"Let there be a spice of terror, of dark skies and evil things. "
John Dickson Carr wrote this and it served as his motto for a hefty portion of his writing. He was a master of the locked room mystery, the seemingly impossible crime that turns out to have a reasonable explanation. Carr believed in fair play and so although many of his solutions were outlandish, they never cheated the reader. Many of the crimes in Carr's novels occurred in menacing, gothic settings and often hinted at the supernatural. Only a few of his works really were supernatural but his stories often have a terrifying atmosphere and gruesome crimes.
It Walks By Night is one of Carr's early novels and stars his detective Bencolin, a man who looks as sinister as he is clever. In this one. Bencolin solves an array of hideous murders despite copious hints at an inhuman killer. The Corpse in the Waxworks, another Bencolin novel, provides an ominous setting and is one of my favorites. In Castle Skull, Bencolin solves the murder of a man burned to death in a castle shaped like a human skull. Not the most subtle, but I found the atmosphere irresistible.
I also love Carr's Dr. Fell novels. Modeled after the great G..K. Chesterton, Dr Fell is a pudgy, chatty academic with infallible logic. In his first appearance, Hag's Nook, a murder takes place at an ancient prison that had a reputation for hanging witches. He Who Whispers leads us, at first, to believe that the murders were committed by some sort of vampire. The Crooked Hinge is full of bizarre twists and references to devil worship.
My favorite non-series book by Carr is The Burning Court, a gothic locked room mystery with elements of witchcraft and a shocker of an ending. It is a fast-paced tour-de-force.
Carr wrote a few horrific short stories with his trademark locked room aspects. "The House in Goblin Wood" stars his detective Henry Merrivale and its resolution is as grisly as its simplicity. "Terror's Dark Tower" is less simple but its atmosphere and the legend concerning the tower make a memorable and sinister experience.
Many of Carr's books, in my opinion, work as gothic chillers just as well as detective stories. Not all of them are my favorites, but they are of such consistent quality that it is hard to think if how enjoyable one book is without taking another into account. If you like a good, chilling mystery, you can't fail with John Dickson Carr.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
John Dickson Carr wrote this and it served as his motto for a hefty portion of his writing. He was a master of the locked room mystery, the seemingly impossible crime that turns out to have a reasonable explanation. Carr believed in fair play and so although many of his solutions were outlandish, they never cheated the reader. Many of the crimes in Carr's novels occurred in menacing, gothic settings and often hinted at the supernatural. Only a few of his works really were supernatural but his stories often have a terrifying atmosphere and gruesome crimes.It Walks By Night is one of Carr's early novels and stars his detective Bencolin, a man who looks as sinister as he is clever. In this one. Bencolin solves an array of hideous murders despite copious hints at an inhuman killer. The Corpse in the Waxworks, another Bencolin novel, provides an ominous setting and is one of my favorites. In Castle Skull, Bencolin solves the murder of a man burned to death in a castle shaped like a human skull. Not the most subtle, but I found the atmosphere irresistible.
I also love Carr's Dr. Fell novels. Modeled after the great G..K. Chesterton, Dr Fell is a pudgy, chatty academic with infallible logic. In his first appearance, Hag's Nook, a murder takes place at an ancient prison that had a reputation for hanging witches. He Who Whispers leads us, at first, to believe that the murders were committed by some sort of vampire. The Crooked Hinge is full of bizarre twists and references to devil worship.
My favorite non-series book by Carr is The Burning Court, a gothic locked room mystery with elements of witchcraft and a shocker of an ending. It is a fast-paced tour-de-force. Carr wrote a few horrific short stories with his trademark locked room aspects. "The House in Goblin Wood" stars his detective Henry Merrivale and its resolution is as grisly as its simplicity. "Terror's Dark Tower" is less simple but its atmosphere and the legend concerning the tower make a memorable and sinister experience.
Many of Carr's books, in my opinion, work as gothic chillers just as well as detective stories. Not all of them are my favorites, but they are of such consistent quality that it is hard to think if how enjoyable one book is without taking another into account. If you like a good, chilling mystery, you can't fail with John Dickson Carr.
Written by Nicholas Montelongo
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