This was such a fun read! I haven’t read this series before, but I loved the characters and the descriptions were so vibrant I felt like I was there. Creepy, funny, and clever, I enjoyed it all. It gave off Sherlock/poirot/And Then There Were None vibes. Thank you for letting me read it!

Release Date: 14 August 2025

A locked-room whodunnit with a classic, atmospheric feel! The House at Devil’s Neck is the fourth book in the Spector Locked Room series, but as a first-time reader of Tom Mead’s work, I can confirm it absolutely stands alone.

Set in a spooky old mansion that once served as a First World War field hospital, the novel brings together an intriguing mix of characters: Imogen, a determined reporter; Francis, a paranormal enthusiast; Virginia, a grieving mother; Madame Adaline La Motte, a spiritualist; and my personal favourite, Joseph Spector—a professional trickster turned sleuth.

When the house is cut off by floods and a ghostly soldier is rumoured to be causing mischief, the eerie atmosphere intensifies. But when guests start turning up dead, Spector and Inspector Flint must untangle the mystery before another victim—perhaps even Spector himself—falls prey to Devil’s Neck.

With plenty of twists and turns, this is a cleverly plotted, engaging mystery that keeps you guessing. The perfect blend of cosy crime and gothic suspense, it’s a must-read for fans of locked-room puzzles and classic detective fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

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I loved the different characters in this book! The storytelling is concise and riveting, and I thought this was perfect to read on a plane or train as it’s entertaining and easy to get through. I liked the twists at the end and all the world building.

This is a sort of late night review after having turn the last page. it's the best in this series, a series which improves with each new novel.
Fast paced, a page turner that kept reading till very late in the night.
There's gothic atmosphere, plenty of twists and turns, locked rooms, tricksters, plenty of surprises. It's fast paced and I couldn't stop reading if if I had to get up by 6.30 and it was nearly 2 am. Sleep deprived and happy
It also helped to solve my reading slump and I thoroughly enjoyed.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thanks to Aria & Aries and Net Galley. This is the fourth book in the series and i would say it is the best, it is absolutely fantastic, I couldn't put it down. I loved the back and fourth between Flint's story and Spector's and the time difference slowly catching up until the two merge. The twists just keep coming too. I really hope there will be a fifth, will be interesting with the seting now in WW2

The fourth title in the Joseph Spector series.

This book was excellent. The mystery begins with Spector joining a coach trip to the Haunted ‘Hotel’ called Devil’s Neck. Meanwhile, Inspector Flint and Sergeant Hook are investigating an apparent murder made to look like suicide in London. The two stories run alongside each other with details emerging that show they must be connected, though it’s only at the explosive climax that the true picture is revealed!

I love Mead’s writing. In the characters of Spector and Flint he has created a detective duo that are obviously intelligent but have to work out the solution to the mystery with the same information provided to the reader. The heavy weight left by World War 1 on the characters as the world stands on the cusp of a fresh conflict is also particularly poignant.

As always the mystery is clever and I loved the opportunity to try to solve the case before the main characters (spoiler - I only half managed it!). The setting was also heavily reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (definitely to the benefit of the story) though it remained a unique and original tale.

I thoroughly recommend this book. Although it is the fourth in the series it can easily be read as a standalone as the brief references to previous titles don’t require you to have detailed knowledge and don’t spoil those stories. For those who haven’t had the pleasure though the first title is Death and the Conjurer and I thoroughly recommend it as well!

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher ***

We have a book with an intense “Golden Age of Mystery” flavor and I couldn't be more happier about it!

In this story we have our detective Joseph Spector, who I confess is the first time I've had contact with him, trying to unravel a series of deaths that take place in the Devil's Neck house.

I have to confess that when I started to get into the story I thought there would be a lot of occultism and spiritualism going on, but I was sorely mistaken. Tom managed to make that theme overshadow what was happening in the narrative.

For a reader of classic crime thrillers, I can tell you that there are several tropes here, such as locked room murder, mistaken identities, optical illusions, and suicides disguised as murders and vice versa. In fact, it's these tropes that enrich the story. However, I have to highlight the fact that The Reader's Challenge was so good to have in the story, reminiscent of Ellery Queen in his works.

The only negative point is that at the moment when the truth was revealed, I felt so confused by the names and all the detective's detailed explanations that I had to read that part more than once (note: I'm Portuguese, so maybe that's why it didn't work so well for me).

Finally, the whole narrative is written with detail, a wealth of vocabulary (so I'm Portuguese, I had some difficulty understanding them, but the dictionary helped), and, above all, by an author whose admiration for the Golden Age of Mystery is perfectly evident.

More Tom Mead in this contemporary age, please!

Thank you to Netgalley, The Aria and Aries team, and the author for the opportunity to read : The House at Devil's Neck

☆Initially drawn in by the cover and title but stayed because the story was absolutely fantastic.☆

I'm a bit late to the Joseph Spector series, but this could be read easily as a stand-alone. Although there were a few references to other stories, they didn't make me feel excluded as a reader or hinder my enjoyment of the story. It encouraged a spark of curiosity about the other books.

The story moves between two locations and two groups. First, there is a suicide (or is it?) in a London townhouse with the investigation being led by Scotland Yard's George Flint. The incident has similarities to a mystery from 25 years ago.

Meanwhile, Joseph Spector and a couch party arrive at the isolated location of Devil's Neck .

Devil's Neck has a dark past and hides secrets of its own.
The visitors conduct a seance to reach the spirit of a soldier. But things start to get chilling as the guests begin to die one by one.
As flood water rises, the house is cut off, turning it into an island. There's no leaving. The party soon realise they are caught with the killer. One of their own or a phantom solider?

It was a superb cast of characters, and the writing made me feel like I was at Devil's Neck and very suspicious of them all!

I enjoyed reading for clues and piecing it all together. The mystery was so clever, and the reveals and conclusions had me cheering out loud. I loved the intricacies and how the story was put together.

The ending and how everything came together was just wonderfully satisfying.

The author's voice is that of a very good storyteller, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time reading.

🔎🔎🔎🔎/5

Another chilling and gripping locked room murder mystery with Flint (who deserves more praise than he gets) and Spector. By this, the fourth book, the writer really has a handle on his characters, his puzzles and his confidence is very much on show with a story that ties into the real world with the tragedy of the Titanic and the even bigger tragedy of the Great War weaving throughout the story, as plot points, reflections and how things have changes. All the while, history is repeating, not only in a supposed suicide the echoes a death 25 years in the past, but also the larger conflict that is brewing in Europe.

This one was very much like a ghost tale, a horror story conjured up in a house, on an island, not unlike another from 'And Then There Were None'. The bodies start to rack up quickly, as all paths converge on a mysterious house where nobody and nothing is as it seems. And there's a super creepy puppet that freaked me out, so bravo.

As with previous books, there are tricks within tricks, answers within answers and a world that shifts completely depending on how you look at it.

A brilliant read and I'm curious, with history marching on, where book 5 (hopefully there is one) will take us...

~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review of the book~

I really enjoyed this book. Ghosts, seances, magic and intrigue, is anyone really who they seem to be. I know the story didn’t always flow and it’s possible to pick holes in some of the storyline but read it for what it is, an enjoyable story. I would definitely recommend.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC