The Big Bow Mystery

"The Big Bow Mystery" by Israel Zangwill is one of the earliest examples of the locked-room mystery genre, mysteries that seem to be committed in circumstances under which it appeared impossible. Mr. Arthur Constant asks his landlady Mrs. Drabdump to be woken early. At six forty-five in the morning of a cold and foggy day, she knocks loudly on the door, but gets no answer, so she goes to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. The woman, who decides to ask for help from George Grodman, a well-known investigator who lives across the street. Once in front of the door, the detective tries to turn the handle, but it's closed, and the only thing to do at this point is to force it to find Constant lying in bed with his throat cut.