The Hollow Man (Carr novel)

The Hollow Man
First UK edition
AuthorJohn Dickson Carr
LanguageEnglish
SeriesGideon Fell
GenreMystery, Detective
PublisherHamish Hamilton[1] (UK) & Harper (USA)
Publication date
1935[1]
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages303[1]
Preceded byDeath-Watch (1935) 
Followed byThe Arabian Nights Murder (1936) 

The Hollow Man (The Three Coffins in the USA) is a 1935 locked room mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr, featuring his recurring investigator Gideon Fell. It contains in chapter 17 the often-reprinted "locked room lecture" in which Dr Fell speaks directly to the reader, setting out the various ways in which murder can be committed in an apparently locked room or otherwise impossible situation.

The book received high praise from many critics, and in 1981 was selected as the best locked room mystery of all time by a panel of 17 mystery authors and reviewers.[2]

  1. ^ a b c "British Library Item details". primocat.bl.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Why are locked room mysteries so popular?". BBC News. BBC. 21 May 2012.