Rim of the Pit

Hake Talbot, Rupert Holmes

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English

Penzler
04 January 2024

Literature: history & criticism; Fiction & Literature

Series: An American Mystery Classic

"""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 promise to protect the beloved pine grove of their dead father creates a financial strain, a seance is suggested to summon the ghost of the late logger and ask its permission. A mixed group of skeptics and believers convene at a snow-bound lodge to call the spirit with a group that includes a gambler, a businessman, a clairvoyant, a professor, and a refugee, among others. With so many diverse interests at the table, the tensions run high - but when one of the participants ends up dead, there is reason to suspect that a nefarious spirit is to blame.

The body is discovered in a locked room, impenetrable from the outside - just one of many bizarre and inexplicable circumstances surrounding the scene of the crime. There is also the trail of footprints in the snow, beginning and ending amid a field of untouched powder; another on the roof, with the tracks leading for a short distance before vanishing into nothingness; and, there are fingerprints on a gun suspended at an unreachable height

Supernatural undertones and eerie atmosphere clear away in the third act to present a logical conclusion to the case, teasing out the clues and murder methods that unscrupulous readers may have missed. With its off-beat exposition, puzzling plot and exceptional prose, Rim of the Pit is a cult classic of the Golden Age era deserving of a wide audience today."

By: Hake Talbot
Introduction by: Rupert Holmes
Imprint: Penzler
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 0
Dimensions: Height: 206mm, Width: 135mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 289g
ISBN: 9781613164655
ISBN 10: 1613164653
Series: An American Mystery Classic
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 04 January 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Hake Talbot is a pen name of the American writer Henning Nelms (1900-1986). Nelms reserved his real name for writing non-fiction about showmanship (his chief occupation was as a stage magician), but wrote several mysteries and stories under the Talbot moniker. He is best remembered today for his impossible crime novel, Rim of the Pit.