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Ellery Queen Detective #15
The Dragon's Teeth: A Problem in Deduction
Mystery novel published in 1939 featuring the popular fictional character Ellery Queen, which is also the pseudonym of the book's authors.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1939
76 people are currently reading
332 people want to read
About the author
Ellery Queen
1,764 books483 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 - 30 of 41 reviews
May 18, 2025
I do love the mix of hard-boiled and fair play Queen uses in this book. Ellery himself is barely in it, but in many ways that makes it more interesting and keeps the series fresh.
May 18, 2019
I love this book despite its many faults. This was the second time I read this book. The first time was many years ago. This is Ellery Queen in his second phase. I suppose I am a bit of a sentimentalist to like this book. There is a damsel in distress who is accused of a murder and her lover and Ellery comes to the rescue. But there are many faults in the plot, like the clues about the teeth. You don’t have to be a dentist to realize that the arguments are weak. But the revelation of the murderer was a real surprise. And it was suspenseful and a joy to read. I think that the title should be changed to the title of the soft cover that I read first, namely “The Virgin Heiresses”. It describes the content of the book more accurately.
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September 24, 2011Two phrases came to mind when I finally put down this book: "backdoor pilot" and "eight deadly words."
Why did I find the first phrase applicable? According to Wikipedia: A backdoor pilot is defined by Variety as a "pilot episode filmed as a standalone movie so it can be broadcast if not picked up as a series".It is distinguished from a simple pilot in that it has a dual purpose. It has an inherent commercial value of its own while also being "proof of concept for the show, that's made to see if the series is worth bankrolling". This definition also includes episodes of one show introducing a spin-off.
One of the main characters in this book is Beau Rummell, the son of one of Inspector Queen's old colleagues who opens a detective agency with Ellery Queen. Much of the book is seen either seen through the eyes of Rummell or centers around him and his interactions with other characters. Rummell appeared in none of the books published previous to this one and continues to not appear in the books published afterwards. It feels as if the authors were either trying out a new character or a new style of writing. In the opinion of this reader they do neither well.
Which brings us to the second phrase, Dorothy Heydt's eight deadly words "I don't care what happens to these people." The characters failed to interest me enough to care whether they lived or died or were railroaded for committing murder. Ellery Queen himself seemed to have been replaced by an even more bloodless pod-person version of himself and the rest of characters rarely rose above being (very thin) cardboard cut-outs being moved around rather lackadaisically by authors who did not themselves really care what happened to most of them.
The measure of how boring, uninvolving and uninteresting this book was is that I didn't even have the heart to catalogue the racism, sexism, classism and essentialism of the story and characters.
Rating: 0 stars
Why did I find the first phrase applicable? According to Wikipedia: A backdoor pilot is defined by Variety as a "pilot episode filmed as a standalone movie so it can be broadcast if not picked up as a series".It is distinguished from a simple pilot in that it has a dual purpose. It has an inherent commercial value of its own while also being "proof of concept for the show, that's made to see if the series is worth bankrolling". This definition also includes episodes of one show introducing a spin-off.
One of the main characters in this book is Beau Rummell, the son of one of Inspector Queen's old colleagues who opens a detective agency with Ellery Queen. Much of the book is seen either seen through the eyes of Rummell or centers around him and his interactions with other characters. Rummell appeared in none of the books published previous to this one and continues to not appear in the books published afterwards. It feels as if the authors were either trying out a new character or a new style of writing. In the opinion of this reader they do neither well.
Which brings us to the second phrase, Dorothy Heydt's eight deadly words "I don't care what happens to these people." The characters failed to interest me enough to care whether they lived or died or were railroaded for committing murder. Ellery Queen himself seemed to have been replaced by an even more bloodless pod-person version of himself and the rest of characters rarely rose above being (very thin) cardboard cut-outs being moved around rather lackadaisically by authors who did not themselves really care what happened to most of them.
The measure of how boring, uninvolving and uninteresting this book was is that I didn't even have the heart to catalogue the racism, sexism, classism and essentialism of the story and characters.
Rating: 0 stars
October 3, 2021
A period piece mystery, this is my first from this 1930’s police procedural series. It ages well enough, and I’ll probably continue exploring the series.
January 19, 2022
A surprisingly good Ellery yarn, with mistaken identities, attempted murders, locked room murders and quirky characters. Worth a re-read!
My Rating - 4/5
My Rating - 4/5
March 15, 2021
Un giallo ben architettato, divertente, ironico e geniale!
December 26, 2020
Major characters:
Cadmus Cole, mult-millionaire
Margo Cole, a.k.a. Ann Strange, his niece
Kerrie Shawn, his niece
Edmund De Carlos, Cadmus' agent/assistant
Lloyd Goossens, Cadmus' attorney
Violet Day, Kerrie's roommate
Beau Rummel, private investigator
Ellery Queen, private investigator
Locale: New York City and Tarrytown, NY
Synopsis: Ellery Queen has gone into the P.I. business with Beau Rummel. Their first client is Cadmus Cole, multi-millionaire. Cadmus insists on hiring Ellery only. He provides a $15k retainer against future services, to be outlined in his will when he dies. His death occurs a few days later, on his yacht in the Caribbean, and he is quickly buried at sea.
The instructions he left are simple: Just locate his heirs for the estate. They are Margo Cole, the daughter of his brother Huntley (deceased); and Kerrie Shawn, the daughter of his sister Monica (also deceased).
Beau is going to run down the heirs, but as the contract was with Ellery only, he goes by Ellery's name to do so - a bit unethical.
The two nieces are found. Kerrie is looking for work in Hollywood, and Margo is living a life of opulent ease in Paris. They come to New York City. Now for the second stipulation in Cole's will: the girls will inherit his fortune, but only if they reside in his Tarrytown estate for a period of one year. They move in, but don't get along. If one of them dies, her share of the fortune reverts to the other. There are several attempts on Kerrie's life - are they accidents, or is Margo trying to cash in? Beau Rummel (as Ellery Queen) hatches a plan to protect Kerrie - by marrying her, which cuts her out of the estate. They wind up together in a cheap hotel room - then Margo is shot dead, with Kellie found holding the gun.
Review: This is a nice tight Queen mystery. There is a small cast of characters, and forcing the two heirs to live together adds to the tension. There are a number of odd clues and red herrings: false teeth, pens and pencils, wigs, etc. The will with odd conditions, and the fact that Cadmus Cole dies right away but is buried at sea (thus, no body) raises suspicion of hanky-panky. There's a lot of identity misdirection. A good solid Queen for the period.
Cadmus Cole, mult-millionaire
Margo Cole, a.k.a. Ann Strange, his niece
Kerrie Shawn, his niece
Edmund De Carlos, Cadmus' agent/assistant
Lloyd Goossens, Cadmus' attorney
Violet Day, Kerrie's roommate
Beau Rummel, private investigator
Ellery Queen, private investigator
Locale: New York City and Tarrytown, NY
Synopsis: Ellery Queen has gone into the P.I. business with Beau Rummel. Their first client is Cadmus Cole, multi-millionaire. Cadmus insists on hiring Ellery only. He provides a $15k retainer against future services, to be outlined in his will when he dies. His death occurs a few days later, on his yacht in the Caribbean, and he is quickly buried at sea.
The instructions he left are simple: Just locate his heirs for the estate. They are Margo Cole, the daughter of his brother Huntley (deceased); and Kerrie Shawn, the daughter of his sister Monica (also deceased).
Beau is going to run down the heirs, but as the contract was with Ellery only, he goes by Ellery's name to do so - a bit unethical.
The two nieces are found. Kerrie is looking for work in Hollywood, and Margo is living a life of opulent ease in Paris. They come to New York City. Now for the second stipulation in Cole's will: the girls will inherit his fortune, but only if they reside in his Tarrytown estate for a period of one year. They move in, but don't get along. If one of them dies, her share of the fortune reverts to the other. There are several attempts on Kerrie's life - are they accidents, or is Margo trying to cash in? Beau Rummel (as Ellery Queen) hatches a plan to protect Kerrie - by marrying her, which cuts her out of the estate. They wind up together in a cheap hotel room - then Margo is shot dead, with Kellie found holding the gun.
Review: This is a nice tight Queen mystery. There is a small cast of characters, and forcing the two heirs to live together adds to the tension. There are a number of odd clues and red herrings: false teeth, pens and pencils, wigs, etc. The will with odd conditions, and the fact that Cadmus Cole dies right away but is buried at sea (thus, no body) raises suspicion of hanky-panky. There's a lot of identity misdirection. A good solid Queen for the period.
February 2, 2019
When I picked up this book I didn't even know it was a mystery book, I didn't even realize that this was part of the series, because I have a copy printed in the 1930's that has no descriptions on the back or anything like our modern books. This reads like an American Sherlock Holmes set in the 1930's. The entire book I felt I knew where it was leading, I felt the mystery was a little predictable, and yet I kept reading--I wanted to know how we would arrive at my conclusions. Small spoilers after this point: But, when we came to the end of the book all of my suspicions but one--the key one, of course--were correct, the murderer was someone I had never suspected. The ending may have not lived up to my expectations completely because some of the reasoning in the end was pulled out of thin air (just a little bit), but I still thoroughly enjoyed my journey through the story. I would love to get my hands on another Ellery Queen novel, if possible.
March 22, 2021
I'm presently reduced to pulling used-bookstore finds off my shelves, due to not having ordered any new books lately.
Ellery Queen was a long-time staple of mid-century American crime fiction. I never read his novellas, only occasional short stories, so this was my first encounter with Mr. Queen, private detective and mystery author, in long form. He seems a nice enough fellow.
Modern readers will find the tone and language of this book outdated, even a bit camp. There are a possibly murdered millionaire, a muscular swain, a damsel in distress, a femme fatale, multiple possible villains, impossible to interpret clues and an assortment of red herrings--all classic elements of mysteries of the era, including the gather-all-the-suspects-in-a-room ending.
It was pleasant enough, but didn't make me want to contact the Mysterious Bookshop for out-of-print Queen editions. I think I have a few more old editions on the shelf, so I may end up posting a few more...
Ellery Queen was a long-time staple of mid-century American crime fiction. I never read his novellas, only occasional short stories, so this was my first encounter with Mr. Queen, private detective and mystery author, in long form. He seems a nice enough fellow.
Modern readers will find the tone and language of this book outdated, even a bit camp. There are a possibly murdered millionaire, a muscular swain, a damsel in distress, a femme fatale, multiple possible villains, impossible to interpret clues and an assortment of red herrings--all classic elements of mysteries of the era, including the gather-all-the-suspects-in-a-room ending.
It was pleasant enough, but didn't make me want to contact the Mysterious Bookshop for out-of-print Queen editions. I think I have a few more old editions on the shelf, so I may end up posting a few more...
April 15, 2024
Forty-some years ago, I read this book as part of a double-volume of Ellery Queen novels. I think I promptly forgot it because the second book in that volume was Calamity Town, one of the very best Ellery Queen novels. (By the way, those double volumes were annoying to my young orderly/anal mind; in my pathological desire to alphabetize the Ellery Queen books, I cut the volumes in half with scissors).
Anyway, this book sucks. The mystery is flimsy, badly titled, and full of dumb mistakes on the part of Beau (who’s an idiotic blowhard) and Ellery (who misses the obvious time and again). Queen cannot write realistic female characters, and they particularly cannot do it in this book: Kerrie is thoroughly spineless and should never have forgiven Beau. Even Inspector Queen and Velie get short shrift. I don’t think this is the worst one, but I can’t remember reading one anywhere near this bad.
Anyway, this book sucks. The mystery is flimsy, badly titled, and full of dumb mistakes on the part of Beau (who’s an idiotic blowhard) and Ellery (who misses the obvious time and again). Queen cannot write realistic female characters, and they particularly cannot do it in this book: Kerrie is thoroughly spineless and should never have forgiven Beau. Even Inspector Queen and Velie get short shrift. I don’t think this is the worst one, but I can’t remember reading one anywhere near this bad.
September 19, 2025
This book was published in 1939, and, like most Golden Age mysteries, it's a bit on the creaky side. The detective version of Queen is very much like Sherlock and Nero Wolfe, etc, in that he is presented as possessing a superhuman capacity to discern the truths of a case while everyone else founders. That's true here as well, but what saves the narrative is that it is his new business partner, Beau Rummel, who drives the story well into the second half. Beau is brash, a bit of a scoundrel, the opposite of the retiring, almost inactive Queen, who seemingly just cogitates. The twosome pursue the case, methodically paring the list of potential murderers, pretty leaving the reveal as being the only candidate left. Not much of a mystery there. There's also way too much time spent on defending the honor of the story's sweet young thing. Considering the country was still in the depression, it seems anachronistic. There are better Ellery Queen books to read.
July 29, 2025
Sebbene un po’ bigotto nella rappresentazione dei personaggi femminili (la fanciulla protagonista è dolce e ingenua e casta e amorevole, mentre la donna un po’ più matura, che fa l’indossatrice, è “cattiva”, volgare, di facili costumi…), questo romanzo di Ellery Queen mi è piaciuto sicuramente molto più del precedente (Il paese del maleficio). La storia mi è parsa fin da subito intrigante per il fatto che non si capisce su cosa Ellery è chiamato a indagare. L’omicidio vero e proprio, che fa nascere finalmente un “caso”, avviene un bel po’ in là con la storia, che si trasforma in un giallo a tutti gli effetti, e il caro Ellery può dare sfoggio del suo acume!
Insomma, a parte la troppo melensa storia d’amore, un interessante giallo e un bel romanzo in toto!
Insomma, a parte la troppo melensa storia d’amore, un interessante giallo e un bel romanzo in toto!
June 15, 2023
I have read very little Ellery Queen in the past, and I honestly thought this was the first book since it didn't seem like his private eye business was set up. Apparently there are 14 books prior to this; I think this may prove that Ellery Queen novels are true stand alones. The plot was a little convoluted, but the writing moved things forward well. I was surprised that Queen wasn't really the central character, but Beau Rummell was a terrific character and his relationship with Kerrie was beautifully carried out.
January 27, 2018
This was the first Ellery Queen story I've read. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and a large part of that is due to the reader who really made the characters come to life. I will definitely read more in this series. I also liked that it seems to be a self-contained book; meaning I don't have to read the first one and follow them in order (because frankly, you can get the audio books for all of them). In any case, yes! Bring on more EQ stories.
May 28, 2020
This was a quick, fun read. The storyline was very predictable, but it was a great "mindless" read. It probably would have gotten four stars, but Ellery was so long-winded in his summation. He didn't have the pizzazz of other detectives when they are explaining what happened to the clueless people around him. He came across as more arrogant and annoying than anything else. But, it was still fun to read.
April 7, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyable! I loved all of the Who-is-Ellery-Queen shenanigans. (They shenan'd once, you best believe they were gonna shenanigan). No but seriously, the only weird thing was that the narrative insisted on calling Ellery "Mr. Queen" for most of the book. That was strange. But the mystery was fun, and I even enjoyed the romantic subplot. Much like Bill Angel (I miss Bill), I hope to see Beau Rummell again in future books.
December 22, 2021
I enjoyed this one but it was more of a romantic tale than the typical mystery. Also in this one Ellery does not stop until the reader they have all the information. Instead there is information that is hidden we only find out later and we could not have deduced it. It's a common ploy used by many authors and I was surprised by it here. I will continue with the rest of the series.
February 1, 2024
I grew up watching Ellery Queen Mysteries on TV, so when I saw this book I had to read it! I loved it because it followed the pattern that was developed for writing a mystery novel, with none of the fluff. It was these early mystery authors who wrote the book on how a mystery novel should be constructed. I think the pattern still stands for a good mystery.
September 5, 2017
Great mystery
I really enjoy Ellery Queen mysteries. I like the fact that the clues are subtle. I am glad that there are more novels available. I think other fans would enjoy th's book.
I really enjoy Ellery Queen mysteries. I like the fact that the clues are subtle. I am glad that there are more novels available. I think other fans would enjoy th's book.
May 21, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed this Ellery Queen, even if EQ himself was not the star. He was still the hero in the end, bringing both love and wealth to the happy couple. I’m a sucker for a happy ending and this one delivered in spades!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2021
A good mystery with a nice ending!
I have enjoyed reading several Ellery Queen mysteries and this was a good one. This is the only one I've been able to figure out "who done it" before it was revealed in the story. Enjoy it!
I have enjoyed reading several Ellery Queen mysteries and this was a good one. This is the only one I've been able to figure out "who done it" before it was revealed in the story. Enjoy it!
August 23, 2022
Come gli altri libri di Ellery Queen che ho letto, anche questo l’ho finito in pochissime e scorrevoli letture!
Storia piacevole, forse tra quelle lette quella più “romantica” quindi con risvolti un po’ meno da classico giallo, con finale inaspettato! Pensavo che l’assassino era un altro … :D
Storia piacevole, forse tra quelle lette quella più “romantica” quindi con risvolti un po’ meno da classico giallo, con finale inaspettato! Pensavo che l’assassino era un altro … :D
December 16, 2022
A pleasant somewhat dated mystery. More love story than I'd prefer, but overall an interesting tale with characters I enjoyed. Definitely of the Perry Mason era, and I'll be checking out more of these.
January 23, 2023
Me ha gustado a pesar de que la traducción al español es bastante cursi y afectada haciendo decir a un tipo duro cosas como "requetebonísimo" e incluyendo el traducir el nombre del protagonista a "Hermoso" xD
En general, es buena, fácil de leer... Aunque con un final un poco rebuscado.
En general, es buena, fácil de leer... Aunque con un final un poco rebuscado.
October 29, 2017
A perfectly wonderful mystery novel, and EXTREMELY funny.
January 4, 2018
Dimenticabile in 3 giorni.
June 24, 2019
Romanzo insipido di Queen. Purtroppo ha una trama debole, non all'altezza di altri capolavori dei due cugini americani. Perciò due stelle.
March 30, 2020
This one was much better. I really don’t know why the name change was necessary, but I enjoyed this one more than the Roman hat one.
May 3, 2020
Very fun, my first Ellery Queen. Nice, easy before bed read
May 5, 2020
Wonderful old fashioned (1939) vocabulary and diction with a sophisticated plot. A nice change from current works.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews