The Devil in Velvet [Paperback]

To solve a centuries-old crime, a man makes a deal with the devil: “The fantasy, the murder and the historical action are . . . all wonderful” (San Francisco Chronicle).

An aging scholar of Restoration history, Nicholas Fenton has long dreamed of traveling into the past. He has a date in mind—May 10, 1675—as well as a purpose: to solve the murder case of the woman he loves, his rakehell ancestor’s lovely wife. Obsessed with delivering her from danger, he turns to an unlikely accomplice: the devil.
 
After striking a bargain with the prince of darkness, Fenton awakens in the seventeenth century in the much-younger body of dashing Sir Nick Fenton. In an era when gentlemen died by the blade, Fenton is handy with a rapier, and his knowledge of local history gives him a leg up on the swashbucklers who would have his hide. But while his sword may help him rescue his beloved, it will take more than that to save his soul. Even in 1675, the devil is in the details.

“Breathless pace and ingenious plotting.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“The fantasy, the murder and the historical action are all interdependent—and all wonderful.” —San Francisco Chronicle
 
“The master of classic locked-room mysteries switches to historical adventure in this timeslip fantasy. . . . This full-blooded Restoration melodrama is great fun.” —Fantasy & Science Fiction
 
“A master magician . . . The king of the art of misdirection.” —Agatha Christie
 
“Mr. Carr can lead us away from the small, artificial world of the ordinary detective plot into the menace of outer darkness. . . . Every sentence gives a thrill of positive pleasure.” —Dorothy L. Sayers

John Dickson Carr (1lS%