Post by Salzmank on Dec 25, 2019 17:51:04 GMT
And the day itself has arrived, and I have still more suggestions, two Ellery Queens.
The first one is The Finishing Stroke (1958), which is set at Christmastime 1929 and abounds in Yuletide tradition and atmosphere, with inexplicable clues and an unexpected corpse. It’s all tons of fun—until the end, when we get one of EQ’s worst solutions. Not only is it hardly clued at all, but it also has nothing to do with everything else in the book. It’s all too bad because, until that end, it’s one of EQ’s best… If you read it, I’d suggest coming up with your own solution, one that actually factors in the clues and the big surprise at the end of Part 2.
A much better Queen Christmas story is “The Dauphin’s Doll,” available in Calendar of Crime and several different anthologies. It’s possible to guess the thief and how he stole the doll, but it’s fun, well-clued, and well-paced.
The first one is The Finishing Stroke (1958), which is set at Christmastime 1929 and abounds in Yuletide tradition and atmosphere, with inexplicable clues and an unexpected corpse. It’s all tons of fun—until the end, when we get one of EQ’s worst solutions. Not only is it hardly clued at all, but it also has nothing to do with everything else in the book. It’s all too bad because, until that end, it’s one of EQ’s best… If you read it, I’d suggest coming up with your own solution, one that actually factors in the clues and the big surprise at the end of Part 2.
A much better Queen Christmas story is “The Dauphin’s Doll,” available in Calendar of Crime and several different anthologies. It’s possible to guess the thief and how he stole the doll, but it’s fun, well-clued, and well-paced.