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Death Spins the Platter
Disc jockey Tutter King has it made. Every time he spins a platter on The King s Session, gold comes out: TV earnings, returns on his secret holdings in recording companies the old payola that some bright young men think only their rightful due.
Tutter is a gay young man-around-town who has the world dancing to his tune. He is also involved in some hanky-panky with his pretty blond assistant, Lola Arkwright.
And then the roof starts to cave in: Senate investigating committees; the angry emergence of the wife who Lola never knew existed; the canceling of his network contract. Poor Tutter, it looks like he is going to lose everything even his life!"
Tutter is a gay young man-around-town who has the world dancing to his tune. He is also involved in some hanky-panky with his pretty blond assistant, Lola Arkwright.
And then the roof starts to cave in: Senate investigating committees; the angry emergence of the wife who Lola never knew existed; the canceling of his network contract. Poor Tutter, it looks like he is going to lose everything even his life!"
286 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1962
16 people are currently reading
49 people want to read
About the author
Ellery Queen
1,786 books486 followersaka 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.
(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.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 11, 2022
"Φόνος στις 45 στροφές", εκδόσεις ΒΙΠΕΡ.
Τον τελευταίο χρόνο δεν έχω διαβάσει σχεδόν καθόλου αμερικάνικα παλπ αστυνομικά/νουάρ μυθιστορήματα, που είναι φυσικά από τα αγαπημένα μου είδη, οπότε αποφάσισα φέτος να επανορθώσω, και κάνω την αρχή με Έλερι Κουίν. Απ' όσο ξέρω, όσον αφορά το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, πίσω από το ψευδώνυμο Έλερι Κουίν κρύβεται κάποιος Ρίτσαρντ Ντέμινγκ, τον οποίο δεν γνωρίζω. Πάντως το βιβλίο μπορώ να πω ότι μου άρεσε, με άφησε ικανοποιημένο και σίγουρα μου κράτησε καλή συντροφιά, χωρίς βέβαια να με εντυπωσιάσει κιόλας. Ουσιαστικά έχουμε να κάνουμε με ένα "Ποιος το έκανε" μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου, που διαδραματίζεται στο Λος Άντζελες, με τον πρωταγωνιστή μας, τον δημοσιογράφο Τζιμ Λέιτον, να ερευνά τον ύποπτο θάνατο ενός ντισκ-τζόκεϊ. Υπάρχει μυστήριο, υπάρχουν αποκαλύψεις, διάφοροι χαρακτήρες έχουν και από ένα κίνητρο, μπορεί να είναι και αυτοκτονία όμως, αλλά μάλλον είναι δολοφονία, αλλιώς τι νόημα έχει όλο το μυστήριο, ε; Τίποτα το φοβερό και το τρομερό, αλλά διαβάζεται γρήγορα και ευχάριστα. (7.5/10)
Τον τελευταίο χρόνο δεν έχω διαβάσει σχεδόν καθόλου αμερικάνικα παλπ αστυνομικά/νουάρ μυθιστορήματα, που είναι φυσικά από τα αγαπημένα μου είδη, οπότε αποφάσισα φέτος να επανορθώσω, και κάνω την αρχή με Έλερι Κουίν. Απ' όσο ξέρω, όσον αφορά το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο, πίσω από το ψευδώνυμο Έλερι Κουίν κρύβεται κάποιος Ρίτσαρντ Ντέμινγκ, τον οποίο δεν γνωρίζω. Πάντως το βιβλίο μπορώ να πω ότι μου άρεσε, με άφησε ικανοποιημένο και σίγουρα μου κράτησε καλή συντροφιά, χωρίς βέβαια να με εντυπωσιάσει κιόλας. Ουσιαστικά έχουμε να κάνουμε με ένα "Ποιος το έκανε" μυθιστόρημα μυστηρίου, που διαδραματίζεται στο Λος Άντζελες, με τον πρωταγωνιστή μας, τον δημοσιογράφο Τζιμ Λέιτον, να ερευνά τον ύποπτο θάνατο ενός ντισκ-τζόκεϊ. Υπάρχει μυστήριο, υπάρχουν αποκαλύψεις, διάφοροι χαρακτήρες έχουν και από ένα κίνητρο, μπορεί να είναι και αυτοκτονία όμως, αλλά μάλλον είναι δολοφονία, αλλιώς τι νόημα έχει όλο το μυστήριο, ε; Τίποτα το φοβερό και το τρομερό, αλλά διαβάζεται γρήγορα και ευχάριστα. (7.5/10)
February 26, 2018
This book was well written but I get the impression that back in 1962 the plot had more of a ripped-from-the-headlines feel to it. That however has not helped it age well. I just couldn't seem to muster the appropriate amount of moral outrage over a Payola scandal.
June 4, 2018
Jim Layton is a reporter on the Bulletin newspaper. He is at a television station to write a story about payola. A TV disc jockey has been fired from his very popular show because he was caught collecting money to play second rate records on his show.
During intermission at the TV show, Jim finds the disc jockey dead with an ice pick in his chest.
There are several people with valid motives for a murder. But, no evidence exists to provide any proof that this was a murder and not a suicide.
This is a very well done mystery written during the 1970's. It describes a time when taking money for services rendered was making headlines. Payola in the music business and fixed TV quiz shows were a part of what was happening in the world.
The manager of the TV station, the chairman of the board, the DJ's assistant, and the DJ's wife are all viable suspects. Each of them have reasons to despise him.
This is a tightly written mystery. The character development is complete. The plot has in and outs and all the information needed to solve the mystery.
The reader gets to know and fully understand each character. We get to know and respect the investigating the policemen. We meet the suspects up close and personally.
Ellery Queen was the pen name of two cousins who created Ellery Queen. They were very good at what they did. And it is evident from this story that they enjoyed what they did.
I know I enjoyed what they did.
This is a well done book, but I did find the murderer. That fact did not interfere with my true enjoyment of the story.
During intermission at the TV show, Jim finds the disc jockey dead with an ice pick in his chest.
There are several people with valid motives for a murder. But, no evidence exists to provide any proof that this was a murder and not a suicide.
This is a very well done mystery written during the 1970's. It describes a time when taking money for services rendered was making headlines. Payola in the music business and fixed TV quiz shows were a part of what was happening in the world.
The manager of the TV station, the chairman of the board, the DJ's assistant, and the DJ's wife are all viable suspects. Each of them have reasons to despise him.
This is a tightly written mystery. The character development is complete. The plot has in and outs and all the information needed to solve the mystery.
The reader gets to know and fully understand each character. We get to know and respect the investigating the policemen. We meet the suspects up close and personally.
Ellery Queen was the pen name of two cousins who created Ellery Queen. They were very good at what they did. And it is evident from this story that they enjoyed what they did.
I know I enjoyed what they did.
This is a well done book, but I did find the murderer. That fact did not interfere with my true enjoyment of the story.
January 31, 2023
A plot that revolves around “payola”: a popular TV host, Tutter King, who deejays a show for teenagers—obviously similar to Dick Clark—is being fired for getting caught accepting money to promote songs. (Hot take: the kids don’t really care, and the actual crime is “getting caught”, not the corruption itself.) At the break during his last ever live broadcast, King is found dead with an ice pick sticking out of him in a way that does not rule out self-inflicted violence.
The investigation is driven by the curiosity of a dogged reporter chasing an exclusive, who feeds clues to the police doing the actual investigating. Unfortunately, the structure of the story is so cliched as to telegraph very early on who the culprit was, despite the coroner’s inquest ruling out murder and misadventure as causes of death.
I found this story similar to the Nero Wolfe book “And Be a Villain” in that it involved a popular broadcaster and a teenage fan club. I listened to it as an audiobook and the reader wasn’t bad. My version of the recording had a glitch at the end of chapter 15 where a certain amount was cut off and skipped immediately to chapter 16. (Annoying, but didn’t seem to affect the story.)
If you like 50s LA Noir, you might like this, but I’d recommend reading rather than listening because of my experience with the glitchy recording.
The investigation is driven by the curiosity of a dogged reporter chasing an exclusive, who feeds clues to the police doing the actual investigating. Unfortunately, the structure of the story is so cliched as to telegraph very early on who the culprit was, despite the coroner’s inquest ruling out murder and misadventure as causes of death.
I found this story similar to the Nero Wolfe book “And Be a Villain” in that it involved a popular broadcaster and a teenage fan club. I listened to it as an audiobook and the reader wasn’t bad. My version of the recording had a glitch at the end of chapter 15 where a certain amount was cut off and skipped immediately to chapter 16. (Annoying, but didn’t seem to affect the story.)
If you like 50s LA Noir, you might like this, but I’d recommend reading rather than listening because of my experience with the glitchy recording.
April 5, 2019
Een journalist is aanwezig op de scène van een moord en blijkt na enige tijd de hoofdrol in het verhaal te gaan spelen. De journalist blijkt wel héél veel vrijheid van zijn krant te krijgen, zodat hij de politie op de voet kan volgen (en met hem de lezer natuurlijk) bij het proberen te vinden van de moordenaar. Gedeelelijk door toeval, gedeeltelijk door oplettendheid en voor de rest door noest speurwerk is het dan de reporter die het onderzoek verder helpt. Op de achtergrond speelt zich dan ook nog eens een romance af. Toch voel je als lezer dat er altijd iets duisters over het geheel blijft hangen.
Het geheel leidt tot spannend speurwerk met ontdekkingen, valse sporen, motieven, stinkende potjes die geopend worden en uiteindelijke een even dramatische als onverwachte ontknoping.
Geen personage Ellery Queen die de hoofdrol speelt, maar duidelijk van de hand van de twee neven die schuilgaan achter het pseudoniem Ellery Queen, schrijver van detectives.
Het geheel leidt tot spannend speurwerk met ontdekkingen, valse sporen, motieven, stinkende potjes die geopend worden en uiteindelijke een even dramatische als onverwachte ontknoping.
Geen personage Ellery Queen die de hoofdrol speelt, maar duidelijk van de hand van de twee neven die schuilgaan achter het pseudoniem Ellery Queen, schrijver van detectives.
August 27, 2018
Esta novela no fue escrita por Elery Queen sino por un autor que usó el nombre del binomio para publicarla (ghost writer). No obstante ello el misterio es razonablemente bueno y puede leerse como un pasatiempo sin esperar la intriga y deducción que caracterizan a las novelas de Queen escritas por sus autores.
October 5, 2018
It's pretty obvious that the hero is 'modelled' after Dick Clark and 'American Bandstand', which at the time, the late fifties and sixties, was on TV at 4:00 PM weekdays in LA. The program was also caught up in the payola scandal investigated by Congress.
The characters are fairly well drawn, even though the plot becomes transparent about two-thirds of the way through.
The characters are fairly well drawn, even though the plot becomes transparent about two-thirds of the way through.
April 26, 2019
This was my first Ellery Queen book. I chose this title in particular because I'm a DJ. Well, maybe that wasn't the best criteria to pick a book. It was okay, but nothing I'd ever want to read again. It was just sort of there. Looking forward to starting up an Agatha Christie book to take the taste of this one out of my mouth.
January 23, 2020
A TV star is found stabbed with an ice pick. The reporter who finds him gets involved in seeking out why he died-- was it the boss, the girlfriend, suicide over the lost job?
Interesting but predictable.
Interesting but predictable.
May 27, 2020
Nothing like the books by Dannay and Lee. This was apparently written by Richard Deming.
August 23, 2024
Ellery Queen seldom disappoints
I liked the book. Thought who’d have done it at first. Decided I was wrong…but I was right. Sad? ending.
I liked the book. Thought who’d have done it at first. Decided I was wrong…but I was right. Sad? ending.
October 1, 2014
A quick, taut detective story that doesn't feature the famous Ellery Queen as the sleuth. The Queen books tend towards the unpleasant, and so I always forget what a terrific turn of phrase the authors were capable of. There are fragments of description in this novel that made me really stop and savor the words, holding them in my mind for long moments.
Apart from that, the novel is only okay. The plot revolves around payola, which at the time of publication would still have been perhaps shocking. I didn't find it as distressing as perhaps the book intimated, possibly because we live in a world where it seems unlikely there are any public figures that aren't on the take.
I found notable the main character, who harps on his honesty, occasionally a little too much. It was a lovely insight into how he thought, but it was a little too obviously played and telegraphed the ultimate conflict too early. I enjoyed the novel up until the last chapter or two, where the culprit and the ending became too clear to allow me the pleasure of seeing the problem unraveled. Still, an interesting entry from a classic author.
Apart from that, the novel is only okay. The plot revolves around payola, which at the time of publication would still have been perhaps shocking. I didn't find it as distressing as perhaps the book intimated, possibly because we live in a world where it seems unlikely there are any public figures that aren't on the take.
I found notable the main character, who harps on his honesty, occasionally a little too much. It was a lovely insight into how he thought, but it was a little too obviously played and telegraphed the ultimate conflict too early. I enjoyed the novel up until the last chapter or two, where the culprit and the ending became too clear to allow me the pleasure of seeing the problem unraveled. Still, an interesting entry from a classic author.
April 11, 2011
reviewed at : Mama Kucing Books :Death Spins The Platter by Ellery Queen
a delightful read for a rainy afternoon but it's not as good as their others stories
a delightful read for a rainy afternoon but it's not as good as their others stories
May 29, 2012
Old and rather old fashioned mystery. It was an interesting and an unlikely combination of mystery and romance, with very little romance though.
Would have liked this more if I had not guessed how things would turn out.
Would have liked this more if I had not guessed how things would turn out.
September 27, 2021
Typical murder mystery, easy read, but disappointing that Ellery Queen isn't in it as the detective.
June 5, 2015
Not by Queen. Ghost written.
April 7, 2017
Nice story
I believe this is just written under Queen's house name, but a great short story nonetheless. The final deduction is decent
I believe this is just written under Queen's house name, but a great short story nonetheless. The final deduction is decent
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews