Written in 1931 by Ellery Queen, this is the third in the series written by two American cousins from Brooklyn. They chose the pseudonym Ellery Queen for both their detective and the 'author' of the mysteries. Each of the first nine mysteries written has a place in the title, such as The Roman Hat Mystery and The French Powder Mystery. The character of Ellery is a mystery writer and amateur detective who helps his father, New York Police Inspector Richard Queen, to solve baffling murders.
The lead of over 30 novels, the Ellery Queen name was also used for popular detective anthologies founded by the cousins which continue to this day. In 1961 they were awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America.
These are mysteries in the classic 'Golden Age' style, meaning they are 'fair play whodunits' whose clues are revealed at the time they are to the detective himself, and with careful attention the answer to the puzzle could be deduced. Indeed each mystery includes a 'challenge to the reader' near the end of the book declaring the reader has been given all the clues Ellery had, and that only one single solution was possible, which can't be said of every mystery.
In The Dutch Shoe Mystery, the richest woman in America is about to undergo a delicate operation. As benefactor of the hospital, she awaits the finest surgeon in a diabetic coma, as her anxious family awaits outside to operating room. The door is opened and her body is wheeled into the room - and the doctor sees she is dead - strangled with a wire! The hospital is locked down and everyone questioned. The doctor and nurse are above reproach, and state she was alive awaiting surgery moments before. It's a classic 'locked room' set-up. No one had entered the room.
Ellery investigates a secret experiment in the basement run by a doctor whose funding was cut by the woman, a strange man who was visiting the head surgeon moments before has now disappeared, and various family relationships involving long lost sons are revealed. He even has time to add in a romantic entanglement.
Complex and absorbing, I forgot to pay too much attention to whodunit, I just enjoyed the ride.
There was so much that was puzzling, and it was so rich a novel, it's hard to believe it was written 84 years ago. On page 175 there is an Interlude 'in which the Queens take stock' to help you compose yourself - with space in the margins provided for your notes! By the time page 253 came around with the challenge to the reader (where Ellery breaks the fourth wall and addresses the reader directly), I had only a slim guess, and was truly surprised when I heard the solution. Perfect.
Another fun feature of this mystery are the chapter names, such as: Operation, Agitation, Visitation, Revelation, Strangulation, Examination, Impersonation, Corroboration, Implication - and so on for 30 titles! Clever touch.
I was lucky enough to find a nice hardcover for my Triangle Books collection.
Entertaining and unique - I haven't read a mystery so rich in a very long time.
1931 / Hardcover / 305 pages
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