Tantalizing Locked Room Mysteries Review

"The best puzzle is not merely a mysterious crime but an impossible one - the kind where the murder takes place in a locked room, or in an unapproachable place, or at a non-existent time, or under conditions when there are no possible suspects."

Isaac Asimov headlines the list of editors that also includes Charles G. Waugh and Martin Harry Greenberg. Published in 1982, Tantalizing Locked Room Mysteries features 12 short stories of the genre including Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue, Jacques Futrelle's Problem of Cell 13, and many more established classics. Mixed in are a selection of lesser known works, but mystery fans will recognise many of the author names. A brief review of each story is detailed below, as well as links to those works that are available online for free.

Source: Biblioklept

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
Story and full review available for free here.

A genre defining story that has been emulated countless times by later authors.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle
Story and full review available for free here.

One of the few Sherlock Holmes stories to feature a true locked room mystery, the solution is a bit of a disappointment.

The Problem of Cell 13 by Jacques Futrelle
Story and full review available for free here.

One of the finest examples of locked room mystery fiction.

The Light at Three O'clock by MacKinlay Kantor
A silent phone call is made from a locked room, the occupant of which died the night before...

Gradually building tension as the hotel phone operator and manager go to investigate, Kantor's short story has a simple solution that, while elegant, defies one of the cardinal rules of locked room fiction.

The Lost Special by Arthur Conan Doyle

A train leaves the station, but vanishes before reaching the next stop. With no forks in the tracks or possible places to hide, the disappearance seems impossible...

Source: Waterstones

Originally published in Doyle's Tales of Terror and Mystery, The Lost Special follows the confession of Herbert de Lernac as he recites the details of his masterful plan. The story features an implied cameo by Sherlock Holmes (no name is mentioned, but an "amateur reasoner" writes "It is one of the elementary principles of practical reasoning that when the impossible has been eliminated the residuum, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE, must contain the truth").

The short story was also recently adapted in the BBC series Sherlock, with the titular character investigating the disappearance of a London tube carriage.

The Lost Special

The short story is available in its entirety for free at Project Gutenberg or East of the Web. If you want to read on your Kindle you can download it here (send to Kindle instructions here).

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Date: 1898

Word Count: 7,000 (about 28 pages)

Wikipedia page

Review

The concept of The Lost Special is a strong one - a train vanishes on a straight line with no rational explanation. A similar setup was used by Jacques Futrelle in his 1907 short story The Phantom Motor (available here). Unfortunately for Doyle, Futrelle's solution offers a much more unusual and satisfying resolution.

The Problem of Thor Bridge by Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes is a seminal character that has inspired, and continues to inspire, mystery writers worldwide. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote a great many short stories and novels featuring the infamous detective, however only a handful contain locked room and other impossible crime mysteries.

The many faces of Sherlock Holmes. Source: Always1895.net

In the Problem of Thor Bridge, Holmes and Watson are called to investigate the death of Mrs Gibson, wife of a wealthy businessman. Shot at close range by an unknown assailant, the clues to Mrs Gibson's death all seem to point towards the nanny.

The Problem of Thor Bridge

The short story is available in its entirety for free at Camden House or Project Gutenberg Australia. If you want to read on your Kindle you can download it here (send to Kindle instructions here).

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Date: 1922

Word Count: 9,500 (about 40 pages)

Wikipedia page

Review

The Problem of Thor Bridge doesn't feature as much of Holmes' deductive techniques as others in the Conan Doyle canon, and instead relies on the details of the case to maintain the reader's interest. It would have been nice for Conan Doyle to play this up even more, as the solution to the puzzle is one of the more interesting of his devices.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Source: Wikipedia

Having locked herself in her bedroom, a woman is killed with no trace of her assailant. The only clues are a strange whistling sound and her mysterious dying words - "the speckled band".


The story was later adapted into a stage play (also written by Arthur Conan Doyle), and briefly referenced in the recent BBC Sherlock series. It is one of only a handful of shorts by Conan Doyle that adhere closely to the conventions of the impossible crime genre.

The Adventure of the Speckled Band

The short story is available in its entirety for free at Project Gutenberg. If you want to read on your Kindle you can download it here (send to Kindle instructions here).

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Date: 1892

Word Count: 10,000 (about 40 pages)

Wikipedia page

Review

Arthur Conan Doyle was thought to have considered The Adventure of the Speckled Band one of his best Sherlock Holmes stories. It does feature many of the hallmarks of a classic Holmes tale - a panicked client briefly describes the case, is impressed by Holmes' various deductions about them, then whisks Holmes and Watson away to inspect the peculiars.