1. What is a closed room mystery?
A closed room mystery (sometimes called a locked room mystery) is one of the most tantalizing subgenres of crime fiction. The premise is deceptively simple: a crime—often a murder—is committed under circumstances that either make it appear impossible. It's clear that the crime was committed by someone in the room, but leaves the questions of who and how. The crime scene may be a locked room, a sealed chamber, or an isolated location where the culprit seemingly couldn’t have entered or escaped. The delight for readers comes from watching the detective unravel the paradox, proving that even the most “impossible” crime has a logical explanation.
At the heart of these mysteries lies the puzzle. They emphasize clever construction, fair play with clues, and a final twist that leaves the reader simultaneously surprised and satisfied.
2. Famous / Popular Closed Room Mysteries
The tradition of the locked room puzzle dates back centuries, but some novels have cemented the trope’s reputation:
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Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841): Often cited as the first locked room mystery, it introduced the idea of a seemingly impossible crime solved through reasoning.
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John Dickson Carr’s The Hollow Man (1935): Considered by many the definitive locked room mystery, it even includes a famous “lecture” on the mechanics of impossible crimes.
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Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (1939): While not technically a locked room in the physical sense, the isolation of an island creates the same claustrophobic “no escape” atmosphere.
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Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories: Several, such as The Adventure of the Speckled Band, flirt with the locked room format, showing its adaptability.
These works demonstrate how the format can be stretched: from literal locked doors to isolated settings, the essence is always that sense of impossibility.
3. The Knives Out Mysteries Movies - a contemporary example
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out films (Knives Out, 2019 and Glass Onion, 2022, with Wake Up Dead Man coming this fall) breathe new life into the closed room tradition.
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In Knives Out, the mystery unfolds within the Thrombey family’s sprawling mansion—a modern take on the locked house setting. Every character is trapped in a web of suspicion, and Daniel Craig’s eccentric detective Benoit Blanc must untangle the knot of lies.
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Glass Onion expands the concept by moving the story to an isolated island during a billionaire’s weekend retreat. The “locked room” here is the social circle and the cut-off location, making escape or outside interference impossible.
- In Wake Up Dead Man, the murder occurs in a closed concrete room in a church.
The trailer looks awesome, and I can't wait to see the movie. You can watch the trailer here:
These films show how adaptable the trope remains, bringing the puzzle-box feel of golden-age mysteries into the 21st century with humour, style, and social commentary.
4. The Closed Room Aspect of Murder in the Painted Mask
My mystery, Murder in the Painted Mask, takes inspiration from this long tradition. Lady Ginger Gold and her husband Basil attend a glamorous masked event at the country estate of Lady Horatia Zouch-Nettleby. When the provocative artist Lucien Valentino is discovered gruesomely murdered, the circumstances point to a classic “closed room” scenario.
The estate’s private auction and masked festivities mean that every guest is both a potential suspect and effectively “trapped” within the walls of the house. Secrets swirl behind masks, alibis crumble under scrutiny, and Ginger must determine not only who committed the murder, but how it could have happened under such tightly contained circumstances.
Like the great closed room mysteries before it, Murder in the Painted Mask balances atmosphere, glamour, and puzzle-solving, offering readers the thrill of trying to crack the impossible before Ginger herself cracks the case.
If you haven't preordered already, you can get it on Amazon or directly from me:
Early Goodreads Review:
Murder in the Painted Mask is outstanding! I love the fact the plot takes places inside an estate where everyone is appears to be clear of the crime; but are they really?
Ginger and Basil are wonderful, as always. Charles and Felicia being there with them added another enjoyable aspect to the story. Boss, too, is a crucial element in the story.
I don’t want to say too much more for the fear of giving away spoilers. I’ll leave this review with my recommendation. I highly recommend Murder in the Painted Mask and the Ginger Gold mystery series. Whether you start with this book or work your way through from the beginning, I promise you will not be disappointed.
Curl up in your favorite reading spot and start reading today! It’s worth it!
Emily Gawlak
COMING SOON
After spending a whole book in one location (pretty much) I felt the need to take Ginger far and wide, so in the next book, she's going to India!
MURDER AT THE MAHARAJA'S COURTS
