard Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found some entertaining. I think part of the issue is I think it is difficult to Kay sufficient groundwork to keep the stories interesting. A book of them got somewhat repetitive and I should have spread them out and read them while reading other books

[Vallery Feldman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fine edition from Crippen and Landru. Stories were OK, not great. I might look for Mead's novels.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit uneven but generally I enjoyed this collection of short stories involving locked room mysteries.

[Monica Bond-Lamberty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a fan of short stories but these are fun locked room kind of murders which are entertaining in their own way.
One however would like to learn more about Clotilde

[Jim Teggelaar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories, all impossible locked room murders, and almost all featuring retired stage magician Joseph Spector. Read it.

[Francis K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not terrible, but very weak for Tom Mead.
Plus the actual book is poorly produced.