Ishmael Jones is an alien with moderate powers (sense of smell, speed, strength). Along with Penny Belcourt, he solves mysteries. Into the Thinnest Air by Simon R Green is the fifth book in this series. In this locked-room mystery, dinner companions at the Castle Inn disappear without a trace, while the survivors try to figure out what happened. The Castle Inn has a long history, and most theories tend towards the supernatural. Ismael suspects otherwise.
The Castle Inn was a smugglers’ hideout and, famously, the scene of an 1886 dinner hosted Elliot Tyrone where he poisoned everyone. He was hung from the single tree outside the inn. He blamed his actions on Voices. The Inn has since been shrouded in mystery and danger. The hanging tree, long gone, reappears like a ghost, other people disappear and hear voices, and eerie stories abound.
The dinner is attended by old friends who planned to renovate the Inn and run a successful tourist business twenty years ago. That venture failed, and the friends were all ruined. Albert and Olivia left town and have now returned with their lottery winnings to try again. Vicar Thomas and Eileen, together with journalist Jimmy and author Valerie, all stayed, feeling trapped by the failed business.
This short book (167 pages) has little action aside from the six disappearances which happen silently and invisibly. That leaves mostly discussions and arguments along the lines of “What happened?” and “What should we do now?” With all this discussion, I found the reveal to be disappointingly obvious from the beginning.
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