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Ellery Queen Detective #27
The Player on the Other Side
On the sprawling estate of a bizarre wealthy family, a series of cryptic notes brings deadly regards in this classic from a legendary mystery author. York Square is a tidy private garden surrounded by four matching castles, each inhabited by a different branch of the York family. There’s Robert, commanding and icy; Myra, gentle and ill; Emily, who would prefer to live in a cottage; and Percival, who has many personal secrets. Watching them all is the gardener, Walt, who sees more than any of them realize. When an anonymous scribe starts sending him letters of praise, Walt is happier than he’s ever been. But when a strange card marked with the letter J heralds the death of Robert, the happy garden begins to wilt. Unlocking the puzzle of the bizarre notes falls to the legendary Ellery Queen. He finds that the Yorks are locked in a ghoulish bargain—one that can only be escaped by death.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1963
46 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Ellery Queen
1,780 books487 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 57 reviews
October 13, 2019
Four cousins, all with the last name York, each live in an individual little "castle" in New York City, in York Square, which surrounds York Park. Two of the cousins are male, one a stiff and proper stamp collector, the other a ne'er-do-well idler. Two are women, a dedicated social worker, and a woman who seems to have some cognitive disability, reminding me of the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland. The cousins are all in or around their forties. They live in these castles in response to their uncle's will, leaving them significant fortunes if they remain living there until a certain time has passed. As the book begins, their inheritance is only a few months away.
Also living in the castles are a handyman, a secretary-assistant to the stamp collector, and a companion to the impaired woman. A housekeeper is shared by the two male cousins.
And then the murders start.
The police officer in charge of the case is Inspector Richard Queen, who hopes to tempt his son Ellery, an author and highly successful amateur detective, out of his torpor by involving him in the case. Eventually it seems that not only the Queens but half the New York City Police Department are working on the case, but more people from York Square are killed. The reader knows early on who is committing the murders and that that person is doing so at the behest of someone whose identity remains hidden.
The name of the author of most of the "Ellery Queen" mysteries was given as also being Ellery Queen. It was not a secret that "Ellery Queen" was really two people, Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Dannay. What was a secret was that some of the later books in the series were written, wholly or in part, by ghost writers using the Ellery Queen name. Multiple sources on the internet say that The Player on the Other Side was largely written by Theodore Sturgeon, known principally as a science fiction author.
Sturgeon was renowned for the beauty of his prose, but that is not generally apparent here. Still, there are places where the readers can see Sturgeon shining through. The following paragraph feels to me like Sturgeon's work:
"I was thinking of Percival," Ann said earnestly. "He's come so far. It's been fascinating to watch - how he pushed himself into this, into a work discipline, a hard schedule, regular meals and sleep. And suddenly you could see him light up as if two wires had touched to complete a circuit. Stamps stopped being what he used to call 'nothing.' Now he holds a stamp with his tongs and it isn't colored paper to him any more. It's a messenger of ideas and feelings between people as well as history and geography and politics and so many other things. You know, for a while Perce was angry? In a how-long-has-this-been-going-on way? Ellery, I don't want him hurt. It's too soon. He's too - too new."
I have read quite a few Ellery Queen short stories but only a couple of the novels, so I can't really compare this book to Queen's works as a whole. The Player on the Other Side is the only Ellery Queen book to be nominated for a "Best Novel" Edgar Award. (I would imagine that Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Dannay must have been both honored and irritated that an "Ellery Queen" book that they did not actually write was the one recognized by their peers from the Mystery Writers of America. I wonder if the MWA members who voted for The Player on the Other Side were aware of this situation.)
I can explain one reference that might puzzle readers who were not listening to the radio in the 1940s. The passage says, "Not since that magnificent miser, Jack Benny, was asked by a holdup man, 'Your money or your life,' had a man seemed in such anguished indecision as Percival York."
Jack Benny was a comedian who was famous on radio and television and in films in the 1930s - 1970s. Part of his comedy persona was his extreme parsimony. On his radio show of March 28, 1948, there was a sequence in which Benny was held up:
Mugger: Don't make a move, this is a stickup! Now come on! Your money or your life!
[long pause]
Mugger: Look, Bud, I said your money or your life.
Benny: I'm thinking it over!
[followed by what is reputed to be the longest burst of laughter in radio history]
And none of this has much to do with The Player on the Other Side. I think that this is a reasonably good mystery but not a truly outstanding one. It is certainly not as good a novel as some of Theodore Sturgeon's other works, such as More Than Human, The Dreaming Jewels, or Some of Your Blood. I correctly guessed the murderer shortly before it was revealed, but that really was a guess, not a deduction. I did not guess the explanation, withheld until the end of the book, of why the dog was named Beelzebub, a fine mystery in itself.
Also living in the castles are a handyman, a secretary-assistant to the stamp collector, and a companion to the impaired woman. A housekeeper is shared by the two male cousins.
And then the murders start.
The police officer in charge of the case is Inspector Richard Queen, who hopes to tempt his son Ellery, an author and highly successful amateur detective, out of his torpor by involving him in the case. Eventually it seems that not only the Queens but half the New York City Police Department are working on the case, but more people from York Square are killed. The reader knows early on who is committing the murders and that that person is doing so at the behest of someone whose identity remains hidden.
The name of the author of most of the "Ellery Queen" mysteries was given as also being Ellery Queen. It was not a secret that "Ellery Queen" was really two people, Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Dannay. What was a secret was that some of the later books in the series were written, wholly or in part, by ghost writers using the Ellery Queen name. Multiple sources on the internet say that The Player on the Other Side was largely written by Theodore Sturgeon, known principally as a science fiction author.
Sturgeon was renowned for the beauty of his prose, but that is not generally apparent here. Still, there are places where the readers can see Sturgeon shining through. The following paragraph feels to me like Sturgeon's work:
"I was thinking of Percival," Ann said earnestly. "He's come so far. It's been fascinating to watch - how he pushed himself into this, into a work discipline, a hard schedule, regular meals and sleep. And suddenly you could see him light up as if two wires had touched to complete a circuit. Stamps stopped being what he used to call 'nothing.' Now he holds a stamp with his tongs and it isn't colored paper to him any more. It's a messenger of ideas and feelings between people as well as history and geography and politics and so many other things. You know, for a while Perce was angry? In a how-long-has-this-been-going-on way? Ellery, I don't want him hurt. It's too soon. He's too - too new."
I have read quite a few Ellery Queen short stories but only a couple of the novels, so I can't really compare this book to Queen's works as a whole. The Player on the Other Side is the only Ellery Queen book to be nominated for a "Best Novel" Edgar Award. (I would imagine that Manfred B. Lee and Frederic Dannay must have been both honored and irritated that an "Ellery Queen" book that they did not actually write was the one recognized by their peers from the Mystery Writers of America. I wonder if the MWA members who voted for The Player on the Other Side were aware of this situation.)
I can explain one reference that might puzzle readers who were not listening to the radio in the 1940s. The passage says, "Not since that magnificent miser, Jack Benny, was asked by a holdup man, 'Your money or your life,' had a man seemed in such anguished indecision as Percival York."
Jack Benny was a comedian who was famous on radio and television and in films in the 1930s - 1970s. Part of his comedy persona was his extreme parsimony. On his radio show of March 28, 1948, there was a sequence in which Benny was held up:
Mugger: Don't make a move, this is a stickup! Now come on! Your money or your life!
[long pause]
Mugger: Look, Bud, I said your money or your life.
Benny: I'm thinking it over!
[followed by what is reputed to be the longest burst of laughter in radio history]
And none of this has much to do with The Player on the Other Side. I think that this is a reasonably good mystery but not a truly outstanding one. It is certainly not as good a novel as some of Theodore Sturgeon's other works, such as More Than Human, The Dreaming Jewels, or Some of Your Blood. I correctly guessed the murderer shortly before it was revealed, but that really was a guess, not a deduction. I did not guess the explanation, withheld until the end of the book, of why the dog was named Beelzebub, a fine mystery in itself.
July 5, 2019
No one’s ever loved him. Walt’s been absolutely alone in the world – unappreciated by the York family which employs him. He just wants someone to love him.
Then he receives a letter. The letter says that Walt is liked, noticed, appreciated. Of great destiny. The letter is signed simply ‘Y’.
The letter writer is clear. Walt must obey the letters implicitly. Even when they cause him to commit murder…
Can Ellery track down this letter writer, this ‘Y’? Or will the entire York family be wiped out for the sake of this ‘Y’?
Discussion.
This was my first introduction to Ellery Queen. Having read and enjoyed Christie, Sayers, and Allingham, I hoped to find like enjoyment in the works of Queen, fellow novelist in the golden age of crime stories. So, did I? Yes and no.
First a little history. Ellery Queen was the penname of two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Bennington Lee. Together they created both the pseudonym and detective, Ellery Queen. Although in their early ventures they alone were the writers, they allowed their pseudonym to be used by other authors later in the series.
Now, I knew none of this coming into The Player on the Other Side. It was not until afterwards that I discovered that it was not the genuine stuff. But, I had actually been able to sense this while reading The Player. How? Because Ellery was much too good for the plot.
The plot was interesting enough, but was solved by a bit of trickery that, while fascinating, felt a bit unfair. Ellery himself was magnificent. But all of the other characters were… lacking.
Conclusion. I’m going to be on the lookout for more of Ellery Queen stories - I want to experience the real Ellery Queen!
Then he receives a letter. The letter says that Walt is liked, noticed, appreciated. Of great destiny. The letter is signed simply ‘Y’.
The letter writer is clear. Walt must obey the letters implicitly. Even when they cause him to commit murder…
Can Ellery track down this letter writer, this ‘Y’? Or will the entire York family be wiped out for the sake of this ‘Y’?
Discussion.
This was my first introduction to Ellery Queen. Having read and enjoyed Christie, Sayers, and Allingham, I hoped to find like enjoyment in the works of Queen, fellow novelist in the golden age of crime stories. So, did I? Yes and no.
First a little history. Ellery Queen was the penname of two cousins, Frederic Dannay and Bennington Lee. Together they created both the pseudonym and detective, Ellery Queen. Although in their early ventures they alone were the writers, they allowed their pseudonym to be used by other authors later in the series.
Now, I knew none of this coming into The Player on the Other Side. It was not until afterwards that I discovered that it was not the genuine stuff. But, I had actually been able to sense this while reading The Player. How? Because Ellery was much too good for the plot.
The plot was interesting enough, but was solved by a bit of trickery that, while fascinating, felt a bit unfair. Ellery himself was magnificent. But all of the other characters were… lacking.
Conclusion. I’m going to be on the lookout for more of Ellery Queen stories - I want to experience the real Ellery Queen!
December 7, 2020
This was a really fun revisiting of past reading! Ellery Queen was always a staple on my parents book shelves as I was growing up and I read quite a few of them. The mysteries are complex and they are practically historical fiction, considering how long ago they were written and how little the plots would work in the modern day.
I was surprised to find the writing still a lot of fun, the characters, scenarios and the language which were such features of these books in their heyday still read well. Ellery Queen is both the pen name used by the two authors and the name of their leading detective character, who, with his father the police inspector are hot on the chase of a very unusual murderer.
I was surprised to find the writing still a lot of fun, the characters, scenarios and the language which were such features of these books in their heyday still read well. Ellery Queen is both the pen name used by the two authors and the name of their leading detective character, who, with his father the police inspector are hot on the chase of a very unusual murderer.
February 13, 2019
Ellery Queen is a bit hit-or-miss for me so far. This is not, necessarily, his fault. Rather, I have a volume of "five complete novels!" that promise me suspense and detective fiction and has delivered...well, kinda that, but it's a weird selection. The collection starts with On the Eighth Day, a story where the character's sleep-deprived confusion permeates, and that doesn't make the best impression, y'know?
So it was with delight that I read this story: a detective, a murderer, a race against the clock, threatening letters. Yes, finally, give me some good ol' detective tropes.
It is, perhaps, not up to the standards of Sherlock Holmes or Poirot, but Ellery Queen is in general a likable character, and it's nice to read a solid detective story. This could actually be a good place to start reading Ellery Queen /side-eyes the people who decided on the story order of my collection/ You read it if you like classic detective fiction, you enjoy it, you don't wonder why Ellery Queen isn't particularly well-known. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So it was with delight that I read this story: a detective, a murderer, a race against the clock, threatening letters. Yes, finally, give me some good ol' detective tropes.
It is, perhaps, not up to the standards of Sherlock Holmes or Poirot, but Ellery Queen is in general a likable character, and it's nice to read a solid detective story. This could actually be a good place to start reading Ellery Queen /side-eyes the people who decided on the story order of my collection/ You read it if you like classic detective fiction, you enjoy it, you don't wonder why Ellery Queen isn't particularly well-known. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
May 10, 2020
Een typische Ellery Queen (zowel het schrijversduo onder dit pseudoniem als de held schrijver/detective die er de hoofdrol in speelt) dat betekent een ingewikkelde intrige en een ontknoping via een grote dosis detectivewerk en psychologie.
Vader Queen speelt een belangrijke rol, zowel als degene die de macht en mogelijkheden om de invallen van zijn zoon in werkelijkheid om te zetten via het politieapparaat dat hij dirigeert als rechtstreeks door het geven van een trap onder Ellery's kont als hij in zak en as de moed wil opgeven.
Goeie karakterbeschrijvingen van de belanghebbenden, spannende maar niet geheel onverwachte ontknoping, qua dader dan maar wel van de manier waarop het bewijs gevonden wordt.
Het verhaal is geen closed room drama maar speelt zich wel af in een kleine, gesloten gemeenschap zodat het aantal kandidaat-moordernaars beperkt en overzichtelijk blijft, zeker als een aantal onder hen zelf vermoord wordt.
Ook een romance hoort er typisch weer bij.
Vader Queen speelt een belangrijke rol, zowel als degene die de macht en mogelijkheden om de invallen van zijn zoon in werkelijkheid om te zetten via het politieapparaat dat hij dirigeert als rechtstreeks door het geven van een trap onder Ellery's kont als hij in zak en as de moed wil opgeven.
Goeie karakterbeschrijvingen van de belanghebbenden, spannende maar niet geheel onverwachte ontknoping, qua dader dan maar wel van de manier waarop het bewijs gevonden wordt.
Het verhaal is geen closed room drama maar speelt zich wel af in een kleine, gesloten gemeenschap zodat het aantal kandidaat-moordernaars beperkt en overzichtelijk blijft, zeker als een aantal onder hen zelf vermoord wordt.
Ook een romance hoort er typisch weer bij.
June 27, 2018
a fun little family on a murder list. as each York cousin gets the card, bam. and while it's possible to connect the dots before Ellery Queen, I still find it satisfying to be proven correct on my earlier points resolved later. just enough uniquely tailored clues for a fun story with a uniquely satisfying finish.
February 23, 2020
An interesting Ellery Queen mystery, with a surprising denouement (albeit not as surprising as it probably was when published). A satisfying read, well within the style I've come to enjoy in EQ stories. There are bizarre elements (EQ is often best when things that make no sense prove to be sensible in the end), an exploration of the have/have-not cultures of the 1950s, and the satisfying familiarity of Inspector Queen and his son Ellery in their element solving a crime.
One of the pleasures of reading EQ novels for me is how they capture the time they were written in without overly emphasizing the setting. These are plot books, but they always have a strong sense of the time. Early EQs gave me a feeling of living in the Roaring Twenties; this book gives me a sense of the quiet tensions of the early 1950s. I liked the clarity of questioning the whims of the hyper-rich, the honest picture of 'do-gooder' commitments of some of the wealthy, the limitations of options for the poor, and the tentative rise of civil rights concerns. None of these are front and center in the novel -- EQs are always plot driven -- but they are there and I like noticing them.
This is the first of a few EQ novels laid out by Frederic Dannay (one of the two cousins who wrote EQ for 30 years) but actually written by someone else, in this case the wonderful Theodore Sturgeon. Sturgeon is, in my opinion, a stronger writer of characters than Lee and Dannay had been, but on the whole this feels very much like an EQ as I enjoyed them for years. I was particularly pleased that Sturgeon still captured that 'sense of the time' I mentioned above; this is the sort of thing I'd worry about in the ghost-written novels. If you like EQ, you could like this book and never know that Lee and Dannay were not the writers.
I've had a long slow project of reading the EQ novels in order. The ghost writing of this 1950s-60s period is usually ascribed to a period of 'writer's block' but it may just be character fatigue. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the last Lee and Dunnay EQs, and Inspector Queen's Own Case and The Finishing Stroke definitely felt like books that put closure to the career of both Queens, father and son. This book seems a throw-back, and the character evolution in those books is ignored: Inspector Queen is still head of Homicide for NYC, and Ellery is still writing and solving mysteries from their home. Except for the strong sense that this is set in the 1950s, this book would have fit well within the timeframe before those two strong books, and any sense of growth and change from those books is ignored. This does make me wonder how much it will matter if I finish the rest of the books in order.
On the whole, a satisfying read for EQ fans like me, and probably in the top third of the novels.
One of the pleasures of reading EQ novels for me is how they capture the time they were written in without overly emphasizing the setting. These are plot books, but they always have a strong sense of the time. Early EQs gave me a feeling of living in the Roaring Twenties; this book gives me a sense of the quiet tensions of the early 1950s. I liked the clarity of questioning the whims of the hyper-rich, the honest picture of 'do-gooder' commitments of some of the wealthy, the limitations of options for the poor, and the tentative rise of civil rights concerns. None of these are front and center in the novel -- EQs are always plot driven -- but they are there and I like noticing them.
This is the first of a few EQ novels laid out by Frederic Dannay (one of the two cousins who wrote EQ for 30 years) but actually written by someone else, in this case the wonderful Theodore Sturgeon. Sturgeon is, in my opinion, a stronger writer of characters than Lee and Dannay had been, but on the whole this feels very much like an EQ as I enjoyed them for years. I was particularly pleased that Sturgeon still captured that 'sense of the time' I mentioned above; this is the sort of thing I'd worry about in the ghost-written novels. If you like EQ, you could like this book and never know that Lee and Dannay were not the writers.
I've had a long slow project of reading the EQ novels in order. The ghost writing of this 1950s-60s period is usually ascribed to a period of 'writer's block' but it may just be character fatigue. I thoroughly enjoyed some of the last Lee and Dunnay EQs, and Inspector Queen's Own Case and The Finishing Stroke definitely felt like books that put closure to the career of both Queens, father and son. This book seems a throw-back, and the character evolution in those books is ignored: Inspector Queen is still head of Homicide for NYC, and Ellery is still writing and solving mysteries from their home. Except for the strong sense that this is set in the 1950s, this book would have fit well within the timeframe before those two strong books, and any sense of growth and change from those books is ignored. This does make me wonder how much it will matter if I finish the rest of the books in order.
On the whole, a satisfying read for EQ fans like me, and probably in the top third of the novels.
July 23, 2020
This is my first Ellery Queen, although I gather it was written by sci-fi specialist Theodore Sturgeon, and "extensively revised" by Lee and Dannay. I found it rather odd.
It is rooted in Golden Age ideas-an enclosed circle- or rather square in this case-of suspects and a tontine will. However, it is not particularly well-clued and the creepy messages add an unpleasant element. The solution is not difficult to reach-in the end who else could it be? But it is not the sort of solution I enjoy and I hear heavy overtones of an authorial "look how clever I am".
I shall try more of these, but would advise newcomers to start elsewhere in the canon.
3.5 stars.
It is rooted in Golden Age ideas-an enclosed circle- or rather square in this case-of suspects and a tontine will. However, it is not particularly well-clued and the creepy messages add an unpleasant element. The solution is not difficult to reach-in the end who else could it be? But it is not the sort of solution I enjoy and I hear heavy overtones of an authorial "look how clever I am".
I shall try more of these, but would advise newcomers to start elsewhere in the canon.
3.5 stars.
July 26, 2020
Bears all the hallmarks of late Queen: a small suspect pool, an increased attention to characters, and a reliance on tricks that have since become tropes. As a result, this was very easy to solve- even in spite of some general unfairness on the part of motive. Unobjectionable and breezy enough but not a high point in the canon.
Read
July 18, 2025smart move to get around the problem highlighted by borges in death and the compass by having your detective be too stupid to recognise the tetragrammaton from the first 3 letters
November 27, 2025
An intriguing detective story until the very end when all the rules of fair play were broken.
January 4, 2011
This is the Ellery Queen mystery ghost-written by Theodore Sturgeon, and it bears all the familiar Sturgeon hallmarks (or all of the ones I’m familiar with from my limited reading of him): a quasi-autistic man who proves far more capable than people believe him to be, an intricate psychological (quasi-SF) reveal, and some really excellent character writing.
As a novel, however, it’s pretty meh—not a terribly exciting mystery, very few sympathetic characters (save perhaps for the murderer himself), and the character of Ellery Queen is pretty insufferable (it’s no wonder Queen, despite “his” huge historical popularity, is little more than a footnote these days while Philip Marlowe is a household name). Of interest probably only to either Theodore Sturgeon or Ellery Queen completists.
As a novel, however, it’s pretty meh—not a terribly exciting mystery, very few sympathetic characters (save perhaps for the murderer himself), and the character of Ellery Queen is pretty insufferable (it’s no wonder Queen, despite “his” huge historical popularity, is little more than a footnote these days while Philip Marlowe is a household name). Of interest probably only to either Theodore Sturgeon or Ellery Queen completists.
September 12, 2016
I read most of the Ellery Queen novels while I was in high school and enjoyed them. One thing I particularly liked in the early ones was the "Challenge to the Reader" where the reader was told that they had all the information necessary to solve the case and was challenged to do so. The edition I had of this book didn't include that but I still enjoyed it
The problem I had was the killer and the circumstances were obvious to me very early on. I don't fault the authors for that; it's simply that by 2016 the plot has been done so often that it is more obvious than when it was originally written. If you're new to Ellery Queen it's not a bad starting place.
The problem I had was the killer and the circumstances were obvious to me very early on. I don't fault the authors for that; it's simply that by 2016 the plot has been done so often that it is more obvious than when it was originally written. If you're new to Ellery Queen it's not a bad starting place.
October 17, 2014
Fantastic mystery - one of the best EQ stories, oddly enough written by Theodore Sturgeon instead of the cousins.
This book is unusual in that the person who is the murderer is revealed very early into the book and what we are searching for is the murderer behind the murderer: the titular "player on the other side." I guessed 2 and a half of the main points that revealed the murderer - including the reason and what the clues mean.
This book is unusual in that the person who is the murderer is revealed very early into the book and what we are searching for is the murderer behind the murderer: the titular "player on the other side." I guessed 2 and a half of the main points that revealed the murderer - including the reason and what the clues mean.
Read
June 9, 2013Ghost written by the sci fi writer Theodore Sturgeon. My first Ellery Queen novel, a fictional detective series running from the 1930's through to '71. I read it for Sturgeon, and I might just read a 'genuine' EQ for camparison. I doubt it will compare.
March 19, 2015
Sturgeon has written one of the greatest mystery novels I have ever had the privilege to read. Using some of my favorite literary characters makes it an even richer experience.
January 10, 2017
This was my first Ellery Queen novel, it was a little disappointing. Not sure I will read another. Much prefer Agatha Christie.
March 17, 2012
Ghost-written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon.
May 26, 2021
Mid-20th Century North American Crime and Mystery
COUNTDOWN: Book 13 (of 250) - Edgar Award Nominee
A quirky, unusual take on murder mysteries, perhaps because this was ghost written... and maybe that's part of the story?
HOOK - 5 stars: This one opens with a brief note written by someone identifying themselves as "Y".
The note reads: "Dear Walt, You know who I am...I know what you want. I know your great destiny. I like you." Walt is a gardener and after reading the note thinks to himself, "Did anyone know that he [Walt] had made the turf hook himself? Who would admire the creation...who but the creator?"
Yes, there are spiritual references all over the place, and these references continue throughout the novel. Does Walt think "Y" is perhaps "Yahweh"? Or is someone else playing a game on Walt? Is Walt simply schizophrenic? Does someone think they are God?
PACE - 5: A one-sit read. I like the way the chapter titles (like "Queen's Countergambit", "Waiting Moves" and "Maneuvering") played into the story. Perfect for a rainy day.
PLOT - 4: A standard one but with a twist: Nathaniel Sr. is leaving all his money ($12 million) to Nathaniel Jr if Jr shows up/returns home. If that event doesn't happen within a certain period of time, then four cousins get $3 million each. BUT, is Jr. already there among the cast anyway? Or does someone know Jr is never coming back anyway?
CAST - 4: There are the 4 cousins (Percival, Robert, Myra, Emily) , plus Nathaniel Sr and Nathaniel Jr., plus Walt. Beelzebub is here...as a puppy. Then there is Dr. Prince, a psychiatrist. This is all interesting but in an odd, hazy way.
ATMOSPHERE - 5: I'm looking at my notes for this review: "Unhinged insanity" and "Hotel Altitude Room 312." There's a large courtyard with four small castles in each corner (one for each cousin) and a gravestone in the center of the courtyard that reads "Nathaniel York Born April 20, 1924." The cousins start dropping dead, can we find an order in their deaths by studying courtyard clues? I loved this aspect.
SUMMARY - 4.6: Yes, there is a very good murder mystery here. But all the spiritual references (good vs evil or just someone insane?) kick this one up a notch. This is the kind of novel you instantly want to read again. And about the title: I came across "The Player on the Other Side" in a collection of Queen stories, "Player" being the second novel, right after "And on the Eighth Day", equally quirky but not as good a murder mystery.
COUNTDOWN: Book 13 (of 250) - Edgar Award Nominee
A quirky, unusual take on murder mysteries, perhaps because this was ghost written... and maybe that's part of the story?
HOOK - 5 stars: This one opens with a brief note written by someone identifying themselves as "Y".
The note reads: "Dear Walt, You know who I am...I know what you want. I know your great destiny. I like you." Walt is a gardener and after reading the note thinks to himself, "Did anyone know that he [Walt] had made the turf hook himself? Who would admire the creation...who but the creator?"
Yes, there are spiritual references all over the place, and these references continue throughout the novel. Does Walt think "Y" is perhaps "Yahweh"? Or is someone else playing a game on Walt? Is Walt simply schizophrenic? Does someone think they are God?
PACE - 5: A one-sit read. I like the way the chapter titles (like "Queen's Countergambit", "Waiting Moves" and "Maneuvering") played into the story. Perfect for a rainy day.
PLOT - 4: A standard one but with a twist: Nathaniel Sr. is leaving all his money ($12 million) to Nathaniel Jr if Jr shows up/returns home. If that event doesn't happen within a certain period of time, then four cousins get $3 million each. BUT, is Jr. already there among the cast anyway? Or does someone know Jr is never coming back anyway?
CAST - 4: There are the 4 cousins (Percival, Robert, Myra, Emily) , plus Nathaniel Sr and Nathaniel Jr., plus Walt. Beelzebub is here...as a puppy. Then there is Dr. Prince, a psychiatrist. This is all interesting but in an odd, hazy way.
ATMOSPHERE - 5: I'm looking at my notes for this review: "Unhinged insanity" and "Hotel Altitude Room 312." There's a large courtyard with four small castles in each corner (one for each cousin) and a gravestone in the center of the courtyard that reads "Nathaniel York Born April 20, 1924." The cousins start dropping dead, can we find an order in their deaths by studying courtyard clues? I loved this aspect.
SUMMARY - 4.6: Yes, there is a very good murder mystery here. But all the spiritual references (good vs evil or just someone insane?) kick this one up a notch. This is the kind of novel you instantly want to read again. And about the title: I came across "The Player on the Other Side" in a collection of Queen stories, "Player" being the second novel, right after "And on the Eighth Day", equally quirky but not as good a murder mystery.
May 6, 2018
This is my first Ellery Queen mystery novel. I rarely read the mystery genre due to a preference for well-thought-out character arcs rather than well-thought-out plots - if one must choose between them - not that there can’t be both, but by then I suspect the genre story will have morphed into a psychological thriller or a tragedy. The only reason I picked this one up was that it was ghostwritten by sci-fi writer Theodore Sturgeon who published in 1953 a little mind-bending masterpiece of a novel called More Than Human. More Than Human contained ideas about psychological aberrations, human transcendence, and evolutionary mutations; and I wondered what he might make out of the constraints of an entirely plot-driven story. After finishing TPOTOS, I was not surprised to find some of those telltale elements of his style embedded in the work. But not enough to make me love it.
Ellery Queen, the son of New York City Police Inspector Richard Queen, is portrayed as a sloven, a brilliant-but-bored mystery writer who is content to lay about the family home smoking until the room is a blue haze and who is ever ready to mix the finest highball you’ve ever sloshed ice in. His father, stumped by the murder of a wealthy heir who was only six months away from coming into his full inheritance, entices Ellery into the hunt for the murderer if only for the reason it will get his son up and out of the house. The story builds steadily until about two-thirds of the way through when the necessity of hitting plot points requires some unlikely events. I did not guess the ultimate answer to the crime(s), but I did guess the penultimate clue before it was revealed. Had I been someone else - say, a regular mystery reader - I might have guessed the ending before it arrived, but we’ll never know.
Sturgeon presents characters’ thoughts mostly for humorous effect, and this is the strongest part of the novel. Although set in NYC, the depiction of city life was sparse and centered around a quadrangle of buildings surrounding a private park; the story could have happened anywhere a square of this type existed. The characters were shallow and existed only for the plot, and the plot existed only for the wrangling of mystery and melodrama. Overall, it was a relaxing jaunt like working a crossword puzzle with the solution page under one’s palm.
Ellery Queen, the son of New York City Police Inspector Richard Queen, is portrayed as a sloven, a brilliant-but-bored mystery writer who is content to lay about the family home smoking until the room is a blue haze and who is ever ready to mix the finest highball you’ve ever sloshed ice in. His father, stumped by the murder of a wealthy heir who was only six months away from coming into his full inheritance, entices Ellery into the hunt for the murderer if only for the reason it will get his son up and out of the house. The story builds steadily until about two-thirds of the way through when the necessity of hitting plot points requires some unlikely events. I did not guess the ultimate answer to the crime(s), but I did guess the penultimate clue before it was revealed. Had I been someone else - say, a regular mystery reader - I might have guessed the ending before it arrived, but we’ll never know.
Sturgeon presents characters’ thoughts mostly for humorous effect, and this is the strongest part of the novel. Although set in NYC, the depiction of city life was sparse and centered around a quadrangle of buildings surrounding a private park; the story could have happened anywhere a square of this type existed. The characters were shallow and existed only for the plot, and the plot existed only for the wrangling of mystery and melodrama. Overall, it was a relaxing jaunt like working a crossword puzzle with the solution page under one’s palm.
December 7, 2022
I got into Ellery Queen when I was at school. Each Friday I'd pick up one of the books from Guildford library. That evening I'd do half of my prep, then read until the bit where it said, "Reader, you have all of the clues..." Then the next morning I'd finish my prep, have a think about my solution to the mystery, then read Ellery's explanation to see if I'd got it right.
This novel comes from a much later tradition, thirty-five years after those play-fair whodunits. It was ghost-written by Ted Sturgeon, of Sturgeon's Law fame. The prose is crackingly good, but as a story it doesn't work very well. For one thing, Ellery is an idiot. He throws out wild theories at random, some of which actually distract police attention from real threats or in one case drive a character almost to suicide.
Finally he's left with the solution you probably guessed from about ten pages in, and his means of coming to that conclusion isn't remotely convincing. More like the writer thought, "I have to wind this up. What contrived reason could I give for Ellery to have a sudden epiphany?"
The mystery itself is contrived too. A tontine, with four cousins obliged to live in "castles" - grand homes arranged around a square. They start getting cards printed with letters, and anyone who gets a card is bumped off shortly after. The police don't do anything as obvious as assigning a bodyguard to each cousin, which would have saved the life of at least one of them. All of this is peculiar because throughout the '50s the original authors (also cousins; could be a sly dig there) were at loggerheads as to whether the books should be realistic crime stories or stylized mysteries. This is a throwback to the latter, only without the rigorous logic.
I read it because I had a bad cold, and it whiled away the time and distracted me from feeling sorry for myself. Also I did really like the way Sturgeon turns the apparent asshole-victim character into somebody we end up rooting for. So really it deserves 2.5 stars.
This novel comes from a much later tradition, thirty-five years after those play-fair whodunits. It was ghost-written by Ted Sturgeon, of Sturgeon's Law fame. The prose is crackingly good, but as a story it doesn't work very well. For one thing, Ellery is an idiot. He throws out wild theories at random, some of which actually distract police attention from real threats or in one case drive a character almost to suicide.
Finally he's left with the solution you probably guessed from about ten pages in, and his means of coming to that conclusion isn't remotely convincing. More like the writer thought, "I have to wind this up. What contrived reason could I give for Ellery to have a sudden epiphany?"
The mystery itself is contrived too. A tontine, with four cousins obliged to live in "castles" - grand homes arranged around a square. They start getting cards printed with letters, and anyone who gets a card is bumped off shortly after. The police don't do anything as obvious as assigning a bodyguard to each cousin, which would have saved the life of at least one of them. All of this is peculiar because throughout the '50s the original authors (also cousins; could be a sly dig there) were at loggerheads as to whether the books should be realistic crime stories or stylized mysteries. This is a throwback to the latter, only without the rigorous logic.
I read it because I had a bad cold, and it whiled away the time and distracted me from feeling sorry for myself. Also I did really like the way Sturgeon turns the apparent asshole-victim character into somebody we end up rooting for. So really it deserves 2.5 stars.
November 8, 2019
York Square -
a family compound with four castle-like houses on each corner of the property, a private park in the center. The 'castles' are inhabited by Robert, Miss Myra, Emily and Percival; cousins who are living in the compound and are supported by a trust set-up by their uncle. They must live there for six months in order to receive their inheritance from the uncle. If any should die, then their share will be split by the rest of the group. In other words it is a tontine. Last one alive gets all.
Robert receives a card in the mail that has had one corner cut off diagonally. Shortly after, he dies from his scull being crushed by a falling stone from the front of his house. Inspector Queen is given the case to solve and brings Ellery in to help. Not that this is unusual, but Ellery is in a funk and seems to have no motivation to write. Not the norm for this man!
The plot is a bit like a chess game. One character will make a move, then another. What is the reason for the murders? (There are more than the first.) What is it that the cards with the cut corners signify? Who has the most to gain from the deaths?
It is interesting, but I will say the ending wasn't what I expected and not as satisfying an end for me.
Interesting note: This was not written by Lee and Dannay, the real Ellery Queen. It was written by a well-known sci-fi writer and edited by the EQ duo.
a family compound with four castle-like houses on each corner of the property, a private park in the center. The 'castles' are inhabited by Robert, Miss Myra, Emily and Percival; cousins who are living in the compound and are supported by a trust set-up by their uncle. They must live there for six months in order to receive their inheritance from the uncle. If any should die, then their share will be split by the rest of the group. In other words it is a tontine. Last one alive gets all.
Robert receives a card in the mail that has had one corner cut off diagonally. Shortly after, he dies from his scull being crushed by a falling stone from the front of his house. Inspector Queen is given the case to solve and brings Ellery in to help. Not that this is unusual, but Ellery is in a funk and seems to have no motivation to write. Not the norm for this man!
The plot is a bit like a chess game. One character will make a move, then another. What is the reason for the murders? (There are more than the first.) What is it that the cards with the cut corners signify? Who has the most to gain from the deaths?
It is interesting, but I will say the ending wasn't what I expected and not as satisfying an end for me.
Interesting note: This was not written by Lee and Dannay, the real Ellery Queen. It was written by a well-known sci-fi writer and edited by the EQ duo.
July 20, 2025
Surprisingly good later Queen story. It started as a c.45 page outline by one of the cousins, was turned into a novel by Theodore Sturgeon, then reworked by the cousins and published as their work in 1963.
The story of four cousins, each living in a castle on a square in Manhattan as mandated by their late grandfather. The reward for living there the allotted time was to share in grandfather's large estate. The cousins are all single, each with some eccentricity. There's also a handyman, Walt, and a housekeeper/cook, a female companion to one of the women, and a young man who assists one of the cousins with an extensive stamp collection.
One day, the handyman receives a letter, brief but both warm and commanding. The letter tells Walt how he is the kill one of the cousins. We are told who the writer is, but the letter says that it is known to Walt, who in turn loves and obeys the writer.
As each of the cousins is killed off, Ellery and the cops come to realize that the killer is Walt, but they believe that he is too dull and unimaginative to have dreamed up the crimes by himself. Eventually they find the letters, and Ellery figures out the solution. He arranges a demonstration so that other can see for themselves, and provides an explanation, complete with references to "The Three Faces of Eve."
The story of four cousins, each living in a castle on a square in Manhattan as mandated by their late grandfather. The reward for living there the allotted time was to share in grandfather's large estate. The cousins are all single, each with some eccentricity. There's also a handyman, Walt, and a housekeeper/cook, a female companion to one of the women, and a young man who assists one of the cousins with an extensive stamp collection.
One day, the handyman receives a letter, brief but both warm and commanding. The letter tells Walt how he is the kill one of the cousins. We are told who the writer is, but the letter says that it is known to Walt, who in turn loves and obeys the writer.
As each of the cousins is killed off, Ellery and the cops come to realize that the killer is Walt, but they believe that he is too dull and unimaginative to have dreamed up the crimes by himself. Eventually they find the letters, and Ellery figures out the solution. He arranges a demonstration so that other can see for themselves, and provides an explanation, complete with references to "The Three Faces of Eve."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 18, 2023
For once, Ellery Queen seems to be stumped — in several ways. The amateur detective is stumped on writing his next book and then when his dad, a New York police inspector, gets a case, Ellery again seems to stumble.
But then it is a pretty unusual case. The main protagonists are four cousins who each live in the four corners of York Square, each having their own house which they must live in for a certain period of time before they can actually inherit. The first to be murdered is Robert York. The Queens both figure its one of the other three who is the murderer, but they are operating without a vital clue — letters have begun to arrive to the York's handyman, Walt, a quiet, slightly queer looking-acting man that can easily be overlooked.
This is a wickedly clever story and the red herrings are abundant, the only thing is that the solution is quite a bit obscure, leading to a bit of frustration not only for the reader but for the characters themselves. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read with that final twisty surprise at the end.
But then it is a pretty unusual case. The main protagonists are four cousins who each live in the four corners of York Square, each having their own house which they must live in for a certain period of time before they can actually inherit. The first to be murdered is Robert York. The Queens both figure its one of the other three who is the murderer, but they are operating without a vital clue — letters have begun to arrive to the York's handyman, Walt, a quiet, slightly queer looking-acting man that can easily be overlooked.
This is a wickedly clever story and the red herrings are abundant, the only thing is that the solution is quite a bit obscure, leading to a bit of frustration not only for the reader but for the characters themselves. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read with that final twisty surprise at the end.
April 24, 2021
Acabou por desiludir-me, este livro.
Dou muita importância à forma como começa um livro, à forma como ele nos prende ou não.
Ellery Queen é o nome dado por dois primos, Frederic Dannay e Manfred B. Lee à sua parceria literária.
Há alguma ironia no facto de duas pessoas que escrevem como se fossem só uma criarem um livro sobre um criminoso com dupla personalidade.
Não pode ser acaso. Esta boa ideia não foi, totalmente, aproveitada, embora o livro se vá compondo à medida que os cadáveres vão surgindo.
Os personagens principais dos livros de Ellery Queen são o Inspector da Polícia Queen e o seu filho, detective privado, Ellery Queen. O tradutor denominou o Inspector Queen como o ancião. Ora se ele fosse assim tão velho, estaria reformado, não seria um Inspector da Polícia no activo. O tradutor J. Teixeira de Aguilar não escolheu o melhor termo para o denominar.
Escrevo isto, apesar de não ter podido verificar qual a denominação dada no original.
Dou muita importância à forma como começa um livro, à forma como ele nos prende ou não.
Ellery Queen é o nome dado por dois primos, Frederic Dannay e Manfred B. Lee à sua parceria literária.
Há alguma ironia no facto de duas pessoas que escrevem como se fossem só uma criarem um livro sobre um criminoso com dupla personalidade.
Não pode ser acaso. Esta boa ideia não foi, totalmente, aproveitada, embora o livro se vá compondo à medida que os cadáveres vão surgindo.
Os personagens principais dos livros de Ellery Queen são o Inspector da Polícia Queen e o seu filho, detective privado, Ellery Queen. O tradutor denominou o Inspector Queen como o ancião. Ora se ele fosse assim tão velho, estaria reformado, não seria um Inspector da Polícia no activo. O tradutor J. Teixeira de Aguilar não escolheu o melhor termo para o denominar.
Escrevo isto, apesar de não ter podido verificar qual a denominação dada no original.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2023
A fun Ellery Queen read with (once-again) a twist that I wasn't at all expecting. Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved all the characters, especially Beelzebub, the lil puppy girl that Tom gives Anne (sp?) Drew. I also love that there was a female character named Ann Drew (sp?). The heavy hitter for me though, the one thing that made this 4 star book a 5 star book (in my mind) is the fact that . I love this man so much. Honestly King behavior.
March 15, 2024
Although I have known of Ellery Queen for many years, this is the first I have ever read. Inevitably I found it more than a little dated, even after allowing for it being published in 1963. There is little mystery about who commits the series of murders central to the story. The intrigue arises from who is working behind the scenes, manipulating the game. The game, as referenced by the title, being a game of chess that pits Ellery and his father against the mysterious 'player on the other side'.
The denouement, when it came, was excessively prolonged. By the time it concluded, I was fed up of it. The final reveal was hardly a shock, being an explanation that has been explored in so much fiction, be it books, TV or cinema. I won't be rushing to read any more Ellery Queen.
The denouement, when it came, was excessively prolonged. By the time it concluded, I was fed up of it. The final reveal was hardly a shock, being an explanation that has been explored in so much fiction, be it books, TV or cinema. I won't be rushing to read any more Ellery Queen.
April 8, 2018
The Player on the Other Side wasn't written by the original writing duo who created the character, which seems a bit of dirty pool to me, since their pictures and biographies are on the dustjacket of the edition I read. Oh, well. It stops me from at least complaining about how easy it was to tag the killer and what the clues he uses meant. In fact, I will indulge in a bit of dirty pool myself. Sturgeon (the author) has clearly read his way through the canon, particularly the Wrightsville murders and And on the Eighth Day, where this was done much better. Still, it is a decent if unremarkable example of the kind of mystery novel that used to be turned out regularly.
March 18, 2023
The reader is told from the beginning who is, one at a time, killing off four cousins set to inherit millions of dollars. But who is using that person as a pawn, and why? I don't know what left me dissatisfied with this mystery. The characters are well written, and even if Percy's change of attitude is a little too dramatic, it makes for a better story. Perhaps the problem is that Y's movements are not expounded in the end, or that there is not a bit of foreshadowing of the plot twist. I must say that the twist is original, but something so far-fetched needs more support than it got.
January 4, 2025
Ah Ellery Queen, where have you been all my life? From your first words in these pages, you hold my attention and I cannot look away. Even my husband knew it would be so. 😂
I definitely will list this author as a 'must read more of' author: quick story, intriguing plot, I can see the characters. The brevity of the book was balanced by its writing style so that I was obliged to slow just a little in order to grasp more. Wonderful.
Story is framed in chess, but a non-player can still follow the tragedy of four cousins and one destiny.
I definitely will list this author as a 'must read more of' author: quick story, intriguing plot, I can see the characters. The brevity of the book was balanced by its writing style so that I was obliged to slow just a little in order to grasp more. Wonderful.
Story is framed in chess, but a non-player can still follow the tragedy of four cousins and one destiny.
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