I hear you, my friends. And I share many of your complaints about much of modern detective fiction. For instance, I remember, with great fondness (as you do) those wonderful mysteries, quite popular in the first half of the 20th century, which often featured a talented stage magician. Often that person (or someone close to him/her) served as the detective in the story - other times he/she might be the designated villain of the piece. The books usually combined tightly written (and, often, well-clued) plots and interesting characters, with a dose of information about the basics and people of stage magic. And while we never learned just how a particular trick might have been done, that was okay too, as magicians should never reveal their secrets. I think of authors like Clayton Rawson or Hake Talbot. And I sigh, as you so often do, "They just don't write them like that any more."
Oh, wait.
Let me introduce you to a modern author named John Gaspard, the author of a series of books featuring a stage magician named Eli Marks which might well have been written in the last century. Gaspard very definitely IS still writing them "like that." There are now five books in the series - and they really are extremely enjoyable. I just finished reading the fourth book, called The Linking Rings. It's the subject of today's audio review on the Classic Mysteries podcast. You can listen to the complete review by clicking here.
I've been promising to try to bring some newer traditional mysteries - and traditional mystery authors - to your attention. John Gaspard's The Linking Rings is a good example. I was particularly happy to be introduced to his books at the recent Malice Domestic conference in Bethesda, Maryland - that annual get-together of hundreds of authors of traditional mysteries and their readers.
In The Linking Rings, first published earlier this year, professional magician Harry Marks is a member of a prestigious and exclusive international group of magicians, known as the Marvelous Magi. He and another magician in the group have been honored with an invitation to perform in London before fellow members of The Magic Circle, the city’s oldest and most prestigious group of professional magicians – a real organization, by the way. Harry, along with his nephew, Eli Marks (who serves as our narrator) makes what is supposed to be a whirlwind visit from their home in the U.S. to London, especially for Harry to take part in the events. But something goes very wrong indeed, right at the beginning of the show, when one of the magicians turns up dead – and police arrest Harry (as far as I can tell, mostly because he’s on the scene and therefore had both means and opportunity, though no apparent motive). Eli and several of the other magicians, convinced that the police won’t investigate any further now that they have a possible candidate in Harry for the role of first murderer, carry out their own investigation. They find something that appears to be impossible – that the most likely person to have carried out the murder was another magician who committed suicide more than thirty years earlier.
The Linking Rings is written with a light touch, with clues and red herrings that should please traditional mystery fans. Readers who wonder if they were cheated will discover that they weren't. Granted there are a number of fortunate (or unfortunate) coincidences, and the police generally seem to act somewhat arbitrarily. But overall, I have to say, John Gaspard’s The Linking Rings appeals to me as a fan of classic traditional mysteries. I think that you would enjoy it as well.
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