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cakereads's review
3.0
great atmospheric read. locked room mysteries are always a wild ride. the reveal at the end does have a 'ohhhh wow that's so obvious how could i have missed that??', and it's well-written to keep me hooked throughout. i enjoy sir henry merrivale's character.
quotes: the rain ran soft-footed through the house; splashing and echoing in its mysterious places.
it was a cold night; so cold that sounds acquired a new sharpness, and breath hung in smoke on the luminous air.
quotes: the rain ran soft-footed through the house; splashing and echoing in its mysterious places.
it was a cold night; so cold that sounds acquired a new sharpness, and breath hung in smoke on the luminous air.
marilynsaul's review
2.0
Life is too short. I'm thoroughly confused by the characters and bored to tears.
iphigenie72's review
3.0
This was my first time reading a book featuring Sir Henry Merrivale. I have a suspicion, I have read short-stories with him before because the name and description was very, very familiar. I thought starting by the first book written with him was the right place to begin my exploration.
I thought the mystery took a little time setting up. I guess the first chapters before the first murder (I think with the title being what it is this is not a spoiler!), where there's a lot of set-up which pays off at the end of the story, had difficulty keeping my attention. Once that part was over and we were in the investigating, I became more interested; but the best part of the book is when we finally meet Sir Henry Merrivale. I definitely loved the character and wish he had been in from the start, I like his way of investigating which does remind me a little of Poirot: he's all in his head and a little of Sherlock Holmes: he can deduce a lot from physical clues.
The Plague Court Murders is a locked-room mystery. Sometimes those can me very interesting or very contrived. This mystery was interesting, made sense at the end (big bonus!) and introduced a well loved character. I'll be reading some more stories featuring Sir Henry Merrivale.
I thought the mystery took a little time setting up. I guess the first chapters before the first murder (I think with the title being what it is this is not a spoiler!), where there's a lot of set-up which pays off at the end of the story, had difficulty keeping my attention. Once that part was over and we were in the investigating, I became more interested; but the best part of the book is when we finally meet Sir Henry Merrivale. I definitely loved the character and wish he had been in from the start, I like his way of investigating which does remind me a little of Poirot: he's all in his head and a little of Sherlock Holmes: he can deduce a lot from physical clues.
The Plague Court Murders is a locked-room mystery. Sometimes those can me very interesting or very contrived. This mystery was interesting, made sense at the end (big bonus!) and introduced a well loved character. I'll be reading some more stories featuring Sir Henry Merrivale.
ssejig's review
3.0
Ken Bates has been invited by his friend Dean Halliday out to the family estate. It seems that one Louis Playge, an infamous murderer, is haunting the family. When a famous psychic is killed in a locked room with police right outside the door, they have to call in the famous Sir Merivale for help.
frosta_wings_it's review
4.0
4.5 stars
I am so excited to have read this book! I am a John Dickson Carr fan and have so far only been acquainted with Dr. Gideon Fell and Carr’s radio plays.
I am so thankful to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for having granted me the opportunity to read and revies this Sir Henry Merrivale mystery.
This book is another one of Carr’s signature suspenseful, masterfully plotted locked room mysteries. How this man could conceptualize and execute so many fresh and original locked room mysteries, I know not. Though thankful I am. In “The Plague Court Murders”, a dubious medium is stabbed during a séance he had planned, and his body found in a locked room in a atmospheric mansion with a spooky history.
I loved the ambience and characterization in this novel. All characters are very distinct and charming in their own way, clearly representation of their era. I just love the carelessness of privileged 1930’s male youth and how they talked to each other, and I feel Carr did a superb job transporting me to that mansion and the events there occurred.
Carr superpower is his ability to write, for sure. He manages to grant personality to sentences and each word and punctuation choice is careful, purposeful. You can almost hear them breathe as they jump from the page and surround you, giving you no choice but to be transported to the world Carr chooses to create.
I was worried that H.M. would be like Fell, but he wasn’t. He is just as delightful, but completely himself. He is a little cheeky, extremely smart and unapologetically himself. The book became so much better once he made his appearance. Not that Chief-Inspector Masters is much behind. This duo had me cracking up and in a great mood as I investigated the case with them.
Carr also plays extremely fair, which makes it for an enjoyable read.
I hope that Penzler Publishers continues to reprint all of Carr’s works, especially Merrivale’s stories. I want to read them all and so should everyone!
#Netgalley #theplaguecourtmurders
I am so excited to have read this book! I am a John Dickson Carr fan and have so far only been acquainted with Dr. Gideon Fell and Carr’s radio plays.
I am so thankful to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for having granted me the opportunity to read and revies this Sir Henry Merrivale mystery.
This book is another one of Carr’s signature suspenseful, masterfully plotted locked room mysteries. How this man could conceptualize and execute so many fresh and original locked room mysteries, I know not. Though thankful I am. In “The Plague Court Murders”, a dubious medium is stabbed during a séance he had planned, and his body found in a locked room in a atmospheric mansion with a spooky history.
I loved the ambience and characterization in this novel. All characters are very distinct and charming in their own way, clearly representation of their era. I just love the carelessness of privileged 1930’s male youth and how they talked to each other, and I feel Carr did a superb job transporting me to that mansion and the events there occurred.
Carr superpower is his ability to write, for sure. He manages to grant personality to sentences and each word and punctuation choice is careful, purposeful. You can almost hear them breathe as they jump from the page and surround you, giving you no choice but to be transported to the world Carr chooses to create.
I was worried that H.M. would be like Fell, but he wasn’t. He is just as delightful, but completely himself. He is a little cheeky, extremely smart and unapologetically himself. The book became so much better once he made his appearance. Not that Chief-Inspector Masters is much behind. This duo had me cracking up and in a great mood as I investigated the case with them.
Carr also plays extremely fair, which makes it for an enjoyable read.
I hope that Penzler Publishers continues to reprint all of Carr’s works, especially Merrivale’s stories. I want to read them all and so should everyone!
#Netgalley #theplaguecourtmurders
mothfan420's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Sexual harassment
fbone's review
2.0
I didn't guess the murderer because a few things weren't clear to me. It would have helped if I was familiar with the role of Viola in Twelfth Night. Still, I don't think this was Carr's best effort. His later works were better, IMO. Interesting how even in 1934 "clue" was spelled "clew."
nnecatrix's review
4.0
Book #32 for 2017
Follow the Clues: Trail #1, Clue #10
Mt TBR #12
Old Firehouse Books Summer Bingo Square: A Book That Is More Than 10 Years Old
Personal Challenge: A book about a haunted building
PopSugar Challenge (max. 3):
- A book that is a story within a story
- A book by an author who uses a pseudonym
- The first book in a series you haven't read before
Read Harder Challenge: A book published between 1900 & 1950
Better World Books: A book set in a place you want to visit (London)
Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt: a bird
This was the first book in the Sir Henry Merrivale series, but it's interesting that early covers did not recognize that and instead listed Masters as the detective. Indeed, Masters does a huge amount of detecting -- and not a terrible job of it, either -- before we even meet Merrivale, who kind of swoops in and, after getting his bearings, saves the day. So you might say that the pacing of the book is a bit awkward.
I'm rather proud of myself for picking up on an important piece of the scheme (which Masters totally missed) that enabled me to stay a half-step ahead of the solution for almost the entire book. Almost. I do have to admit that the actual murder method didn't occur to me, as I am a little too accustomed to modern ideas of thoroughness in post mortem exams. Still, very clever obfuscation and another example of why John Dickson Carr was considered the master of the locked-room mystery.
I enjoyed the Gothic details sprinkled throughout for gruesome effect. Going back and forth between the 20th-century investigation and the 17th-century ghost tale was quite effective. I found it particularly interesting to look up the locations as best I could, as quite a bit of it took place in my old stamping grounds, and then it was fun to overlay the locations in [b:The Dark Days Club|15993203|The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen, #1)|Alison Goodman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439928937s/15993203.jpg|21750762] to see what matched up there as well.
Despite some flaws, this story held together quite well, and I'd recommend it to any fan of locked-room puzzles or anybody looking for a Golden Age police procedural.
Follow the Clues: Trail #1, Clue #10
Mt TBR #12
Old Firehouse Books Summer Bingo Square: A Book That Is More Than 10 Years Old
Personal Challenge: A book about a haunted building
PopSugar Challenge (max. 3):
- A book that is a story within a story
- A book by an author who uses a pseudonym
- The first book in a series you haven't read before
Read Harder Challenge: A book published between 1900 & 1950
Better World Books: A book set in a place you want to visit (London)
Vintage Mystery Cover Scavenger Hunt: a bird
This was the first book in the Sir Henry Merrivale series, but it's interesting that early covers did not recognize that and instead listed Masters as the detective. Indeed, Masters does a huge amount of detecting -- and not a terrible job of it, either -- before we even meet Merrivale, who kind of swoops in and, after getting his bearings, saves the day. So you might say that the pacing of the book is a bit awkward.
I'm rather proud of myself for picking up on an important piece of the scheme (which Masters totally missed) that enabled me to stay a half-step ahead of the solution for almost the entire book. Almost. I do have to admit that the actual murder method didn't occur to me, as I am a little too accustomed to modern ideas of thoroughness in post mortem exams. Still, very clever obfuscation and another example of why John Dickson Carr was considered the master of the locked-room mystery.
I enjoyed the Gothic details sprinkled throughout for gruesome effect. Going back and forth between the 20th-century investigation and the 17th-century ghost tale was quite effective. I found it particularly interesting to look up the locations as best I could, as quite a bit of it took place in my old stamping grounds, and then it was fun to overlay the locations in [b:The Dark Days Club|15993203|The Dark Days Club (Lady Helen, #1)|Alison Goodman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439928937s/15993203.jpg|21750762] to see what matched up there as well.
Despite some flaws, this story held together quite well, and I'd recommend it to any fan of locked-room puzzles or anybody looking for a Golden Age police procedural.
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