Welcome to the the final day of the blog tour for Cabaret Macabre by Tom Mead which was published on 1st August 2024. My thanks to Poppy at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy via NetGalley.
About the Book
Hampshire, 1938. When prominent judge Sir Giles Drury starts receiving sinister letters, his wife suspects Victor Silvius, a man confined to a sanatorium after attacking Sir Giles. Meanwhile, Silvius’ sister Caroline is convinced her brother is about to be murdered… by none other than his old nemesis Sir Giles Drury.
Caroline seeks the advice of Scotland Yard’s Inspector Flint, while the Drurys, eager to avoid a scandal, turn to Joseph Spector. Spector, renowned magician turned sleuth, has an uncanny knack for solving complicated crimes – but this case will test his powers of deduction to their limits.
At a snowbound English country house, a body is found is impossible circumstances. Spector and Flint’s investigations collide as they find themselves trapped by the snowstorm where anyone could be the next victim – or the killer…
Format: Hardcover (320 pages) Publisher: Head of Zeus
Publication date: 1st August 2024 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime
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My Review
Cabaret Macabre is the third book in the author’s series of ‘locked room’ mysteries featuring illusionist and private detective Joseph Spector. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the two previous books – Death and the Conjuror or The Murder Wheel – because Cabaret Macabre can definitely be enjoyed as a standalone. Plus the good news is that although there are references to events in the earlier books, these are not spoilers so you could still go back and read them.
Marchbanks, the country home of Sir Giles Drury and his wife Lady Elspeth, makes the perfect location for a murder mystery. Set in large grounds, there’s a lake, a boathouse and a bedroom in which a previous (and unsolved) murder took place. There’s even a housekeeper who gave me Mrs Danvers (from Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca) vibes. As Spector remarks, ‘It was a place of secrets… Secrets, and death’.
Perhaps the best way to give you an idea of the complexity of the plot is this quote from Inspector Flint who for much of the time is just as baffled as the reader. ‘The whole thing feels like a jigsaw with all the wrong pieces. They should fit, but they don’t.’ But don’t worry, although even Spector acknowledges the challenge, you just know he’ll be able to unravel all the threads to reveal the full picture… eventually. ‘A puzzle. An enigma. A conundrum. But never impossible, Flint. Nothing is impossible.’
When it comes to inventive – and, yes, macabre – ways for people to meet their end, Cabaret Macabre absolutely delivers with scenarios worthy of an Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers crime novel including, of course, the obligatory ‘locked room’ murder.
I’ll say it now, don’t even attempt to work out who did it, why they did it and how they did it because the effort will make your brain spin. Just sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for Spector to explain it all at the end. But give yourself a pat on the back if you spotted any of the clues (although helpfully the author does occasionally point you in their direction) but award yourself a ‘How clever am I?’ prize if you managed to work out their relevance. The barometer anyone?
Cabaret Macabre is another fiendishly intricate and skilfully plotted murder mystery that fans of Golden Age crime will absolutely love.
In three words: Clever, intricate, entertaining
Try something similar: Unnatural Ends by Christopher Huang
About the Author
Born in Derbyshire, British author Tom Mead is the author of the critically acclaimed crime thriller novels Death and The Conjuror and The Murder Wheel. His debut novel was selected as one of Publishers Weekly’s Mystery/Thriller Books of the Year. Mead has been critically acclaimed by the Guardian, Sunday Times, New York Times, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly amongst many others.
His Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mysteries have been critically acclaimed and longlisted for the Capital Crime and Historical Writers’ Association Awards. Tom’s fiction pays modern homages to the Golden Age and is filled with references for golden age crime thriller fans to pick up on in this 21st century take on classic crime fiction.
Connect with Tom
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What Cathy Read Next... 
It’s always great when a book truly stands alone!
Thanks for sharing this review with the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.
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