John Dickson Carr (1906-1977), author of The Corpse in the Waxworks and many other books and stories, was considered by the New York Times to be "a master of the locked-door mystery." His 1944 whodunit, Till Death Do Us Part, is a doozy of an impossible mystery, and it is beautifully written, ingeniously plotted and compelling. Best of all, it doesn't cheat with the clues, which are all laid out in plain sight. But few readers will be able to put these puzzle pieces together before Carr's master detective, Dr. Gideon Fell, gathers everyone around to reveal all.
After an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author Martin Edwards, the story begins at an outdoor fair where local celebrity and playwright Dick Markham and his new fiancée, Lesley Grant, visit a fortune-teller. Lesley has a very agitating solo session and leaves in a panic. Before the fortune-teller--who is really Sir Harvey Gilman, "one of the greatest living authorities on crime"--can reveal anything to Dick, Lesley shoots Dick in the shoulder. Gilman summons Dick to his home and tells him that his fiancée is actually a murderer who killed two husbands and a boyfriend. But she evaded conviction by somehow convincing the men to inject themselves with poison while inside locked rooms. The following morning, Gilman is found dead in a locked and sealed room, a hypodermic syringe lying near him. This brings amateur sleuth Dr. Fell to town.
This skillfully plotted, thoroughly enchanting, crackerjack entertainment will have mystery fans rejoicing that Poisoned Pen Press has reissued a neglected treasure. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant