I had never read an Ellery Queen book before, so when I found this at a church fair book table, I figured it was an omen. So, now I can say I've read Ellery Queen. Actually, I liked the book reasonably well. I liked it quite a bit at first, but then it began to wear a bit on me. Some of the plot seemed a bit improbable, and for people so smart as Ellery Queen and his father, some of the things that happened wouldn't have happened if they had been thinking even reasonably clearly. For example, in a duel, no clear-headed person would just hand out guns without checking first that they had been "properly" set up.

Anyway, while this isn't great literature, and a bit sketchy in places, and hideously out of date regarding one's views of women, I'd likely read more Ellery Queen as escapist literature, whereas, I would have to be paid to read any more Mickey Spillane, a more-or-less contemporary crime author.
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Ellery was there when the first murder happened. He saw it, yet he didn't believe it. He and Inspector Queen were both there when the second murder was done. Both by the same family member. Insane!

But then half of this family seems insane and the other half normal. The scary part is the insane side seems to be killing off the sane side.

The Potts name is synonymous with shoes. "Potts shoes are America's shoes. $3.99 everywhere" Not just their tag line, but also in neon above the bronze statue of one on the front lawn of the family's ornate family mansion. The Old Lady is obsessed over this and so is one of her offspring.

Ellery applies his brain power and solves this mystery, but it takes 3 go rounds to get all the loose ends. Just when he thinks he has all figured out, another thread needs to be untangled.

A very enjoyable read. ( )

My first Ellery Queen novel. (I've scene the Jim Hutton series and read one of the short stories). Obvious ly a period piece now but once it got going it had its fair share of twists and turns. right up to the last couple of pages. ( )

Turned out to be a better story than expected, based on the first few chapters. Rekindled some fond memories of the TV show from the '70s. ( )

A hodge-podge of earlier characters and themes, it's still an interesting read in terms of the Queen character and the interests of the authors. ( )