The Reader is Warned : Plot summary Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Reader is Warned

1939 novel by John Dickson Carr

The Reader is Warned
First US edition
Author	John Dickson Carr writing as "Carter Dickson"
Language	English
Series	Henry Merrivale
Genre	Mystery fiction Detective fiction
Publisher	Morrow (US, 1939) Heinemann (UK, 1939, first edition)
Publication date	1939
Publication place	United Kingdom
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded by	Drop to His Death
Followed by	And So to Murder

The Reader is Warned is a mystery novel by the American writer John Dickson Carr, who published it under the name of Carter Dickson. It is a whodunit and features the series detective Sir Henry Merrivale.

Plot summary

Sir Henry Merrivale must solve an impossible crime when a man dies in his home in such a way that it seems no one could have been sufficiently close to him to have committed murder, and it is unclear exactly how or why he died.

The circumstances are complicated by the presence of the victim's wife, a writer of clever detective stories, the disappearance of a book in which she jots down unusual methods of murder, and a strange house guest who believes that he can kill people at a distance by the use of something he calls "Teleforce".

Works by John Dickson Carr

Sir Henry Merrivale series

Novels	The Plague Court Murders (1934) The White Priory Murders (1934) The Red Widow Murders (1935) The Unicorn Murders (1935) The Punch and Judy Murders (1936) The Ten Teacups (1937) The Judas Window (1938) Death in Five Boxes (1938) The Reader is Warned (1939) And So to Murder (1940) Murder in the Submarine Zone (1940) Seeing is Believing (1941) The Gilded Man (1942) She Died a Lady (1943) He Wouldn't Kill Patience (1944) The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (1945) My Late Wives (1946) The Skeleton in the Clock (1948) A Graveyard to Let (1949) Night at the Mocking Widow (1950) Behind the Crimson Blind (1952) The Cavalier's Cup (1953)
Short stories	Merrivale, March and Murder (1991)

Novels

The Plague Court Murders (1934)
The White Priory Murders (1934)
The Red Widow Murders (1935)
The Unicorn Murders (1935)
The Punch and Judy Murders (1936)
The Ten Teacups (1937)
The Judas Window (1938)
Death in Five Boxes (1938)
The Reader is Warned (1939)
And So to Murder (1940)
Murder in the Submarine Zone (1940)
Seeing is Believing (1941)
The Gilded Man (1942)
She Died a Lady (1943)
He Wouldn't Kill Patience (1944)
The Curse of the Bronze Lamp (1945)
My Late Wives (1946)
The Skeleton in the Clock (1948)
A Graveyard to Let (1949)
Night at the Mocking Widow (1950)
Behind the Crimson Blind (1952)
The Cavalier's Cup (1953)

Short stories

Merrivale, March and Murder (1991)

Gideon Fell series

Novels	Hag's Nook (1933) The Mad Hatter Mystery (1933) The Eight of Swords (1934) The Blind Barber (1934) Death-Watch (1935) The Hollow Man (1935) The Arabian Nights Murder (1936) To Wake the Dead (1938) The Crooked Hinge (1938) The Black Spectacles (1939) The Problem of the Wire Cage (1939) The Man Who Could Not Shudder (1940) The Case of the Constant Suicides (1941) Death Turns the Tables (1941) Till Death Do Us Part (1944) He Who Whispers (1946) The Sleeping Sphinx (1947) Below Suspicion (1949) The Dead Man's Knock (1958) In Spite of Thunder (1960) The House at Satan's Elbow (1965) Panic in Box C (1966) Dark of the Moon (1968)
Short story collections	Dr. Fell, Detective, and Other Stories (1947) The Men Who Explained Miracles (1963) Fell and Foul Play (1991)

Novels

Hag's Nook (1933)
The Mad Hatter Mystery (1933)
The Eight of Swords (1934)
The Blind Barber (1934)
Death-Watch (1935)
The Hollow Man (1935)
The Arabian Nights Murder (1936)
To Wake the Dead (1938)
The Crooked Hinge (1938)
The Black Spectacles (1939)
The Problem of the Wire Cage (1939)
The Man Who Could Not Shudder (1940)
The Case of the Constant Suicides (1941)
Death Turns the Tables (1941)
Till Death Do Us Part (1944)
He Who Whispers (1946)
The Sleeping Sphinx (1947)
Below Suspicion (1949)
The Dead Man's Knock (1958)
In Spite of Thunder (1960)
The House at Satan's Elbow (1965)
Panic in Box C (1966)
Dark of the Moon (1968)

Short story
collections

Dr. Fell, Detective, and Other Stories (1947)
The Men Who Explained Miracles (1963)
Fell and Foul Play (1991)

Henri Bencolin series

Novels	It Walks By Night (1930) Castle Skull (1931) The Lost Gallows (1931) The Waxworks Murder (1932) The Four False Weapons (1937)
Short stories	"The Shadow of the Goat" "The Fourth Suspect" "The End of Justice" "Murder in Number Four"

Other novels

As John Dickson Carr	Poison in Jest (1932) The Burning Court (1937) The Emperor's Snuff-Box (1942) The Bride of Newgate (1950) The Devil in Velvet (1951) The Nine Wrong Answers (1952) Captain Cut-Throat (1955) Patrick Butler for the Defense (1956) Fire, Burn! (1957) Scandal at High Chimneys (1959) The Witch of the Low Tide (1961) The Demoniacs (1962) Most Secret (1964) Papa La-Bas (1968) The Ghosts' High Noon (1970) Deadly Hall (1971) The Hungry Goblin (1972)
As Carter Dickson	The Bowstring Murders (1934) The Third Bullet (1937) Drop to His Death (1939) The Department of Queer Complaints (1940) Fear Is the Same (1956)

As John Dickson Carr