Peacock Feather Murders (Library of Crime Classics)

Rating:
Summary: Another "impossible" locked-room murder from the master
Review: Carter Dickson (one of John Dickson Carr's pen names) presents one of his most complicated locked-room mysteries in this novel, and Sir Henry Marrivale is back to solve it. "The Peacock Feather Murders" begins with a man entering a room that is under tight police scrutiny. Outside the door to the room, one officer is watching. The only other exit to the room is a window that is forty feet above the street. Despite the fact that the man in the room is alone, two shots ring out. The officer outside the door rushes in to find the man dead with a bullet hole in the back of the head and one in the spine. A gun lies on the carpet next to the corpse, but there is nobody else in the room. The officers watching the window swear that nobody left.

To make matters more confusing, the house in which the murder occurs was vacant until that day. Only one room is furnished, and it consists of a most peculiar set-up with ten tea cups set up around a table. The fact that a very similar crime happened some years before only adds to the confusion.

Carr is known for his "impossible" crimes, and this one may top the list. As always, though, Carr plays by the rules and sprinkles the clues throughout the story (even including footnotes when the solution is revealed). I do not consider this book to be the best of Carr's work or even of the H.M. cases, but it is still far better than most mysteries, particularly for those who like the "howdunnit" aspect of a mystery as much as the "whodunnit" aspect. When it comes to the impossible crime, Carr is the undisputed master.

Rating:
Summary: The Peacock Feather Murders...Poppycock!
Review: In Carter Dickson's THE PEACOCK FEATHER MURDERS, Sir Henry Merrivale tackles an interesting variation on the locked-room murder. A man is seen entering a room. Gunshots ring out, and the man is dead--but where did the murderer go? Certainly not out the door or the window. As usual, Dickson gives us an impenetrable "impossible crime" scenario, and while the complex plot has been meticulously worked out, the solution isn't as impressive as some of his others. That, and a few lapses in pace, keep this from being one of his best books. Nevertheless, Merrivale is as sharp and perceptive as ever, though a bit more restrained this time around, and the book has two strong bonuses: the character of Mrs. Derwent, a truly disturbing femme fatale, and one of the eeriest and most suspenseful drawing-room confrontations I've read in any mystery novel.

Rating:
Summary: Another strong entry in the Merrivale series
Review: In Carter Dickson's THE PEACOCK FEATHER MURDERS, Sir Henry Merrivale tackles an interesting variation on the locked-room murder. A man is seen entering a room. Gunshots ring out, and the man is dead--but where did the murderer go? Certainly not out the door or the window. As usual, Dickson gives us an impenetrable "impossible crime" scenario, and while the complex plot has been meticulously worked out, the solution isn't as impressive as some of his others. That, and a few lapses in pace, keep this from being one of his best books. Nevertheless, Merrivale is as sharp and perceptive as ever, though a bit more restrained this time around, and the book has two strong bonuses: the character of Mrs. Derwent, a truly disturbing femme fatale, and one of the eeriest and most suspenseful drawing-room confrontations I've read in any mystery novel.

Rating:
Summary: The Peacock Feather Murders...Poppycock!
Review: John Dickson Carr, also known as Carter Dickson, was famous for his locked room or impossible murders.The Peacock Feather Murders, originally published in 1937, is no exception. Two men are shot at close range, two years apart, in vacant and sinister houses. Both murders stump New Scotland Yard, as these killings have been committed under impossible circumstances...the Carr/Dickson locked room signature. When Carr/Dickson wrote the Sir Henry Merrivale mysteries I had the impression, even as a teenager, that these novels did not measure up to Carr's very successful Dr.Gideon Fell mystery series. After all these years I still have that impression. The Peacock Feather Murders, apart from this edition being in very tiny print, is far-fetched, filled with stock characters, dated if you are familiar with bowler hats, antiquated if you aren't, and features as its sleuth, Sir Henry Merrivale, a rotund shadow of the Great Man, Dr. Gideon Fell. If you enjoy cozying up to an English mystery in the classic tradition, try a novel under the name, John Dickson Carr. Heat up some tomato soup, prepare a grilled cheese sandwich or grab a box of chocolate chip cookies and enjoy the Master of Crime at his best!