The Man Who Could Not Shudder (1940)
My review:
A ghost story without atmosphere; indeed, it is obvious from the beginning that ghosts could have played no part in lifting the gun from the wall and shooting one of the guests at ten o'clock in the morning (rather than at the dead of night), so the reader is alert for some sort of mechanical device, which also has the power to make clocks tick without anybody nearby, cause chandeliers to swing of their own accord and thereby squash butlers, and furniture to dance a jig. The detection is sound and sober, more reminiscent of John Rhode than of Carr, with the policeman, Det. Insp. Elliot, ferreting out all the information relating to guns, chandeliers and keys, and taking the information to the omniscient but somewhat sedentary detective, who weaves a new theory from the evidence, and who recognises the significance of brown suits and lumps of sugar in determining the identity of the victim's wife's lover. Although the mehod requires a larger than usual suspension of disbelief, it is as ingenious as the double and triple twist at the end.