To Wake the Dead by John Dickson Carr

To Wake the Dead (Dr. Gideon Fell Mysteries, #9)

by John Dickson Carr

Christopher Kent, worth a quarter of a million pounds yet without a penny in his pocket, stands hungrily in Piccadilly one snowy morning, looking up at the huge hotel, when a piece of card bearing a number floats down to him. He enters and is served with breakfast, giving the waiter the room number. Then an unlucky chance compels him to go up to room 707. Inside a woman lies murdered in a trunk.

Kent needs to prove his innocence fast, and calls in Dr Gideon Fell to investigate - but there's been another murder, and Dr Fell must figure out what connects them in order to find the guilty party.

Reviewed by Aidan Brack (Mysteries Ahoy) on

4.5 of 5 stars

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I really enjoyed my experience reading this and tore through the book in a single sitting which is always a sign that I was engrossed. I think it boasts a fantastic story hook and while it may disappoint by not being an impossible crime, it is really cleverly plotted and structured in spite of a little clunkiness in one aspect of its solution.

Read my full review at Mysteries Ahoy!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 June, 2018: Finished reading
  • 8 September, 2020: Reviewed