Successful
inventor, Sir Newnham Speight, is chairman of the Society
for the Scientific Investigation of Psychical Phenomena, and
is keen to prove (or disprove) these mysteries through practical
experiments at his home. During one of these experiments,
a certain Mr Kellway vanished before the eyes of onlookers
and from a locked room. The so-called psychic was attempting
to open a box in an adjoining room with his mind using powers
from Venus, and if he was successful, would receive a large
reward. Enter Sherlock Holmes and Watson to discover what
really happened.
I
have read quite a few titles in this series and found this
one particularly pleasing. Anybody who enjoys reading classic
detective fiction will have read quite a few locked room mysteries
(the invention of John Dickson Carr) and here is a good one.
I did work out how it was done, but it took some time; there
are plenty of suspects. Lots of books start well, many manage
not to sag in the middle, too, but really good endings are
rarer, and this one made me smile as it is rather neat.
There
is a good dose of humor in here as we get to know the various
members of the club and their various eccentricities. Interleaved
between the chapters are tantalising excerpts from various
letters and newspapers collected by Holmes to aid his work
on the case. These throw light (or are red herrings) in an
imaginative way, and this is one tale where everything –
however unrelated it may appear – gets sorted out satisfactorily
at the end. It is set in 1896, and Holmes is on top enigmatic
form with Watson narrating. I do hope that this author writes
more of these, I will certainly be looking for his other work
if this is a typical sample. Highly recommended.
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