I saw this book being used as a decoration in the Calico Cupboard Restaurant while we waited for our breakfast. I had heard of Ellery Queen, but didn't know anything about the author nor had I read any of the books. Using my smart phone, I looked up the author to learn that Ellery Queen was a pseudonym for two male cousins. I liked the age of the book, it's 1936 copyright date and the good condition, so I asked if I could purchase it. Then, as David was driving us from Anacortes to University Place, I proceeded to read and became engrossed in the story and mystery. Set in 1936 New York City, the culture is decidedly male-oriented and some of the dialogue politically incorrect, but the writing and analogies are lovely. I was seven-eights of the way through before I suspected the murderer, but even then, I wasn't completely correct. To me, this is the sign of a good mystery: lots of twists and turns, hard to resolve. My favorite character was Terry Ring, the private detective from the poor side of town, confident even among the elite upper class and an admirable detective. Ellery Queen himself is rather understated, but a master of deduction, a bit reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, though not as obsessive-compulsive. I would like to read the first book in the series (The Roman Hat Mystery) to learn more about Ellery. ( )

A reclusive woman author, daughter of an American expatriate scholar and raised in Japan, now living in New York, is murdered shortly after winning an American literary prize (by implication a Pulitzer). One interesting aspect is that this intensely Japanese-culture persona does not seem to be affected by the fact this was written in 1936 --the Japan she represents is the quaintly exotic nation perceived in the early 1900s (her father was a friend Lafcadio Hearn) not the aggressive nation of 1936. ( )