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Ellery Queen Detective #6
The American Gun Mystery
When a washed up Hollywood cowboy-turned-circus rodeo actor is shot dead in the midst of his performance at a New York sports-palace, in front of thousands of onlookers, it seems obvious that someone would have seen the perpetrator of the crime—or at the very least, recovered the gun. But when the ensuing investigation fails to turn up any evidence, even after the newsreels made in the moment are reviewed, the net of suspicion widens across the troupe of performers and the circus staff. Who among them is cunning enough to have constructed such a baffling murder scene?
Unluckily for the murderer, genius sleuth Ellery Queen is among the thousands that witnessed the crime, and he won’t be satisfied until he cuts through the confusion to discover the truth of the execution. By the time he uncovers all the necessary clues and delivers his patented “Challenge to the Reader,” Queen (and his most careful readers) will be able to expose both the killer and the hiding place of the weapon—the titular American Gun that fired the fatal bullet.
Unluckily for the murderer, genius sleuth Ellery Queen is among the thousands that witnessed the crime, and he won’t be satisfied until he cuts through the confusion to discover the truth of the execution. By the time he uncovers all the necessary clues and delivers his patented “Challenge to the Reader,” Queen (and his most careful readers) will be able to expose both the killer and the hiding place of the weapon—the titular American Gun that fired the fatal bullet.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1933
109 people are currently reading
365 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 - 30 of 85 reviews
March 6, 2016
Unforgivable. What an utter waste of time. My time. The authors - they must be doing reverse spinning in their graves - should be ashamed for having laid such a work. They comically painted themselves into a corner. They forgot the most important thing in writing a mystery. The humblest of books takes care of that thing first of all. The plot here was a convoluted mess. Like I said, the authors painted themselves into a corner, Macguyvered their brush into a gun, and shot themselves in the foot. No motive. No m-o-t-i-v-e.
August 29, 2010
This book begins with the most lushly overwritten passages this reader has come across so far in the Queen oeuvre. It feels as if the author(s) were consciously trying to make their writing more ‘literary.’ The result, however, reads more like the strained attempt of an undergraduate to emulate a serious writer than a serious writer writing naturally in their own style.
Its strained conscious attempt to write at an elevated level is more noticeable by being juxtaposed with the authors attempt to capture the voice and feel of the cast of “colourful” “western” characters. While poking fun at people, such as Djuna, who are mesmerized by the world of film the authors reproduce every single cliche, trope and tired story line found in a plethora of western pulp novels and films. Indeed, if one was to pull out all the instances of stereotyping and cliche in this book and add them to the vigorously over-written passages you would arrive at volume that was larger than the original since much of it suffers from both faults.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Leaving aside the racial, ethnic and gender stereotypes that abound in this book that may be much more obvious in retrospect than they were when it was first published there are four elements that made this book such a chore for this reader to finish.
One:
The authorial voice is strained, inconsistent and self-conscious to a degree that makes it hard to simply sit back and read.
Two:
The solution to the crime may be one of the most unbelievable imagination straining of all the contemporaneous stories and books this reader has encountered. It also suggests that the police involved were incompetent. Given the basic setup--a man has been shot during a rodeo show at a large sports arena--the idea that individuals who were within shooting range were allowed to do things such as feed and water and handle the horses without police escort and oversight while those same police search 20,000 people in the stands suggests that either the police are so untrained as to be incompetent or that the authors were simply in love with the “stunt” of a massive search. And if one looks at earlier Queen books one does indeed see repeated variations on this theme.
For those who argue, as does Inspector Queen in the book, that the person who fired the gun could have thrown it to an accomplice in the crowd this reviewer points out that it is unreasonable to think that the perpetrator could have thrown the gun to someone in a nosebleed seat. To search the lower part of the audience could be argued to be justified but to search people so far away from the scene of the action is to mistake action for utility.
Three:
Ellery’s continual refusal to share with other people the results of his deductions is justified in this book, as it has been before, as a reaction to his public embarrassment on airing his theories during The Greek Coffin Mystery. This excuse for his purposeful obfuscation does not hold up to scrutiny. The embarrassment in that case did not arise from Ellery “having a idea” it arose from Ellery claiming that his idea was the sole good explanation only to have it pulled into pieces. The lesson to be learned was not that one shouldn’t share one’s theories rather that one shouldn’t proclaim one’s theories as if they were revealed truth.
This moment of being called on his propensity to see his deductions as facts is used throughout the following books for Ellery to withhold not only his ideas but information that is vital for other people to investigate the case.
Four:
Ellery’s relationship with the police force not only gives him unrealistic access to information and scenes that should have remained confidential it also opens the door for behaviour on the part of the police that must, even in the legal regime of the time, put into jeopardy their ability to actually convict the individuals that Ellery fingers as the perpetrators of the crimes.
It is notable that up until this point in the series even when Inspector Queen is most embattled the question of the propriety, let alone the legality, of him giving his son a special police badge is never brought up as a charge against him. His superiors, the editors of the New York newspapers, his subordinates and the population at large seem not to find this open nepotism worth discussing.
Ellery has in earlier books removed pieces of evidence from the crime scene. In early books, and in this book, he instructs members of the New York Police Force to withhold information and the results of tests from his father and other officials. Ellery breaks the chain of possession for evidence, handles it before it has been inspected by members of the police force and in this book openly plants evidence on a suspect. Ellery claims that this was necessary in order to have the real murderer come forward. Ellery and his father are fortunate that the man who claimed to be the real killer shot himself rather than go to trial since it is doubtful that, even in the New York of the time, the man would have ever come to trial. Nor it is likely would the man on whom the police admitted planting evidence.
What this book, and other mystery books of the time, reflected was a deep distrust of routine police work and a valorization of the detective version of the man on the white horse. Reading at this remove in time it stands out that the audience of these books was predominantly middle or upper class people or people who aspired to be middle class and the police force is routinely shown as being staffed by the men who are only a generation or two removed from Ellis Island. Ellery Queen, like Philo Vance, is fictive proof of the fact that the dull routine procedures of the working and lower middle class police force can only succeed if led by emissaries from the ”better” classes. They also reflect an acceptance among the reading population of the idea that the police and judiciary of the country are often corrupt, often incompetent and not infrequently both. In short these books reflect just how shaky the foundations of American democracy were in the period between the wars.
SPECIAL NOTE: WARNING DISTURBING RACIAL LANGUAGE REFERENCED
This reader is well aware of the many changes in American society between the date this book was published and now, particularly in reference to images of and language about African-Americans--however the especially offensive nature of both in this book stunned the reader. Queen was actually described as one of the authors who was more inclusive of minorities than some others at the time. However in this book the African-American who becomes the new heavyweight champion over the course of the story, is routinely described in animalistic terms. There is a scene in a night club in which a (white) man denounces his (white) wife for having a affair with the boxer that contains phrases that are so offensive that this reviewer is unwilling to repeat them here. If that scene had been included because the attitude of the husband had been crucial to the unraveling of the crime it might be argued that it has some redeeming literary purpose--although the reader sees no reason for the repetition of negative racial epithets to be included in the text when those same authors would never have included epithets that were equally offensive to members of the clergy. This entire scene could be easily excised from the book without the plot losing any coherence. This reader’s advise would be for librarians to at least warn people who check this book out of its potential offensiveness.
Its strained conscious attempt to write at an elevated level is more noticeable by being juxtaposed with the authors attempt to capture the voice and feel of the cast of “colourful” “western” characters. While poking fun at people, such as Djuna, who are mesmerized by the world of film the authors reproduce every single cliche, trope and tired story line found in a plethora of western pulp novels and films. Indeed, if one was to pull out all the instances of stereotyping and cliche in this book and add them to the vigorously over-written passages you would arrive at volume that was larger than the original since much of it suffers from both faults.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Leaving aside the racial, ethnic and gender stereotypes that abound in this book that may be much more obvious in retrospect than they were when it was first published there are four elements that made this book such a chore for this reader to finish.
One:
The authorial voice is strained, inconsistent and self-conscious to a degree that makes it hard to simply sit back and read.
Two:
The solution to the crime may be one of the most unbelievable imagination straining of all the contemporaneous stories and books this reader has encountered. It also suggests that the police involved were incompetent. Given the basic setup--a man has been shot during a rodeo show at a large sports arena--the idea that individuals who were within shooting range were allowed to do things such as feed and water and handle the horses without police escort and oversight while those same police search 20,000 people in the stands suggests that either the police are so untrained as to be incompetent or that the authors were simply in love with the “stunt” of a massive search. And if one looks at earlier Queen books one does indeed see repeated variations on this theme.
For those who argue, as does Inspector Queen in the book, that the person who fired the gun could have thrown it to an accomplice in the crowd this reviewer points out that it is unreasonable to think that the perpetrator could have thrown the gun to someone in a nosebleed seat. To search the lower part of the audience could be argued to be justified but to search people so far away from the scene of the action is to mistake action for utility.
Three:
Ellery’s continual refusal to share with other people the results of his deductions is justified in this book, as it has been before, as a reaction to his public embarrassment on airing his theories during The Greek Coffin Mystery. This excuse for his purposeful obfuscation does not hold up to scrutiny. The embarrassment in that case did not arise from Ellery “having a idea” it arose from Ellery claiming that his idea was the sole good explanation only to have it pulled into pieces. The lesson to be learned was not that one shouldn’t share one’s theories rather that one shouldn’t proclaim one’s theories as if they were revealed truth.
This moment of being called on his propensity to see his deductions as facts is used throughout the following books for Ellery to withhold not only his ideas but information that is vital for other people to investigate the case.
Four:
Ellery’s relationship with the police force not only gives him unrealistic access to information and scenes that should have remained confidential it also opens the door for behaviour on the part of the police that must, even in the legal regime of the time, put into jeopardy their ability to actually convict the individuals that Ellery fingers as the perpetrators of the crimes.
It is notable that up until this point in the series even when Inspector Queen is most embattled the question of the propriety, let alone the legality, of him giving his son a special police badge is never brought up as a charge against him. His superiors, the editors of the New York newspapers, his subordinates and the population at large seem not to find this open nepotism worth discussing.
Ellery has in earlier books removed pieces of evidence from the crime scene. In early books, and in this book, he instructs members of the New York Police Force to withhold information and the results of tests from his father and other officials. Ellery breaks the chain of possession for evidence, handles it before it has been inspected by members of the police force and in this book openly plants evidence on a suspect. Ellery claims that this was necessary in order to have the real murderer come forward. Ellery and his father are fortunate that the man who claimed to be the real killer shot himself rather than go to trial since it is doubtful that, even in the New York of the time, the man would have ever come to trial. Nor it is likely would the man on whom the police admitted planting evidence.
What this book, and other mystery books of the time, reflected was a deep distrust of routine police work and a valorization of the detective version of the man on the white horse. Reading at this remove in time it stands out that the audience of these books was predominantly middle or upper class people or people who aspired to be middle class and the police force is routinely shown as being staffed by the men who are only a generation or two removed from Ellis Island. Ellery Queen, like Philo Vance, is fictive proof of the fact that the dull routine procedures of the working and lower middle class police force can only succeed if led by emissaries from the ”better” classes. They also reflect an acceptance among the reading population of the idea that the police and judiciary of the country are often corrupt, often incompetent and not infrequently both. In short these books reflect just how shaky the foundations of American democracy were in the period between the wars.
SPECIAL NOTE: WARNING DISTURBING RACIAL LANGUAGE REFERENCED
This reader is well aware of the many changes in American society between the date this book was published and now, particularly in reference to images of and language about African-Americans--however the especially offensive nature of both in this book stunned the reader. Queen was actually described as one of the authors who was more inclusive of minorities than some others at the time. However in this book the African-American who becomes the new heavyweight champion over the course of the story, is routinely described in animalistic terms. There is a scene in a night club in which a (white) man denounces his (white) wife for having a affair with the boxer that contains phrases that are so offensive that this reviewer is unwilling to repeat them here. If that scene had been included because the attitude of the husband had been crucial to the unraveling of the crime it might be argued that it has some redeeming literary purpose--although the reader sees no reason for the repetition of negative racial epithets to be included in the text when those same authors would never have included epithets that were equally offensive to members of the clergy. This entire scene could be easily excised from the book without the plot losing any coherence. This reader’s advise would be for librarians to at least warn people who check this book out of its potential offensiveness.
August 27, 2021
Three and a half stars rounded up to four. The American Gun Mystery by Ellery Queen is being re-released for the first time in thirty years. It was written in the golden age of mystery and remains one of the classic forms of “puzzle” mysteries that is currently in publication. As a style of writing, it is no longer as much in fashion; yet it still holds the reader’s interest in terms of setting a problem, providing all the clues, and letting the reader try and solve the puzzle before all is revealed.
In some ways, comparing this book to a modern day mystery novel is a bit like comparing a black and white movie with one done in full color. There is much that is dated about this book, and yet there is something quintessentially classic at the same time. That classic aspect will appeal to those readers who want an intellectual challenge and an opportunity to match wits with the author.
For readers who enjoy visualizing the book as they read, it will be helpful if they have an image of Ellery Queen, the fictional detective of the book, along with his father Inspector Queen, the veteran Sergeant Velie, and Djuna, the Queen’s houseboy. While it isn’t necessary to the story, the image of those central characters will help create a picture of the action of this story.
I first read Ellery Queen when I was in my teens, primarily because the books were readily available in my house. Reading this novel was like a return to those early years of reading, when I liked nothing more than to have a challenge set in the form of a puzzle. For anyone who enjoys puzzles, be they crossword or logic puzzles etc., this book will offer the same type of opportunity.
The author Ellery Queen is scrupulous in providing all the information the reader needs to solve the murder. In the same fashion he has employed over multiple novels, he also stops the book at about the 90% read point and speaks directly to the reader. Here he takes the time to advise them that they now have all the information required and challenges them to solve the puzzle. This is the reader’s opportunity to go back, reread anything they want, and see if they can solve the mystery on their own before all is revealed.
Of course, it isn’t necessary for the reader to solve the problem. The final pages of the book have Ellery Queen, the detective, enumerating the facts and explaining how he arrived at the “correct” conclusion. It is a unique style that readers who like to match wits with authors, will appreciate. If you are looking for a fast-paced book, filled with tension and danger at the turn of every page, this is not the novel for you. However, if you enjoy puzzles and bringing an intellectual approach to reading and solving mysteries, look no further. Be prepared, Ellery Queen, the detective, is an exceptional intellect and, as such his conversation is urbane and, at times, quite academic. Your own vocabulary may be challenged at times, although not to the point of not being able to understand the book or the information provided.
I found this book a refreshing change. Certainly there is no danger of Ellery Queen, the author, underestimating the intelligence of his readers. Rather, reading this book can leave the reader little doubt that their intelligence is acknowledged, appreciated, and encouraged. My thanks to Penzler Publishers American Mystery Classics and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy for this review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
In some ways, comparing this book to a modern day mystery novel is a bit like comparing a black and white movie with one done in full color. There is much that is dated about this book, and yet there is something quintessentially classic at the same time. That classic aspect will appeal to those readers who want an intellectual challenge and an opportunity to match wits with the author.
For readers who enjoy visualizing the book as they read, it will be helpful if they have an image of Ellery Queen, the fictional detective of the book, along with his father Inspector Queen, the veteran Sergeant Velie, and Djuna, the Queen’s houseboy. While it isn’t necessary to the story, the image of those central characters will help create a picture of the action of this story.
I first read Ellery Queen when I was in my teens, primarily because the books were readily available in my house. Reading this novel was like a return to those early years of reading, when I liked nothing more than to have a challenge set in the form of a puzzle. For anyone who enjoys puzzles, be they crossword or logic puzzles etc., this book will offer the same type of opportunity.
The author Ellery Queen is scrupulous in providing all the information the reader needs to solve the murder. In the same fashion he has employed over multiple novels, he also stops the book at about the 90% read point and speaks directly to the reader. Here he takes the time to advise them that they now have all the information required and challenges them to solve the puzzle. This is the reader’s opportunity to go back, reread anything they want, and see if they can solve the mystery on their own before all is revealed.
Of course, it isn’t necessary for the reader to solve the problem. The final pages of the book have Ellery Queen, the detective, enumerating the facts and explaining how he arrived at the “correct” conclusion. It is a unique style that readers who like to match wits with authors, will appreciate. If you are looking for a fast-paced book, filled with tension and danger at the turn of every page, this is not the novel for you. However, if you enjoy puzzles and bringing an intellectual approach to reading and solving mysteries, look no further. Be prepared, Ellery Queen, the detective, is an exceptional intellect and, as such his conversation is urbane and, at times, quite academic. Your own vocabulary may be challenged at times, although not to the point of not being able to understand the book or the information provided.
I found this book a refreshing change. Certainly there is no danger of Ellery Queen, the author, underestimating the intelligence of his readers. Rather, reading this book can leave the reader little doubt that their intelligence is acknowledged, appreciated, and encouraged. My thanks to Penzler Publishers American Mystery Classics and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy for this review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.
September 19, 2021
Over the past year I have extended my reading from British Golden Age Detective Fiction into American novels of that period.
I have now read a few by the writing duo known as Ellery Queen and am reluctantly reaching the conclusion that they, along with the works of van Dine, are just not to my taste.
This early example was, to me, prolix and preposterous and not an enjoyable experience for a reader- detective. I appreciate neither the style nor the plotting.
Thank you to NetGalley and to WW Norton & Company for the digital review copy.
I have now read a few by the writing duo known as Ellery Queen and am reluctantly reaching the conclusion that they, along with the works of van Dine, are just not to my taste.
This early example was, to me, prolix and preposterous and not an enjoyable experience for a reader- detective. I appreciate neither the style nor the plotting.
Thank you to NetGalley and to WW Norton & Company for the digital review copy.
May 30, 2016
Certainly not as good as the others in this series, but did have the usual Ellery touches. Really now, you've gotta have a motive -- and reveal what the motive is.
April 26, 2019
I enjoyed this for the most part.
A Wild West show comes to town. An ex-movie cowboy star is the big feature in it. At least, until he gets killed. By a .25. There are plenty of .45s - mostly filled with blanks. They search everyone in the place, including the thousands in the audience. No .25 shows up that will match the markings on the bullet - early forensics.
I wondered how this would compare to the Miss Withers book (Murder on Wheels) where the rodeo comes to town. Both are pretty unbelievable crimes. I suppose they are both possible. But it just intrigued me that two books from the early '30s could use the same backdrop. Thus far, these are the only books I have read with a rodeo/Wild West show background.
I thought the wrap-up could have been a little better. Of course, I did doze off in the middle of the explanation, so that may explain some of my confusion.
A Wild West show comes to town. An ex-movie cowboy star is the big feature in it. At least, until he gets killed. By a .25. There are plenty of .45s - mostly filled with blanks. They search everyone in the place, including the thousands in the audience. No .25 shows up that will match the markings on the bullet - early forensics.
I wondered how this would compare to the Miss Withers book (Murder on Wheels) where the rodeo comes to town. Both are pretty unbelievable crimes. I suppose they are both possible. But it just intrigued me that two books from the early '30s could use the same backdrop. Thus far, these are the only books I have read with a rodeo/Wild West show background.
I thought the wrap-up could have been a little better. Of course, I did doze off in the middle of the explanation, so that may explain some of my confusion.
November 13, 2021
It's rodeo time in the Big Apple. Wild Bill Grant has brought his cowboys and horses, sharpshooters and bronco busters to town and they're all set to give New York a taste of the wild and woolly west. As an added bonus, real life cowboy and former Western movie star, Buck Horne is on tap to appear. But the show has barely begun before there is bloodshed. As Buck leads a posse of 40 cowboys on a wild ride around the arena, someone takes a bead on the lead rider and Buck falls to the ground, dead. He's been shot straight through the heart and then trampled by the horses in the gang that followed him.
Inspector Queen and his detective son Ellery are in the stands and the Inspector's quick thinking closes down the arena before anyone can leave. Now all they have to do is find the gun. The police force shows up in droves, manages to search every person in the arena as well as every inch of the Colosseum and yet no gun is found. After no progress is made, the Commissioner (under pressure from various sources) declares the venue open for business and Wild Bill starts up his rodeo again. With the same result--his lead cowboy, One-Arm Woody, takes Buck's place at the head of the 40-man posse and sets off around the arena. And falls dead in the same spot from another gunshot.
On the spot each time was a camera crew filming the event for the newsreels. Ellery gets hold of the complete film (including portions cut from the film to make the newsreel more compact) and spots the clue that tells him who did it and where the gun was stashed after the first murder. He then challenges the reader to use the clues to find the same answer.
This is not one of the best Queen novels. The setting is clever--a Western rodeo in the middle of New York City. Populating the Big Apple with cowboys and ranch hands and bronco busters and contrasting that with the city slickers, hard-bitten journalists, and steely-eyed members of Inspector Queen's police force works well. What doesn't work well is the mystery itself. Supposedly, we have all the clues we need to reach the same conclusion as Ellery. Well--if you count vague little references, I suppose so. But, quite frankly, the hiding place for the gun is ridiculous and I doubt that anyone having actually noticed the brief little notation that really came up with that solution. Add the fact that Ellery is really quite insufferable in this episode--announcing after the first murder that he knows who did it....except he doesn't know who did it. His poor father must have been ready to boot him from the case. I know I was.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
Inspector Queen and his detective son Ellery are in the stands and the Inspector's quick thinking closes down the arena before anyone can leave. Now all they have to do is find the gun. The police force shows up in droves, manages to search every person in the arena as well as every inch of the Colosseum and yet no gun is found. After no progress is made, the Commissioner (under pressure from various sources) declares the venue open for business and Wild Bill starts up his rodeo again. With the same result--his lead cowboy, One-Arm Woody, takes Buck's place at the head of the 40-man posse and sets off around the arena. And falls dead in the same spot from another gunshot.
On the spot each time was a camera crew filming the event for the newsreels. Ellery gets hold of the complete film (including portions cut from the film to make the newsreel more compact) and spots the clue that tells him who did it and where the gun was stashed after the first murder. He then challenges the reader to use the clues to find the same answer.
This is not one of the best Queen novels. The setting is clever--a Western rodeo in the middle of New York City. Populating the Big Apple with cowboys and ranch hands and bronco busters and contrasting that with the city slickers, hard-bitten journalists, and steely-eyed members of Inspector Queen's police force works well. What doesn't work well is the mystery itself. Supposedly, we have all the clues we need to reach the same conclusion as Ellery. Well--if you count vague little references, I suppose so. But, quite frankly, the hiding place for the gun is ridiculous and I doubt that anyone having actually noticed the brief little notation that really came up with that solution. Add the fact that Ellery is really quite insufferable in this episode--announcing after the first murder that he knows who did it....except he doesn't know who did it. His poor father must have been ready to boot him from the case. I know I was.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of review. Thanks.
June 26, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century American Crime
BOOK 142 (of 250) and my first "Award", shall we say.
"MOST RIDICULOUS PLOT AND SOLUTION" Award.
Oh, how I liked this novel and was sure it would land at least in my Top 50. But the plot, when all is said and done, goes haywire.
Hook - 3 stars: "To me, " said Ellery Queen, " a wheel is not a wheel unless it turns." And off to the rodeo we go, an original setting for the crime genre.
Pace - 2: I lost count of how many times Inspector Queen said something like "I know who did it but I'm going out for a drink."
Plot - 1: A rider just entering the stadium leading 39 (or 40) other riders on horses is shot dead. Then, later the exact same crime is duplicated to perfection (angle of entry by the bullet) against a moving rider. Yes, that's hard to believe. Then things get really messy! Dr. Pouty says the bullet entered body from right to left through the heart on a downward slope. About 50 pages later, Inspector Queen says the victim was "shot through the left side into the heart." The denouement tells us that the victim, indeed had been shot through the left side through the heart on a downward slope. (And don't forget, the crime is duplicated perfectly a second time on a moving target.) Somebody can't tell entry and exit shot wounds apart. Or someone is throwing out red herrings that don't make sense. Or the Dr. is lying, but if so, it's never explained. Oh, and no one can find the gun itself and I did NOT believe for a second the actual location of the hidden murder weapon. Besides, with an arena full of people, wouldn't someone see it happen? AND, as soon as the first shot goes off, there is a stampede of people out of the massive arena. Yet, there are enough people on patrol (in 1933) to make sure not a single person actually leaves...I could go on and on. I just didn't believe the plot.
CHARACTERS= 5: GREAT cast! Inspector Queen, his son, Djuna (the houseboy, lots of houseboys back in the days I think), Buck Horne (65 y/o western film star hoping for a come back), Kit Horne (actress, orphan brought up by Buck), Wild Bill Grant and son, Curly Grant (great shot), doped up Hollywood movie star, Mara Gay and her husband Julian Hunter. And many more.
ATMOSPHERE=5: GREAT! Original! Queen takes readers right into the dirt, to the stables, into all facets of a rodeo show. (I've been to a number of rodeos when I lived in Dallas, but I learned even more things here...)
SUMMARY = Completely unbelievable, senseless plot and impossible, for me, solution. That's unfortunate given the great cast and atmosphere. My overall rating is 3.2
BOOK 142 (of 250) and my first "Award", shall we say.
"MOST RIDICULOUS PLOT AND SOLUTION" Award.
Oh, how I liked this novel and was sure it would land at least in my Top 50. But the plot, when all is said and done, goes haywire.
Hook - 3 stars: "To me, " said Ellery Queen, " a wheel is not a wheel unless it turns." And off to the rodeo we go, an original setting for the crime genre.
Pace - 2: I lost count of how many times Inspector Queen said something like "I know who did it but I'm going out for a drink."
Plot - 1: A rider just entering the stadium leading 39 (or 40) other riders on horses is shot dead. Then, later the exact same crime is duplicated to perfection (angle of entry by the bullet) against a moving rider. Yes, that's hard to believe. Then things get really messy! Dr. Pouty says the bullet entered body from right to left through the heart on a downward slope. About 50 pages later, Inspector Queen says the victim was "shot through the left side into the heart." The denouement tells us that the victim, indeed had been shot through the left side through the heart on a downward slope. (And don't forget, the crime is duplicated perfectly a second time on a moving target.) Somebody can't tell entry and exit shot wounds apart. Or someone is throwing out red herrings that don't make sense. Or the Dr. is lying, but if so, it's never explained. Oh, and no one can find the gun itself and I did NOT believe for a second the actual location of the hidden murder weapon. Besides, with an arena full of people, wouldn't someone see it happen? AND, as soon as the first shot goes off, there is a stampede of people out of the massive arena. Yet, there are enough people on patrol (in 1933) to make sure not a single person actually leaves...I could go on and on. I just didn't believe the plot.
CHARACTERS= 5: GREAT cast! Inspector Queen, his son, Djuna (the houseboy, lots of houseboys back in the days I think), Buck Horne (65 y/o western film star hoping for a come back), Kit Horne (actress, orphan brought up by Buck), Wild Bill Grant and son, Curly Grant (great shot), doped up Hollywood movie star, Mara Gay and her husband Julian Hunter. And many more.
ATMOSPHERE=5: GREAT! Original! Queen takes readers right into the dirt, to the stables, into all facets of a rodeo show. (I've been to a number of rodeos when I lived in Dallas, but I learned even more things here...)
SUMMARY = Completely unbelievable, senseless plot and impossible, for me, solution. That's unfortunate given the great cast and atmosphere. My overall rating is 3.2
October 6, 2020
CHALLENGE-BONUS #7-NEVER ENDING STORY
(***Teri said it was ok that this was an audibobook for challenge category***)
I've previously listened to other Ellery Queen mysteries on audio. (and b/c i've never seen them in book format on the shelves) They were pretty good.
I didn't want to start a new series so i chose this one on audio as i was already familiar with the characters.
FYI: I did this on audio so my review reflects that.
But OMG...this took forever. it was never-ending!! and b/c it's audio, i couldn't skip ahead by skimmng. i had to continue listening.
First, the narrator introduces background on the character Ellery Queen in the most boring way which took 20min. Then it's another 2 hours before Ellery actually shows up in the story. I had the speed set at 1.5 rate.
By the time the dead body showed up I was bored. I sped it up to 2X rate.
Then it was a lot of blah, blah, blah to continue the story which seemed to get duller w/each word.
I sped up the rate to 3. (that's 3xthe normal speed) and when i looked at the time I still had 3 hours to go. Are you kidding me??
I even yelled that out loud.
And then if it wasn't bad enough, it took another 90 min for Ellery Queen to do the wrap-up & explain the solution to the murder. and quite honestly, i had tuned out for some of it, it was so convoluted that i didn't understand the explanation.
Jeez louise! I wouldn't recommend this particular book in the series.
(***Teri said it was ok that this was an audibobook for challenge category***)
I've previously listened to other Ellery Queen mysteries on audio. (and b/c i've never seen them in book format on the shelves) They were pretty good.
I didn't want to start a new series so i chose this one on audio as i was already familiar with the characters.
FYI: I did this on audio so my review reflects that.
But OMG...this took forever. it was never-ending!! and b/c it's audio, i couldn't skip ahead by skimmng. i had to continue listening.
First, the narrator introduces background on the character Ellery Queen in the most boring way which took 20min. Then it's another 2 hours before Ellery actually shows up in the story. I had the speed set at 1.5 rate.
By the time the dead body showed up I was bored. I sped it up to 2X rate.
Then it was a lot of blah, blah, blah to continue the story which seemed to get duller w/each word.
I sped up the rate to 3. (that's 3xthe normal speed) and when i looked at the time I still had 3 hours to go. Are you kidding me??
I even yelled that out loud.
And then if it wasn't bad enough, it took another 90 min for Ellery Queen to do the wrap-up & explain the solution to the murder. and quite honestly, i had tuned out for some of it, it was so convoluted that i didn't understand the explanation.
Jeez louise! I wouldn't recommend this particular book in the series.
April 4, 2021
About forty years ago, when I read this the first time, I loved how complicated an impossible crime it was. At that time, it made sense that the last thirty or forty pages of a book were reserved for explaining the mystery. Nowadays, I feel that it’s nicer to be able to enjoy the book all the way through, and the characters and dialogue of this one make that a little challenging. As does Ellery’s snotty, condescending behavior.
I still enjoyed it, but really this is for early Queen fans only. I might have enjoyed it even more, but, forty years on, I still remembered the solution. I can’t remember my current passwords, but spoilers from forty years ago—they are locked in my brain.
I still enjoyed it, but really this is for early Queen fans only. I might have enjoyed it even more, but, forty years on, I still remembered the solution. I can’t remember my current passwords, but spoilers from forty years ago—they are locked in my brain.
May 8, 2018
My second Ellery Queen Mystery! I’m afraid I didn’t like this as much as The Greek Coffin Mystery.
The American Mystery takes place at a Rodeo. Ellery Queen and his father take Djuna to see the first show starting Buck Horne. And at that show, with twenty thousand people watching, Buck Horne is shot dead. Ellery and his father leap into action but despite their best efforts, the gun is never found.
I thought that plot-wise, this was a pretty good mystery. Like with The Greek Coffin Mystery, the authors purposely interrupt the narrative to give the reader time to think before they reveal the truth. While I didn’t get the clues and didn’t figure out the mystery, things certainly made sense once they were explained.
The only thing that hampered my enjoyment was... well Ellery himself. I quite liked his character in the first book, and he was likable enough at the start of this (especially when he referenced Father Brown), but along the way, he became slightly irritating. While Poirot’s eccentricities come across as charming to me, Ellery’s quirks feel annoying. I really feel for his father, for having to put up with a know-it-all son who doesn’t reveal anything until the end (Although it is explained that this is because of the events in The Greek Coffin Mystery)
And since Ellery is the protagonist of the series, I’m left undecided if I want to continue reading. I was really interested in reading more of this series at first, but now, I’m not too sure. It’s definitely something to think about, especially since my TBR list is so long.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
The American Mystery takes place at a Rodeo. Ellery Queen and his father take Djuna to see the first show starting Buck Horne. And at that show, with twenty thousand people watching, Buck Horne is shot dead. Ellery and his father leap into action but despite their best efforts, the gun is never found.
I thought that plot-wise, this was a pretty good mystery. Like with The Greek Coffin Mystery, the authors purposely interrupt the narrative to give the reader time to think before they reveal the truth. While I didn’t get the clues and didn’t figure out the mystery, things certainly made sense once they were explained.
The only thing that hampered my enjoyment was... well Ellery himself. I quite liked his character in the first book, and he was likable enough at the start of this (especially when he referenced Father Brown), but along the way, he became slightly irritating. While Poirot’s eccentricities come across as charming to me, Ellery’s quirks feel annoying. I really feel for his father, for having to put up with a know-it-all son who doesn’t reveal anything until the end (Although it is explained that this is because of the events in The Greek Coffin Mystery)
And since Ellery is the protagonist of the series, I’m left undecided if I want to continue reading. I was really interested in reading more of this series at first, but now, I’m not too sure. It’s definitely something to think about, especially since my TBR list is so long.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
December 1, 2020
This is one of those cases where the I really need a 10 point scale. This, along my criteria, is a clear 3.5/7 out of 10.
American Gun Mystery is early Ellery Queen. Early phase one Queen generally beats the pants off of later Queen, though unfortunately, far more of the latter exists.
I'd heard that American Gun was one of the weaker phase one mysteries. I think I can agree with that sentiment- with some reservations.
From a stylistic standpoint, Gun is as stilted as any Queen- it's almost comical how much the duo seemed to be reaching towards literary pretentions in the prose given the subject matter. But at least the pacing is pretty solid, which elevates it, on that ground, above a number of early Queens.
But the puzzle is deeply flawed. On the one hand, there are aspects of the solution that fit very neatly and showed that I could have dramatically altered my own thinking about the case if I'd thought about a couple of clues in the right way- the very essence of good Queen. However, the central twist in the case is, on its face, rather ridiculous for multiple reasons. I contemplated the possibility and dismissed it because of factors that Queen failed to adequately address in the denouement. I'm generally eager to give mystery writers a long leash in their reasoning, but there are several leaps I can't overlook.
So...memorable for the way certain clues worked and fairly well-paced but ultimately too flawed to be one of the Queen greats.
*Bonus points that in the challenge to the reader, Queen anticipates the one grumbling objection I was about to raise. I do love when an author predicts the reactions of their readers.
American Gun Mystery is early Ellery Queen. Early phase one Queen generally beats the pants off of later Queen, though unfortunately, far more of the latter exists.
I'd heard that American Gun was one of the weaker phase one mysteries. I think I can agree with that sentiment- with some reservations.
From a stylistic standpoint, Gun is as stilted as any Queen- it's almost comical how much the duo seemed to be reaching towards literary pretentions in the prose given the subject matter. But at least the pacing is pretty solid, which elevates it, on that ground, above a number of early Queens.
But the puzzle is deeply flawed. On the one hand, there are aspects of the solution that fit very neatly and showed that I could have dramatically altered my own thinking about the case if I'd thought about a couple of clues in the right way- the very essence of good Queen. However, the central twist in the case is, on its face, rather ridiculous for multiple reasons. I contemplated the possibility and dismissed it because of factors that Queen failed to adequately address in the denouement. I'm generally eager to give mystery writers a long leash in their reasoning, but there are several leaps I can't overlook.
So...memorable for the way certain clues worked and fairly well-paced but ultimately too flawed to be one of the Queen greats.
*Bonus points that in the challenge to the reader, Queen anticipates the one grumbling objection I was about to raise. I do love when an author predicts the reactions of their readers.
September 18, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded up. I really enjoyed this, if only to see Ellery so far out of his comfort zone, LOL.
The rodeo has come to town, and the Queen's major-domo Djuna drags them to see it because he's mad about all things Western. The biggest draw is a silent-film-era cowboy, Buck Horne, who is hoping to make a big splash and perhaps jumpstart his career in the talkies. Unfortunately, that plan goes up in smoke when Buck is killed in rather spectacular fashion in front of a crowd of 20K spectators - any one of whom, it appears, could've pulled the trigger. Inspector Queen immediately takes charge, with Ellery on his heels. It's simple enough to discover how the movie star was killed, but the weapon is nowhere to be found. Nobody managed to leave before they were thoroughly searched, and the area itself is scrutinized within an inch of its life, so - how was it done?
This was a rather delightful puzzle. There was an immediate circle of suspects, intimates of Horne's, as well as the 20K people who witnessed his death. Everyone is tangled up in the weeds of rodeo (and nightclub) life, and amazingly enough, another murder is committed, in exactly the same way, much to the consternation of, well, everyone.
I managed to figure out whodunit (sort of), but not how. The explanation was 30 pages long, which tells you just how opaque it truly was. I'm still not 100% sure I understand the motive, honestly. But, it was a fun ride, and a nice reminder of why I started this series in the first place. I will definitely continue on (and will go back to #5 during the Christmas season, given its setting).
The rodeo has come to town, and the Queen's major-domo Djuna drags them to see it because he's mad about all things Western. The biggest draw is a silent-film-era cowboy, Buck Horne, who is hoping to make a big splash and perhaps jumpstart his career in the talkies. Unfortunately, that plan goes up in smoke when Buck is killed in rather spectacular fashion in front of a crowd of 20K spectators - any one of whom, it appears, could've pulled the trigger. Inspector Queen immediately takes charge, with Ellery on his heels. It's simple enough to discover how the movie star was killed, but the weapon is nowhere to be found. Nobody managed to leave before they were thoroughly searched, and the area itself is scrutinized within an inch of its life, so - how was it done?
This was a rather delightful puzzle. There was an immediate circle of suspects, intimates of Horne's, as well as the 20K people who witnessed his death. Everyone is tangled up in the weeds of rodeo (and nightclub) life, and amazingly enough, another murder is committed, in exactly the same way, much to the consternation of, well, everyone.
I managed to figure out whodunit (sort of), but not how. The explanation was 30 pages long, which tells you just how opaque it truly was. I'm still not 100% sure I understand the motive, honestly. But, it was a fun ride, and a nice reminder of why I started this series in the first place. I will definitely continue on (and will go back to #5 during the Christmas season, given its setting).
August 24, 2021
From the Golden Age of classic crime, The American Gun Mystery is the 6th in the Ellery Queen mystery series. Ellery and his dad Inspector Queen witness a suspicious death at a Rodeo, Ellery has his ideas but hasn't the proof to support his convictions, much to Inspector Queen's annoyance. Although the plot is improbable at points that is part of of joy of reading an Ellery Queen as you are trying to work out who dunnit too. You also get to spend time in the Queen's company which is always entertaining. Just keep in mind when you are reading that this was written in 1933.
December 28, 2022
This series is a lot of fun with some obscure vocabulary and references that are a real treat for most readers I’d say. They are “fair play” given nothing is completely hidden from the reader to prevent them from solving the mystery themselves. I had a few theories but I was off. Still fun and a wonderful gift from a cherished client I help at work 🥰
August 24, 2021
From the Golden Age of classic crime, The American Gun Mystery is the 6th in the Ellery Queen mystery series. Ellery and his dad Inspector Queen witness a suspicious death at a Rodeo, Ellery has his ideas but hasn't the proof to support his convictions, much to Inspector Queen's annoyance. Although the plot is improbable at points that is part of of joy of reading an Ellery Queen as you are trying to work out who dunnit too. You also get to spend time in the Queen's company which is always entertaining. Just keep in mind when you are reading that this was written in 1933.
January 28, 2025
Would rate this at 3 1/2 stars. Very entertaining story but the ending cost it a whole star. I still don't understand the last page.
June 14, 2017
The American Gun Mystery is the sixth book in the Ellery Queen Detective series by various authors.
I love the 1970's TV show based on this book series, so I was so excited when I got one of the books. Since I love the TV show so much, I think my expectations were a little bit too high.
First of all, this book is VERY wordy. In the first couple pages of the book I was so confused as to where I was -- was I in a desert, China, an alternate universe? It was only by a few sentences that I could grasp that I was in a stable. There were many unfamiliar words in this book, which was actually good, because it broadened my vocabulary -- but I felt some of it could have been omitted. Also, there was a lot of dialogue that I felt was boring and didn't move the plot along at all.
Speaking of plot, the book also dragged on. I was eager to finish it and find out who the murderer was, but it just kept going on and on and on and on and on! Scenes that I really didn't want to read. I was tempted to skim and did only a couple times.
However, I did love the main characters, Ellery and the Inspector. They were funny and their chemistry together was great. I think the idea of a father-son detective duo is unique, and it was what caused me to really be interested in the TV show in the first place.
Also, at the end, after Ellery reveals who the murderer is (the mystery was good, by the way. I was completely surprised when he told who had done it), there is a LONG epilogue sort of thing about how Ellery solved the mystery -- but the thing is, I really. didn't. care. I didn't read through all of it, just the end to find out what the motive was, but flipping though the 20 pages of explaining, I saw a diagram. I was like "I didn't read this book to learn how to solve a murder, I read this book for fun." :P
I thought the intermission sort of thing, where the author challenges YOU to put the puzzle pieces together and solve the case, was unique, though. I rather enjoyed that bit. (Even though I didn't solve it. I was completely wrong.)
Content: the h word and lesser d word are tossed out all the time, usually by the cowboy/cowgirl characters. When one character gets extremely angry at another character, he starts to say "b-" but then is cut off. An affair is mentioned once but is not essential to the plot at all (I don't really know why it was mentioned. XD) It is a murder mystery so of course, blood and guns are mentioned, but nothing incredibly graphic.
Overall, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like the TV show better!! It's not super wordy, there's no swearing, and the plot moves along much faster so that it's more enjoyable.
I give the book 3 stars out of 5. I would probably read another book in the series if I could get ahold of it, because I still enjoyed it moderately.
I love the 1970's TV show based on this book series, so I was so excited when I got one of the books. Since I love the TV show so much, I think my expectations were a little bit too high.
First of all, this book is VERY wordy. In the first couple pages of the book I was so confused as to where I was -- was I in a desert, China, an alternate universe? It was only by a few sentences that I could grasp that I was in a stable. There were many unfamiliar words in this book, which was actually good, because it broadened my vocabulary -- but I felt some of it could have been omitted. Also, there was a lot of dialogue that I felt was boring and didn't move the plot along at all.
Speaking of plot, the book also dragged on. I was eager to finish it and find out who the murderer was, but it just kept going on and on and on and on and on! Scenes that I really didn't want to read. I was tempted to skim and did only a couple times.
However, I did love the main characters, Ellery and the Inspector. They were funny and their chemistry together was great. I think the idea of a father-son detective duo is unique, and it was what caused me to really be interested in the TV show in the first place.
Also, at the end, after Ellery reveals who the murderer is (the mystery was good, by the way. I was completely surprised when he told who had done it), there is a LONG epilogue sort of thing about how Ellery solved the mystery -- but the thing is, I really. didn't. care. I didn't read through all of it, just the end to find out what the motive was, but flipping though the 20 pages of explaining, I saw a diagram. I was like "I didn't read this book to learn how to solve a murder, I read this book for fun." :P
I thought the intermission sort of thing, where the author challenges YOU to put the puzzle pieces together and solve the case, was unique, though. I rather enjoyed that bit. (Even though I didn't solve it. I was completely wrong.)
Content: the h word and lesser d word are tossed out all the time, usually by the cowboy/cowgirl characters. When one character gets extremely angry at another character, he starts to say "b-" but then is cut off. An affair is mentioned once but is not essential to the plot at all (I don't really know why it was mentioned. XD) It is a murder mystery so of course, blood and guns are mentioned, but nothing incredibly graphic.
Overall, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like the TV show better!! It's not super wordy, there's no swearing, and the plot moves along much faster so that it's more enjoyable.
I give the book 3 stars out of 5. I would probably read another book in the series if I could get ahold of it, because I still enjoyed it moderately.
April 25, 2021
DNF! A shoddily written book masquerading as Ellery Queen's adventure. Bleh....
My Rating - DNF!
My Rating - DNF!
April 19, 2018
I very much enjoyed the other volumes in this classic mystery series so far, but this one was just a little too far fetched. The solution didn't convince me and I think the story would have been stronger if somebody else had been the murderer. It begins rather strongly but the end is a bit of a let down.
Some very interesting characters were introduced only to fizzle out later on, and we never learn what happens to the major characters after the last scene. We last meet them in the scene where someone is arrested, and then the story skips to a later time when Ellery Queen wraps up the case for a friend and none of the other characters are mentioned again.
Nor was it really the case in this volume that the reader had "all the pertinent clues to solve the case himself", which is always a fun challenge in the Ellery Queen books.
It certainly wasn't boring nor did I hate reading it, but it's not the strongest in the series. I would certainly recommend it to people who want to read all EQ books, but not necessarily if you just want to pick up a good old-fashioned hardboiled classic mystery.
Some very interesting characters were introduced only to fizzle out later on, and we never learn what happens to the major characters after the last scene. We last meet them in the scene where someone is arrested, and then the story skips to a later time when Ellery Queen wraps up the case for a friend and none of the other characters are mentioned again.
Nor was it really the case in this volume that the reader had "all the pertinent clues to solve the case himself", which is always a fun challenge in the Ellery Queen books.
It certainly wasn't boring nor did I hate reading it, but it's not the strongest in the series. I would certainly recommend it to people who want to read all EQ books, but not necessarily if you just want to pick up a good old-fashioned hardboiled classic mystery.
May 27, 2020
I first came across the author (actually the author was two people writing together) in the late 1970s. The earlier books are convoluted mysteries but from the late 1930s the characters in the books became more and more bizarre. I enjoyed reading the series which feature the amateur detective Ellery Queen but it must be over twenty years since I have read any. I was delighted to come across this one in a second hand book shop. This copy was published in 1956 but the book was originally published in 1933 so it's one of the earlier ones.
Ellery Queen is an implausible character and the plot is implausible too. Indeed the authors do not explain the motive for the murder! The authors' writing style is a bit ornate but despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Suspend disbelief and go with the flow.
Ellery Queen is an implausible character and the plot is implausible too. Indeed the authors do not explain the motive for the murder! The authors' writing style is a bit ornate but despite all this I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Suspend disbelief and go with the flow.
February 3, 2013
Definitely not one of the best of the series .... Story about a cowboy film star that tries to make a comeback in a rodeo but is shot in front of 20,000 people on opening night in New York. Despite the police sealing the building before anyone can leave, the gun is mysteriously unable to be found. One month later at the re-opening of the show another performer is killed again ... by the same missing gun. Interesting premise but the story just really did not hold my attention well. Have liked the first three in the series much better.
May 17, 2017
I started reading "The American Gun Mystery" due to my heart aching desire to justify ripping out its pages to create origami flowers for my best friend's wedding. So far (I'm on page 17), I actually enjoy how embelished it is and Queen pushes a literary feel in a Western mystery. It's pure fun.
However, after finishing the novel.. It was just confusing. There is no character development. There wasn't a chance for us to get to know any of the suspects without having to decipher what felt like forced banter from the author. I felt like the motive is weak and was left wanting.
However, after finishing the novel.. It was just confusing. There is no character development. There wasn't a chance for us to get to know any of the suspects without having to decipher what felt like forced banter from the author. I felt like the motive is weak and was left wanting.
October 17, 2011
Not exactly fair play, but a good story with lots of Queen's touches.
April 2, 2017
Well loved it, as ever with Ellery Queen....
But have to say I never worked out WHY the murder took place! Wish someone could explain to me!
But have to say I never worked out WHY the murder took place! Wish someone could explain to me!
December 7, 2021
And thus my adventures through the Nationality Mysteries end, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
This may honestly be closer to a 2.5, but it simply has too many flaws to be considered, well, good.
Which is such a shamez because the premise I did promising! A faded silent Western star, killed in the middle of his live comeback, in an arena full with 41 other riders and over 20,000 spectators? With a disappearing murder weapon to boot? It should be really good! But so many things make it fall.
For one, Queen's verbosity it ad nauseam here. So many fancy words and phrases. The text itself gets Ellery-esque by quoting classical texts. The characters were actually not bad at all. I thought that a suspect list of mostly cowboys and Hollywood celebrities would be painful to watch, but a lot of the characters were actually interesting! And thankfully, the problems laid by the disappearing weapon (lots of searching) are shown briefly and not described to mind-numbing minutiae like in Roman Hat. But then you have the other problems. The casual racism thrown around in the books (usually by the characters themselves) is again present, and especially biting. There are some slow parts. Ellery's keeping things to himself becomes especially consequential here, and although his reasons for doing such (which are on top of his post-Greek-Coffin secrecy) are very understandable, it still feels unsatisfactory. Then ya have the solution. This may well be the first time I've guessed part of the solution to a whodunit BEFORE I read the first page. The disappearing gun impossibility seemed so blatheringly obvious to me! And it should have been to the police! On top of that it is just an objectively stupid thing to do, even if the murderer had the ability. As for the murderer's identity, I knew it by the time the Challenge came along, and I was surprised Dannay and Lee chose that person for, well, not a good reason. And the motive? Oh, well, Ellery doesn't feel COMFORTABLE sharing such shocking things. So basically there isn't a given motive, which is worse than Dutch Shoe's last-line cop-out. Theories are given, clues reminded to us, and a suspicious deflection by Ellery seems to point us in the right way on the last page (to a reason that isn't really that awful) but nothing is ever given to us. Yikes. I love ya, Ellery, but you've done better. All the same, I'm glad Penzler has republished this along with the four other Queens.
Tune in 2022 (or earlier) as I grind through my next GAD goal: the pattern-named books of the predecessor to Queen, Philo Vance!
This may honestly be closer to a 2.5, but it simply has too many flaws to be considered, well, good.
Which is such a shamez because the premise I did promising! A faded silent Western star, killed in the middle of his live comeback, in an arena full with 41 other riders and over 20,000 spectators? With a disappearing murder weapon to boot? It should be really good! But so many things make it fall.
For one, Queen's verbosity it ad nauseam here. So many fancy words and phrases. The text itself gets Ellery-esque by quoting classical texts. The characters were actually not bad at all. I thought that a suspect list of mostly cowboys and Hollywood celebrities would be painful to watch, but a lot of the characters were actually interesting! And thankfully, the problems laid by the disappearing weapon (lots of searching) are shown briefly and not described to mind-numbing minutiae like in Roman Hat. But then you have the other problems. The casual racism thrown around in the books (usually by the characters themselves) is again present, and especially biting. There are some slow parts. Ellery's keeping things to himself becomes especially consequential here, and although his reasons for doing such (which are on top of his post-Greek-Coffin secrecy) are very understandable, it still feels unsatisfactory. Then ya have the solution. This may well be the first time I've guessed part of the solution to a whodunit BEFORE I read the first page. The disappearing gun impossibility seemed so blatheringly obvious to me! And it should have been to the police! On top of that it is just an objectively stupid thing to do, even if the murderer had the ability. As for the murderer's identity, I knew it by the time the Challenge came along, and I was surprised Dannay and Lee chose that person for, well, not a good reason. And the motive? Oh, well, Ellery doesn't feel COMFORTABLE sharing such shocking things. So basically there isn't a given motive, which is worse than Dutch Shoe's last-line cop-out. Theories are given, clues reminded to us, and a suspicious deflection by Ellery seems to point us in the right way on the last page (to a reason that isn't really that awful) but nothing is ever given to us. Yikes. I love ya, Ellery, but you've done better. All the same, I'm glad Penzler has republished this along with the four other Queens.
Tune in 2022 (or earlier) as I grind through my next GAD goal: the pattern-named books of the predecessor to Queen, Philo Vance!
September 10, 2021
Read this and more crime, thriller, horror and pulp reviews on CriminOlly.com
This is the first Ellery Queen book I’ve read. He was an author I was aware of, perhaps mostly because of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine which published short stories by many of the great American crime writers, but who I didn’t know much about. In fact I didn’t even know that Queen was a pseudonym used by two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. Ellery Queen is, intriguingly, also the name of the detective.
This is the sixth of the series, published in this new edition with a new introduction from publisher Otto Penzler. Penzler hails Queen as the giant of the inter war Golden Age of American mystery writing and a peer of the likes of Agatha Christie. I’m not entirely convinced by that comparison, but I did enjoy the puzzle that Dannay and Lee laid out in The American Gun Mystery.
The hallmark of this type of mystery is a crime early on that seems impossible to solve. That’s certainly the case here, with Buck Horne, noted star of numerous silent westerns, shot dead on his horse as he takes part in the dramatic opening of a new rodeo show along with 40 other riders. The mystery lies in the fact that he has been shot dead with a gun that cannot then be found and which is of a markedly different type to the many others surround Buck at the time of his death.
It’s an engaging conundrum, and the solution, when it is laid out by Queen at the end is credible if slightly unlikely. Crucially, the clues to solve it were, with the benefit of hindsight, all there in the text, that being the test of a so-called ‘fair play’ mystery.
For a book that is nearly 90 years old it is all very readable, although the middle section did drag a bit, being full of the kind of red herrings that are essential to this kind of tale. The dialogue is definitely on the stifled side and Queen himself is far from likeable. When this kind of genius detective character is done well it can work (think Holmes or Poirot) but here I found myself at times hoping that Queen wouldn’t solve the crime because he was such an arrogant dick. Even more problematic was the treatment of Djuna, a Romany boy whom Queen has adopted and “civilised”. It’s the kind of casual racism that was common in the 1930s, and which leaves a bad taste in the mouth today. A more palatable anachronism is the use of the word Brobdingnagian, which I’ve never seen outside of the Lemony Snickets books.
Overall this is a fun vintage read. The mystery is engaging and the solution amusing, even if the telling of it leaves a little to be desired. If I were rating them separately I’d probably give the mystery 4 stars and the writing 2. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which you value more.
This is the first Ellery Queen book I’ve read. He was an author I was aware of, perhaps mostly because of the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine which published short stories by many of the great American crime writers, but who I didn’t know much about. In fact I didn’t even know that Queen was a pseudonym used by two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. Ellery Queen is, intriguingly, also the name of the detective.
This is the sixth of the series, published in this new edition with a new introduction from publisher Otto Penzler. Penzler hails Queen as the giant of the inter war Golden Age of American mystery writing and a peer of the likes of Agatha Christie. I’m not entirely convinced by that comparison, but I did enjoy the puzzle that Dannay and Lee laid out in The American Gun Mystery.
The hallmark of this type of mystery is a crime early on that seems impossible to solve. That’s certainly the case here, with Buck Horne, noted star of numerous silent westerns, shot dead on his horse as he takes part in the dramatic opening of a new rodeo show along with 40 other riders. The mystery lies in the fact that he has been shot dead with a gun that cannot then be found and which is of a markedly different type to the many others surround Buck at the time of his death.
It’s an engaging conundrum, and the solution, when it is laid out by Queen at the end is credible if slightly unlikely. Crucially, the clues to solve it were, with the benefit of hindsight, all there in the text, that being the test of a so-called ‘fair play’ mystery.
For a book that is nearly 90 years old it is all very readable, although the middle section did drag a bit, being full of the kind of red herrings that are essential to this kind of tale. The dialogue is definitely on the stifled side and Queen himself is far from likeable. When this kind of genius detective character is done well it can work (think Holmes or Poirot) but here I found myself at times hoping that Queen wouldn’t solve the crime because he was such an arrogant dick. Even more problematic was the treatment of Djuna, a Romany boy whom Queen has adopted and “civilised”. It’s the kind of casual racism that was common in the 1930s, and which leaves a bad taste in the mouth today. A more palatable anachronism is the use of the word Brobdingnagian, which I’ve never seen outside of the Lemony Snickets books.
Overall this is a fun vintage read. The mystery is engaging and the solution amusing, even if the telling of it leaves a little to be desired. If I were rating them separately I’d probably give the mystery 4 stars and the writing 2. I’ll leave it up to you to decide which you value more.
September 28, 2021
I would like to thank Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an advance copy of The American Gun Mystery, the sixth novel to feature New York detective Ellery Queen, originally published in 1933.
When Buck Horne, former silent movie star turned rodeo star, is shot in front of 20,000 spectators nobody sees anything and, more importantly, Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Richard Queen cannot find either the weapon or the perpetrator.
It is more than 40 years since I last read Ellery Queen, so when the opportunity arose I was interested to revisit the series, as it is not something I have felt compelled to do in the meantime. Having read The American Gun Mystery this lack of compulsion stands.
I actually quite enjoyed it as the mystery is engrossing and I imagine the format was quite novel at the time, but the solution is so convoluted that I defy any reader to guess it and the motive so lame it’s barely credible. In this latter I may be bringing my 21st century sensibilities to bear, but even then it seems out of character. The authors make a big deal out of the “fair play” scenario in that the reader has all the clues and should be able to work it out. Well, not this reader who happily followed all the misdirection and didn’t get a single guess right. I think that they play slightly fast and loose with their “fair play” claim. Still it was fun trying to work it out as the authors have a lively style of writing and a playful approach to teasing the reader.
It should be noted that this novel is a product of its times so the principal characters are white and relatively affluent. Ellery Queen is the forerunner of an East Coast elite with a smart mind and a penchant for literary quotations in various languages. Annoying? Not half. Comprehensible? Occasionally. Still, he is appealing, with a touch of vulnerability and uncertainty. The rest of the characters are fairly stereotypical but come to life in the lively narrative style.
The American Gun Mystery is an interesting read.
When Buck Horne, former silent movie star turned rodeo star, is shot in front of 20,000 spectators nobody sees anything and, more importantly, Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Richard Queen cannot find either the weapon or the perpetrator.
It is more than 40 years since I last read Ellery Queen, so when the opportunity arose I was interested to revisit the series, as it is not something I have felt compelled to do in the meantime. Having read The American Gun Mystery this lack of compulsion stands.
I actually quite enjoyed it as the mystery is engrossing and I imagine the format was quite novel at the time, but the solution is so convoluted that I defy any reader to guess it and the motive so lame it’s barely credible. In this latter I may be bringing my 21st century sensibilities to bear, but even then it seems out of character. The authors make a big deal out of the “fair play” scenario in that the reader has all the clues and should be able to work it out. Well, not this reader who happily followed all the misdirection and didn’t get a single guess right. I think that they play slightly fast and loose with their “fair play” claim. Still it was fun trying to work it out as the authors have a lively style of writing and a playful approach to teasing the reader.
It should be noted that this novel is a product of its times so the principal characters are white and relatively affluent. Ellery Queen is the forerunner of an East Coast elite with a smart mind and a penchant for literary quotations in various languages. Annoying? Not half. Comprehensible? Occasionally. Still, he is appealing, with a touch of vulnerability and uncertainty. The rest of the characters are fairly stereotypical but come to life in the lively narrative style.
The American Gun Mystery is an interesting read.
October 25, 2021
“The American Gun Mystery” is another of the early Ellery Queen books (1930s), where Ellery is a bit of a pompous annoying know-it-all (a la Philo Vance, a popular series lead at the time).
The premise, as always, was an interesting puzzle: a rodeo comes to New York City, which is a perfect opportunity for a washed-up Hollywood cowboy to perform a star turn and resurrect his career. During opening night however, he is shot dead and trampled by 40 (41!) horses in front of thousands of spectators – including homicide inspector Queen and his crime-solving son Ellery. But even when everyone is searched, even when the whole arena is turned upside-down, even when the newsreels are reviewed, the American gun of the title that did the deed is never found.
So off we go with Ellery Queen to solve the mystery. We have the police in the guise of Inspector Queen and his veteran Sergeant Velie, plodding along and following their routines. We have a colorful cast of characters, from the victim’s daughter, to the show owner and his lover boy son, to the arena owner always looking for a buck, to a mysterious stranger only known by the victim, to the wily old cowboy who was arguing with the victim, and many others. It is only after a second murder that Ellery is able to solve the crime.
This one started out interesting but lost steam. I still have a hard time with the smugness of Ellery: keeping things hidden, planting and hiding evidence, manipulating the police, always keeping himself above the common everyday people. I also didn’t understand the purpose of a secondary story thread about a Hollywood actress and her affair with a boxer – unnecessary and a bit racist. And the denouement (see? A fancy Ellery word!) was a bit of a disappointment. A nice read for true Ellery fans, but otherwise not the best.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Penzler Publishers, American Mystery Classics via NetGalley. Thank you!
The premise, as always, was an interesting puzzle: a rodeo comes to New York City, which is a perfect opportunity for a washed-up Hollywood cowboy to perform a star turn and resurrect his career. During opening night however, he is shot dead and trampled by 40 (41!) horses in front of thousands of spectators – including homicide inspector Queen and his crime-solving son Ellery. But even when everyone is searched, even when the whole arena is turned upside-down, even when the newsreels are reviewed, the American gun of the title that did the deed is never found.
So off we go with Ellery Queen to solve the mystery. We have the police in the guise of Inspector Queen and his veteran Sergeant Velie, plodding along and following their routines. We have a colorful cast of characters, from the victim’s daughter, to the show owner and his lover boy son, to the arena owner always looking for a buck, to a mysterious stranger only known by the victim, to the wily old cowboy who was arguing with the victim, and many others. It is only after a second murder that Ellery is able to solve the crime.
This one started out interesting but lost steam. I still have a hard time with the smugness of Ellery: keeping things hidden, planting and hiding evidence, manipulating the police, always keeping himself above the common everyday people. I also didn’t understand the purpose of a secondary story thread about a Hollywood actress and her affair with a boxer – unnecessary and a bit racist. And the denouement (see? A fancy Ellery word!) was a bit of a disappointment. A nice read for true Ellery fans, but otherwise not the best.
I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Penzler Publishers, American Mystery Classics via NetGalley. Thank you!
September 3, 2021
This is an early Ellery Queen mystery written and set in the early 1930s. These early Queen mysteries are somewhat of a mixed bag. On the one hand the stories are usually fairly cleverly plotted and the murders ingenuous. On the other hand Ellery Queen is depicted as an upper class stuffed shirt with extremely annoying speech patterns. Think of Philo Vance on a particularly bad day. The reader is usually prepared to put up with the latter to enjoy the former but fortunately Queen the author humanizes Queen the detective as the series of books approached the 1940s.
To my mind The American Gun Mystery is one of the weaker early Queen novels. The plot involves murder during a rodeo in a crowded 20,000 seat arena. Trying to plot a baffling mystery given such circumstances is a very ambitious task which Queen does not quite pull off. Granted, in any "classic" murder mystery the reader grants the author a certain literary license in the way of plausibility. In real life complex murder plans are impossible to pull off because no murderer can possibly control the large number of real life variables. All we ask of an author is not to stretch our credulity too far. At several points in Queen's plot he asks way too much of the reader. Without going into details it is beyond reason that with 20,000 potential witnesses that the murderer and the subsequent hiding of the gun will not be witnessed by scores of people in the act. Certainly no rational murderer would risk this.
Other annoyances are the completely unnecessary framing sequence and introduction by "J.J.McC." This serves no real purpose and Queen thankfully jettisoned it as he moved away from strictly "whodunits" to "whydunits".
Still, the book is not a waste of time but I would not recommend it as one's first Ellery Queen book
To my mind The American Gun Mystery is one of the weaker early Queen novels. The plot involves murder during a rodeo in a crowded 20,000 seat arena. Trying to plot a baffling mystery given such circumstances is a very ambitious task which Queen does not quite pull off. Granted, in any "classic" murder mystery the reader grants the author a certain literary license in the way of plausibility. In real life complex murder plans are impossible to pull off because no murderer can possibly control the large number of real life variables. All we ask of an author is not to stretch our credulity too far. At several points in Queen's plot he asks way too much of the reader. Without going into details it is beyond reason that with 20,000 potential witnesses that the murderer and the subsequent hiding of the gun will not be witnessed by scores of people in the act. Certainly no rational murderer would risk this.
Other annoyances are the completely unnecessary framing sequence and introduction by "J.J.McC." This serves no real purpose and Queen thankfully jettisoned it as he moved away from strictly "whodunits" to "whydunits".
Still, the book is not a waste of time but I would not recommend it as one's first Ellery Queen book
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