The Mystery of the Yellow Room

Book excerpt: The world-famous locked-room mystery from a master of detective fiction, the author of The Phantom of the Opera. A frightful act of malice committed in Paris: the dastardly attempted assassination of the daughter of a famed scientist who was working late in his laboratory with an assistant when the attack took place in the adjacent room. A locked chamber, windows barred, no one hiding inside. The poor young lady unconscious, covered with blood, violent marks on her throat and a wound at her temple. The scientist’s revolver removed from its cabinet and sealed in the room with her. The only trace of her assailant is a large, bloody handprint on the wall. At a loss, the chief of the Sûreté telegraphs for the famous detective Frédéric Larsan to be assigned to the seemingly unsolvable case. A genre-defining novel, The Mystery of the Yellow Room follows the investigation step by step, with thorough descriptions of the crime scene to allow the reader access to the same opaque clues to the crime that the detectives have. This ebook features a new introduction by Otto Penzler and has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices. “All through there is truth, concealed with a careful and cunning use of words . . . A masterpiece.” —Agatha Christie in The Clocks