''The Eight of Swords'', first published in February 1934, is a detective story by American writer

John Dickson Carr John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 – February 27, 1977) was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and ...

, featuring his series detective Gideon Fell. It is a

mystery novel Mystery is a fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually provided with a credible motive and a re ...

of the type known as a

whodunnit A ''whodunit'' (less commonly spelled as ''whodunnit''; a colloquial elision of "Who asdone it?") is a complex plot-driven variety of detective fiction in which the puzzle regarding who committed the crime is the main focus. The reader or viewer ...

Plot summary

Mr. Septimus Depping is found dead in his Gloucestershire country house, shot with his own gun and holding a card from the

Tarot deck Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card ...

, the

Eight of Swords The Eight of Swords is a Minor Arcana tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least t ...

, which stands for "condemning justice". Among those present is an Anglican bishop who is an expert in criminology, and sees wanted criminals in every parlourmaid, and Henry Morgan, who writes exciting mystery novels under two different names. Mr. Depping turns out to have been an American criminal, and Gideon Fell must penetrate the secrets of his American associates, as well as his British life in retirement in order to bring home the crime to the unlikely criminal.

References

1934 American novels Novels by John Dickson Carr Novels set in Gloucestershire Hamish Hamilton books Harper & Brothers books {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub