The Abandoned Room - Charles Wadsworth Camp

Rating:



Summary:
The Abandoned Room follows the tale of who killed Silas Blackburn at the Cedars. It was a dark night, and as far as anyone could tell, he was locked in the old room by himself. Mysteriously, he is found dead the next morning. The top suspect (the nephew Bobby) has no alibi and no memory of that night. He believes he did it because he has the motive. The investigating officer is ready to pin it on Bobby, but he cannot figure out how the murderer was able to get into the locked room. So he spends the night in the locked room. The next day, he is found dead and the evidence that he had on his person is gone. Now, two new investigators arrive and try to discover the culprit.

Analysis:
At first I was I was thoroughly enjoying the book until someone mentioned that the murder could have been done by a ghost. Then, I was irritated. I didn’t want to read a book when the culprit was a ghost. But I continued reading holding out in hope that the perpetrator was an actually a person. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised with who solved it and who did it. It was a well-written story with a well-planned plot that will keep you guessing until the very end.

“I knew my man had made a big mistake—the sort of mistake every criminal makes no matter how clever he is—and I had him.” ( The Abandoned Room 32 )

“You trying to make a fool of me? That isn’t healthy.” ( The Abandoned Room 35 )

“With a perfectly simple play staring me in the face I nearly made the mistake of choosing a difficult one. That would have got me in trouble while the simple one gives me the game. Why are people like that?” ( The Abandoned Room 166 )

“The shroud of loneliness and abandonment descending upon the Cedars became for them nearly ponderable. So they turned from that brooding picture, and hand in hand walked out of the forest into the friendly and welcoming sunlight ” ( The Abandoned Room 167 )

7/15/10 – 8/3/10