The Dead Sleep Lightly and Other Mysteries from Radio's Golden Age

By John Dickson Carr

A collection of nine mysteries, based on original radio plays written during the forties and fifties This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385187149
• ISBN13: 9780385187145
• Release Date: May 1983
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 181 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Suspenseful, Surprising Radio Mysteries

John Dickson Carr excelled at creating "impossible" crimes and then explaining how they occurred. To enjoy Carr's mysteries, you must like puzzles that have intricate solutions, and not mind that a few aspects may be difficult to follow. While Carr's solutions are clever, these mysteries were written in the 1930s to 1950s, so there may be an occasional clue that doesn't hold up in today's CSI era. Though some will disagree, Carr's most entertaining mysteries are those that feature Sir Henry Merrivale (written under the name Carter Dickson). THE DEAD SLEEP LIGHTLY includes nine of Carr's radio dramas, which are tighter (and much better) than the stage plays in "13 To The Gallows." Since they are short, there's less time for suspense to build and little character development. But you get 9 surprise endings in one book, rather than just one in the typical 200-page mystery, and most of them are very effective. Two of the dramas feature Dr. Gideon Fell. TDSL is a must for Carr fans, and should also please others. If you're new to Carr and prefer to start with a full-length novel, try one of these Henry Merrivale mysteries: "The Curse of the Bronze Lamp," "Nine--and Death Makes Ten," "He Wouldn't Kill Patience," "A Graveyard to Let," "She Died a Lady."