Carr, John Dickson - The Crooked Hinge (1938)

Review by Nick Fuller

5/5

One of the best Dr. Fells. Carr keeps the reader guessing which of the two claimants to the baronetcy of Mallingford and Soane is the impostor who attempted to murder the real baronet on board the Titanic and steal his identity, a problem complicated rather than resolved by the (naturally impossible) murder of one of them. Crucial clues are the meaning of the phrase "the crooked hinge," a locked book-closet, the psychology of the people involved, and the automaton known as the Golden Hag, with witchcraft further complicating the story. The solution is dazzling: a false solution as utterly convincing as those of Anthony Berkeley, followed by a fireworks display simple, convincing, and breath-takingly surprising, suggested by Chesterton's "The Blue Cross". The only flaw — and this is a very minor flaw indeed — is that the murderer does not receive his comeuppance.

See also: http://doyouwriteunderyourownname.blogspot.com/2011/10/forgotten-book-crooked-hinge.html