Book 42 of 2022

[vivdunstan]

I just finished Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr, originally published in 1931. This is a golden age crime novel with occult overtones, set in an atmospheric spooky castle above the Rhine. The central mystery is a good idea, but I found there were too many characters introduced, which ended up as a large bunch of red herrings. The key detective was also puzzlingly non participatory (but present) in several key scenes. And the ending was unlikely. So overall not a hit for me, though I will probably try his Paris waxworks whodunnit sometime. Rating 2/5.