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vesper1931's review against another edition
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Margaret Oell known as The Canary is found strangled in her locked apartment by her maid. District Attorney John Markham invited Philo Vance to the crime scene. As they and the police investigate.
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published 1927
An entertaining historical mystery
Originally published 1927
bioniclib's review against another edition
4.0
Unlike the first book, this murder mystery has The Great Philo Vance stymied.
The murdered lass is a star of the stage and wildly popular to her adoring fans, but to the guys she leads on and blackmails? Not so much. With each of the suspects having an airtight alibi (don't they always) the culprit remains a mystery (obviously). Then there's the fact that Vance posits there being two men in the room, when even one was thought to be unlikely is a great twist. Almost as good as where the gal's voice came from on that fateful night at that fateful time.
I really can't go much more into things without giving too much away. But suffice it to say, Vance is fast joining the likes of Poirot, Marlowe, de Luce, and Holmes as my favorite sleuths.
The murdered lass is a star of the stage and wildly popular to her adoring fans, but to the guys she leads on and blackmails? Not so much. With each of the suspects having an airtight alibi (don't they always) the culprit remains a mystery (obviously). Then there's the fact that Vance posits there being two men in the room, when even one was thought to be unlikely is a great twist. Almost as good as where the gal's voice came from on that fateful night at that fateful time.
I really can't go much more into things without giving too much away. But suffice it to say, Vance is fast joining the likes of Poirot, Marlowe, de Luce, and Holmes as my favorite sleuths.
giugiu25's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
rouge_red's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
Rough start because there was a lot of flipping back and forth between the story and footnotes, but the notes lessened as we got into the book, so this is only a minor gripe. The story was actually pretty interesting and took its time in a satisfying way. Philo Vance is a character and not entirely unlikeable, even though he's definitely a showoff. Not a bad book and I could read more, but the intro does say the books become less interesting so...unless I'm really hankering for another mystery writer to read, I'll probably go elsewhere.
hannah850's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-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
3.75
swathi_narasimhan's review against another edition
4.0
Another golden age mystery and its a treat to read one. As usual, Van Dine surprises the reader at the end with who and how parts. My only problem with the book was that, The language was difficult to understand at parts. Also, a game of poker provides considerable insight into a person’s character. I do not know how poker is played, so it was hard to get by there. Otherwise its a great great read.
k_lee_reads_it's review against another edition
4.0
A classic locked room mystery.
I find Philo Vance bugs me much less than Poirot, but the police are not shown as competent at sll.
Still it is escape fiction in my favorite genre.
I find Philo Vance bugs me much less than Poirot, but the police are not shown as competent at sll.
Still it is escape fiction in my favorite genre.