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A review by missjenniferlowe
The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen
4.0
Prior to reading this, I had only read one volume of the Ellery Queen short stories. Although I enjoyed those immensely, I wasn't sure if a full-length mystery would be just as good. Sadly, writing mysteries as short stories and full-length mystery novels require different sets of talents.
Ellery Queen did not disappoint, however. In this, his 8th full-length mystery, re-printed recently in an e-book version by Mysterious Press and Open Road Media, Ellery investigates the death of an unknown man found in mysterious circumstances in the office of Donald Kirk, an acquaintance of Ellery's. When the corpse is discovered, the clothes on the body are on backwards - and all of the furniture in the room has also been turned around so it, too, is backwards! Ellery knows that this must be a significant clue, but what it signifies will take him the whole book to figure out.
One aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed was the challenge to the reader. Once Ellery has solved the crime, but before the big reveal, he issues a challenge to the readers to solve it themselves, stating that all of the clues have been laid before them fairly. This reminded me a bit of the Encyclopedia Brown books, which I enjoyed immensely as a child. I hadn't figured it out, as it happens, but I enjoyed reading the book so much that I did not care.
I sincerely enjoyed reading this Ellery Queen novel and am quite pleased that Open Road has published 13 other Ellery Queen titles as well. They are available directly from Open Road or via Amazon.
Ellery Queen did not disappoint, however. In this, his 8th full-length mystery, re-printed recently in an e-book version by Mysterious Press and Open Road Media, Ellery investigates the death of an unknown man found in mysterious circumstances in the office of Donald Kirk, an acquaintance of Ellery's. When the corpse is discovered, the clothes on the body are on backwards - and all of the furniture in the room has also been turned around so it, too, is backwards! Ellery knows that this must be a significant clue, but what it signifies will take him the whole book to figure out.
One aspect of the book that I particularly enjoyed was the challenge to the reader. Once Ellery has solved the crime, but before the big reveal, he issues a challenge to the readers to solve it themselves, stating that all of the clues have been laid before them fairly. This reminded me a bit of the Encyclopedia Brown books, which I enjoyed immensely as a child. I hadn't figured it out, as it happens, but I enjoyed reading the book so much that I did not care.
I sincerely enjoyed reading this Ellery Queen novel and am quite pleased that Open Road has published 13 other Ellery Queen titles as well. They are available directly from Open Road or via Amazon.