The Murder Wheel

Reviews

"Mead plays scrupulously fair with his readers … Lovers of John Dickson Carr’s puzzle mysteries will hope Mead has many more Spector tales up his sleeve." — Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW

"A triple-barreled puzzle…. Even readers who live to match wits with canny authors and detectives are likely to be outwitted by this one." — Kirkus

"Tom Mead has a real talent for writing genuine locked room mysteries and The Murder Wheel is a worthy successor to the splendid Death and the Conjuror." — Martin Edwards, CWA Diamond Dagger winner and author of the Rachel Savernake mysteries

"A delicious locked room feast of impossibilities set in the golden age of theatre and murder mysteries. I love the Mephistophelean Joseph Spector!" — Ovidia Yu, author of the History Tree Mysteries

"In his captivating second novel Tom Mead establishes himself as the current master of the locked-room mystery, and The Murder Wheel doesn't give us merely one example of this honored tradition to solve, but three of them … three interlocking 'impossible' murders, each with plenty of twists and skillful misdirection. The characters are charming, the plot moves briskly along, and in the end, the brilliant 'Old Conjuror,' Joseph Spector, puts it all together and comes up with the goods. A winner!" — Aaron Elkins, author of the Gideon Oliver series

"A clever writer with a mastery of setting, plotting, and the world of the illusionist, Tom Mead takes the reader on a delightful ride. Ibbs is a deliberate man—the perfect narrator for a story of murder committed very deliberately. I was pulled deep into the puzzle and held there to the very end. Kudos, Mr. Mead. Mystery readers will love this dazzling, page-turning tale." — Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series

"What an absolute treasure! Tom Mead writes with the sophisticated and knowing voice of another era, with a skilled sleight of hand, and with deep knowledge of psychology, magic, and human nature. THE MURDER WHEEL is an engaging, perplexing, and irresistible riff on locked room mysteries—you've never seen a series of crimes as delightfully complex, or as brilliantly crafted. You will not be able to put this down, and what's more, you will never be able to solve all the puzzles within puzzles. But you will stand and applaud, as I did, at the marvelously fair solutions. I promise you'll be given all the clues, dear murder mystery readers, but, trust me: give up trying to identify whodunnit, and simply enjoy the journey to an elegant and satisfying conclusion, where the impossible becomes—presto!—possible." — Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author

"Tom Mead has quickly become one of my must-read authors, writing some of the most ingenious and entertaining locked-room mysteries being published today." — Anthony Award- and Agatha Award-winning author Gigi Pandian

"The Murder Wheel was a delight from enigmatic start to clever finish. Tom Mead's expert, house-of-mirrors plot joyfully confounds the reader page after page. It is a real treat of perplexities and conundrums for mystery lovers everywhere." — Earlene Fowler, Agatha Award-winning author of the Benni Harper mysteries

"[A] triply clever salute to the golden-age whodunit." — Shelf Awareness

"The Murder Wheel harks back to an earlier type of mystery ... Making things even more fun here is the combination of two vintage templates: the locked-room puzzle and the theater mystery. Add a charismatic protagonist, and you have a recipe for pure nostalgic pleasure." — Wall Street Journal

"A brilliantly contrived plot, scattered with false trails, makes for a literary sleight of hand that is a delight to read." — Daily Mail