Death and the Conjuror

Listeners can lock themselves away in their room and figure out this locked-room mystery puzzle by Mead, a tribute to John Dickson Carr (The Burning Court). Having numerous short stories under his belt, Mead weaves circles around poor dead Anselm Rees. Locked in his study and overheard talking on the phone and answering questions after the departure of his last guest, Rees is shortly discovered dead. Flummoxed, Scotland Yard calls upon retired magician Joseph Spector, who lays out the case. Narrator Jake Ruddle places listeners in London with his warm and measured tones. Any one of the characters might have done it, but who did it and how did they manage it? Rees, a renowned Austrian psychiatrist with three famous patients, had been living quietly in London. His newly minted psychiatrist daughter and her ill-suited fiancé round out the list of suspects; each one had possible motives. Ruddle brings the characters to life for listeners; his masterful storytelling abilities lend themselves to Mead’s fascinating cast of all-too-human characters.