Siamese Twin Mystery

Ellery Queen Detective #7

by Ellery Queen

THE SIAMESE TWIN MYSTERY finds Ellery and his father, the irascible Inspector Queen, trapped in a mountain retreat by a raging forest fire. The members of the household are a strange lot, and the mysterious murder of the retreat's host indicates to the Queens that not only are they isolated with an odd assortment of characters, but a dangerous killer as well!

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Detective, Classics, Audiobook, Golden Age Mystery, Mystery Thriller

276 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1933

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

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Ellery Queen novel. Not sure if he is that good a detective given he over thinks and complicates the plot. Still I enjoyed it.

I loved the idea and of being trapped in a house on the summit of a mountain by a raging forest fire. Dr Xavier, his wife Mrs Xavier, movie star, her secretary, the unlikeable Mr Smith, Dr Holmes, the twins, Mark the brother of Dr Xavier and the two servants. Throw in the chain smoking father of Ellery as his sidekick with several suspects and you have a good story. But was it me or was it obvious who did it from the start? Motive it always comes to motive.

The story starts with Ellery with his father driving his
Duesenberg car on a remote mountain road where they suddenly drive into a forest fire. The location is set in the Tepee range and they escape up a side road to the remote Arrow Lodge.

Here they take refuge as the uninvited guests of Dr Xavier. Where of course a murder takes place. A message from the victim involved torn playing cards but are they clues!

Overall the story is preposterous, far-fetched, but still entertaining along the lines of Murder n the Orient Express. The suspects are trapped and the detective must work out who did it. In contrast, Christie’s whodunit is in a stratosphere above this story.

[Margaret Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the reviewer’s opinion there is little reason to read this book unless one is a particular fan of Queen, or feels a pressing need to read every book in this series, or is interesting in development of American detective stories or wishes to peer into one aspect of popular culture at the time the book was written. Although The Siamese Twin Mystery was published within a year of the first Nero Wolfe novel there is little to suggest that Queen and Wolfe lived in the same city. And while Stout’s sparse style reveals an amazing amount of about characters Queen’s more convoluted writing results in two-dimensional characters that are often little more than stereotypes.

Both authors center most of their books around a detective who, the reader is told, is brilliant. Stout manages to demonstrate Wolfe’s brilliance so convincingly that it is often only later that the reader notices any holes in his arguments or gaps in his logic. Queen’s deductions not only require credulity they are too often obviously overstretched or simply wrong.

The broad setup of this book is strangely reminiscent of Murder in the Calais Coach/Murder on the Orient Express. In both cases the detective (Poirot/Queen) is cut off from the outside world with a small number of people among whom is a murderer. In both cases the detectives are without access to information, backup, and forensic analysts. While Christie’s book is by no means among my favourites it is technically competent. Queen’s is neither technically competent nor well-paced and contains some egregious forensic/medical errors and a truly disturbing level of prejudice. In addition to the normal catalog of simplifications, over-generalizations and stereotypes the reader comes to expect in books published in this period there are constant, incessant and gratuitous reminders of how “fat” one of the characters is. There is scarcely a passage in which that character appears in which his weight is not brought up--often in the most vivid and denigrating fashion.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Queen (the detective) overlooks a simple and obvious clue/detail when the first body is discovered. This reviewer noticed it immediately for the simple reason that the knowledge necessary to “catch” the clue was central to discovering the murder in an earlier Queen novel. That Ellery Queen forgets and then remembers that diabetes speeds up the onset of rigor mortis allows him to first ‘buy into’ clumsy attempts to frame different individuals as murderers and then to ‘brilliantly’ debunk those same attempts. The reader can be forgiven for not knowing or remembering a rather obscure forensic fact but an individual (Queen) whose memory and knowledge of such details is central to his characterization cannot. Queen also apparently thinks that kleptomania is hardly distinguishable from the type of mania that leads to paranoia and murderous rages.

In addition to all of the other problems in this book there is basic lack of good sense on the part of everyone unable to leave a house where a murder has taken place. Ellery is at one point surprised to find that one of the women has locked her bedroom door before going to sleep. The reviewer was surprised to find out that not everyone did so. Nor did any of the characters feel a need to avoid being alone with any of their housemates.

In addition to the problems touched on above this book is dreadfully paced. Pages are devoted to the literary equivalent of treading water. Finally, after the author demonstrating that Ellery is not a particularly a good detective by having him “solve” the murder incorrectly several times, the real murderer finally confesses under laughably unbelievable circumstances and brings about her own death so that Ellery has no need to find the kind of clues or information that would have been necessary to actually arrest the culprit.

Five minutes after finishing the book the reader will realize that the fire that destroyed the house in which most of the action took place also destroyed most of the evidence against the murderer. The only persons left who could be charged with a crime are Ellery and his father since between them they brought about the death of the brother of murdered man.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best in terms of the detection--in fact, Ellery makes a lot of mistakes, and his ingenuity causes more problems than it solves. But the setting--a mountaintop house in the middle of an ever-encroaching forest fire--might be the best setting of any Ellery Queen, and the tension is very well-maintained (sometimes in spite of the mystery).

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid 20th Century North American Crime and Mystery
1933
Hook - 3 stars: Ellery and his Inspector dad are on a road-trip vacation. Caught in a valley forest fire, they must drive their big ol' Duesenberg upupup. But they encounter another car, both vehicles stop as the road is for a single auto, and some kind of frog/monster-faced thing gets out of the second car. Yes, the proverbial rock and hard place.
Pace/Structure - 2 stars: I had a problem with Ellery continuing on and on about right vs. left hands. Too much repetition.
Crime - 3 stars: A person is shot dead. Then there is a second murder by poison. But, is a mad scientist conducting bizarre experiments? Very ugly ones? Ugh. Is there blackmail? Was the fire intentionally set? (Ellery is comically tossing cigarette butts everywhere.) Will they run out of jam and bread? Is this the end (there are devilish discussions) of the world?
4 stars: Inspector Queen is just rude. Ellery likes to lay around naked. The titular twins are handsome 16 y/o lads who seem way too happy and are truly memorable. Why is Bones burying a lot of dead animals from Dr. Xavier's lab? The author (s) do a great job sticking with just 12 characters.
Atmosphere -2 stars: The setting is ugly. The lab, the "thing" (actually listed as a cast member), the fire, the red herrings, the satanish vibe felt like overkill. This was not a pleasant read for me. And the ladies faint a lot. And will there be vivisection? There certainly is animal experimentation.
Summary - 2.8: Interesting but I felt like I needed a shower every chapter or so.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

What did I just read?? First, let me say that I've been in the worse reading slump so far this year hence it made reading this book a chore to finish. This being said I felt that this book went on way too long.

Ellery Queen made three denouements - yes, that's right THREE in this story accusing everyone but the right person. Hercule Poirot would be horrified.

Anyway, the story went on way too long for my liking about left hand, right hand, ripped playing cards, etc. The only reason I finished this was because I wanted to know who the real killer was.

So, why the 2 stars? Well, the atmosphere of the fire and being trapped in the house was very well done and added more peril for the people who were stranded in the house. Otherwise I think I picked a clunker of a book and I'm hesitant about trying another of these stories.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a spiritual predecessor to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None (and only not the other way around because this dates to 1933 and the Christie to 1939): a mysterious series of deaths in a house isolated from the rest of the world. Only in this case it's a mountaintop mansion with an encroaching forest fire, not an island in a storm, and Queen is rather less racist than early Christie. The twist is a good one and it is possible to solve it from the clues given - you just have to pay very, very close attention.

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had solved the murder here. I thought this would be the easiest - read worst - mystery ever. The fact that it's not the cleverest either doesn't deter from the fact that the actual worth of the story is readable. The writers tried to add some filler to stretch this book to acceptable proportions. Nonetheless (SPOILERS) the old french adage "cherchez la femme" is well meant. I leave you with a recommendation and my taciturnity; I'll say no more.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like old timey mysteries you could give Ellery Queen a try. He and his father, NYC Police Inspector Queen find themselves stranded by a raging forest fire in a house on a mountain top. No way out, the fire is getting closer, the food is running out and there’s a murderer in the house. The list of suspects obviously is limited and everyone is on edge. I had it all figured out. But there was that final twist at the end!

Plus you can learn new words like 'shockerish'. 😊

[Guille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recuerdo leer esta novela estando con un catarro bastante fuerte, encerrado en casa, y me amenizó bastante los días de encierro, con lo que le guardo un cariño especial. El misterio es potente, la trama va aumentando en suspense a medida que avanza e incluso tiene ciertos toques de humor bastante acertados.

[Jilles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great setting! But the detectives (Ellery and his dad) have it wrong three times, and one of the suspects dies by the hand of one of them just to keep the plot going. It may be a classic Ellery Queen but is is a bit of a mess.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in high school along with a lot of other EQ mysteries and enjoyed them all. When this one was reprinted, I decided to try it again. Some parts of it did not age well. Neither did Inspector Queen, who is often described as being one step away from being elderly, with fragile skin, blue veined hands, etc. and who turns out to be in his late 50s. The solution was Golden Age convoluted, with many twists and turns, and there is a powerful (and timely) subplot about the group being trapped by a wild fire. I didn't remember whodunit, though I remembered a few bits and pieces.

[Antonio Pizzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sì, il "giallo" centrale al romanzo non è il massimo, con il suo immancabile corredo di personaggi destri e mancini, donne svenevoli, servitori fedelissimi e indizi criptici, anche se si conclude in maniera talmente, adorabilmente, implausibile che mi ha strappato comunque un sorriso. Ma la vera protagonista della storia è l'atmosfera, pervasa da un costante senso di claustrofobia e catastrofe imminente che ricorda quasi un romanzo gotico, e che conduce a un crescendo finale mozzafiato (anche se il lettore, ovviamente, è ben consapevole che la vicenda non possa chiudersi in tragedia per i nostri amati Queen).

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is one of the classical and better-written Ellery Queen mysteries, the plot is understandable, theal 'isolated mansion' setting and the threat of the wildfire that haunts the whole novel make the story more interesting, the mystery is well planned and it runs very smoothly. It is entertaining although the murderer's motive looks a bit weak.

Rating: 3.9 stars.

[Cestmoi]

magnificently stupid and weird, i loved it

[Shabbeer Hassan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing overcomplicated plots and making one's lead detective stumble through them is not a great idea as this book very much proves so.

A must avoid!

My Rating - 0/5

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spectacularly atmospheric. The building tension of the encroaching forest fire make for a interesting read. The actual mystery is less great. The clueing is ridiculous and the ultimate solution is eye roll worthy. If you read it as a suspense novel and watch characters react to the stress of being trapped, a good time, as a mystery, very frustrating.

[Flopi · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐[5/5]⭐

Uno de los policiales más entretenidos que leí, me gustó muchísimo. Si te gustan los policiales seguro lo disfrutas, y si queres introducirte a los mismos, es una excelente opción.

Ellery Queen, un joven detective, y su padre, un inspector de policía, se encuentran en pleno viaje, cuando de repente ven su ruta cortada por un fuerte incendio. Para probar retomar la ruta en otro punto, deciden tomar otro camino que al final, los terminó dejando en una mansión situada en una montaña. Era el único desvío y único camino a tomar, pero de manera desesperanzada, llegaron de noche allí sin ninguna escapatoria por el fuego. Al tocar la puerta y recibir una bienvenida un tanto cortante por parte de "Huesos", pasan a tener una bienvenida calurosa por el verdadero dueño de la casa, John Xavier, quien les permite entrar, les da una habitación, y les presenta a todos los que conviven allí. Lamentablemente, el doctor Xavier, fue asesinado esa misma noche, y el incendio se volvía, a cada instante, en un fuerte peligro.

El libro esta dividido en cuatro partes, cada uno con sus respectivos capítulos, todo narrado en tercera persona. Y siento que todo esta muy bien dividido, ya que cada parte trata un aspecto particular del caso, como también del incendio, ya que no solo tenemos la angustia y la ansiedad de saber quién es el criminal que convive con ellos, sino también que el incendio los apreta a resolverlo a contrareloj. Además, todos los habitantes parecen tener sus motivos, algunos más fuertes que otros, y constituyen así un rompecabezas interesante para el lector. Y no solo eso, sino que los acontecimientos son plot-twists tras plot-twists que no quiero mencionar para que no se pierda esa magia, pero eso me enganchó demasiado. No solo son pistas e interrogatorios, sino también acusaciones, diálogos, accionares, y la locura de sobrevivir ante el incendio y la falta de comida que esto conlleva por la desconexión que cada vez se hace más latente al perder la comunicación con el mundo exterior a la mansión.

Es un muy buen caso. Padre e hijo me hicieron encariñar por la fuerte conexión que tienen, el caso podía tener muchos culpables, el rompecabezas era complicadísimo, y agregar un peligro como la naturaleza misma me fue bastante satisfactorio y entretenido. No sentí para nada la pesadez que terminaba sintiendo en libros policiales, como también las "obviedades" que quizá cometían algunos personajes, sino que fue bastante espontáneo e incluso desconcertante. Pero esto es algo muy personal.

[EuroHackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can read this book and not walk away with a pathological fear of fire, you're a better person than I.

Ellery & the Inspector are returning from their vacation when they drive (literally) into a raging wildfire. They retreat up the steep side of a mountain and encounter a lone mansion, home to a retired surgeon and his family, an assistant, and...other patients who are also visiting. The mountain is soon ringed by the fire, and it is growing with a vengeance. Everyone is trapped together on the mountain, and then people start dying. Starting with the surgeon.

The players are equally worried about the fire and the murder, though worry about the fire soon takes over, as there are no signs that those fighting it down in the valley are having any luck. The fire is stifling and suffocating and the characters basically make their peace with death until the miracle happens on the very last page of the book. Let me just say - YIKES on BIKES *shudder*

The murder mystery was pretty dull; the whodunit twists over on itself so many times that it doesn't make sense in the end. Considering everyone is literally sweltering to death with the murderer's identity is revealed, I guess no one really cares that it doesn't make any sense.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve only read a handful of Ellery Queen mysteries in my life, but each tends to play out the same way. There’s a murder with a bunch of suspects and Ellery Queen through careful observation, repeated questioning of the witnesses, and some fancy deductive thinking figures out who the killer is. In several of the books, the reader gets challenged to name the murderer too—because that is the true gimmick in an Ellery Queen mystery. The clues are all there if you can get past the smoke and mirrors to solve the crime.

For the record, I never identify the killer, but I always enjoy trying. In The Siamese Twin Mystery, I came very close to getting the answer, but I’m not sure the authors were actually fair with us this time. In a genre where the exotic clue is often the key to everything, I’m not convinced that they played fair with the exotic element.

And yet, this is my favorite Ellery Queen mystery to date, because there was a second plot having nothing directly to do with the mystery that added a lot of tension to the story. The Queens are caught in an isolated mansion cut off from the world by an encroaching forest fire. Throughout the tale the fire gets closer and adds a disturbingly personal threat to the investigation. It frays nerves and physically endangers everyone present adding a touch of the adventure story to the murder mystery. It was a decidedly nice change of pace from the other Ellery Queen Mysteries I’ve read.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Ekin Açıkgöz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerçekten keyifli bir polisiye. Dağın zirvesinde yangınla kuşatılmış evde mahsur kalınan atmosfer, On Küçük Zenci'yi çağrıştırıyor. Gerçi orada yağmur, fırtına, rüzgar buuz gibi bir atmosfer vardı. Burda ise hava alabildiğine sıcak ve boğucu. Bence yazarlar orman yangını, uçuşan küller, kızarıp bozaran gökyüzü ve durmaksızın terleyen kahramanlar ile yangını güzel vermişler.
Sürekli kafa patlatan, bulduğu her sonuçta doğru-yanlış emin olmadan balıklama atlayan, heyecanlı bir karakter olan Ellery Queen'i ve babasını çok sempatik buldum. Güzel bir ikili olmuşlar.
Polisiye kurgu iyi. Deliller, olaylar birbirine güzel bağlanıyor. Birkaç yanlış denemeden sonra kahramanlarımız akıllıca bir çıkarımla sonuca ulaşıyor.
Siyamlı ikizler gerçekten de renk katmış hikayeye, fakat aslında hikayenin ana örgüsünü oluşturmuyor.

[Michelle R · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this book was written in the 1930’s which is exactly why I picked this book up. I wanted to have a go at a mystery book written well before my time. But this book was hard to get through. It started of interesting, but drug on midway till the end. The same details were repeated over and over again. I found out later the main characters are perfect if a series so maybe this was just a bad book from the series. But I couldn’t stand either detective.

I won’t be trying another one from this series. It was just dead in the water for me. The only reason I’m giving it two stars is because I enjoyed the description of things from the 30’s.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first I had heard of the Ellery Queen series of mysteries written in the 1930s and later, and I was glued to the mystery through to the end.

The characters were well developed and seemed real to me. The story is a new slant to what I'm familiar with, in that the main detective Ellery and his father initially make the incorrect conclusions about the murder victim. I liked the background forest fire event, which creates the sense of isolation and adds to the intrigue. The book seemed like a cross between a game of Clue, a Stephen King novel, and a cozy mystery.

I will definitely seek out other Ellery Queen books.

[Monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rollercoaster of a mystery, and I was constantly second-guessing who the murderer was. Other than the blatant misogyny displayed throughout the story, the main characters were interesting, and I enjoyed trying to solve the crime.

[Ariadna Ruiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me lo compré en la feria del libro de Málaga y no me acuerdo muy bien pero sé que estuvo entretenido

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read! Great Mystery and a forest fire trapping a group of people on the summit of a mountain. Suspenseful and very entertaining. My favorite Ellery Queen book so far.

[Aitor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho. La típica trama de unos personajes encerrados en un sitio y hay un asesinato es una de mis favoritas, además del propio misterio las circunstancias y la tensión por todo lo que sucede fuera le da un plus a la novela.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got two ratings here: 4 stars for the book, 2 stars for the audio version.

The story is one of Queen's better ones - Ellery and Dad flee a forest fire and have to take refuge in the strange mansion of an even stranger doctor, Dr John Xavier. Though very friendly - perhaps too friendly - he is tense, as if he has something to hide and he is not the only. His wife, brother, colleague, guests, and servants are all on tenterhooks as if they are under a great deal of stress - and this is before they hear about the raging forest fire. Richard Queen swears that he saw a monster during the night. He also sees someone he knows quite well (by reputation at least) - a famous society woman who is know to be shy of the spotlight. What is she doing here?

It doesn't take long for the first murder - Dr Xavier is found dead with a torn six of spades card in his hand. Xavier was diabetic, so his rigor mortis set in very early. The alibis for the time of his death are very weak - it happened late at night when most everyone was asleep or at least in their rooms. Suspicion instantly falls on Xavier's widow, Sara, passionate, volatile and extremely jealous. Accused of her husband's murder, Sara confesses, but Ellery quickly exonerates her. Someone tried to frame her with the six of spades card, but who? It takes another murder and some more red herrings before Ellery finally identifies the killer.

The writing is pretty good, though often overwrought. EQ has a tendency to show off that can get annoying. He struts around like a peacock as if to say, "Look at me! I'm so much smarter and better educated than you. I know all the answers and you don't!" Made me want to shake him on more than one occasion. The audiobook really brought this out. Ugh.

The fire is an ever present threat. It may go into the background for a while, but you never forget it's there. The situation becomes very tense towards the end as the hapless guests of the Xavier mansion realize they are probably not going to survive this. EQ did an excellent job of portraying their desperation and despair. The murderer and their acts take second, even third place to the wildfire that is heading straight for the Xavier home.

The book is excellent - if you can get over Ellery's swelled head and juvenile antics - but the audiobook is extremely annoying. Fred Sullivan gives Ellery an irritating (and mystifying) falsetto that positively squeaks at times. He also does not do a good job when it comes to the change in emotions of any of the characters. Often, the only way I knew someone was mad or upset was when the narrator said they were. He does a decent job on the women, which is surprising from a male narrator, but Smith is given what sounds more like a bullfrog's croak than an actual voice.

My recommendation - get the e-book or print book and skip the audiobook (or at least the one in this version). I returned my copy to get something else.

[H · Rating 2 out of 5]

How did I feel about this overall? I do have some mixed feelings. First, I started it on Aug 31 and finished today Sep 29, so it was about a month of reading gradually. I do think if it was more interesting or written at a better pace, I'd've gotten through it faster. I didn't think everything was of high relevance.

The biggest issue is the fear of the "fire" consuming them all. It wasn't too bad in the beginning of the book, but toward the end, it became such an integral focal point that it was rather annoying as it was technically totally disconnected to the mystery. (Indeed, the solution of Ms. Xavier being the murderer of her husband doesn't use the fire at all, and it could've been cut.) I never felt any true danger from it, and I was always expecting rain to eventually come, even after the rescue/messenger plane dropped a message saying no planes could land amidst the blaze.

I'm not sure how the author could've written the fire to be more interesting or tense...but honestly, I wish it were just removed. It isolating the murderer is fine, but it didn't need to be brought up so much more. Similarly, there was a bit too much focus on the medical aspect of taking care of the wounded. Ex when Ms. Xavier is hysterical and watched over or when the brother of the murdered person is accused and panicks, flees, and is shot and then patched up...there's a lot of description of the scene of what happens and such, and I think it's not actually of high relevance. Basically, the book had a lot of moments where it could've abridged the details while still getting the point across.

Then there's the actual logic of the case itself...I do not love the usage of the "Carreau" last name meaning "Diamond" hence a relation to the family/twins, even if it was a fake clue by the murderer. I prefer clues that are more reasonable for a reader to catch onto as well, though I can forgive this in that this was before the final reveal and that it was ultimately explained as a fake planted clue. (And the explanation made sense too - though I already did think it was a bit of a stretch for a dying person to grab a card like that with the murderer not bothering to check at all before leaving.)

Aside from this, I also didn't like the supposed deduction that left handed or right handed people ripped a certain way and kept cards in a certain way. Yes, it is like that in the majority of cases, but you cannot rely on that in all cases. Some people use the opposite hand sometimes on a whim, and I dislike this being the fact to "prove" that the leftover cards were fakes. But I suppose I should accept this as it was indeed explained far before the actual solution.

Now the actual solution itself...it was clever, and I did not get it, and I acknowledge it was well played. The twist that the murderer framed someone else, then someone came along and unknowingly framed the correct murderer is a nice twist, and the book was split into a nice 4 ish parts with even the correct murderer confessing about halfway through but then backtracked to fully solve the case. I can even accept the innocent brother fleeing in panic because he was truly the one to plant the fake evidence (though again, I think the idea of "X used L/R hand so clue should be left in L/R hand" to be a stretch still).

The number of twists leading to the final solution was nice and well done. I also did like Ellery and his father as characters, and the rest of the cast was good too. For example, when the fire was aobut to consume them all, I like that Ann Forest ripped off her whole dress in the darkness, so they could have something to stuff the door with - it makes sense in terms of desperation, and I thought it added a nice bit of flair/characterization.

Similarly, I like the idea that Ms. Xavier stole rings as a kleptomaniac, and this was shown with Ellery's father's ring being stolen (but not his key to the card safe, which proved the cards held a fake clue, very rightly so; though, I had taken this to mean the murderer was in a rush to leave quickly and didn't want to search deeper vs just picking a ring off the finger, as Ellery was due to come later that night. I think my interpretation is a believable one, but I think the author's explanation makes sense too and ties together perhaps a bit better and cleanly enough).

Now, to return to my original review - did I enjoy it as a whole? I'd say the beginning was a bit flat, focused on introductions. I think when the first murder occurred...it honestly wasn't THAT interesting. I especially didn't care for Ellery ripping cards to test the manner cards are ripped, as again, I dislike his insinuation of hand being so closely tied to the manner of ripping. Then the middle did get a smidge better with more tenseness of who the murder is and the expectation that the wounded brother would stir and that there'd be an attempt on his life. That certainly did get my attention.

But...the main saving grace of the novel was the climax - everyone wounded and tired in the basement waiting death by fire...only for Ellery to reveal the true culprit to be the original person his father first arrested (and also the first person to honestly confess). I did like that twist, and his explanation tied in perfectly fine. I'd say this saved the novel from being a "bad" novel for me, as it was previously a 1/5 at that point.

Now, as to whether I could rate it higher - no, I cannot, or at least, I'd say I didn't enjoy it that much at the moment and still don't think it's that enjoyable a book. I still didn't enjoy it for the majority of it, didn't agree with all the logic/didn't like the way all the clues were done and used (ex the French last name that most readers wouldn't know, the manner of ripping being hard to believe, etc), and disliked some random things like Bones picking the gasoline off the cars to prevent Smith from leaving since he "disliked" the guy's face, which is never addressed again...these and some other small things like the excess focus on the raging fire dampened my reading enjoyment too much to say it was a good read.

It could've been written a bit tidier/more succinctly, but I also admit it was very cleverly plotted as a mystery (I guessed Ms. Wheary at the end, as she was the one to call attention to the safe again, but I was obviously incorrect). If I had solved it myself, honestly, I might've liked it more, but the above minor issues and the excess detail at times dampened the experience enough that it wasn't that good to me. Not bad at least due to the cleverness but also not that good due to the issues above.

I may try out other Ellery Queen books though. This at least made me respect the author, as I felt the mystery was more cleverly and fairly plotted than Agatha Christie at least, and I heard the early [Country] [Noun] mysteries in the series are all pretty fair and good. So, I may try them and think the author duo did a good job, even if I didn't love it all.

EDIT: Small nitpick but the edition I read didn't have "Challenge to the Reader", and I was quite looking forward to it. I read other editions have this though, so I suspect this is an issue due to the publisher of my edition, "American Mystery Classics" - perhaps I'll track down a different publisher for future Queen books I read.

[Adam Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

My second attempt at reading Ellery Queen, this time involving a murder in an isolated house where Ellery and his father have fled for refuge during a forest fire. There is an interesting mix of suspects in the house, and the slow advance of the flames adds to the mystery too. In his investigation, Ellery Queen is enjoyably fallible, making the ending even more unpredictable. But the key clues were unconvincing, and an obvious clue was implausibly overlooked. A good read, but not entirely satisfying.

[Tristan Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I apologize for this sounding dismissive, but the term "panting melodrama" comes first to my mind.

I can recommend the book without spoilers on the basis that its conclusion is clever, but it is also singularly convoluted and, in my opinion, not entirely discernible from the clues given. Let me add both that the forest fire surrounding the aerie-like mountaintop house is quite distracting, and that my own powers of deduction may be dulled by long periods of time between bouts of reading this story. To my addled pate, however, the solution -- unique, to my way of thinking -- simply doesn't have enough to back it up until our heroes are set upon their last moment. I'm going to hide the next bit, as it could well be considered a spoiler.

Ellery and his dad get the answers wrong several times before finally coming to the impressive conclusion at the end. In doing so, the reader is beset by fascinating, beguiling twists and turns of creative "deduction" which, in the end, are absolutely wrong. When your detective actively provides red herrings, it's a bit unfair to the reader, I would think.

Without spoilers, let me just say that our detectives aren't terribly bright, despite their reputations. It's also not a spoiler to say that the conjoined twins of the title are possible suspects (someone in the house "dunit"), and there are a few pages of interesting debate over how to administer justice if it could be proven that only one of the two committed the crime, with the other unable to prevent it.

Overall, it's quite a ride, and in its way a "popcorn-movie-in-a-book," in that it has its moments of being fun to watch, but it's not fair to call it more than a "B-movie" in its execution. I see, by other comments, that other EQ mysteries are of higher caliber. That'll teach me to trust grabbing every e-book bargain I can!