Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) - , reviewed on 9/19/2017 + 691 more book reviews

A wonderful book from a writer whose mysteries range from top notch (this one) to basically unreadable.

This is generally considered the zenith of locked room mysteries, and contains the famous "locked room lecture" in which Gideon Fell enumerates the various ways in which a murderer can do his deed and make it seem impossible.

In a poll conducted for his 1981 anthology "All But Impossible," Edward D. Hoch asked a number of mystery writers to name the best impossible-crime novels, and "The Three Coffins" topped the list (The rest are #2 - Rim of the Pit by Hake Talbot; #3 - The Mystery of the yellow Room by Gaston Leroux; #4 - The Crooked Hinge by John Dickson Carr; #5 - The Judas Window by Carter Dickson; #6 - The Big Bow Mystery by Israel Zangwill; #7 - Death From A Top Hat by Clayton Rawson; #8 - The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen; #9 - Nine Times Nine by Anthony Boucher; #10 - The Peacock Feather Murders by Carter Dickson.) No doubt a few of Paul Halter's mysteries would be included in a list tallied today.

The British title: The Hollow Man.

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