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The Tragedy of Y

(Drury Lane #2)

Barnaby Ross (pseudonym),

Ellery Queen

3.97 · Rating details · 317 ratings · 42 reviews

Some bizarre things have been happening to the eccentric Hatter family. First, the body of York Hatter is recovered from the ocean. But he didn’t drown. He died of poison. Next, another poisoning occurs in the Hatters’ old mansion in New York’s Greenwich Village. This time the police have a witness. But what a witness! She is a blind, deaf mute. Naturally the authorities c ...more

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Paperback, 344 pages

Published December 28th 1986 by International Polygonics (first published 1932)

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Jan 19, 2018 shanghao rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-mystery

The second of the Drury Lane series and arguably the more well-known title by the Ellery Queen duo (aka Barnaby Ross), this one was more enjoyable than its predecessor, albeit equally long-winded, which I’ve come to accept as the authors’ style.

Just like The Tragedy of X , the culprit came out of the left and while this artistic license seemed to be taken to give the intended shock effect, it did not work as well for me because there’s hardly any character buildup involving the reader’s atten ...more

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Sep 03, 2013 John rated it liked it

The other day I read this book's predecessor, The Tragedy of X, and, while I found it far from dreadful, it did seem to represent not so much a larval form of the great Ellery Queen partnership as a member of a previous generation. I'm not just talking about some of the appallingly insensitive stereotyping (of the physically impaired) it contains -- that was, after all, fairly typical of the era -- but of the entirely pedestrian nature of the plot, the hackneyed characterization, and the lacklus The other day I read this book's predecessor, The Tragedy of X, and, while I found it far from dreadful, it did seem to represent not so much a larval form of the great Ellery Queen partnership as a member of a previous generation. I'm not just talking about some of the appallingly insensitive stereotyping (of the physically impaired) it contains -- that was, after all, fairly typical of the era -- but of the entirely pedestrian nature of the plot, the hackneyed characterization, and the lackluster dragging out of a deus ex machina as the main prop of the mystery's solution. This second volume in the series has problems of its own, but at last Dannay and Lee (the duo comprising "Ellery Queen") seem to be finding their own voice. The plot's as far-flung and artificial as we could hope for; the solution comes right out of left field (at least so far as this reader's concerned) yet has been foreshadowed with complete fairness, all the clues being in plain view; the quips are by and large witty (although there's a ghastly moment when a buxom woman's bosom is oh so hilariously likened to a cow's udder); and the central character, deaf retired actor Drury Lane, has become so much a template for the waiting-in-the-wings sleuth Ellery Queen that at one point you can see where Dannay/Lee forgot that he was deaf and had to insert a hasty patch to explain what alerted him to a sound from behind.

York Hatter, downtrodden paterfamilias of a wealthy Manhattan brood, commits suicide by poisoning himself then jumping into the river. His survivors are as odd a lot, and as oftentimes vicious, as you could hope for; there are heavy but non-explicit hints that this is because York's unspeakably vile widow Emily naughtily contracted syphillis in her youth and has "tainted" everyone with it. The only family member not to be bonkers is Barbara; on the other hand, she's an acclaimed poet so maybe the pox got her too.

A few months after York's death, it seems someone attempts to poison his deaf, dumb and blind stepdaughter Louisa; only the fact that York's grandson Jackie stole a gulp of the laced eggnog, enough to make himself sick but no more, saved Louisa from downing the full, lethal dose. Weeks go by and it seems there'll be no solution emerging to the attempted murder, but then one night Louisa's mother, the ghastly Emily, is murdered by being hit over the head with a mandolin while, it seems, seeking to avert another attempt to poison Louisa. It's a case for blustering Inspector Thumm of the NYPD and his histrionic comrade Drury. There's a locked-room puzzle, a hidden manuscript, a case of arson -- all kinds of good stuff -- before Drury works out the solution, engineers matters so that there can be absolutely no doubt as to the murderer's guilt, and then breaks all laws to bring the tragedy to the best conclusion for all concerned.

There are two very silly digressions. In one, we spend pages with Drury and Barbara's swain Perry as Drury plans to use his own thespian skills and the genius of his makeup artist to disguise himself as Perry and thereby infiltrate the Hatter family; at the end of those pages Drury decides not to use this stratagem after all. (Perhaps one of the Queens pointed out to the other that this whole idea was nitwitted -- it'd take Barbara just one kiss to spot the impersonation -- but didn't have the gumption just to discard the section.) The other concerns another digression in response to Louisa's recollection that her mother's killer had an odd smell about him, which she can't quite identify . . . could it be cakes, ice cream, a rare orchid she sniffed years ago . . .? In fact, the odor proves to be vanilla, as Drury spends many pages ascertaining. Since much has been made of Louisa's amazingly sophisticated sense of smell, is it at all possible that vanilla wouldn't be the first scent she identified, be hanged with the orchids and stuff?

The other problem I had with the novel came at the end. As mentioned, the Queens are scrupulously fair in making sure the clues are presented openly in the narrative. In the book's latter chapters, Drury explains to Thumm and DA Bruno how those clues led him to the unequivocal identification of the killer; de rigueur for a detection of this type, of course. Yet Drury's explanations seem absolutely interminable. The clue to the killer's height, for example, requires a mere few words to become obvious; yet Drury goes through it in excruciating detail, spelling out each of the arithmetical steps involved in what's actually an unnecessarily precise calculation. Then, not satisfied with that, he uses a different arithmetical approach and goes through the whole blasted process again! (His math, alas, isn't good enough for him to realize that the two arithmetical approaches are in fact equivalent; the second calculation doesn't validate the first, just repeats it.)

But here I am, concentrating on the things I didn't like about this extremely early EQ novel when really I came away from it delighted by all its EQish aspects. Whereas, after The Tragedy of X, I turned to The Tragedy of Y with a sort of dutiful resignation, I'm now looking forward to the third and last of the Barnaby Ross novels, The Tragedy of Z, with some eagerness. ...more

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Dec 01, 2018 Daniel Hiland rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery

Though the story is written under the pseudonym of ''Barnaby Ross," and the detective involved is one "Drury Lane," for all intents and purposes this is an "Ellery Queen" mystery (speaking of pseudonyms!) If one can overlook Mr. Lane's somewhat bland persona, the story of the doomed Hatter family is fascinating and action-packed. Following the discovery of York Hatter's poisoned body in the ocean, disturbing and homicidal activities start cropping up, back at the Hatter family's Greenwich Villag ...more

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Mar 24, 2016 Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: center-for-fiction, mystery-new-york-city

Ellery Queen, who is, of course, Barnaby Ross, is so much a better writer than was the creator of Philo Vance, but this book is definitely in Vance's territory. And Queen, the perfect logician, doesn't manage the frisson of horror that is a feature of so many of Van Dine's books. York Hatter is a suicide, but his wealthy and tyrannical wife Emily and their children still live in their Greenwich Village mansion. His deaf-mute, blind stepdaughter Louisa is almost poisoned. A second attempt on Loui ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Regan rated it really liked it

Wonderful addition to a great series. Ellery Queen is totally the best. I figured out who did it fairly early on and then in true Queen fashion I wandered off track thinking it couldn't be. But then it was exactly who I thought it was....just not the reason why I thought it was. Ellery Queen aka Barnaby Ross, takes their readers into the story with a feeling that you are there with Drury Lane, the protagonist. He's a marvelous character and if movies were made of this series I would have cast Pe ...more

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Jul 05, 2017 Laura Rye rated it it was amazing

Highly recommend! It a long book---300+ pages, and at times the detail is overwhelming...After reading the first book in the series I had a specific idea in my mind of how the "hero" Drury Lane should/would act...almost from the beginning of this book I wasn't liking him very much at all...he was being of no help to the detectives...he was aging and acting old.....he was gloomy and defeated, nothing like he had been presented in the first book of the series (Tragedy of X). When the book ended he ...more

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Oct 14, 2017 George rated it really liked it

A mystery by Ellery Queen writing as Barnaby Ross featuring wealthy retired Shakespearean actor Drury Lane who consults with the New York Police Department helping them solve difficult cases using his powers of reasoning and observation. Set in New York City around 1930. Some bizarre things have been happening to members of the very eccentric Hatter family: the father's body is recovered in the ocean having died of poison; an attempt to poison another member of the family in the family’s Greenwi ...more

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Jul 21, 2019 Regina rated it liked it · review of another edition

This would make a great book for a book club. There are so many things one could discuss including the ending and "whodunit." Among the questions someone could talk about includes, how the time period of this book differs from today, and how the ending would be treated today.

This is a book by the authors of Ellery Queen mysteries using a different detective, Barnaby Ross, a retired stage actor. The history of this character and the authors are interesting in themselves. This is the second of a q ...more

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Mar 24, 2019 Beatrice Drury rated it really liked it

I read these books to give me an idea of what life was like in times before my birth. It didn't work out for me this time.

I was appalled by the outmoded and horrible medical diagnoses used in the 1930's. The central figures were an extremely dysfunctional family. I'm not sure that they deserved what happened. I was saddened by the identity of the killer, but pleased that the ones I had suspected were innocent.

I know that there are only two more of the Drury Lane mysteries. I wish there were m ...more

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Dec 25, 2018 Mehedi Sarwar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned

The most famous novel in the Drury Lane series and one of the best from Ellery Queen. A series of crimes without apparent motive, left several long winded false trails and a exceptional deaf-blind witness is the only lead to this ingenious criminal. The ending is shocking and unpredictable. The deduction steps explained by Drury Lane was amazing. I think all the clues were given in the book and obviously extremely difficult to work out the clues among a lot of red herrings.

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Aug 14, 2019 Judy rated it really liked it

Another Drury Lane mystery, set in New York City in the 1920"s. The head of the Hatter family is found dead, probably a suicide. Then mysterious near= poisonings, a fire and deaths happen in the house. Drury Lane is called in to solve the mystery. ...more

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Jul 02, 2017 Jerry rated it liked it

Easily the oldest book--other than the Bible, of course--that I've read in a while. ...more

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Jun 01, 2020 Shi rated it it was amazing

Many years after the publication of this book, EQ revealed the real and complete ending of this book in his memoir, which is shockingly impressive. If you are interested, check it out.

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May 29, 2015 Bev rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, vintage-mystery, american-mystery, mount-tbr-2013

he Tragedy of Y is Drury Lane's second outing as recorded in print and it brings him in contact with the Hatter family--the Mad Hatters as they are known. The Hatters are not just mad...but they are thoroughly nasty people. The family is ruled by the imperious Emily Hatter--a woman who sowed plenty of wild oats before marrying poor York Hatter. York had been a brilliant scientist before Emily got him in her clutches--sucking the life out of him and making him bend to her every whim. She rules th he Tragedy of Y is Drury Lane's second outing as recorded in print and it brings him in contact with the Hatter family--the Mad Hatters as they are known. The Hatters are not just mad...but they are thoroughly nasty people. The family is ruled by the imperious Emily Hatter--a woman who sowed plenty of wild oats before marrying poor York Hatter. York had been a brilliant scientist before Emily got him in her clutches--sucking the life out of him and making him bend to her every whim. She rules the rest of the household--three grown children, one daughter-in-law, two grandsons, a cook, a maid, and nurse--with an iron fist. The only one she seems to have any feeling for is her fourth child--a young woman born with certain disabilities and who has acquired more. Louisa is deaf, blind, and mute.

The old lady's preference for Louisa only ensures that the woman will be hated by the rest of the family. And it isn't long before the family's madness and vicious streak takes hold. York is the first to go--drowned at sea and an apparent suicide. What follows is a rash of poisonings...all attempts to get rid of Louisa...and then, finally, murder when Emily is killed with the oddest of weapons--York's mandolin. The police are baffled and call in Drury Lane to help them get to the bottom of the mystery. There are clues and false clues and the first thing that must be determined is who was the real target? Were the attempts on Louisa genuine and the old lady killed to prevent the murderer from being caught too soon? Or will someone be wiping out as many of the Hatters as they can? Lane discovers that there is a detailed plan being followed...but whose plan is it? And why are there references to York Hatter when the man was the first to die?

I am enjoying these mysteries featuring Drury Lane very much. The plots are nice and intricate and there are plenty of clues to be had. For a fair amount of the book it looks like a dead man may be responsible and the explanation of the plot is very pretty indeed (in the short form). My one complaint has to do with Lane's methods--he plays that brilliant amateur keeping clues from the police role just a little too well. There are real dangers in his secrecy. The other problem with Lane is his tendency to drag out his wrap-up. An explanation that should take--at most--four or five pages goes on for almost twenty. Another three and 3/4 star adventure.

This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks. ...more

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May 25, 2020 Irfan Nurhadi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-novel, mystery

One sentence. That one sentence. That one sentence was able to explain the complicated mystery that has happened. There are very few mystery novels that are able to explain its mystery only by one simple sentence. The Tragedy of Y managed to pull it off. Perfectly IMO.

Having read E.Q. novels (the first nationality titles), there are some similarities I found here. Rigorous deduction. The search of some object(s). And over-explanations of things that could be explained in a much more simple way. ...more

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Apr 23, 2015 Lisa Kucharski rated it really liked it

Enjoyed this mystery featuring a rich family trapped under one roof at the mercy of a nasty matriarch and her purse strings. The story begins with an attempted poisoning of a blind and deaf adult child of the (mad) Hatter family. As mystery readers know- nothing sets up a murder like hate and a group of people unable to make ends meet on their own.

The interesting flip on this story is the motive and the killer--- one of the root causes is not mentioned specifically (won't give it away) but at th ...more

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Oct 24, 2013 Christopher rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, tozai-mystery-best-100

Classic 'consulting detective' murder mystery: in 2012, #2 on the Tozai Mystery Best 100 list. Though the story is marred by several serious issues (whodunnit seemed fairly obvious from the start, the main character's deafness is poorly handled, and there's some serious misogyny directed at the victim as folks leap to a conclusion about how something unfortunate originated), there's a plot element I enjoyed so much that I have to rate it highly. Without giving too much away, what I liked was the ...more

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Dec 29, 2012 Kristen rated it really liked it

Shelves: mysteries, classic, 2012

The Hatter family is nuts: vicious and bizarre. The father appears to commit suicide, then someone tries to poison the deaf, dumb, and blind oldest sister. The police are stumped and call in Drury Lane, a retired actor turned detective. And what happens next is vintage murder mystery.

I love mysteries. Have since I started on the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew. I thought this was a great story, and no, I really didn't have it all solved until the very end. (But I should have.) My only complaint was ...more

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Aug 29, 2015 Michael Henderson rated it did not like it

Shelves: mystery

Awful. Totally unbelievable plot. Lectures at every turn.

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Apr 14, 2016 Ronald rated it really liked it

read some time in 1996

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Mar 20, 2013 Laura rated it really liked it

This book was written by Ellery Queen

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Jun 07, 2018 Katherine Rowland rated it liked it

Only tepid. Too much angst and repetitive verbiage, and far too easy to guess whodunit.

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Sep 23, 2018 Jack Heath marked it as to-read

Shelves: top-haycraft-queen-204, category-f-mystery

Synopsis: the flamboyant Drury Lane is called in to investigate the murders happening to the Hatter family.

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About Barnaby Ross

Barnaby Ross

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House pseudonym.
The Drury Lane mystery series was writen by Ellery Queen (Daniel Nathan and Manford Lepofsky).
The historical novels were ghosted by Don Tracy. ...more