The Crimson Circle · Chapter
XVII: The Blower of Bubbles explained
Derrick Yale and Inspector Parr investigate the murder of Felix Marl.
What happens
Derrick Yale and Inspector Parr investigate the murder of Felix Marl. Parr reveals Marl was under police suspicion and that the killer used a novel method: poison gas delivered via soap bubbles through a ventilator. Yale deduces the technique and finds evidence of a steel cylinder and soap solution. The chapter also hints at Brabazon's financial troubles and possible motive.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it reveals the psychological reversal where Raphael Willings, k…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Crime and Punishment
The murder of Marl and the investigation into the Crimson Circle's methods.
- Deception and Identity
Marl's secret past and his hidden connection to the Beardmore case; the killer's disguised method.
Characters to notice
- Derrick Yale
Investigates Marl's murder, deduces the bubble poison method.
- Mr. Parr
Reports the murder and Marl's prior surveillance; accompanies Yale to the scene.
- Felix Marl
Found dead in his bed, victim of poison gas bubbles.
- Mr. Barnet
Burglar who broke into Marl's house, heard hissing and found the safe open.
- Brabazon
Banker who closed Marl's account; under suspicion for financial troubles and possible hold over him.
Key passages
“I thought it all out on the way here. The circular patch on the pillow reminded me of my own boyish exploits and their disastrous effect when I started blowing bubbles in the bedroom.”
Yale explains that the wet circle on the pillow made him think of blowing soap bubbles as a child, leading him to the murder method.
Yale's deduction of the bubble poison technique.
“The end of this cylinder—you can still feel the slime of the soap upon it—was first dipped into the soap solution, then thrust through the grating. The tap was turned down and a bubble formed, which was shaken off.”
The killer dipped the cylinder end in soap, inserted it through the ventilator, and released bubbles of poison gas onto Marl.
Detailed explanation of the murder method.
