Castle Skull

John Dickson Carr

May 2020 · Sourcebooks, Inc.

About this ebook

From the archives of the British Library, the master of locked-room mystery John Dickson Carr presents an atmospheric and haunting example of crime fiction written in the Golden Age of Murder.

Alison has been murdered. But his blazing body was seen running about the battlements of Castle Skull.

And so a dark shadow looms over the Rhineland where Inspector Henri Bencolin and his accomplice Jeff Marle have arrived from Paris. Entreated by the Belgian financier D'Aunay to investigate the gruesome and grimly theatrical death of actor Myron Alison, the pair find themselves at the imposing hilltop fortress Schloss Schädel, in which a small group of suspects are still assembled.

As thunder rolls in the distance, Bencolin and Marle enter a world steeped in macabre legends of murder and magic to catch the killer still walking the maze-like passages and towers of the keep.

This new edition of John Dickson Carr's spirited and deeply atmospheric whodunit also features the rare Inspector Bencolin short story 'The Fourth Suspect.'

Ratings and reviews

British-crime-classics Unusual! An early work of a master of the detective novel set in an eerie German castle and even seems to have macabre ghosts! I was unfamiliar with Henri Bencolin as detective, but you can never go wrong with a twisty work by John Dickson Carr. Just ask my bookshelves! I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

About the author

John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 - February 27, 1977) was a hugely popular and prolific author of crime fiction, regarded as one of the finest writers of ‘Golden Age’ mysteries. He was one of only two Americans ever admitted to the Detection Club, a prestigious honor amongst writers.