The Maze (The Detective Club)

By Philip MacDonald

1932

First Published

3.24

Average Rating

208

Number of Pages

6H21M

Audio Length

The ultimate murder mystery - can you find the murderer before the detective? Maxwell Brunton was found dead in his study – murdered beyond doubt. There were ten people in the house on the night of the murder, and at least seven of them had an adequate motive for murdering him. But Anthony Gethryn has only the evidence given at the Coroner’s inquest to work with. In other words YOU, the reader, and HE, the detective, are upon equal footing. HE solves the mystery. Can YOU? The Maze, first published in 1932, is Philip MacDonald’s contribution to the conception of the totally logical puzzle – an exercise in ratiocination, as Poe called it – which so preoccupied detective story writers in the ‘Golden Age’ of the 1920s and ’30s. Written in the form of a court transcript, it is the ultimate puzzle novel, an absolutely fair test of the reader’s ability as a detective . . . an enthralling story – one of Philip MacDonald’s best. This Detective Story Club classic includes an introduction by Julian Symons, who selected The Maze for the Crime Club’s 1980 Jubilee reprint series, celebrating the best of 50 golden years of crime publishing.

Avg Rating

3.24

Number of Ratings

5 STARS

12%

4 STARS

22%

3 STARS

47%

2 STARS

18%

1 STARS

goodreads

Author

Philip MacDonald

Author · 12 books

Philip MacDonald (who some give as 1896 or 1899 as his date of birth) was the grandson of the writer George MacDonald and son of the author Ronald MacDonald and the actress Constance Robertson. During World War I he served with the British cavalry in Mesopotamia, later trained horses for the army, and was a show jumper. He also raised Great Danes. After marrying the writer F. Ruth Howard, he moved to Hollywood in 1931. He was one of the most popular mystery writers of the 1930s, and between 1931 and 1963 wrote many screenplays along with a few radio and television scripts. His detective novels, particularly those featuring his series detective Anthony Gethryn, are primarily "whodunnits" with the occasional locked room mystery. His first detective novel was 'The Rasp' (1924), in which he introduced his character Anthony Gethryn. In later years MacDonald wrote television scripts for Alfred Hitchcock Presents ('Malice Domestic', 1957) and Perry Mason ('The Case of the Terrified Typist', 1958). He twice received an Edgar Award for Best Short Story: in 1953, for 'Something to Hide', and in 1956, for 'Dream No More'. Indeed many critics felt that his short story writing was superior to his novels and they did win five second prizes in the annual contests held by 'Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Oliver Fleming, Anthony Lawless, Martin Porlock, W.J. Stuart and Warren Stuart.