The White Elephant Mystery by Ellery Queen, Jr., 1950

 

About the author: Ellery Queen Jr. is a house pseudonym for this young adult series of mysteries.

 

Major characters:

• Djuna
• Tommy Williams, his friend
• Miss Annie Ellery, Djuna's guardian(?)
• Mr. George Boots, carpenter
• "Socker" Furlong, reporter
• "Cannonball" McGinnty, state trooper
• Alvah Grant, founder of the circus (dead prior to story)
• Sonny Grant, Alvah's son, new owner of the circus
• Norman "Spitfire" Peters, aerialist
• Trixie Cella, Spitfire's wife, aerialist
• Ned Barrow, Spitfire's catcher

Synopsis: Djuna and his friend Tommy Williams are excited when the circus comes to town, and obtain free passes from local carpenter George Boots. They meet up with their friends (from previous books) reporter "Socker" Furlong and state trooper "Cannonball" McGinnty. They learn the circus has a new owner, Sonny Grant, who inherited it after the passing of his father, Alvah Grant. Sonny is learning the business now himself, and relations are strained between him and the circus staff.

Socker and Cannonball warn Djuna to look out for grifters who travel with the circus, and urge them to only observe, but take no action themselves. As the circus opens, one grifter is caught, and aerialist "Spitfire" Peters is injured from a fall during an acrobatic maneuver. Before Spitfire is taken to the hospital, he whispers "The White Elephant" to Djuna. This is apparently some sort of clue. There are two possible white elephants in sight - a real one (enhanced with paint) in the circus, and an iron statue of one on old Alvah's Grant's lawn. Djuna finds a third one while searching for Alvah's lost will.

Review: There is a lot going on in this young adult novel, including some more grown-up themes that you won't find in the Hardy Boys. I was surprised at how young and independent Djuna and Tommy are, perhaps age 12 or 13, going from town to town with little supervision, riding around in a police car, sneaking into the hospital, and staying at a hotel with no adults along. 

The story revolves around the coming to town of the circus. The descriptions of the complex setup and arrangements are well done, and show inside knowledge of how it all comes together. Mixed in to this are some shady characters, grifters (with explanations of how some grifting is accomplished), threats, a shooting, explanations of legal implications of wills and the results of dying intestate.

This story brings to my mind how kids used to roam around town unsupervised (as I did) and never got into any messes, so unlike today when they are monitored - in person or electronically - every moment.

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block. 

The titles in the Ellery Queen Jr. series are:

• The Black Dog Mystery (1941)  
• The Golden Eagle Mystery (1942)  
• The Green Turtle Mystery (1944)  
• The Red Chipmunk Mystery (1946)  
• The Brown Fox Mystery (1948)  
• The White Elephant Mystery (1950)  
• The Yellow Cat Mystery (1952)  
• The Blue Herring Mystery (1954)  
• The Purple Bird Mystery (1966) 
• The Mystery of the Merry Magician (1954) 
• The Mystery of the Vanished Victim (1954) 

Ellery Queen, Master Detective by Ellery Queen, 1941

 

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This title was also pubished as The Vanishing Corpse (Pyramid Books, 1968).

About the author: According to Francis M. Nevins,  this title (based on the screenplay) was ghost written by Laurence Dwight Smith (1895-1952). (from Ellery Queen, A Website on Deduction by Kurt Sercu)

 

Major characters:

• John Braun, health promoter
• Lydia Braun, his wife
• Barbara Braun, their estranged daughter
• Cornelia Mullins, Braun's assistant
• Rocky Taylor, Cornelia's husband
• Claude L. Zachary, Braun's lawyer and manager
• Dr. Jim Rogers, Braun's health article ghost writer
• Dr. Garten and Dr. Henderson, cancer specialists
•  Amos, Braun's gardener; and Joseph, his pet raven
• Nikki Porter, Barbara's roommate, a mystery writer
• Ellery Queen, Private Investigator
• Richard Queen, his father
• Dr. Samuel Prouty, medical examiner

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: Famous New York City health farm owner John Braun calls his employees in to tell them he has camcer, and perhaps six weeks to live. He is closing the health farm. He is also changing his will to leave his estate - exclusively - to his wife Lydia Braun. He is cutting out their daughter, Barbara Braun due to a disagreement over her marriage plans. She wants to marry Dr. Jim Rogers, who Braun employs as a ghost writer of his health articles; but Braun disapproves. 

With death imminent, the family tries to locate Barbara with the help of the police. She is staying - well, hiding - with mystery writer Nikki Porter, who resembles her. Ellery Queen tries to help out, and goes to the apartment to find her. Nikki Porter pretends to be Barbara, and is taken to the Braun home.

Nikki, thinking this a swell plot for a mystery, finds her way into Braun's suite. She observes him lock the door from the inside, then retreat to his bedroom. Later, trying to find her way out, she discovers his body - with its throat cut. 

Review: This story introduces Nikki Porter, who will become EQ's girlfriend throughout the series. This story also plugs several other EQ books along the way, Hardy Boys style. The health farm fad seems reminded me of Jack LaLanne and his fitness empire, which flourished a few years after this story. 

The story moves right along. I had to reread some to get a handle on how the Braun suite was laid out, as that is pertinent to the plot; and to understand how Nikki got herself locked inside.

The body gets lost - twice - in a couple of amusing episodes, and the reactions of the indignant medical examiner are enjoyable.

The hook behind the disappearing murder weapon is a stunt recycled in later EQ books as well.

It's hard to see, but the illustration on the cover is Claud Zachary kneeling on the floor as he throws the books of the business into the furnace. 

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block. 

 

Drury Lane's Last Case by Barnaby Ross (Ellery Queen), 1933

 

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About the author/series: Barnaby Ross is a pseudonym of Ellery Queen. There are four books in the Drury Lane series:

• The Tragedy of X, 1932
• The Tragedy of Y, 1932
• The Tragedy of Z, 1933
• Drury Lane's Last Case, 1933

Major characters:

• Dr. Alonzo Choate, retiring curator of the Brittanic Museum
• Hamnet Sedlar, incoming curator of the Brittanic Museum
• Dr. Ales, a bibliophile
• Mrs. Lydia Saxon, patronne des arts
• Gordon Rowe, a young scholar
• Donoghue, guard at the Brittanic Museum
• George Fisher, bus driver
• Mr. Drury Lane
• Inspector Thumm, retired Inspector of Detectives
• Patience Thumm, his daughter

Locale: New York City and environs

Synopsis: A heavily disguised, anonymous man hires (now) private investigator Inspector Thumm to hold a sealed envelope him indefinitely; stating it holds "a clue to a secret" on which he is working. The man will phone Thumm monthly to let him know he is OK, and if he fails to phone on schedule, Thumm is to open the envelope in the presence of Drury Lane.

Meanwhile, a mystery is developing at New York's small Brittanic Museum. A bus tour of 17 Indiana schoolteachers, driven by George Fisher, had toured the museum. It is discovered two men had stowed away on the bus, and later a museum display case is found smashed. At the same time, museum guard Donoghue has disappeared.

The mystery man fails to phone the following month. Thumm and Lane open the envelope to find a simple notation: 3HS wM. At the museum, it is found a rare book was stolen from the display case and another book substituted. Thumm, Patience, and Lane seek to sort out the mystery consisting of several similar books and two similar people (Sedlar and Ales). Then one of them is found murdered, but which one is it?

Review: The setup is interesting and the action good to follow, although it gets confusing quickly between different versions of a book, and confusion between Hamnet Sedlar and Dr. Ales. The last portion of the book consists of discussion of various theories - all long and involved - before the solution is painfully analyzed. As in the other Drury Lane titles, the dénounement takes way too long. The final act in the book is somber as it brings the series to an end.

  

The Tragedy of Y by Barnaby Ross (Ellery Queen), 1932

 

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About the author/series: Barnaby Ross is a pseudonym of Ellery Queen. There are four books in the Drury Lane series:

• The Tragedy of X, 1932
• The Tragedy of Y, 1932
• The Tragedy of Z, 1933
• Drury Lane's Last Case, 1933

Major characters:

• York Hatter, chemist, dead as story begins
• Emily Hatter, his wife/widow
• Louisa Campion, Emily's daughter by her first husband
• Barbara Hatter, a poet
• Conrad Hatter, a waster
• Martha Hatter, Conrad's doormat wife
• Jackie Hatter, Conrad and Martha's 13-year old son
• Billy Hatter, Conrad and Martha's 4-year old son
• Jill Hatter, a hedonist
• Captain Trivett, a peg-leg old sea dog
• Mrs. Arbuckle, cook and housekeeper
• Drury Lane, investigator
• Walter Bruno, District Attorney
• Inspector Thumm
• Dr. Schilling, medical examiner
• Dr. Merriam, family doctor

Locale: New York City and environs

Synopsis: In The Tragedy of X, X stood for the murderer. In this book, Y stands for the first victim, York Hatter. As the story begins, the body of chemist York Hatter is pulled from the water. Medical Examiner Dr. Schilling determines he was poisoned, apparently self-administered as he left behind a suicide note. 

York leaves behind a dysfunctional family: his widow, overbearing Emily Hatter, three children (poet Barbara Hatter, waster Conrad Hatter, and party girl Jill Hatter) and a stepdaughter, Louisa Campion (by Emily's first marriage). Louisa is severely disabled, being blind, deaf, and non-verbal.

Routinely, housekeeper Mrs. Arbuckle prepares a glass of egg-nog for Louisa each afternoon, placing it in a certain spot on the table. One afternoon as Louisa approaches, 13-year old Jackie Hatter (son of Conrad and his doormat wife Martha Hatter) gets there first and takes a gulp, and reacts violently. He recovers under the care of family doctor Dr. Merriam, who finds the egg-nog poisoned with strychnine, and calls in the police as an attempted murder of Louisa. Inspector Thumm consults with Drury Lane, but additional deaths occur before it can be resolved. 

Review: This was a dark book, on several levels, albeit a product of its time. There is the condescending treatment of Louisa due to her disability (although she does contribute vital clues). There is the episode near the end as the writer explains an unnamed "shameful disease" has. spread through the family, and is part of the motive of the crimes. While off-limits in 1932 to discuss sexually transmitted diseases., the symptoms and presentation certainly indicate syphilis, given to Emily by her first husband, resulting in Louisa's disabilities, and further infecting her second husband and their children. Finally, there is the cringy discussion on the last page of what to do with the murderer. The result is not explicity stated, but my interpretation is that Drury Lane arranges his own justice to be served, resulting in the murderer's own death.

Those aspects aside, Drury Lane turns in a good performance, and realistic in that he tries various approaches, not all successful; yet he plugs on. The use of his theatrical skills are minimal, and even rejected at one point. 

There is a lot of precision involved in the solution - various measurements (all carefully documented) of heights, footsteps, shelf spacing, etc. and elaborate descriptions of arrangement of bottles on shelves, and so on. 

The solution - the identity of murderer and what drove the murderer to act - is pretty clever and an approach I had not seen before.

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.

 

The Perfect Crime by Ellery Queen, 1942

 

Major characters:

Ellery Queen, detective

Nikki Porter, his secretary

Walter Mathews, young millionaire

John Mathews, his uncle, a stock swindler

Carlotta "Aunty Carlo" Emerson, Walter's maiden aunt with the on/off accent

Togo, her pet chimpanzee

Arthur Rhodes, a lawyer, partner of John

Raymond Garten, rare book collector

Marian, his daughter, fiancée of Walter

Henry Griswold, his librarian

Locale: New York City

Synopsis:

Rich Walter Mathews comes to ask Ellery Queen for his help. His uncle, John Mathews, has swindled many people with oil well stock scams; including Raymond Garten, the father of Walter's fiancée, Marian Garten.

Raymond Garten, now broke, is forced to auction his beloved rare book collection. Altruistic Walter has an idea: He gives Ellery $250k to purchase the collection for him as a third-party, so Raymond will be unaware Walter is the buyer. He plans to give it to Marian as a wedding gift, so that it will stay in the Garten family and Raymond will be unable to refuse it. Ellery buys the lot and moves it to Walter's home; next door to the Mathews home.

No sooner has this been accomplished than John Mathews is found dead in his study. 

Review:

This book is prefaced with "Based on the Columbia Motion Picture Ellery Queen and the Perfect Crime", an ominous admission that it was back-written from the movie - generally a bad sign, and one that the Queen authors (Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee) had little to do with writing it. Eye-rolling continued when I find that one of the characters is a chimpanzee who has been taught how to shoot a gun (thought this sort of thing went out with Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue).

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a respectable, concise plot; in the same vein as Queen's country-titled novels of the same era (Chinese Orange, French Powder, etc). My 1942 Grosset & Dunlap edition has a sketch map of the crime scene in Chapter 6 (p. 75), which is essential if you wish to figure out how the murder occurred, and careful study of the map itself may provide the answer for you.

A rather humorous aside is the conversations in which the investigators speculate 1). does a chimpanzee have fingerprints, and 2). if so, is it possible to take them?

The Dutch Shoe Mystery by Ellery Queen, 1931

 

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About the author: Ellery Queen is a crime fiction pseudonym created in 1929 by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and later used by other authors under Dannay and Lee's supervision. Dannay and Lee's main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. (from Wikipedia - full article). 

Major characters:

• Abigail "Abby" Doorn - hospital benefactor, victim #1
• Hulda Doorn - her daughter
• Hendrik Doorn - her brother
• Sarah Fuller - her companion/housekeeper
• Dr. Francis Janney - head surgeon, victim #2
• Dr. John Minchen - medical director
• Philip Morehouse - attorney
• Moritz Kneisel - a scientist
• Lucille Price - a nurse/secretary

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: Ellery Queen drops in to Dutch Memorial Hospital for a quick visit with his old friend, Medical Director Dr. John Minchen. Minchen gives him (and the reader) a tour, and invites him to stay and observe an operation on the hospital's benefactor, Abby Doorn. A diabetic, she had fallen and injured her gall bladder.

Ellery takes a seat in the operating theatre's gallery. The patient is brought in, but something is wrong. She is dead, garroted with wire. Ellery takes charge of the scene until the authorities arrive.

It is quickly determined the deed was done in the adjacent Anteroom. While the patient was there, someone dressed in hospital uniform came in and bent over the patient. The nurse assumed it was surgeon Dr. Francis Janney, due to his signature limp, but it seems someone posed as him to gain access to the patient. Janney was meeting at the time with Thomas Swanson, who can provide a solid alibi, but Janney is secretive about Swanson's identity. The perpetrator's clothes are found stashed in a phone booth, including two canvas uniform shoes, one of which is the shoe of the title.

Doorn's attorney, Philip Morehouse (also Hulda Doorn's boyfriend), is questioned about possible motives. Abby was about to sign a second will, but died before signing, so her first will remains in force. The first (but not the second) leaves a significant amount to scientist Moritz Kneisel, who has a secret laboratory in the hospital; which is dependent on her funding.

Review:  I enjoyed this one, it moved right along and mixed in a number of red herrings along the way.

The brief period in between making a new will and signing it is quite hazardous in Golden Age mysteries, and this one is no different.

My edition has two sketch maps, one of. the entire hospital floor, and one of Janney's office; both are helpful in following the action. . 

The shoe thing comes up rather quickly after murder #1, but then there is no mention at all of it until the denouément at the very end. The solution, as explained by Ellery, is really a logic grid puzzle of this type, in which only one person has a certain set of characteristics, so he has to plod through all of them in a tedious manner:

I found three things unexpectedly amusing:

1. The "Interlude" in which the case is reviewed by the Queens - and is printed using extra wide margins for note taking by the reader! A funny gimmick which I am sure caused headaches for the printer. Fortunately, no prior owner of my copy ever availed themselves of this option.

2. One occurrence of the n-word. However, as soon as it is uttered, the speaker is reprimanded that "we don't use that word any more!" (So why is it in there at all?)

3. The description of the operating room states the doors "swung open on heavily oiled hinges" - one of my favorite mystery tropes! I even have a blog page devoted to their oiliness.

Also see this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.

The Scarlet Letters by Ellery Queen, 1953

 

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About the author: Ellery Queen is a crime fiction pseudonym created in 1929 by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and later used by other authors under Dannay and Lee's supervision. Dannay and Lee's main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. (from Wikipedia - full article). 

Major characters:

• Martha Lawrence, wealthy with lots of old money
• Dirk Lawrence, her jealous husband, a writer
• Ellery Queen, amateur detective
• Nikki Porter, Ellery's secretary
• Van Harrison, a fading washed-up actor
• Leon Fields, gossip columnist

Locale: New York City

Synopsis: Ellery Queen becomes aware of trouble in the three-year old Lawrence marriage. Martha, independently wealthy, has taken on a token position as a play director to cover up her absences for her affair with fading leading-man actor Van Harrison. Harrison has a mansion in Darien, Connecticut; yet has no visible means of support.

Martha and Harrison have devised a coded method for arranging their trysts, using letters of the alphabet to indicate locations around Manhattan. Husband Dirk gradually catches on, and starts cleaning his old army gun.

Ellery fears violence is at hand, and seeks to prevent it. He installs secretary Nikki Porter in the Lawrence apartment, ostensibly to assist Dirk in his dictation; but really spying on him and trying to predict his moves.

Review: The Ellery Queens always have a hook, and this one is the alphabet code. It is revealed early on and we just follow along as Martha and Harrison have their little hookups.  The title refers to their coded letters which were typed in red characters, and also hints at Martha's adultery as written in Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 book The Scarlet Letter.

I expected a murder mystery, but this is not one. There is a murder, which finally occurs near the end, and there is no mystery about it. 

One aspect I enjoyed was the limited cast of characters. The list above is it. There are no red-herring cardboard characters introduced just to fill up a suspect list.  The gossip columnist Leon Fields is an interesting character, I enjoyed reading how he works and decides what to publish and what to withhold. A tiring aspect is following Martha and Harrison though most of the alphabet.

The modern reader should be aware that in the "old days" typewriters could use a bi-color ribbon (black and red) and select the type color as they went along.

Please note that like a few other Queen stories, there are homophobic slurs slipped in here and there. There are also several cheap plugs for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. 

The Glass Village by Ellery Queen, 1954

 

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About the author: Ellery Queen is a crime fiction pseudonym created in 1929 by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and later used by other authors under Dannay and Lee's supervision. Dannay and Lee's main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. (from Wikipedia - full article). 

Major characters:

• Judge Lewis Shinn
• Johnny Shinn,  the Judge's distant cousin
• Laban Hemus, a local farm hand, killed in a fight Joe Gonzoli
• Joe Gonzoli, itinerant farm worker who killed Laban
• "Aunt" Fanny Adams, elderly artist
• Ferriss Adams, her grand-nephew
• Josef Kowalczyk, itinerant 
• Judge Andrew Webster
• Roger Casavant, art expert

Locale: Shinn Corners, somewhere in rural New England

Synopsis: New Yorker Johnny Shinn comes to visit his distant cousin, Judge Lewis Shinn. The Judge is the local 'head' of rural Shinn Corner, a small village slowly fading away in the shadow of two larger nearby towns (Comfort and Cudbury). He is preparing to give his traditional Fourth of July oration on the town square.

The Judge tells Johnny of the long-standing animosity between the dwindling local 'Puritans' and outsiders. Years ago, the situation escalated when farm hand Laban Hemus found his girlfriend, Adaline Greave, lying with itinerant farm worker Joe Gonzoli in the hay loft. Enraged, Laban went for Joe with a pitchfork. Joe replied with a knife, killing Laban. The townsfolk wanted vengeance on Joe for killing their native son, but it went to trial and he was acquitted on self-defense.

Now an itinerant farm worker, Josef Kowalczyk, has visited artist "Aunt" Fanny Adams, spillting her firewood in exchange for a meal. When he leaves, she is found dead; and the outrage against outsiders grows. Kowalczyk is brought to a sham trial (intended to calm the locals). The underlying fear is that if he is innocent, one of their own imust be guilty.

Review: The opening is a poignant story of a fading small town, and Ellery Queen describes small town life like no other. My edition has a sketch map of the town and the writer takes us through each street and building introducing the characters.

There is no Ellery Queen, detective in the story. That role is played by Judge Shinn and Johnny Shinn. Their plan to calm the locals and find the killer is clever, although frought with danger. The process of elimination to find the killer is suspenseful, even though it ultimately fails to do so. The answer is found when an outside art expert arrives on the scene.

The Fourth Side of the Triangle by Ellery Queen, 1965

 

About the author: Avram Davidson ghost-wrote this title, from an outline by  

Frederic Dannay.

Major characters:

• Dane McKell, aspiring writer
• Ashton McKell, his father; a.k.a. Dr. Stone
• Lutetia McKell, his mother
• Judy Walsh, Ashton's secretary
• Sheila Grey, the other woman
• "Aunt" Sarah Vernier, Dane's godmother
• Ramon Alvarez, chauffeur

Locale: New York City

Synopsis:  Wealthy Ashton and Lutetia McKell live in a palatial New York apartment. Their son, Dane McKell, is more interested in being a writer than following in his father's business footsteps, but has yet to be successful at it. 

There is a sudden upset when Lutetia, sensing Ashton is becoming distant, asks what is wrong; and Ashton reveals there is "another woman". Lutetia takes this in stride, and focuses on being the obedient wife and avoiding any sniff of scandal in society, and in their church.

Dane feels it is his duty to break up this illicit romance, but doesn't know the identity of the other woman. He follows his father to an assignation to learn the woman is fashion designer Sheila Grey, and she lives in the penthouse of the same apartment building. She is young - about the same age as Dane. Since Ashton does not want to be recognized visiting her, he assumes a disguise as "Dr. Stone", even to carrying a physician's bag.

Dane sees Sheila in the guise of researching her industry for his book. He gradually falls in love with her, and when she rejects his marriage proposal, he attempts to strangle her. He leaves, and in the interval before Ashton arrives, Sheila is shot by a person unknown.

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

Review: This book is written in four chapters, each named for a "side of the triangle".

Chapter 1, "Sheila", moves right along as we follow Dave discovering his father's elaborate disguise and the other woman's identity. It opens with some historical McKell family background which fleshes out the family characters nicely and helps the reader understand their Victorian background, and ends with Sheila's murder.

Chapter 2, "Ashton" covers the arrest of Ashton for the murder.

Chapter 3, "Lutetia" covers her arrest for the murder, following Ashton's acquital.

Chapter 4, "Dane" leads us to the murderer, with a nice red herring episode, following Lutetia's acquital. Not too many possibilities left!

This book follows a typical Queen methodical formula of chapters, and also includes a solution which involves solving a formula left behind by the deceased. I had the murderer all picked out but on the last pages I found I was wrong. 

A nice aspect of this story is the limited cast of characters. It is never difficult to keep track of who is who. Another unique aspect is that Ellery solves the case from his hospital bed (following breaking both legs skiing).

I was a bit skeptical that this ghost-written title could stand up to the Queen reputation, but it does easily. 

Queen's Full by Ellery Queen (1965)

 

This title includes three novellas (they call them 'novelets') and two short stories (they call then 'short shorts'.

The Death of Don Juan (novella): Scutney Bluefield buys the vacant Bijou theatre in Wrightsville, and sets out to revitalize it. He produces The Death of Don Juan and brings in washed-up Equity actor Mark Manson to star. But Manson injures himself, and they scramble to find a last-minute substitute: hard-drinking Foster Benedict. He trashes the first act, going off-script and making improper advances to the heroine, played by Joan Truslow. Before the second act can begin, someone stabs Benedict in his dressing room.

The Wrightsville Heirs (novella): Bella Livingston, wealthy widow, announces to her three stepchildren that she is writing a new will - putting her live-in companion, Amy Upham, first in line to inherit her millions instead. This, naturally, results in Bella's murder before (as the murderer thinks) she can do so. Then someone is trying to do away with Amy to speed up the process. And, there is something strange about the will too. 

The Case Against Carroll (novella): Attorney John Carroll is challenged by partner Meredith Hunt - he has discovered Carroll has 'borrowed' $20,000 from a client's account. Hunt is then found shot, and Carroll is the #1 suspect. Carroll has a solid alibi, although he is loathe to use it - for he was spending the night with Hunt's wife, Felicia. She is the only one who can clear him, and then she is found dead.

E= Murder (short story): This very short story is the typical length found in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Dr. Agon is found murdered, having left a cryptic name-the-murderer note which no one can understand.

Diamonds in Paradise (short story): Lili Minx, seven-times divorced Broadway star visits a gambling den. A police raid occurs, and in the confusion, her diamond earrings disappear. The thief is quickly found, but falls to his death trying to escape. His dying words are a clue to the location of the diamonds.

Mini-review: An odd aspect of this book is that the table of contents does not list the stories in order, but rather sorts them by length - making navigating the book a bit counter-intuitive. 

The Death of Don Juan is predictable just from the structure of the story - a character is introduced in detail early, but then disappears from the story. I immediately picked that character as the (future) murderer - and I was right. The Wrightsville Heirs is a solid conventional mystery with an interesting twist. The Case Against Carroll is definitely intriguing and different, pay attention with this one - it does not end as you expect. E=Murder relies on some arcane academic knowledge, not quite fair to the reader. Diamonds in Paradise is rather silly, with a typical Queen 'mystery' based upon characters misunderstanding a homonym. 

The Wrightsville Heirs and The Case Against Carroll are definitely worth the read.

The Four of Hearts by Ellery Queen (1938)

 

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About the author: Ellery Queen is a crime fiction pseudonym created in 1929 by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and later used by other authors under Dannay and Lee's supervision. Dannay and Lee's main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. (from Wikipedia - full article). 

Major characters:

John "Jack" Royle, actor

Tyler Royle, his son 

Louderbach, the Royle family servant 

------------

Blythe Stuart, actor

Bonnie Stuart, her daughter

Tolland Stuart, her father, a mountain hermit

Clotilde, the family French maid 

------------

Joe DiSangri Allesandro, casino owner
Alan Clark, theatrical agent
Jacques Butcher, a.k.a. Butch, the Boy Wonder, Magna Pictures VP
Lew Bascom, Magna Pictures writer
Sam Vix, Magna Pictures publicity agent

Arthur William Park, a studio extra
Paula Paris, syndicated columnist

Inspector Glücke

Ellery Queen

Locale: California 

Synopsis: Ellery Queen is in Hollywood, on a short term contract to come up with a story for a detective movie for Magna Pictures; aided by writer Lew Bascom.

Magna Pictures has two famous actor families: The Royles (John "Jack" Royle and his son Tyler Royle) and the Stuarts (widow Blythe Stuart and her daughter Bonnie Stuart). Jack and Blythe have been feuding for years, and likewise their children. The studio comes up with the idea of a real-life biographical picture featuring the stars playing themselves. Surprisingly, they agree, and contracts are signed. Then, a surprise: Jack and Blythe suddenly patch things up and announce their engagement.

A quick wedding takes place on the airport tarmac, where Tyler's private plane waits to fly them to their honeymoon on remote Reed Island, owned by Jacques "Butch" Butcher, VP of Magna. After the ceremony, an unknown person dressed up in a pilot's flying togs overpowers Tyler and - impersonating Tyler - gets into the plane and flies off with Jack and Blythe. 

The plane does not arrive at Reed Island. A large search eventually finds it on a mountain plateau. Authorities arrive to find Jack and Blythe dead inside from poison, but no sign of the pilot. Bonnie becomes distraught and is taken to the nearby mountain retreat of millionaire hermit Tolland Stuart, her grandfather. She is treated by Tolland's personal physician, Doc Junius.

No one seems to have a motive as no one benefits by their deaths, but Ellery finds a possible clue: Blythe had been receiving a series of anonymous playing cards in the mail, bearing the insignia of the Horseshoe Club, a casino owned by Joe DiSangli Allesandro.

Review:

A key plot element centers around the remailing service business - so a bit of explanation is called for. This sort of thing has gone by the wayside, but it used to be a big deal.  I remember seeing in the 1960's - 1980's plenty of listings in the classified ads for these. It was a way of hiding out. You send your stamped mail to a remailing service in a distant city, and for a fee they would drop it in the mail for you from there, getting the distant city's postmark (as "evidence" that you are there) in the process. These were used by people who didn't want other people (a spouse, a bill collector, etc.) to know where they really were - handy for sending ransom notes, alimony, child support checks, and Dear John letters.

This was a nice early Queen, a real page turner, and a nice break from the New York City locale. It never got bogged down. The deaths had no apparent motive, and the actual motive, when discovered, was clever. The solution was a bit complex but that was of necessity. 

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.

And on the Eighth Day by Ellery Queen (1964)

 

photo: L. W. Currey Inc.

About the author: John on Goodreads writes: Most of the Ellery Queen mystery novels of the sixties were ghostwritten by other authors. Avram Davidson, better known for his fantasy/sf fiction, wrote And On the Eighth Day based on an outline by Frederick Dannay, half of the Ellery Queen writing team.

Major characters:

• Otto Schmidt, storekeeper
• The Teacher
• The Successor
• Storicai the Storesman
• Ellery Queen

Locale: The Nevada desert

Synopsis: It is 1944 and Ellery Queen is just finishing up a job in Hollywood producing films for the war errort. He drives across the desert into Nevada, and stops at a remote outpost, The End of The World Store, Otto Schmidt, proprietor. While there, he encounters two strange men: one quite old, one middle-aged; dressed in robes and speaking in a stilted old fashioned English. They pay for their supplies with a large silver coin.

Ellery gets his own supplies and inquires on the best route. He gets confused in the desert, and winds up approaching a lush agricultural community in an isolated basin. He is welcomed by the old man from the store, who introduces himself as The Teacher, leader of their community; and his protegé, a young man called The Successor. 

The community is an independent town of several hundred, and have developed their own ways and customs; eschewing contact with the outside. They are religious, and follow practices which are a mix of Christianity, Judaism, and other beliefs. The town operates smoothly, and Ellery (called El-roi Quenan) is welcomed as someone the prophets had foretold would arrive prior to a time of great trouble.

The Holy Congregation House is their church. The Teacher and The Successor live there. There is a sacred room, the Sanquetum, which holds their prayer scrolls, a holy book of some sort, and their 'treasure', consisting of (originally) fifty silver dollars, obtained from selling some possessions in their move. The dollars have diminished a bit, 19 of them having been used over time to purchase supplies from The End of The World Store, where a sympathetic Otto Schmidt takes the rare silver dollars into the city to sell them and credit the group's account.

As foretold, trouble begins. Someone has been trying to get into the Sanquetum. Then their inventory manager, Soricai the Storesman, is found murdered. It is the first crime to occur in their community, and Ellery steps in to investigate.

Review:

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD* I cannot write about this book without revealing the following plot line.

About halfway through, the reader, if at all familiar with the account of the resurrection of Jesus in the Bible, will realize we are in a carefully constructed allegory. Most of the major events of the crucifixion/resurrection are present, applied to the current day - even some of The Teacher's dialogue at his trial is taken verbatim from the Bible.

• "Teacher" is another name used for Jesus in the Bible.
• The Teacher decides to sacrifice himself in order to save others.
• The Teacher is betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.
• The Teacher is tried, convicted, and sentenced to death.
• The Teacher invites Ellery to share his last meal of bread and wine on Thursday, reminiscent of The Last Supper.
• The Teacher leads his followers up the hill to his execution on Friday.
• The Teacher dies on the hill on Friday.
• On Saturday, the only event: Ellery wept.
• On Sunday, the surprise appearance of Manuel (emmanuel) from the heavens.

I enjoyed the book, especially the descriptions of how the independent community organized themselves. 

The only loose end was the revelation of the sacred book - it did not seem to make sense to me how it became so, and what the point of it was. Suffice to say, it was not a religious book, and has no connection to the Bible.

The New Adventures of Ellery Queen by Ellery Queen (1940)

 

dustjackets.com

About the author: Ellery Queen is a crime fiction pseudonym created in 1929 by Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee, and later used by other authors under Dannay and Lee's supervision. Dannay and Lee's main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve baffling murders. (from Wikipedia - full article). 

Synopsis: This is a collection of a novella (The Lamp of God) and eight short stories; four of which are sports-related (baseball, football, prizefighting, and horse racing).

The Lamp of God (Novella): Ellery Queen is asked to accompany lawyer Thorne on a mission to pick up Alice Mayhew, coming from England by ocean liner, and bring her to the estate of her late father, Sylvester Mayhew. They drive to remote Long Island to find the estate consists of two houses, the older "Black House" and a more modern "White House." Sylvester lived and died in the Black House, now a derelict shambles. His family lives in the White House. Sylvester claimed to have converted his fortune into gold for Alice, his heir, and hidden it in the Black House. Ellery, Thorne, and Alice are put up in the White House. In the mornng they discover the entire Black House has completely disappeared, and likely the gold has disappeared with it.

The Treasure Hunt: Ellery visits retired military man Major-General Barrett in his fortress-like home on the Hudson River. Barrett's daughter, Leonie, discovers her $25,000 pearl necklace missing. The grounds and persons are thoroughly searched, but it cannot be found, and it is proven no one could have entered or left the estate.

The Hollow Dragon: Mr. Jito Kagiwa disppears suddenly from his Westchester home, along with a large, heavy doorstop decorated with dragons. Bill Gallant, Kagiwa's stepson, offers an explanation but Ellery is skeptical. Kagiwa is later found dead. 

The House of Darkness: Ellery and Djuna take a day off to visit the amusement park. In the haunted house, they find a dead body. A man had been shot in complete darkness, but how?

The Bleeding Portrait: Ellery visits Lord Gramerton's home where a legend surrounds an oil painting of the patriarch: that the portrait bleeds whenever the current Lord Gramerton's wife is unfaithful. While Ellery is there, it happens again.

Man Bites Dog: Ellery attends a New York Yankees game. Ex-pitcher Big Bill Tree is in an adjacent box with his girlfriend, and his wife is also attending. Bill falls dead after eating a ballpark hot dog.

The Long Shot: Ellery visits a race track and works with a desperate owner who has one chance left, to win the race and the big purse. 

Mind over Matter: A prizefighter is beaten by a challenger, and found dead in his car, parked next to Ellery's. Ellery's missing coat provides the vital clue.

The Trojan Horse: A football team tries to maintain its winning Rose Bowl record, and in the midst of it a collection of precious jewels goes missing.

Review: I had earlier reviewed the first set of short stories, The Adventures of Ellery Queen (1934), and found them lacking due to racial stereotypes, cruelty to animals, and other issues; and so hoped this later collection to be an improvement. It is, although it still contains racist language not used today.

The Lamp of God has such a unique solution I remembered it from reading it 20 years ago, still a solid story. My favorite of the collection is The House of Darkness, with great descriptions of the haunted house setup in the amusement park. The Trojan Horse was very good - even though I do not understand football at all, I was able to follow it just fine. 

The Bleeding Portrait was ho-hum, with a much too long wordy buildup to a sleepy solution. The Hollow Dragon is full of Asian stereotypes, spoken by the other characters, still distasteful.

Also see this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block.