Scan barcode
joctrem's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Suicide
school_librarian60's review against another edition
5.0
This book had an amazing twist that I did not see coming. For the first time in a while I was blown away by a book's ending.
allieperkins's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
swathi_narasimhan's review against another edition
4.0
This is quite a fat book for a cozy mystery. I picked it up after googling for authors similar to Christie who writes cozy mysteries. Strongly being recommended for me, I started this book. This is my first read of the author and I look forward to more.
Ellery Queen is the son of inspector Richard Queen who assist in solving murders. There are lot of characters in the book and it took quite sometime to get to know them. Honestly, it took quite some time to get to know the psychology of the characters. The ending came as a surprise to me. And the last shot where Ellery 'takes the dias' to explain the whole mess is fantastic. It reminded me of Poirot, though he explains before revealing the murderer and Queen does it after.
It has quite a bit of humour and the plot is woven nicely. All the clues are put-forth to the reader as well. And it perfectly sums up.
I was right in guessing half of the mystery, the other half needed much more attention to even the minutest of the detail.
If you are a cozy-mystery lover, go for it!
Ellery Queen is the son of inspector Richard Queen who assist in solving murders. There are lot of characters in the book and it took quite sometime to get to know them. Honestly, it took quite some time to get to know the psychology of the characters. The ending came as a surprise to me. And the last shot where Ellery 'takes the dias' to explain the whole mess is fantastic. It reminded me of Poirot, though he explains before revealing the murderer and Queen does it after.
It has quite a bit of humour and the plot is woven nicely. All the clues are put-forth to the reader as well. And it perfectly sums up.
I was right in guessing half of the mystery, the other half needed much more attention to even the minutest of the detail.
If you are a cozy-mystery lover, go for it!
natalie_and_company's review against another edition
2.75
A refreshing Detective Mystery that is quite a bit less dry than something you might read about Sherlock Holmes. I very much enjoyed it and thought the full cast of characters was well-written and considered an enormous amount of details put in to make the mystery misleading in just the right way. Although by the fourth monologue given by the main character stating they had the answer I was a bit tired. I was pages away from finding out the answer and was rapidly losing interest because the main character was once again monologuing and stating he had indeed found the actual answer. Its unfortunate because I was really enjoying it all the way up until that point.
art_cart_ron's review against another edition
4.0
My first Ellery Queen novel, and technically his as well (first case chronologically).
This is a mystery lover's mystery. If you want something other than a straight up labyrinth of a mystery, you probably should look elsewhere.
It's a novel from 1932. Anybody expecting 2020 sensibilities may want to talk to their doctor about that expectation. That said - it's considered among the best mystery novels ever written, and the people who broadcast such considerations are obsessively informed.
While characterization was less a priority at that time, especially with a pretty broad cast of characters (my copy had a reference page in the front to help you keep track of them all - and I used it a couple of times), I think there's enough. More elaboration could upset some of the careful conditions of the puzzle box. I like Ellery and his father quite a bit, and look forward to reading more about them.
I didn't find it to be a fast read. It was difficult to motivate myself to choose it over other entertainment at times (I'm not actually a mystery reader most of the time). But at the end of the day, it worked quite well - and was a fair mystery that plays by rules. It spools out great reveals throughout the last 20% or so.
The red herrings are enjoyable and plentiful. I latched onto one and felt anxious that it was too clear and I anticipated disappointment for a little while. That's a heck of a thing to manipulate a reader to feel.
I'll trust Ellery Queen in the future.
This is a mystery lover's mystery. If you want something other than a straight up labyrinth of a mystery, you probably should look elsewhere.
It's a novel from 1932. Anybody expecting 2020 sensibilities may want to talk to their doctor about that expectation. That said - it's considered among the best mystery novels ever written, and the people who broadcast such considerations are obsessively informed.
While characterization was less a priority at that time, especially with a pretty broad cast of characters (my copy had a reference page in the front to help you keep track of them all - and I used it a couple of times), I think there's enough. More elaboration could upset some of the careful conditions of the puzzle box. I like Ellery and his father quite a bit, and look forward to reading more about them.
I didn't find it to be a fast read. It was difficult to motivate myself to choose it over other entertainment at times (I'm not actually a mystery reader most of the time). But at the end of the day, it worked quite well - and was a fair mystery that plays by rules. It spools out great reveals throughout the last 20% or so.
The red herrings are enjoyable and plentiful. I latched onto one and felt anxious that it was too clear and I anticipated disappointment for a little while. That's a heck of a thing to manipulate a reader to feel.
I'll trust Ellery Queen in the future.
katieanne4's review against another edition
2.0
I probably won't read any more from this series. The idea is that it's a logic puzzle where you are given all the information you need to figure out the answer, and it felt a little like that-- too clinical, not enough of the human element. From the beginning, when all the characters were introduced at once and I couldn't keep anyone straight, I knew that this wasn't going to be as good as my favorites: Dorothy Sayers, P.D. James, Rex Stout-- they have recurring characters but each mystery features a different cast of suspects and discovering their various stories as we come closer to solving the case is a big part of the appeal for me.
marystevens's review against another edition
A wealthy art collector and gallery owner in a midtown Manhattan mansion in the 1930s (I think) is found dead, apparently of a heart attack. No mystery there. But the will, which is known to have been changed the day before is death, is missing. The presumptive heir is able to call in the US District Attorney! Well, so it happens in Ellery Queen's privileged world. The first mystery, then, is to find the will and this Ellery attempts to do by eliminating every possible place except the coffin itself. Exhumation follows, and lo and behold, our man has company in his casket! So it goes. One mystery is solved, that leads to another, which Ellery solves, leading to a further mystery. This is my first taste of Ellery Queen. The puzzle aspect of the mystery is very satisfying. The writing itself is OK. I lost my copy on the bus and I'm not motivated enough to take it out from the library. Does that give you a clue?