The golden age of the detective novel has left many star names — A. Christie, G. K. Chesterton, G. Mitchell, and others. In this bright constellation, John Dickson Carr (1906–1977) occupies the most honorable place. In Carr's works, there are no frantic chases and shootouts, and the circle of suspects is maximally limited. Murder in a locked room is the author's favorite plot. Carr entangles the reader in a web of deceptive moves, false clues, and subtle hints, inviting them to participate in the solution of an ingenious puzzle, unraveling the threads of 'impossible' crimes.
The novel 'The Reader is Warned' continues the series of investigations of Henry Merrivale, an eccentric fat man who was recognized as one of the most extraordinary detectives in detective literature. The owner of a country house in Surrey dies before the eyes of his guests for unknown reasons, and medicine is powerless to explain it. The case is complicated by the fact that his death was predicted by one of the guests, a mysterious 'telepath' who claims that a murder can be committed by thought.
The novel was first published in 1939 under the pseudonym Carter Dickson. It is being printed in a new translation.
