The murder couldn't possibly have happened: a man was stabbed to death on a lonely tower, with witnesses at the bottom who can swear that nobody could have left the tower after the murder - but there was nobody there except the victim. Of course, there were the rumors about vampires, the undead who can fly...
And, six years later, in England, another person was nearly killed by shock and fright, perhaps by something outside her window...and, apparently, somebody whispering inside her room...and, once again, there is talk about vampires who can fly...
But this is no paranormal mystery. This is He Who Whispers, by John Dickson Carr, surely the master creator of the locked room/impossible crime puzzle. Written in 1946, it ranks among his best works - and regular readers will understand that I mean that as a tremendous compliment. He Who Whispers is the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast, and you can listen to the entire review by clicking here.
I don't want to go into too much of the plot here, but you should know that there are two major crimes here. One, taking place in France, is that impossible murder on a tower in France. Six years later, in England, some of the people involved in that first case find themselves thrown together - and there is another murder attempt. The victim apparently fired a shot at something outside her window...and heard something whispering to her beside her bed.
All this is handled in a growing atmosphere of terror, the kind of atmosphere that Carr could create in his best plots. At the same time, the reader is given fair clues - but, of course, is quite carefully misdirected by a master at the art of concealing clues. It will, of course, fall to Dr. Gideon Fell to dispel the clouds and uncover the truth about both attacks.
At the center of both crimes is a woman named Fay Seton - who is suspected, by some, of being a vampire. I think Fay Seton is one of Carr's strongest creations, and I'd have to say that - overall - the characters here are stronger and more memorable than they are in other books by Carr. The Langtail Press has republished He Who Whispers in paper, and there's also an electronic edition. Either way, this one belongs very high on your To Be Read list.
Okay, I'm commenting through my twitter account, Les. Let's see how long that lasts. :)
I know I've read all the Dickson Carr books - honest. But I simply can't remember any of them. SO embarrassing. At any rate, this one sounds terrific and VERY Dickson Carr.
Death in a tower, a suspected vampire, I mean, who else was writing this sort of thing for me to read - when I was a teenager, that is.(Except for the gothic romance writers which is quite another story.)
I'll add this title to my Dickson Carr reread list. I will definitely be playing catch-up in the coming year, Les. Thanks (I think) to you.
So many books, so...well, you know the routine. :)
Posted by: Yvettespaintbox | November 17, 2013 at 12:32 PM
It really is one of his best, Yvette - there's a darker tone here than you'll find in many of his books. The whispering, in particular, involves some serious evil. I think we'll continue to add to each other's To Be Read mountain... ;-)
Posted by: Les Blatt | November 17, 2013 at 01:45 PM