An enthralling locked room mystery, The Abandoned Room focuses on the mysterious circumstances under which Silas Blackburn has been murdered at The Cedars, an eerie and isolated country estate. The most obvious suspect to the murder is Bobby Blackburn, the victim’s grandson who seems to have the best motive for the murder, although he has no recollection of the fateful night. Furthermore, Camp integrates a vibrant array of characters, detailed description, supernatural occurrences, and a generous supply of suspense, which in turn build up the novel’s allure.
The story begins with the details surrounding the discovery of Silas Blackburn’s body in an abandoned bedroom in his home which had long been avoided due its troubling history involving the deaths of family members. To make things even more puzzling is the fact that Silas appeared to have been locked inside the room. The story then goes back to the day before the discovery of Silas’s body, and introduces his grandson Bobby, a young man who lives a lively lifestyle, much to his grandfather’s dismay. Consequently, his way of life is threatened by his grandfather’s warning to have him removed from his will, and therefore leaving him without a substantial amount of money to finance his carefree lifestyle. After having a talk with his good friend Hartley Graham, who advises him to go visit his grandfather, Bobby decides to listen to his counsel, but is quickly sidetracked by a dinner appointment with Carlos Paredes and Maria. The next morning Bobby wakes up in an old house near his grandfather’s home, though he cannot remember how he got there or any of the events following the dinner. Ashamed to be seen by his grandfather in such condition, he decides to return to New York, but on his way he is intercepted by a county detective who accuses him of his grandfather’s death. Left with no recollection of the previous night, Bobby is in a state of doubt, and things only intensify when even more mysterious events unfold inside the mansion.
A page-turner certain to keep readers on their toes till the very last page, The Abandoned Room presents a tale that is full of excitement, twists, suspense, diverse characters, and a masterfully crafted plot written in an easy-to-follow style that marks the novel as a true mystery classic.