The Murder Wheel: a Joseph Spector Locked Room mystery from Tom Mead
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!
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The Murder Wheel
Illusionist turned sleuth Joseph Spector investigates a sinister conundrum at a 1930s theatre in this thrilling new mystery novel from Tom Mead, author of Death and the Conjuror, one of Publishers Weekly‘s Mysteries of the Year 2022.
In London, 1938, young and idealistic lawyer Edmund Ibbs is trying to find any shred of evidence that his client Carla Dean wasn’t the one who shot her husband dead at the top of a Ferris Wheel. But the deeper he digs, the more complex the case becomes, and Edmund soon finds himself drawn into a nightmarish web of conspiracy and murder. Before long he himself is implicated in not one but two seemingly impossible crimes.
First, a corpse appears out of thin air during a performance by famed illusionist “Professor Paolini” in front of a packed auditorium at the Pomegranate Theatre. Then a second victim is shot dead in a locked dressing room along one of the theatre’s winding backstage corridors. Edmund is in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, and attracts the suspicion of Scotland Yard inspector George Flint. Luckily, conjuror-turned-detective Joseph Spector is on the scene.
Only Spector’s uniquely logical perspective can pierce the veil of deceit in a world of illusion and misdirection, where seeing is not always believing.
To Purchase The Murder Wheel, click on any of the following links: The Mysterious BookShop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org
Interview with Tom Mead, author of The Murder Wheel
The Murder Wheel is set in 1938 London. What was your research like to bring that era to life?
I’m an avid reader of Golden Age Detective Fiction by authors like Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen and John Dickson Carr. Their novels are a treasure trove of information, crammed with details and dialogue that epitomize their era.
As such, my reading has been invaluable in helping to capture a sense of the period. But in terms of more practical research, I had great fun looking into the history of London theatre (including blueprints and floorplans), the history of the travelling carnival, and delving deeper into the world of stage magic.
All this has complemented my more general research into the everyday life and conventions of that fascinating decade, the ‘30s.
Tell us about Edmund Ibbs and Joseph Spector, characters in The Murder Wheel:
Edmund Ibbs is a young and (some might say) naïve lawyer. Like me, he’s fascinated by the world of stage magic. He’s also working on a thankless case, defending a woman who apparently shot her husband dead at the top of a Ferris wheel.
But the deeper he delves into the problem, the more questions arise. Soon the bodies are piling up, and the unfortunate Edmund is prime suspect.
As for Joseph Spector, he’s my series detective. He is a retired music hall conjuror with a taste for the macabre and esoteric, as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of the world of illusion. This gives him a certain advantage when faced with a seemingly impossible mystery or, in the case of The Murder Wheel, a string of impossible mysteries!
Your books are known for their brilliant puzzles, how do you go about plotting your work? Are you an outliner? Organic writer? Or something in between?
That’s very kind of you to say!
In terms of plotting, it’s really a mixture.
Sometimes, for instance, I come up with a trick, a gimmick or an effect that I know I need to use in something. Then I develop the rest of the story around that. But there are other occasions where I use the opposite process, devising a plot and a set of circumstances first and working out the solution later.
With The Murder Wheel, it was mostly the latter.
What draws you to locked-room mysteries?
It’s the puzzle – I just find the intellectual challenge irresistible. As a reader, it’s so satisfying to dive into a really complex mystery.
It really is like watching a magic show. And as a writer, there’s nothing quite like the thrill of developing your plot and watching the pieces slide neatly into place.
What will we find you doing when you aren’t writing or reading mysteries?
At the moment I’m doing a lot of travelling around the UK to various book-related events to promote Death and the Conjuror and The Murder Wheel.
In my downtime I’m a huge theatre geek, so I’m taking the opportunity to see as many shows as I can fit into my schedule.
What are you working on now?
Right now I’m working on edits for the third book in the Joseph Spector mystery series, Cabaret Macabre.
As the title implies, it’s a spooky one! It comes out in July 2024, and I really hope readers will enjoy it.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:
Perseverance is the key, not only professionally but personally.
What I mean by that is that you need to set challenges for yourself, you need to manage your time and you need to keep going. But you also need to remember to cut yourself some slack every now and then.
Author Pet Corner!
Here’s Chloe, my gorgeous black cat.
She’s a perfect companion, and an incorrigible sneak thief.
As you can tell, she doesn’t like it when I’m working and not paying attention to her.
Tom Mead — Author of The Murder Wheel
Tom Mead’s short fiction has appeared in publications ranging from Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine to The Best Mystery Stories of the Year.
His debut locked-room mystery novel Death and the Conjuror (Mysterious Press, 2022; Head of Zeus, 2023) was an international bestseller, and named one of the best mysteries of 2022 by Publishers Weekly.
To stay up to date with Tom Mead, click on any of the following links: Website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads.
Elena Taylor/Elena Hartwell
All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery
The Foundation of Plot, a Wait, Wait, Don’t Query (Yet!) guidebook.
Header image by Adam Derewecki from Pixabay
