Obelists Fly High

By C. Daly King

Book Overview

A surgeon is murdered in mid-air with only his fellow airplane passengers as possible suspects in this classic closed circle mystery set in the age of early aviation.

1935: A surgeon, the appropriately named Dr. Cutter, is preparing to fly cross-country in a two-propeller plane to perform a life-and-death surgery on his brother, the Secretary of State. Just before boarding, he receives an anonymous note that says, You will die April 13th at Noon exactly Central Time. It seems to be an absurd threat because he is scheduled to be in mid-air in the company of a small number of passengers at that hour.

Of course, he is murdered and the only suspects are in a confined area, all swearing that they saw nothing. This is the conundrum facing NYPD Detective Michael Lord before he, too, is threatened. Fortunately, he is accompanied by his friend, Dr. Rees Pons, who attempts to aid him by calling on his knowledge and experience as a psychologist.

As one of the most creative writers of impossible Golden Age detective stories, King incongruously begins with an epilogue, concludes with a prologue, and even provides a "Clue Finder" that reveals all the hints that would have helped the astute reader solve the crime that could not possibly have been perpetrated.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1613167482
• ISBN13: 9781613167489
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: American Mystery Classics
• Length: 312 Pages

Customer Reviews

Great fun

Entertaining for the story and characters, but especially charming as a portrait of a cross-country commercial airline flight in the 1930s. Have times ever changed since a 10-passenger plane was considered large! The story has some far-fetched aspects, but was great fun nonetheless. The author has even provided a list of clues, with page and line references, at the end of the book. Nice touch.

C. Daly King Flies High

An excellent book, with a smash-finish. The author, a psychologist as was his detective's Watson (Capt. Michael Lord's Dr. Love Rees Pons, to be precise), has devised a murder tale of immense complexity, dealing with the murder of a sexually possessive physician (and brother to an important American politician) on board a plane after receiving death-threats. The characterisation is good, if not excellent, but the dialogue is apposite to the characters, and the theories concerning the impossible murder on the part of an English novelist are good. Despite an alibi business which would have made Freeman Wills Crofts drool with envy (though it's not that dull,) the book must be one of the masterpieces of the Van Dine school - and, taking into consideration the fact that the Van Dine school included such people as S. S. Van Dine and Ellery Queen, as well as the awful Rex Stout, it must therefore be excellent. Read it!