In 1939, the final meeting of the Unravellers was held in the room above Alberto’s restaurant. The various members of the crime-studying group go their separate ways as war descends over Europe and they never held another meeting. Thirty years later, one of the group, Dorothea, tries to stage a reunion, but before it can happen, one of their number, Major Stokes, is found dead.
Stokes, who over the years had believed more and more conspiracies that people where out to get him, had taken precautions. His house was securely locked, with many ways to track the passage of anyone entering, such as talcum powder on the floor. So, if he was killed, how did it happen without anything being disturbed?
Invisible Green is the second and unfortunately last mystery novel written by John Sladek, better known for his science fiction work. It’s difficult to find an affordable copy, but not as hard as some books out there – despite this, I resorted to the Bodleian to finally get my hands on it (for a couple of hours at least). I’ve been looking for a copy for ages as it’s on that list of best locked room mysteries that was curated by Edward D Hoch – I think it was number 11.
And while I don’t agree with some of the books on that list, or at least their positions on it, this one is rather wonderful.
There’s so much to like here. There’s some nice work with the characters, especially the paranoid and doomed Stokes, and a couple of clever locked room mysteries – okay, the first one is very questionable as to its practicality but that’s hardly rare in this genre. The second one is very clever and all through the book, the reader finds themselves pondering what’s happening. And the pattern that provides the title of the book gives a nice little puzzle to ponder as well…
All in all, this is a marvellous book, as ever overdue for a reprint. So, well, someone reprint it…
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
Yes, an absolute corker of a book, likely so overlooked purely on account of the era that birthed it. A crying shame, it really does deserve a reprint.
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How does it compare to his other one?
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I think Black Aura is less accomplished — the cast is less cleanly drawn, the setup a little more elaborate, and one of the impossibilities is infuriating. This is his masterpiece for me.
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Don’t listen to JJ! Black Aura is a gem of a retro-Golden Age detective novel and the best locked room mystery from the post-WWII period, anyone claiming otherwise is just spreading disinformation!! And that includes my own positive review of Invisible Green!!!
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Aaaah, and the universe is in balance again 🙂
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The universe might be, but I’m not!
Guess I’ll have to read it – be the deciding vote…
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I’m going to put it on my reread list; can lend you a copy if you need it.
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I’m afraid we’re going to have to revoke your puzzle PhD…This book was tied for #14 on Hoch’s list, along with Too Many Magicians by Randall Garrett
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Black Aura was good but having just read this – my copy was in transit when you wrote your review – Invisible Green is better. A brilliant if quite impractical locked room murder method and the mental image of the the third murder will stick with me for a long time.
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OK, so it’s 2-1 now. But I think I still need to read Black Aura…
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Definitely – it’s still well worth reading. A shame he only wrote these two.
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