For the Kirkus Reviews Web site today, I write about a recently “rediscovered read”: Calamity Town (1942), one of the finest entries in the classic Ellery Queen mystery series. After you finish that post, please use the Comments section at the bottom of the page to suggest other Queen novels you think would also be worth reading again.
READ MORE: “Forgotten Book -- Calamity Town,” by Martin Edwards (‘Do You Write Under Your Own Name?’).
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
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3 comments:
My favorite Queen novel.
My favorite Ellery Queen's Novels are The Greek Coffin Mystery, The Tragedy of Y, Ten Days Wonder, Cat of Many Tails, Finishing Stroke. Surely, he is one of the best crime/mystery writers of all time.
Though I'm not a huge fan of the 'first period' Queen novels, THE SIAMESE TWIN MYSTERY has a quite effective gothic atmosphere as well as a sense of urgency missing from the other early books.
Of the later books, the Wrightsville novels are, of course, superlative; but one dismisses AND ON THE EIGHTH DAY and THE PLAYER ON THE OTHER SIDE at one's peril---both offer fascinating views of Dannay's obsessions. That others had a hand in the writing does not, to me, invalidate these books.
Queen's reputation will rest on the Wrightsville books and CAT OF MANY TAILS. But even lesser achievements such as THE KING IS DEAD, THE SCARLET LETTERS and the late-career stand-alone COP OUT have much to offer the Queen fan.
Long live EQ.
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