Fans of Golden Age mysteries might appreciate Tom Mead's homage in this sequel to Death and the Conjuror. I didn't find The Murder Wheel to be quite as good as the first one, though.

Edmund Ibbs, a young, idealistic lawyer, was assisting with the Carla Dean case when his supervisor became ill. Now, he's stuck with the impossible, infamous case. Carla Dean and her husband, Dominic, went up on the Ferris wheel at a fair. Dominic was shot in the stomach and died, but Carla inssts she didn't shoot him, and he didn't have a gun on him. Ibbs believes her. Several witness claim to have seen a limping man leave the scene. An impossible case? Maybe.

Ibbs is an enthusiastic amateur magician, fascinated by what he cannot see. That night, after he starts his investigation, he goes to the Pomegranate Theatre to see master illusionist, Paolini. When a dead man falls out of Paolini's crate, Ibbs insists they call the police. Paolini is later found shot in a locked room with Edmund Ibbs. Although he's arrested and protests his innocence, Ibbs' insatiable curiosity puts him in all the wrong places. Former stage magician Joseph Spector is the only one who can see the impossible solutions to all the murders.

I understand that Tom Mead is writing a puzzle mystery in the style of the Golden Age. But, this time, I felt no sympathy for Ibbs as a suspect. He put himself in several ridiculous situations. There wasn't enough of Joseph Spector for me. Carla Dean's story was interesting, but I thought the story went off the tracks when Ibbs went to the theater, and it never really regained traction. 

If I continue reading these books, I hope to see more of Spector in the future.

Tom Mead's website is https://tommeadauthor.com/

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead. Mysterious Press, 2023. ISBN 9781613164099 (hardcover), 288p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a galley through NetGalley to review for a journal.