The Murder Wheel (Joseph Spector Locked-Room Mysteries)
This novel, a follow-up to Death and the Conjuror (2022), follows the continuing adventures of retired professional magician Joseph Spector. Returning to help Scotland Yard investigate a baffling series of seemingly unconnected mysterious deaths, Spector re-enters the complex world of magic and illusion. Set in the late 1930s, the reader is immersed in Depression-era London with its own internal tensions and political intrigues.
A strange death at the top of a Ferris wheel, along with a corpse apparently appearing out of thin air in front of a packed auditorium, set the scene for this complex interwoven narrative. Peppered with a wide range of theatre-like characters, the reader enjoys a twisted road to an unexpected denouement.
Nothing seems real as Spector, with the able assistance of Yard Inspector George Flint and lawyer Edmund Ibbs, attempts to determine how these murders occurred. Equally challenging: Are they somehow connected, and what might underlie these heinous acts? Mead is not a straightforward storyteller. Rather, he attempts to engage the reader on a far more personal plane with interesting sidebars, diagrams, and even lists of participants. Further, his vivid descriptions of illusions (and the oft-secret illusionary world) offer the reader a rare glimpse into the hidden realm of magicians.
