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mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this up because I have been watching the Ellery Queen television series with Jim Hutton and David Wayne, and I used to read and buy Ellery Queen novels back when I was a teenager. (Right now, the only one I own is the excellent [b:Cat of Many Tails|1951436|Cat of Many Tails (Ellery Queen Detective, #20)|Ellery Queen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1292842622l/1951436._SY75_.jpg|2458721].) It's possible I have read this before, but it's been decades.
What struck me with this debut novel was how strongly the emphasis was on Inspector Queen, not Ellery. Our murder occurs during a Broadway play, and the first third of the book covers the hours immediately following the discovery of the death, with Inspector Queen marshalling a ton of detectives to interrogate and investigate. It reads almost like a procedural instead of a whodunit. And that focus continues straight to the end, where the Inspector delivers the final exposition on the who, how, and why. Ellery does much of the deduction, but he's much less central than his father, and I was disappointed as a result.
The mystery was good, but not stellar, and there are a few notes that can be off-putting to the modern reader. (There's some discussion of "negroid blood", and I'm not sure what to make of Djuna, the Queen's boy servant.) I found it mostly enjoyable, but I don't feel the need to keep on making the nostalgia trip.
What struck me with this debut novel was how strongly the emphasis was on Inspector Queen, not Ellery. Our murder occurs during a Broadway play, and the first third of the book covers the hours immediately following the discovery of the death, with Inspector Queen marshalling a ton of detectives to interrogate and investigate. It reads almost like a procedural instead of a whodunit. And that focus continues straight to the end, where the Inspector delivers the final exposition on the who, how, and why. Ellery does much of the deduction, but he's much less central than his father, and I was disappointed as a result.
The mystery was good, but not stellar, and there are a few notes that can be off-putting to the modern reader. (There's some discussion of "negroid blood", and I'm not sure what to make of Djuna, the Queen's boy servant.) I found it mostly enjoyable, but I don't feel the need to keep on making the nostalgia trip.
lvyy's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
judyward's review against another edition
3.0
The first novel in the Ellery Queen series written by cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee. Ellery is an amateur detective who is fixated on books and bookstores and who, on occasion, assists his father, a police inspector, in solving complex crimes. Published in 1929, this novel reflects the culture of the 1920s and the reason for the crime has to be considered in light of that fact. A hit Broadway show, Gunplay, is the setting for the murder of Monte Field. Becasue of the explosions and gunfire contained in the play, no one in the audience notices the murder until someone literally stumbles over Field. The only clue is the ded man's missing top hat. Ellery to the rescue.
naomisbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
melli80's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to this one on audio, I’m not a fan..! It was a good story but slow and kinda confusing. Maybe if I read this author instead of listen I might feel differently.
jno's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
makennajoy17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jessmanners's review against another edition
2.0
I don't really know why, but this book just couldn't hold my interest. The pacing felt off--too much time focusing on minutiae before we knew why to care about it (or the people involved), and it felt like some of those minor points were explained to death (as it were) more than once.
Eventually, it became clear that the victim was actually a bad dude, but I never cared about any of the suspects, and then, of course, the motive, when it's finally revealed, is, err, problematic.
I think, in theory, Queen (or, the two (!) people who actually wrote the novel, although I confess I forget their names right now) is trying to do something sort of interesting by placing a tough hard-boiled American cop in a formal detective novel, but it doesn't quite gel. It just means that Queen, Sr. is prone to get annoyingly angry.
Oh, also, I was sure that the obsequious apologizing to the beautiful, rich, young lady would be either a feint on their part, or prove to be some sort of clue, but no--she really was just that upset to find that a dead man had her bag, and they really did feel that bad about...telling her?
Eventually, it became clear that the victim was actually a bad dude, but I never cared about any of the suspects, and then, of course, the motive, when it's finally revealed, is, err, problematic.
I think, in theory, Queen (or, the two (!) people who actually wrote the novel, although I confess I forget their names right now) is trying to do something sort of interesting by placing a tough hard-boiled American cop in a formal detective novel, but it doesn't quite gel. It just means that Queen, Sr. is prone to get annoyingly angry.
Oh, also, I was sure that the obsequious apologizing to the beautiful, rich, young lady would be either a feint on their part, or prove to be some sort of clue, but no--she really was just that upset to find that a dead man had her bag, and they really did feel that bad about...telling her?
johnnyb1954's review against another edition
3.0
It’s interesting to see how different Ellery Queen #1 is from later books.
Ellery is much more like Sherlock Holmes, but some of his deductive reasoning is a real stretch.
There are several long and tedious explanations of the logic applied.
The reason that the hat becomes important and the full set of facts around that seem really unlikely.
There are some aspects of this book written in 1928 are objectionable now.
Ellery is much more like Sherlock Holmes, but some of his deductive reasoning is a real stretch.
There are several long and tedious explanations of the logic applied.
The reason that the hat becomes important and the full set of facts around that seem really unlikely.
There are some aspects of this book written in 1928 are objectionable now.
wocytti's review against another edition
1.0
Very tedious, and the characters are very one dimensional. Nothing about this story is gripping. I am a huge fan of detective and mystery literature of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and this one was just clunky and plodding. I had guessed the murderer at the 2/3 mark, as compared to Dorothy Sayers or Agatha Christie where I am mostly left guessing (and on the edge of my seat) until the big reveal. Disappointed!