The Demoniacs

I have to read something before I go to sleep and it has to be a real book, not a virtual one. If I haven't been to the library, I pull a mystery out of my bookcase to re-read. Even when I remember the plot, if the writing is good enough, the book is still enjoyable.

Last night I re-read The Demoniacs by John Dickson Carr. He was American, but the majority of his mysteries are set in England. He's famous as the master of the locked room mystery. His intellectual puzzles tend to be rather dry if you're not in the mood for them, but his historical mysteries are really fun, full of romance and adventure.

The Demoniacs takes place in eighteenth century London. It's populated with famous figures of the time like Lawrence Sterne and Justice Fielding, the brother of the author Henry Fielding and originator of the Bow Street Runners. The best thing about the book is the details: fulsome descriptions abound of the old London Bridge, Newgate Prison and Bridewell, the waxworks and the bagnio.