Kidnap or Murder?
Review of the Arni Books Kindle eBook edition (August 10, 2023) of the Scribner’s hardcover original (1936).

To be sure, the motive for the crime, or, I should say, crimes, was the sordid one of monetary gain; and superficially the technique was similar to that of the numerous cases in the same category. But through Vance’s determination and fearlessness, through his keen insight into human nature, and his amazing flair for the ramifications of human psychology, he was able to penetrate beyond the seemingly conclusive manifestations of the case.

Amateur sleuth Philo Vance is called in on yet another case which has the authorities baffled. He is certain that an apparent kidnapping was in fact murder and that paying the supposed ransom will not result in any return of the victim. Unlike most of the other books in the series, there is a conspiracy involved and a gang of cutthroats are acting as mercenaries on behalf of the actual culprit. This does result in a climactic shootout towards the end.

See cover at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/TheKidnapMurderCase.jpg
The front cover of the original Scribner’s first edition (1936). Image sourced from Wikipedia.

The final unveiling of the mastermind results in the now typical Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ whereby a satisfactory criminal justice proceeding is averted. Many of these endings in the series seem to actually be due to Vance's own machinations, which admittedly end up saving the authorities and therefore the taxpayers any further expense. But it has become such a cliche in the Vance books that is now to be expected and is somewhat tiresome.

Trivia and Links
Unlike almost all of the other Philo Vance books, The Kidnap Murder Case was not adapted into a film version. There is a listing of all the film adaptations under the Wikipedia entry for the fictional Philo Vance character here.

The Kidnap Murder Case is in the public domain and can be read or sourced online at various sites such as Faded Page.

Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories. ( )

Forget the stuck up detective, even the plot...it is the Brownstones and their great atmosphere, just right for a mystery, and the author's delightful descriptions of these houses. And they are properly peopled: for example "old English butler and majordomo", someone "strong minded and efficient". ( )

118. The Kidnap Murder Case, by S. S. Van Dine (read 1943) I read this when I was a freshman in high school. It is the third Van Dine book I read that year, so I must have thought they were good reading--though I cannot say I remember much about the book ( )