Ellery Queen's name lives on today mainly through the wonderful mystery magazine which bears his name, and I suspect that there are plenty of modern readers who are unfamiliar with the Ellery Queen novels. Yet the books written by Ellery Queen (a pen-name for two cousins) and starring a young and brilliant amateur detective whose father was, conveniently, a cop, made a huge impact during the Golden Age, and for decades afterwards. It's interesting, however, that when I give talks about Golden Age fiction, I'm sometimes asked if there were any American counterparts to Christie, Sayers, and company. Mention of Ellery Queen's name is often greeted by blank faces.
The Greek Coffin Mystery, first published in 1932, was the fourth Queen novel, and is widely regarded by connoisseurs of Golden Age fiction as a classic example of the cerebral whodunit. There is a cast of characters - 33 of them, plus six staff detectives, are named. There is a foreword, explaining that this case occurred very early in Ellery's sleuthing career. There's a map of the location of the main action. There are two floor plans. There is a jaunty "challenge to the reader". There are no fewer than four elaborate solutions to the mystery put forward at various times. And there is a contents list which reveals that the initial letters of the chapter titles form an acrostic, giving the title of the book and name of the author. What more could any Golden Age fan want?
A elderly, blind Greek art dealer and collector dies of heart failure at his residence in New York. But was he blind? Did he die of natural causes? These questions spring instantly to mind, but aren't really central to the mystery. A missing will - another classic Golden Age ingredient - certainly is, and so is the discovery of the body of someone who is undoubtedly a murder victim.
The plot twists and turns, and it almost goes without saying that it's very cleverly constructed. That long list of characters is a clue to one of the story's flaws - there are so many people in it that it's not entirely easy to keep them all straight in one's mind, and it's certainly impossible to care about the fate of most of them. And I do find the early Ellery a bit wearisome - he became more human and, to my mind, more appealing in later books. But if it's an ingenious plot you're after, this novel certainly delivers.
It surprises me that the "modern reader" wouldn't even recognize the name Ellery Queen, but perhaps it shouldn't. The first of his books I read was CAT OF NINE TALES, and thought it was pretty good. Much later, I tried THE SPANISH CAPE MYSTERY and I enjoyed it. Later still, I read the Wrightsville books and didn't care for them at all, mostly because Ellery couldn't seem to land on a final ending, which drove me crazy.
ReplyDeleteIf I were going to try another, it would be this one of THE CHINESE ORANGE MYSTERY.
Thanks for the review, Martin. :) Would you say this is your favourite Ellery Queen mystery? Or are there others you would recommend?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rick. I guess EQ may be better remembered in the US than the UK. I read Chinese Orange long ago, though was slightly disappointed with it - although the key clue is very clever.
ReplyDeleteHi Jonathan. My favourite to date is Calamity Town, but I have others I'm keen to read, including Ten Days' Wonder.
ReplyDeleteI remember enjoying this one. Of the other Queens I’ve read, THE DOOR BETWEEN - a clever locked room mystery, as I recall - stood out, although I read a very disparaging comment about it recently on somebody’s blog. As a character, Ellery Queen himself does rather shift in and out of focus across the books, however.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with this one and the hugely overrated Chinese Orange. If I can recommend one from the early period, then do take a look at The Siamese Twin Mystery. It's much more atmospheric and has one of my favourite tricks of any mystery...
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest looking at the titles originally published under the Barnaby Ross name? I remember enjoying these, particularly The Tragedy of Z.
ReplyDeleteI had a problem with Calamity Town - it seemed to me that there was a very obvious question that should have been asked at an early stage (I won't mention it exactly to avoid spoilers, but it was roughly "Why would X have done Y in advance of the events...?)