The Black Spectacles by John Dickson Carr

Amateur sleuths who appreciate the likes of Sherlock Holmes and old-school detection will have a field day with John Dickson Carr’s: The Black Spectacles. This 1939 novel features an impossible-crime mystery.

Poisoned Pen Press has been bringing back so many wonderful British Library Crime Classics, and we can always count on John Dickson Carr (1906-1977) to bring us incredibly well-done mysteries that are guaranteed to tantalize the most serious mystery buffs.

The Black Spectacles features two deadly crimes by poisoning. But are they connected? The main focus of Scotland Yard Inspector Elliott and Chief Constable Major Crow, is the recent poisoning of a wealthy businessman who quite, unintentionally, staged his own death. It was a bizarre wager that went horribly wrong.

What makes this case so puzzling is the fact that the poisoning was committed in front of a handful of people in an enclosed room – yet no one actually saw how it happened. Even the 3 witnesses closest to the victim, could not account for how the poison was administered, nor by whom. Was it a man? A woman? Tall or short? Add to that a suspicious box of chocolates, a blow gun dart miraculously disappearing off the deceased’s desk and another body found outside in the yard – and still, no one could agree on what they did or didn’t see.

This case was so baffling that Inspector Elliott leaned on his good friend, Dr. Gideon Fell, to help with the case. Fans of John Dickson Carr will recognize Dr. Gideon Fell as the superb master detective prominently featured in many of Carr’s mysteries. Fell’s powers of deduction, reasoning and logic are both superior and simply brilliant.

The suspect list is short in this highly complex and intriguing mystery: Two family members, two servants and close family friend. But ferreting out the cold blooded killer and the motive is not going to be an easy task, especially when everyone has a rock solid alibi.

The Black Spectacles was appropriately named, as each suspect tells their own version of the crime as seen through their own eyes.

But as you’re about to find out, the old phrase “seeing is believing” will be completely null and void when you tackle this superb mystery using your own skills of observation.

John Dickson Carr’s mysteries never cease to amaze me. Written in a different time and different era, his stories are both captivating and timeless. Don’t miss this new re-issue of The Black Spectacles from Poisoned Pen Press.

A copy of the cover photo and book were provided by Poisoned Pen Press/Sourcebooks.