The first classic crime novel I've read in a long time, Castle Skull is written by one of the greats of the golden age, John Dickson Carr, the king of locked room mysteries. The setting for this book is the Rhineland in Germany, between the two world wars, and has a really international feel to it.
"That is the case. Alison has been murdered. His blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.
And so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris. Entreated by the Belgian financier D'Aunay to investigate the gruesome and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schädel, in which a small group of suspects are still assembled.
As thunder rolls in the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the maze-like passages and towers of the keep." (Blurb from the book)
This book had me hooked from page one! The detective, Bencolin, is smart but also a humanitarian, trying to understand the killer as well as trying to solve the mystery. Marle is like his Watson...someone to help him solve the case but not to confide all the details in until the reveal. A second detective was also involved in this book, in competition with Bencolin when it comes to who can solve the case the quickest, and their interactions with the suspects are very much like chalk and cheese. I was kept guessing about the murderer all the way to the end, and the reveal, when it came, had me shocked!
There is also a short Bencolin story included in this volume and it was also really intriguing. It gave me more of an understanding of the detective involved and I would definitely like to read more books in this short series.
Star Rating: 5/5
This book is available now
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