TOM MEAD chats to Paul Burke about THE MURDER WHEEL, DEATH AND THE CONJUROR Joseph Spector, the Golden Age era, true crime, theatre, magic and illusion.

THE MURDER WHEEL: 1938, London. Ambitious lawyer Edmund Ibbs has got his teeth into the case of a lifetime - defending the young woman accused of shooting her husband in the infamous 'Ferris Wheel Murder' case. Despite a plethora of evidence against his client, Ibbs is certain he can secure her acquittal.
But after a night of magic and illusion at London's Pomegranate Theatre, Ibbs finds himself behind bars, accused of a double murder. The renowned prestidigitator Professor Paolini and the operator of said notorious Ferris wheel are dead, and as far as Scotland Yard's Inspector Flint is concerned, all signs point to the lawyer's guilt.
Luckily for Ibbs, illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector also attended the theatre that night. Can Spector's eye for detail pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing?

Tom Mead is an aficionado of Golden Age crime fiction. His short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Lighthouse, as well as Best Crime Stories of the Year (ed. Lee Child). Death and the Conjuror, his debut novel, featuring illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector, was highly acclaimed by the UK and US press and was one of Publishers Weekly's Mysteries of the Year. He lives in Derbyshire, England.

Recommendations (selected)
Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, Dorothy L Sayers, Fredric Brown, Ellery Queen, Soji Shimada, Seichi Yokomizo.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Mrs McGinty's Dead - Agatha Christie
The Red Widow Murders - John Dickson Carr
Green for Danger, Death of Jezebel - Christianna Brand
Mrs Bradley mysteries - Gladys Mitchell

Paul Burke writes for Crime Time, Crime Fiction Lover and the European Literature Network. He is also a CWA Historical Dagger Judge 2023.

Music courtesy of  Guy Hale author of The Comeback Trail trilogy, featuring Jimmy Wayne - KILLING ME SOFTLY - MIKE ZITO featuring Kid Anderson
GUY HALE 

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