The Man Who Could Not Shudder

Rating:
Summary: Howdunit rather than whodunit
Review: "The Man Who Could Not Shudder" (1940) is a fun read and one of the author's less complicated mysteries--actually one of his few mysteries where the identity of the murderer is obvious before the grand denouement at the end of the story. This book is more of a howdunit than a whodunit. Carr's serial detective, the humungous Dr. Gideon Fell galumphs into view about half way through, after the obnoxious Mr. Logan is already violently deceased. Logan meets his end when a revolver jumps off of a wall display and plugs him. Naturally no one was anywhere near the revolver when it went off.

The plot is one of the more standard for gothics and Golden Age mysteries. A rich man renovates an old mansion, supposedly haunted, then invites his acquaintances over for a week-end of ghost hunting. One of the guests feels something grab her ankle as she walks in the door, and so we're off to a jolly start to the house party. Guests are awakened by a loud thump in the middle of the night and set off in the dark, dressed in jammies and bathrobes to investigate the mysterious noise. Their various nocturnal meetings and accusations complicate at least three love affairs.

One of the most puzzling historical events to occur in the old house was the demise of an old butler, who appeared to have been swinging on a monstrous iron chandelier before it pulled loose from the ceiling and crushed him. When the chandelier incident is repeated with one of the current house guests, Dr. Fell must act quickly to protect the innocent and punish the real murderer.

Rating:
Summary: Howdunit rather than whodunit
Review: "The Man Who Could Not Shudder" (1940) is a fun read and one of the author's less complicated mysteries--actually one of his few mysteries where the identity of the murderer is obvious before the grand denouement at the end of the story. This book is more of a howdunit than a whodunit. Carr's serial detective, the humungous Dr. Gideon Fell galumphs into view about half way through, after the obnoxious Mr. Logan is already violently deceased. Logan meets his end when a revolver jumps off of a wall display and plugs him. Naturally no one was anywhere near the revolver when it went off.

The plot is one of the more standard for gothics and Golden Age mysteries. A rich man renovates an old mansion, supposedly haunted, then invites his acquaintances over for a week-end of ghost hunting. One of the guests feels something grab her ankle as she walks in the door, and so we're off to a jolly start to the house party. Guests are awakened by a loud thump in the middle of the night and set off in the dark, dressed in jammies and bathrobes to investigate the mysterious noise. Their various nocturnal meetings and accusations complicate at least three love affairs.

One of the most puzzling historical events to occur in the old house was the demise of an old butler, who appeared to have been swinging on a monstrous iron chandelier before it pulled loose from the ceiling and crushed him. When the chandelier incident is repeated with one of the current house guests, Dr. Fell must act quickly to protect the innocent and punish the real murderer.