Halfway House

Ellery Queen Detective #11

by Ellery Queen

Input Devices, Volume 1, Computer Technology and Applications focuses on the technologies used in equipment and systems for computer graphics and discusses the applications for which computer graphics is intended. This book explores the combinations of software and hardware that make up the operating systems.Comprised of seven chapters, this volume starts with an overview of the popular examples of input devices that are used in computer graphics systems, including typewriter keyboard, the mouse and voice input, data input panels, digitzers, and touch input panels. This book then proceeds with a discussion of the general requirements for input devices. Other chapters consider the various panel input devices that are popular means of allowing the user to interface with the computer graphics system. The final chapter deals with voice input systems, which is a technique that has not fully achieved its potential.This book is a valuable resource for designers and users of computer graphics equipment and systems.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Detective, Suspense, American

314 pages

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

aka Barnaby Ross.
(Pseudonym of Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee)
"Ellery Queen" was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age "fair play" mystery.

Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen's first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee's death.

Several of the later "Ellery Queen" books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sinopse é bastante explicativa (até demais) do que se vai passar em O Mistérios dos Fósforos Queimados. Mas o facto de a vítima ter uma vida dupla, completamente diferente, fez com que aguçasse a curiosidade na leitura deste livro.

Estes livros da nova coleção Vampiro fazem-me lembrar a juventude. Li tantos, que lhes perdi a conta. Hoje em dia poderia ter uma coleção bastante significativa, caso a minha mãe não os tivesse deitado fora. Sim, a minha mãe, devoradora de livros também, achava que estava coleção devia ser lida e depois "desprezada" pelo que não sobrou quase nada destes livros que povoaram a minha juventude.


A vida dupla de Gimball vai ser o tema central da história, visto que nem uma nem a outra mulher sabiam da sua existência. Gimball socorre-se do trabalho para dar desculpas da sua ausência. Assim, acaba por estar presente nos momentos mais importantes das famílias.

Opinião completa no blogue: http://marcadordelivros.blogspot.pt/2...

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halfway House is a very well written murder mystery from the 1930s.

The story starts off as Ellery Queen met his high school old friend Bill after years of not seeing the latter. Bill had a younger sister Lucy who was married to a salesman...or so everyone thought. Later, Bill and Ellery accidentally discovered Bill's brother in law being stabbed to death in a cabin next to an long-stretching highway. Then to the shock of everyone, it is revealed the murdered victim had a double lives.

Well......the story as a whole is entertaining, the murder mystery is very finely set up, the details are solidly written (especially the courtroom scene), the romance also adds to the entertainment value a lot. However, the ending is a bit flat and just a little bit predicable. Still, 4 stars.

[Erik Deckers · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better queen mysteries, although it spent quite a lot of time tied up in court. I was able to figure out the killer, through a couple of clues, although I have to admit it it didn’t happen until near the very end of the story. Ellery always seems to operate on a very different level than everyone around him, or other mystery novel detectives, but that’s what I like about him.

[Filipa Batista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bem mais um livro que nos deixa curiosos, perdidos e depois inconformados. Assim foi a montanha russa que este livro fez-me ultrapassar! 🥵
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🔶️ Num casebre situado num lugar recôndito de Nova Iorque um homem é encontrado morto. Mas quem é ele? Uns defendem que se trata de Joseph Gimball outros Joseph Wilson... a verdade é que alguém o assassinou, sendo ele uma ou outra identidade 🤔
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🔸️ Portanto temos duas questões que se levantam: 1. Quem é o morto? 2. Quem o matou? Só está permisa garante uma narrativa cheia de mistério.
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🔶️ Já é certo e sabido que adoro a forma como os Ellery Queen desenvolvem as narrativas. Está não foi excepção, do início ao fim, ele apresenta-nos o crime, depois os interrogatórios, passando para o julgamento sempre expondo todas as pistas com imparcialidade. Mas os Ellery deixam arrefecer os factos e depois atacam na narrativa com a reconstrução brilhante dos factos, desafiando o leitor a descobrir o culpado. Brilhante, certo? 🤓
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🔸️ O que mais me deixou inconformada foi a identificação do assassino... ainda agora não consigo entender o porquê?! 🤷‍♀️ Ora, a verdade é que fiquei bastante desiludida com o desfecho, pois acho que merecia bem mais.
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Este livro será perfeito para quem aprecia:
🔸️questão de dupla identidade, no caso do assassinado
🔸️clássicos policiais
🔸️temáticas: bigamia e transtornos familiares
🔸️solução pelo método dedutivo

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good Queen mystery—I like the courtroom scenes. But the pacing of the reveal is glacial. And the romance is so bizarrely handled that I don’t so much care that it all ends up well.

[Antonella Imperiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Da ragazza l’autore mi piaceva molto perché risolveva casi con quesiti alquanto intricati e intriganti. E questo romanzo non è da meno.
I fatti si svolgono a Trenton, dove Ellery è di passaggio.
Un bel giallo, con una vittima che conduceva vite parallele, muovendosi in ambienti diversi, opposti, frequentati da persone non sempre simpatiche.
Il penultimo capitolo è dedicato alla sfida al lettore il quale, in teoria, in possesso di tutti gli elementi necessari, dovrebbe provarsi a risolvere il caso. Non ho raccolto la sfida, ho preferito godermi l’ultimo capitolo con lo spiegone finale, certa che Ellery avrebbe dato le risposte più esaustive attribuendo il crimine alla persona giusta. Non sono rimasta delusa.
Quattro stelle quasi piene.


🇺🇸 LdM: New Jersey

[Shabbeer Hassan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In all my months of reading through all Ellery Queen mysteries have I ever said - "Ohh I didn't expect that" and then went on to end the book with a warm glow of a conflict well resolved. What starts as a case of mistaken identity turns into a double life complicated by a life insurance policy of a million buckaroos and a victim turned into a scapegoat. Well-written and reasonably fast-paced with Queen portraying less of the weird Wimsey-esque behaviours (which is just irritating!). Definitely worth a read!

My rating - 4/5

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellery Queen meets up with an old friend just before attorney Bill Angell walks into a murder and a mystery with serious ramifications to his life in this, the 11th in the long running Ellery Queen series.

Angell goes to what appears to be an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere to find his brother-in-law, Joe Wilson stabbed. With his dying breath, the traveling salesman manages to say his murderer was a veiled woman. Before the evening is over, police and family both learn Wilson's biggest secret and one that endangers more than one woman.

The story moves in good fashion and typical Ellery Queen style. Ellery seems to never take anything seriously yet he often sees what others don't and manages to pull all the disparate clues together to make a logical whole. Its light but highly interesting, and actually urges the reader to solve the mystery. Loads of fun and great reading.

[Newton Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um livro muito bom dentro do género e que não nos faz esperar para que a ação comece.

Ficamos também presos ao livro por ver o invulgar modus operandi de Ellery Queen ao investigar o caso, não sendo apenas forte em analisar as provas mas também um forte analista do comportamento humano.

Mais uma vez como todos bons livros de investigação policial lembrou me da importância de prestar atenção aos detalhes e não julgar um assunto sem ter todos os elementos necessários para formar uma opinião.

[Dulce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellery Queen deixou-me fascinada com a sua brilhante dedução, na resolução do crime.

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I enjoy reading and rereading classic mysteries, I think this is my first Ellery Queen novel. In reading about the books I found that the earlier and later ones are considered quite different in style, and most but not all of today's readers prefer the later books. Then I found some references to this being the "first of the newer style" of novels, and decided to give it a try. I'm really glad I did!

Unlike many older mysteries, this one starts off quickly. Ellery is traveling through Trenton, NJ, when he runs into an old school friend, now an attorney with a married sister living in the area. Their decision to travel to NYC together is altered when the friend finds his brother-in-law murdered in an abandoned shack, the Halfway House of the title. Ellery, who has a soft spot for the new widow, of course gets involved and investigates.

I liked the dated feel of this book. Clearly a product of 1930's, it's not a contemporary novel but still is easy to read and accessible. Part of the fun for me of reading older books is getting to indulge in something different than is being turned out today. I enjoyed the characters and the situation the murder reveals. There were plenty of logical suspects to keep me wondering. I also liked that Ellery insisted on collecting evidence and resisted jumping to conclusions about what the evidence meant, and that he didn't figure out the solution until well into the story. So much more fun unraveling it with him instead of having him smugly laughing at me because I hadn't worked it out yet. :)

The trial left me stunned - it was really gripping and well written. It's been a long time since I read one so engrossing; it was made all the more moving because of the attorney's relationship to the accused. Honestly, it left me breathless. Overall this book rates 4.5 stars. I have no idea if the others in this series are this good, but I'll be finding out soon. :)

[Jolie Beaumont · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone recommended that I broaden my heretofore primarily British detective horizons and try some Ellery Queen. I found a used edition that was published by Pocket Book in the late 1950s, complete with a suitably lurid cover. The first thing that struck me was the writing style. All those metaphors. They jump out at you from everywhere, like a fast ball slicing the air before it lands smack in between a pair of eyes round as saucers and just as filled with liquid ... well, you get the picture. The book is definitely written in a "guy who's seen it all" New York style, which is fun in small doses. The book also gives an interesting look into Depression-era New York City, where the Park Avenue swells live in happy oblivion in their part of town and the proletariats (I did love the mention of the Rand School, a hotbed of socialism at the time) live grumpily in theirs. As for the mystery, it is pretty easy to guess the identity of the murderer. But if you're looking for some good old-fashioned New York detecting, this book is an entertaining ride.

[Kimberly Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that the Ellery Queen books give you all the clues to the mystery. At one point in the book the authors stop and tell you that you have all the clues and you should try and solve the problem. I have been able to in a few books but mostly still can't figure out "whodunit".

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. An ok mystery. I think the motive is a bit weak. Without giving away spoilers, one character acts so wounded at times, but the other side has every reason to be very upset with the character. That annoyed me.

[Klaus Mattes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ach ja, guten Gewissens empfehlen kann man solche Sachen nur noch Menschen, die vorher schon Fans waren, Fans der Serie, Fans des Meisterdetektivs, Fans des Autoren-Duos, das in seinen früheren Büchern gern so getan hatte, als wäre es selbst nur eine Person und mit dem Dandy-Meister-Fällelöser ganz identisch.

Aber in Wirklichkeit ist das Mittelmaß und Dienst nach Vorschrift. Wir befinden uns hier schon in der Mittelphase von Ellery Queens Laufbahn, als sie einerseits jedes Kind in den USA dann mal kannte, die Romane gegen gutes Geld zuerst immer portionenweise an Damen-Zeitschriften wie „Cosmopolitan“ verkauft wurden, dann als aufgeblähte Bücher erschienen, dann zu Hörspielreihen oder Hollywood-B-Reißern mutierten. Geld, viel Geld wurde gemacht, aber keine Klasse. Frederic Dannay und Manfred Lee erlebten es wohl anders. Sie waren gefährdet, für veraltet angesehen zu werden. Dasselbe Schicksal zu erleiden wie der Mann, von dem sie ihre Ellery-Queen-Maschine in Wahrheit einst gestohlen hatten: S.S. Van Dine, Amerikas Krimidarling der späten 1920-er Jahre, dessen New Yorker Sherlock-Holmes-Figur Philo Vance sich durch eine Welt schwerreicher und supergebildeter Hagestolze und Erbschleicher bewegt, nebenbei allerlei ziemlich unwichtige Damen vor dem Bösen rettet, letztlich aber mit seinem unerhörten Scharfsinn überzeugt.

Mittlerweile hatten die Prohibition, das organisierte Verbrechen, illegale Spielcasinos, Pornoheftchen, hatten Chicago und Los Angeles und mit ihnen Dashiell Hammett und Raymond Chandler die Szene betreten. Ellery Queen musste jünger, brutaler, volksverbundener sein. Es kam noch viel, die unglaubliche Karriere von Lee und Dannay ging noch Jahrzehnte weiter, aber in meinen Augen ist es ab diesem Punkt aus und vorbei mit dem, wofür ich sie mal zu kaufen begonnen hatte. Jene abgehobenen Rätselkrimis, fern jeglicher Wahrscheinlichkeiten, denen es gelingt das Konzept einer Sherlock-Holmes-Story auf ganze 300 Seiten zu strecken, die uns fast nie langweilen, weil mehrere Nebenhandlungen und Schein-Mord-Motive dazwischen geschnitten werden, bevor dann doch noch einer übrig ist, der es eigentlich wohl gar nicht hat sein können. Bücher wie „Der Sarg des Griechen“ und „Der mysteriöse Zylinder“, die man auf jeden Fall sofort lesen sollte, bevor man sich dem hier zu widmen versucht.

Hier geht es um ein Haus in Trenton (New Jersey), das nicht bewohnt wird, sondern einem Mann, der zwei Leben führt, eines als Reicher in New York, eines als reisender Modeschmuckverkäufer von Philadelphia aus, zur Wechselstation dient. Wo er den dicken Wagen gegen den ärmlichen tauscht, den Smoking gegen die Freizeithose. Das mag jetzt für den Ellery-Queen-Kosmos sozial ungewohnt verortet und alltagsnah klingen, stellt sich allerdings als Aufhänger heraus, den sie halt mal benutzt haben wie das Mordopfer die 5th-Avenue-Schneider-Anzüge im Schrank. Es geht hier um zwei Frauen, mit denen dieser Bigamist zusammenlebt, aber auch sie wieder sind eher Aufhänger. In Kern nämlich geht es um ein noch ganz konventionelles Whodunit-Rätsel. Wenn in einem Haus, in dem nur Nichtraucher waren, in dem keinerlei Rückstände von Asche oder Zigaretten sich auftreiben lassen, komplett alle Streichhölzer aus einem Streichholzbriefchen verkohlt im Aschenbecher liegen, das Streichholzbriefchen selbst jedoch verschwunden ist … (äh ja, Geduld, Geduld!) … und wenn von besagten Streichhölzern einige dafür verwendet wurden, mittels angesengtem Kork eine Botschaft zu schreiben (weil sonst einfach nichts da war zum Schreiben!) (Sie merken, wie lebensnah solche Fälle dann immer sind), eine bestimmte Teilmenge der Hölzchen erwiesenermaßen allerdings nicht fürs Schreiben gebraucht wurde, dann, also wer kann dann nur der Mörder sein? Ha, außer einem wie Ellery Queen kommt nie einer drauf.

Klingt jetzt lächerlich. Aber diese Streichholz-Denksportaufgabe ist tatsächlich fesselnd. Sie bildete darum für mehrere der oben angezeigten englischsprachigen Editionen auch das Umschlagmotiv. Hinzu kommt nur leider ein Haufen Plunder. Zwei arme, bedrängte, junge, schöne Frauen, die der Detektiv und sein Freund, ein Anwalt, schützen müssen. Eine zu Unrecht des Mordes verdächtigt (es gibt eine Million zu erben), eine Zeugin, die irgendwas gesehen hat, an das sie sich nicht erinnern soll, die darum mit dem Tod bedroht wird. Dazu nun auch noch die amouröse Rivalität von Ellery Queen und dem Anwalt, bis Queen schließlich bekannt gibt, ihn könne man sich geschlechtslos vorstellen. Was wir uns eh schon mal dachten, vor allem, seit er in diesen mittleren Romanen angefangen hatte, mit seinem jungen, farbigen Hausdiener Djuna zu scherzen.

Außerdem merkt Ellery Queen bei diesem Fall, dass man für amerikanische Kriminalgeschichten längere Gerichtssaal-Duelle ausfechten lassen kann. Das ist dann so, als würde Sherlock Holmes die Idee haben, das langweile ihn jetzt aber, immer diese gefährlichen Unmenschen, die aus Übersee zurückkommen, oder die Kittspuren unterm Fensterbrett, er müsse mal eine Redeschlacht mit einem Staatsanwalt gewinnen.

Es ist alles nur noch halb im halben Haus. Als ich drüber nachdachte, kam ich drauf, dass es daran liegt, dass es nur dieses eine Problem gibt, wer war es, der in der bewussten einen Stunde abends im Haus war und mit den Streichhölzern was anstellte und vor allem: warum? In den ersten neun Bänden, „The … [irgendwas Ausländisches] … Mystery“, hätte das schon auch stehen können. Aber dann hätten die Autoren sich noch eine Menge weiterer Figuren darum herum ausgedacht, danach für jede von ihnen eine Mordstory, die es, wie sich nach und nach zeigt, allerdings nicht war, erst dann wäre das Streichholzrätsel wichtig geworden. Hier sieht es dagegen aus, als hätte die nun auch wieder nicht so originelle Streichholzaffäre sie so beeindruckt, dass sie ihr ein Buch widmen mussten, zu dem dann halt noch ein Mord und zu diesem wohl auch ein Mörder gehörten, das Opfer ließ man ein Doppelleben führen, auch wenn das nur noch mal eine Zugabe war. Das Mordmotiv würde der Leser am Ende schon noch glauben, wenn es ihnen irgendwie nur gelänge, den Täter so lange geheim zu halten, bis Ellery Queen seinen Namen sagt.

Leider sind von den ersten, den klassischen neun „Mysteries“ mehrere niemals ins Deutsche übersetzt worden (und gegenwärtig als amerikanische Taschenbücher im europäischen Secondhand-Markt schlecht zu bekommen), dagegen hat es von diesem Buch zwischen 1960 und 1987, wenn ich das richtig sehe, sage und schreibe vier Übertragungen von vier verschiedenen Übersetzern gegeben. Mal hieß es „Die Dame mit dem Schleier“, dann „Der Schrei am Fluss“ und „Auf halbem Weg“ oder eben auch, wie bei dem von mir gelesenen Scherz-Taschenbuch, „Das Haus auf halber Strecke“. Offenbar sind alle vier Versionen gekürzt worden, was man verstehen kann, weil Ellery Queen in den 1930-ern ihre Bücher mit allerlei pseudoromantischem Schmus für Zeitschriftenleserinnen gestreckt hatten. (Was nicht glücken konnte, weil sie überhaupt kein Gespür für Frauenfiguren hatten.) Das Resultat ist, dass im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte auf Szenen zurückverwiesen wird, die es vorne jetzt gar nicht mehr gibt. Oder dass Ellery in einem Duesenberg herumfährt (Produktion 1937 eingestellt, der Verbindung eines Datums mit einem Wochentag ist zu entnehmen, dass dieser Roman 1935 spielt), die deutsche Übersetzung aber zwei Jahreszahlen gefälscht hat, um das Buch in die 1950-er Jahre zu verschieben. (In diesen amerikanischen Fünfzigern kommen die reichen Männer dann immer noch mit Zylindern von den Charity-Partys nach Hause.)

Bei dieser Gelegenheit möchte ich mich allerdings auch einmal über das alarmistische Rezensieren gewisser Goodreads-Kolleginnen mokieren dürfen, die ein Werk, das im Amerika des Jahres 1935 spielt, allein darum wegen Rassismus und Frauenverachtung abwerten, weil darin das Wort „Neger“ vorkommt und behauptet wird, keine Frau verlasse ihr Haus ohne Lippenstift und keine Frau rauche Zigarren oder Pfeife.

[JDL · Rating 4 out of 5]

So this is the first non-nationality mystery novel from our esteemed Mr. Queen. Although it still carries some of the hallmarks of the original ennealogy, like the opening from J.J. McC and the beloved Challenge to the Reader, it's obvious that the writing style has been altered, and much for the better. Even when this title drags on in places like the previous books, we now see a much nicer and less irritating Ellery, actual character development of all the suspects, and even a romantic subplot which, while cliched, is not overdone. Even as other narratives and writing styles take over, the mystery is still very well thought out and the clueing is just as impeccable as in French Powder or Greek Coffin. By the time the Challenge to the Reader came, I had two or three ideas, one of which was the correct one, one of which was pretty close, and one of which was laughably wrong. I did however realize the veracity of the real solution before Ellery divulged the killer's name. Overall, a pretty good read - it might be slow at times but it's much more entertaining than the average Nationality Mystery, the mystery aspect is spot-on, and the characters finally come alive (although the authors had dabbled with Ellery's development in Greek Coffin and Siamese Twin, which is referenced in this one, has some pretty compelling people in it.) My only two criticisms are that the romantic subplot between two of the characters got pushed into the spotlight a bit more often than I would have liked (but I guess Dannay and Lee were getting paid by the word here), and that there was one clue which seemed a bit too obvious to me - which is why I wasn't completely sure of the correct solution until after the Challenge. But as I said, overall the clueing is excellent.

This is a Nationality Mystery in all but name (JJ mentions that it could have been called The Swedish Match Mystery in the foreword - although where the Swedish part came from I am not sure.) But if it really was one of those nine, it would for sure be a top-tier one, and would have knocked French Powder down from third place to fourth. I still think that Greek Coffin and Siamese Twin rule, though.

[Tim Deforest · Rating 4 out of 5]

A typical entertaining and aggravating Ellery Queen novel. Entertaining because the story is well-constructed and the characters all interesting. Aggravating in that the clues were hidden cleverly enough throughout the story that I failed to figure out who did it.

In this one, the murdered man was living a double life with two wives (one in New York and the other in Trenton). The Trenton wife is arrested and tried for the crime, which means she pretty much the only person we can be certain DIDN'T do it. The clues needed are revealed gradually and subtly, with a red herring planted along the way to make sure we aren't looking in the right direction.

Because the murder takes place outside NYC, Inspector Queen appears only briefly for a few pages. He's always missed, because the strong father/son relationship between the two is a strong part of the series as a whole. But even so, this is a strong entry in the E.Q. series and a very enjoyable mystery. The frustration one feels at the end for not getting it is satisfying in its own way.

[Leonor Nero Valente · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um final lógico e inesperado. Uma escrita construtiva e deleitosa nas suas descrições.
No entanto, achei bastante enfadonhas as descrições do elemento feminino, poderia falar de machismo, mas, no que conta à literatura dos anos 30, este já é o pão nosso de cada dia.
Ignorar o individualismo de um indivíduo por causa do seu sexo é simplesmente absurdo e torna aborrecida e irritante certas partes desta história que, de outra forma, seria aqui caracterizada como emocionante e inovadora.
Concluindo, aceitarei ler mais livros deste autor, mas nunca com tanto entusiasmo como quando leio os livros da icónica Agatha Christie, até agora a visão mais refrescante no âmbito criminal do inicio do século XX.

[James Farner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A farewell to early EQ. I like how this took a classic EQ puzzle but told it across just five longer parts. In particular, the trial/courthouse section was a fun change of pace. A bit slow at a few points, the romantic subplot is not super strong, and I was a bit bemused that Ellery has pretty much everything needed to solve the case right at the beginning but we have to spend a whole book waiting for Andrea to be honest about her witness statements. I don't think I'd want every EQ book to be like this one, but I did like this for what it was.

[The Fizza · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading these because I was exposed to the 1975 television series and loved it... these books however have not been as enjoyable. For instance, while the mystery involved in this story was rather clever it is presented in a needlessly convoluted way with long detours into tedious details [clearly they're getting paid by the word] on top of which it is dripping in sexism, even if Ell does admit to being asexual.

RECOMMENDATION: The mystery is not worth the tedium of the story.

[Victoria Pring · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was unsure of this book at first however by a couple of chapters in I was completely hooked. It is one of the few mysteries I have read where the reader can make deductions at the same time as the investigator. I enjoyed the characters in this book and fell into the trap of being biassed towards certain characters due to the impressions I had of them. It was intriguing to see how the story played out and discovering the answers. I will look into more of these books in the future. I would definitely recommend this book.

[Steven desJardins · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in the mood for an old-fashioned mystery, and this was certainly that. Despite the low rating, it did deliver on its promise and it was, after all, what I was in the mood for, so I don't begrudge the time I spent on it. But the characters run the gamut of human characteristics from "dull" to "boring", and there's not much beyond the puzzle to recommend this book, and better puzzles aren't hard to find.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Storia intricata, penso che al giorno d'oggi le deduzioni che hanno portato E. Queen sulla strada giusta per trovare la "misteriosa donna velata" forse non sarebbero così ovvie perché una è vero è poco probabile ma non impossibile e l'altra non è poi del tutto vera ma tutto sommato il racconto è ambientato negli anni '30 e quindi allora poteva essere assolutamente nella norma.

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un giallo con una sfumatura da legal thriller. Bella la ricostruzione processuale, peccato per la spiegazione lunga e un po' datata alla fine: il colpevole si era già intuito da un pezzo. Comunque un ottimo Ellery Queen.

[stormhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, I was so close on this one! But I fell into the trap of the misdirection rather than the clues which should have been obvious. I comfort myself in thinking that they were not really that obvious, and could be interpreted quite differently by a modern audience.

[Diana Petty-stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a good mystery!!

[Donna Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guessed the identity of the killer just before the "reveal"!

[Tomika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting novel I liked it and could not find out who the killer was! I'm not a Sherlock Holmes type, haha.....

[David Megginson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better Ellery Queen books. The solution is weak, but the ambience of the "halfway house" is well executed.

[Conni Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a lot of fun! And I loved meeting Bill Angel. I love that almost everyone just calls him 'Angel.' Good for him. Ellery needs more friends.