Books by Tom Mead

Death and the Conjuror: A Locked-Room Mystery

by Tom Mead

A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Best Mysteries of 2022 Selection
In this "sharply-drawn period piece" (New York Times), a magician-turned-sleuth in pre-war London solves three impossible crimes
In 1930s London, celebrity psychiatrist Anselm Rees is discovered dead in his locked study, and there seems to be no way that a killer could have escaped unseen. There are no clues, no witnesses, and no evidence of the murder weapon. Stumped by the confounding scene, the Scotland Yard detective on the case calls on retired stage magician-turned-part-time sleuth Joseph Spector. For who better to make sense of the impossible than one who traffics in illusions?
Spector has a knack for explaining the inexplicable, but even he finds that there is more to this mystery than meets the eye. As he and the Inspector interview the colorful cast of suspects among the psychiatrist’s patients and household, they uncover no shortage of dark secrets―or motives for murder. When the investigation dovetails into that of an apparently-impossible theft, the detectives consider the possibility that the two transgressions are related. And when a second murder occurs, this time in an impenetrable elevator, they realize that the crime wave will become even more deadly unless they can catch the culprit soon.
A tribute to the classic golden-age whodunnit, when crime fiction was a battle of wits between writer and reader, Death and the Conjuror joins its macabre atmosphere, period detail, and vividly-drawn characters with a meticulously-constructed fair play puzzle. Its baffling plot will enthrall readers of mystery icons such as Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr, modern masters like Anthony Horowitz and Elly Griffiths, or anyone who appreciates a good mystery.

Cabaret Macabre

by Tom Mead

Victor Silvius has spent nine years as an inmate at The Grange, a private sanatorium, for the crime of attacking judge Sir Giles Drury. Now, the judge's wife, Lady Elspeth Drury, believes that Silvius is the one responsible for a series of threatening letters her husband has recently received. Eager to avoid the scandal that involving the local police would entail, Lady Elspeth seeks out retired stage magician Joseph Spector, whose discreet involvement in a case Sir Giles recently presided over greatly impressed her.

Meanwhile, Miss Caroline Silvius is disturbed after a recent visit to her brother Victor, convinced that he isn't safe at The Grange. Someone is trying to kill him and she suspects the judge, who has already made Silvius' life a living hell, may be behind it. Caroline hires Inspector George Flint of Scotland Yard to investigate.

The two cases collide at Marchbanks, the Drury family seat of over four hundred years, where a series of unnerving events interrupt the peace and quiet of the snowy countryside. A body is discovered in the middle of a frozen pond without any means of getting there and a rifle is fired through a closed window, killing a man but not breaking the glass. Only Spector and his mastery of the art of misdirection can uncover the logical explanations for these impossible crimes.

An atmospheric and puzzling traditional mystery that pays homage to the greatest writers of the genre's Golden Age, Cabaret Macabre is the third book in Tom Mead's Joseph Spector series, hailed by the Wall Street Journal as "a recipe for pure nostalgic pleasure." The books can be enjoyed in any order.

Death Comes at Christmas

by Sarah Hilary, J. T. Ellison, David Bell, Claire McGowan, Tom Mead, Alexandra Benedict, Sam Carrington, Fiona Cummins, C.L. Taylor, Angela Clarke, Susi Holliday, Tina Baker, Liz Mistry

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre.

Including the New York Times bestselling JT Ellison, USA Today bestseller Sam Carrington, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor, and many more...

The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic crime stories.



From locked room mysteries on Christmas Eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.



So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.



Featuring stories by:



Fiona Cummins

Angela Clarke

A. K. Benedict

Susi Holliday

J. T. Ellison

David Bell

Sarah Hilary

Claire McGowan

Tina Baker

Sam Carrington

Liz Mistry

C. L. Taylor

Helen Fields

Russ Thomas

Tom Mead

Vaseem Khan

Samantha Hayes

Belinda Bauer

Death Comes at Christmas

by Sarah Hilary, J. T. Ellison, David Bell, Claire McGowan, Tom Mead, Alexandra Benedict, Sam Carrington, Fiona Cummins, C.L. Taylor, Angela Clarke, Susi Holliday, Tina Baker, Liz Mistry

18 festive stories of murder and mystery in the grand tradition of Christmas crime fiction, from the masters of the genre.

Including the New York Times bestselling JT Ellison, USA Today bestseller Sam Carrington, Sunday Times bestseller C.L. Taylor, and many more...

The award-winning Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane invite you to a festive gathering of bestselling, critically acclaimed and award-winning writers in tribute to classic, British period crime stories.

From locked room mysteries on Christmas eve to devilish whodunits and tales of simmering rivalries unfolding at the dinner table, these eighteen original seasonal tales will delight and shock at every twist and turn.

So, unwrap the presents, pour a mug of mulled wine and follow the bloodstained footprints through the freshly fallen snow as winter descends and darkness lurks in the shadows.

Featuring stories by:

Fiona Cummins
Angela Clarke
A. K. Benedict
Susi Holliday
J. T. Ellison
David Bell
Sarah Hilary
Claire McGowan
Tina Baker
Sam Carrington
Liz Mistry
C. L. Taylor
Helen Fields
Russ Thomas
Tom Mead
Vaseem Khan
Samantha Hayes
Belinda Bauer

The House at Devil's Neck A Locked-Room Mystery

by Tom Mead

An apparent suicide in a London townhouse uncannily mirrors a similar incident from twenty-five years ago, prompting Scotland Yard's George Flint to delve deep into the past in search of the solution to a long-forgotten mystery.



Meanwhile, Joseph Spector travels with a coach party through the rainy English countryside to visit an allegedly haunted house on a lonely island called Devil's Neck. The house, first built by a notorious alchemist and occultist, was later used as a field hospital in the First World War before falling into disrepair. The visitors hold a seance to conjure the spirit of a long-dead soldier. But when a storm floods the narrow causeway connecting Devil's Neck to the mainland, they find themselves stranded in the haunted house. Before long, the guests begin to die one by one, and it seems that the only possible culprit is the phantom soldier.



Flint's and Spector's investigations are in fact closely linked, but it is only when the duo are reunited at the storm-lashed Devil's Neck that the truth is finally revealed. Tom Mead once again creates a brilliant homage to John Dickson Carr and the Golden Age of mysteries with this intricately plotted puzzle.