7.4 /10 1 Votes
Language English Pages 192 pp (1st UK) | 3.7/5 Goodreads Publication date 1932 Originally published 1932 Country United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Publisher Hamish Hamilton (UK) & Harper (USA) Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Genres Mystery, Detective fiction Similar John Dickson Carr books, Detective fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Poison In Jest, first published in 1932, is a detective story by John Dickson Carr which does not feature any of Carr's series detectives. This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit.
Plot summary
Jeff Marle, who plays a sidekick role in other Carr novels, is visiting a friend at the Quayle mansion in western Pennsylvania. Although various members of the Quayle household hate each other, all are united in hatred of the paterfamilias, Judge Quayle. A few moments after being introduced to Marle, Judge Quayle collapses after having been poisoned. More than one poison is used in murder attempts in the household; strange shadowy figures are seen prowling the halls at night, and there is a creepy story about a marble hand that was broken from a statue of Caligula which apparently creeps around the house on its own. After the first two deaths, a young friend of the family, Rossiter, takes a hand in detecting, with the aid of Jeff Marle; Rossiter identifies the murderer.