Why read Rim of the Pit?

Book cover of Rim of the Pit

Book description

The cult classic mystery that John Dickson Carr hailed as “a marvel of ingenuity.”

“I came here to make a dead man change his mind.”

So begins a creepy and unusual mystery celebrated to this day as one of the greatest “impossible crime” novels of all time. When a family’s…

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The supernatural

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Why read it?

1 author picked Rim of the Pit as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tom Mead

Author

This book captures just about everything I love about the mystery genre.

It’s a locked-room mystery set in a snowbound cabin, where a group of city slickers find themselves confronted with a seemingly supernatural entity: the Wendigo. Rim of the Pit has a tangible sense of dread, which is something you don’t often find in Golden Age mysteries, but at the same time it’s a masterclass in logic and misdirection.

It certainly taught me a lot about creating suspense but also about planting clues – lessons I’ve put to use in my own books.

From Tom's list on mystery with a hint of magic.