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The Abandoned Room
The Abandoned Room
A Mystery Story
The mystery of a secret room, scene of many murders, is unraveled by Carlos Paredes, the Panamanian Sherlock Holmes.
Book Excerpt
pany them upstairs while he questioned her. In the absence of the coroner he wouldn't let the doctor touch the body.
"I must repair this lock," he said, "the first thing, so nothing can be disturbed."
Doctor Groom, a grim and dark man, had grown silent on entering the room. For a long time he stared at the body in the candle light, making as much of an examination as he could, evidently, without physical contact.
"Why did he ever come here to sleep?" he asked in his rumbling bass voice. "Nasty room! Unhealthy room! Ten to one you're a formality, policeman. Coroner's a formality."
He sneered a little.
"I daresay he died what the hard-headed world will call a natural death. Wonder what the coroner'll say."
The detective didn't answer. He shot rapid, uneasy glances about the room in which a single candle burned. After a time he said with an accent of complete conviction:
"That man was murdered."
Perhaps the doctor's significant words, added to her earlier d
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This is an enjoyable old Locked Room mystery puzzle. The story becomes increasingly puzzling as it moves along. There are two locked room murders, a main suspect (who is also the main character) who cannot remember what he was doing the night of the murder, and suggestions of supernatural activity. I'd tell more, but I don't want to spoil it. Everything is explained in the last chapter. Recommended.
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I had to keep reminding myself that this was wriiten in 1917! Very good book. It did keep me up late and guessing. It was spooky at times but towards the end I just wanted to know what happened. Nice twist.
03/17/2010
I agree! This is a fun read. It kept me up way too late, but am I complaining? No! It was worth it. Twists and turns abound. The author has a very good feeling for giving you a sense of place. You really hear and feel the wind keening through the dry, rustling leaves of the winter-dead trees. Spooky. Yes. Fun. Definitely. Go for it. You won't be sorry.
02/23/2010
This is such a fun read I don't even care how it ends! Just about 2/3 the way through and can't put it down.
02/16/2010
very good. It keeps you wondering.
01/22/2010
A reading that clings onto you with a very nice twist.
08/11/2009
this book is truly remarkable! i can't seem to take my hands off whenever i start reading it...i highly recommend especially if you want to explore the detective in you and above all be prepared to be mystified...enjoy!
06/12/2009
i give this book three stars because although i thought it was a good mystery/ suspense it is very slow moving as far as the story goes. but i guarantee readers will not guess the ending!
06/11/2009
Lying somewhere between a mystery and a ghost-story, this is worth a look, though not in any way a great novel. I enjoyed it well enough, despite the author's rather ham-fisted handling of the supernatural elements of the narrative and his inconsistent approach to characters.
04/03/2009
While this is a cleverly written immersive mystery (don't stop when it gets esoteric, there will be a rational explanation), I think it's a bit too much constructed to scare, and, naturally, you won't guess the solution because important info is withheld until the end, which I think is a too cheap method for mystery writing.
07/26/2008
