In this latest puzzle mystery, stage magician sleuth Joseph Spector is drawn to a grand estate in the English countryside. Victor Silvius has spent nine years at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, Lady Elspeth Drury believes Silvius is behind a series of threatening letters her husband has received. To avoid scandal, she seeks Spector's discreet help, impressed by his previous involvement in a case related to Sir Giles. Meanwhile, Miss Caroline Silvius fears for her brother's safety, convinced someone is trying to kill him, possibly the judge himself. She hires Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard to investigate. The cases converge at Marchbanks, the Drury family estate, where unsettling events disrupt the snowy tranquility. A body is found in a frozen pond with no clear way to reach it, and a rifle shot kills a man through a closed window without breaking the glass. Only Spector, with his expertise in misdirection, can unravel the logical explanations behind these impossible crimes. This atmospheric and puzzling mystery pays homage to the genre's Golden Age and is the third installment in Tom Mead's Joseph Spector series, which can be enjoyed in any order.
