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Philo Vance #11
The Smell of Murder
The zany plot follows nitwit Gracie Allen trying to help master sleuth Philo Vance solve a murder. Allen's uncle fixes her up with Bill at a company picnic. When the two go out to a nightclub that night, Gracie inadvertently links Bill to the murder of a thug after finding the dead body and Bill's cigarette case at the scene of the crime. While being questioned at the club, she meets Vance who's investigating the homicide. After Gracie's bungled attempts to solve the case, Vance decides it might be easier to have her working with him. Despite Gracie's "help," the two eventually find the real killer.
150 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1938
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 6, 2024
Madcap Follies
Review of the Felony & Mayhem Kindle eBook edition (July 18, 2021) of the Scribner’s hardcover original (1938).
The Latin phrases and the classical or historical references were everywhere in The Gracie Allen Murder Case, so there was much to keep you busy with Google translate and Wikipedia search. Otherwise, the gimmick here was the celebrity cameo of having the comic duo of Burns and Allen appear as fictional characters. And no, Gracie Allen does not get murdered unlike the usual title character in the Vance mysteries.
But Burns and Allen do not play themselves. They are instead workers in a perfume factory, with Burns as the main perfumier and Allen as a worker. The subplot of perfume ingredients has some tie-in to the main mystery of a murder at a shady nightclub. The Gracie Allen character does play a version of herself though as she describes various zany antics while acting as an assistant detective to an amused and charmed Philo Vance. In the performances of the radio and later TV comic duo, Burns would play the straight man who would prompt Allen to describe comic misadventures.
The celebrity casting leads one to suspect that it was done in preparation for the film roles, although Burns did not appear in the movie. Grace Allen actually had top billing over the actor playing Philo Vance.
The front cover of the original Scribner’s first edition (1938). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The final reveal results in the now standard Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ for the later Vance novels, so celebrity casting cannot save every venture.
Footnotes
* "de lunatic inquirendo": Latin lunatic inquiry.
** Eumœus or Eumaeus was the swineherd of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey, who did live in a hut.
Trivia and Links
The Gracie Allen Murder Case was adapted as the same-titled film The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Warren William as Philo Vance and Gracie Allen herself as Gracie Allen. I could not find a posting of a trailer or of the film at YouTube.
The Gracie Allen Murder Case is in the public domain and can be read or sourced online at various sites such as Faded Page.
Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.
Review of the Felony & Mayhem Kindle eBook edition (July 18, 2021) of the Scribner’s hardcover original (1938).
Then Markham turned back to Vance. “And as for you,” he said with good-natured effrontery, “I think you’re a raving maniac.”
“Granted,” said Vance. “No de lunatic inquirendo* writ necess’ry.”
…
“What a beastly matutinal odyssey, Sergeant!” Vance shuddered dolefully. “And what befell when you came at last to the hut of Eumœus**?”
“The guy’s name is Robbin, like I told you. And he don’t live in a hut…”
…
“I don’t blame you, Mr. Vance. I’m hot and annoyed. Maybe I do sound as if I was messing around with ancient Egyptians, and mandragora, and viper venoms, and secret Gypsy potions, and witches’ ointments with their henbane, and Borgia poisons, and Perugia water, and Aqua Tofana.”
…
“The Tofana the doctor mentioned died in Sicily in the seventeenth century. And she wasn’t a fortune-teller. Far from it. She devoted her talents to mixing a liquid which has since come to be known by her name. Aqua Tofana was a deadly poison; and this woman plied her poisoning trade on such a wholesale scale that the name of her concoction has never been forgot. Though her mixture was probably nothing but a strong solution of arsenic, there’s still a lot of mystery attaching to it.”
The Latin phrases and the classical or historical references were everywhere in The Gracie Allen Murder Case, so there was much to keep you busy with Google translate and Wikipedia search. Otherwise, the gimmick here was the celebrity cameo of having the comic duo of Burns and Allen appear as fictional characters. And no, Gracie Allen does not get murdered unlike the usual title character in the Vance mysteries.
But Burns and Allen do not play themselves. They are instead workers in a perfume factory, with Burns as the main perfumier and Allen as a worker. The subplot of perfume ingredients has some tie-in to the main mystery of a murder at a shady nightclub. The Gracie Allen character does play a version of herself though as she describes various zany antics while acting as an assistant detective to an amused and charmed Philo Vance. In the performances of the radio and later TV comic duo, Burns would play the straight man who would prompt Allen to describe comic misadventures.
The celebrity casting leads one to suspect that it was done in preparation for the film roles, although Burns did not appear in the movie. Grace Allen actually had top billing over the actor playing Philo Vance.
The front cover of the original Scribner’s first edition (1938). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The final reveal results in the now standard Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ for the later Vance novels, so celebrity casting cannot save every venture.
Footnotes
* "de lunatic inquirendo": Latin lunatic inquiry.
** Eumœus or Eumaeus was the swineherd of Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey, who did live in a hut.
Trivia and Links
The Gracie Allen Murder Case was adapted as the same-titled film The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1939) directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Warren William as Philo Vance and Gracie Allen herself as Gracie Allen. I could not find a posting of a trailer or of the film at YouTube.
The Gracie Allen Murder Case is in the public domain and can be read or sourced online at various sites such as Faded Page.
Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.
October 16, 2021
First published in 1938 therefore the language may appear strange to some. I happen to like it.
It’s a fine whodunit with a fine cast of characters and sometimes amusing dialogue.
Exactly why Gracie Allen was used in this story I have no idea except that a movie of the same name was made with Gracie in 1939.
S.S. Van Dine (a pseudonym) was a well-known author of many mystery stories starting in the 1920’s featuring the fictional detective Philo Vance.
I had never heard of the author before so: Fun fact: I happened to look him up on October 15, 2021 and found that his birthday is October 15, 1888.
It’s a fine whodunit with a fine cast of characters and sometimes amusing dialogue.
Exactly why Gracie Allen was used in this story I have no idea except that a movie of the same name was made with Gracie in 1939.
S.S. Van Dine (a pseudonym) was a well-known author of many mystery stories starting in the 1920’s featuring the fictional detective Philo Vance.
I had never heard of the author before so: Fun fact: I happened to look him up on October 15, 2021 and found that his birthday is October 15, 1888.
July 23, 2015
This was less classical, but really charming!
July 5, 2024
Philo Vance sevdiğim bir dedektif olamıyor bir türlü. Dine kendini yansıttığı için olabildiğince itici biri. Bu romanda Gracie Allen dönemin modern kız tiplerinden biri olarak yaratılmış. O bile itici gelecekti bir noktada. Pek sevdiğimi söyleyemem.
April 19, 2015
A slightly lesser Philo Vance mystery, with the novelty of having real people (Gracie Allen and her husband George Burns) as characters. Oddly, they don't "play" themselves: Gracie works at a perfume company and George (whose active presence is confined to just a couple of chapters) is a master perfume-blender. Both get involved with Vance when Allen's brother is found dead in a gangster's office and George comes under suspicion. Van Dine gets Gracie's voice down very well, and the scenes with her are charming.
July 16, 2024
Novela de misterio al uso, estilo Sherlock. Adolece, creo, de una traducción pobre.
November 11, 2024
A good book and I liked the use of George Burns & Grace Allen who were well know back in 1938.
July 7, 2015
The Gracie Allen of the case is not the famed entertainer, but rather a worker in a perfume factory, but she's almost as inconsequential as the original. She unwittingly gives an entranced Philo Vance all of the important clues in this gangster slaying, back in the days when Riverdale in the Bronx was a rural paradise. Vance meets her when communing with nature, and then again in a fancy restaurant where her brother has the crucial job of dishwasher. There's a brief appearance of her mother, a gentle, faded lady who turns out to be as sharp as Gracie is vague. George Burns is a perfume mixer and Gracie's beau.
July 10, 2017
I finally read a Philo Vance novel and now that it's out of my system I'll never make that mistake again. Many reviews say that Vance is "annoying." He certainly is. He is exactly the kind of too educated, too wealthy, too witty dilettante detective that is better off in the literary dust heap. It's no wonder that Raymond Chandler took a cheap shot or two at the character. Even worse are the one-note supporting characters, especially District Attorney Markham. He is too close-minded to be believable.
However, I do need to compliment the author. Van Dine has pulled off the difficult task of getting Gracie Allen just right. I hear her voice as I read her lines and she is spot on.
But she's also a major problem in this book. When performing on the radio as half of Burns and Allen, her odd ramblings and strange connections either poke a hole in Burn's stuffy facade, or act as goofy punchlines. Her stories are met by others with some confusion. Either her stories are funny or the reaction they create in others is funny. But here every character finds her illogic charming and endearing. So instead of coming off as funny, like she would in her radio show, she's both unfunny and unwelcome in her parts. She's just another annoying character in a book full of them.
I'd comment on the plot but it never really gets going.
I understand that this is not considered a shining star in the Philo Vance series. I read it simply for Gracie Allen. But there is nothing else to make me come back for another story featuring Vance.
However, I do need to compliment the author. Van Dine has pulled off the difficult task of getting Gracie Allen just right. I hear her voice as I read her lines and she is spot on.
But she's also a major problem in this book. When performing on the radio as half of Burns and Allen, her odd ramblings and strange connections either poke a hole in Burn's stuffy facade, or act as goofy punchlines. Her stories are met by others with some confusion. Either her stories are funny or the reaction they create in others is funny. But here every character finds her illogic charming and endearing. So instead of coming off as funny, like she would in her radio show, she's both unfunny and unwelcome in her parts. She's just another annoying character in a book full of them.
I'd comment on the plot but it never really gets going.
I understand that this is not considered a shining star in the Philo Vance series. I read it simply for Gracie Allen. But there is nothing else to make me come back for another story featuring Vance.
January 26, 2022
S.S. van Dine wrote 12 detective novels in the late 1920s and 1930s centered on private detective Philo Vance, a wealthy aesthete and connoisseur of the arts. The first six are very good: The Benson Murder Case (1926), The Canary Murder Case (1927), The Greene Murder Case (1928), The Bishop Murder Case (1929), The Scarab Murder Case (1930) and The Kennel Murder Case (1933). Less good but still interesting enough (although in declining order) are four more novels: The Dragon Murder Case (1933), The Casino Murder Case (1934), The Garden Murder Case (1935) and The Kidnap Murder Case (1936). Forgettable are the last two novels, both based on film scripts: The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938) and The Winter Murder Case (1939).
S.S. van Dine was enormously popular between 1926 and 1936, something which is also demonstrated by how quickly Hollywood adapted his novels to the screen with such famous actors as William Powell. But in the 1930s Hammett and Chandler started the hard-boiled genre with violent detectives who would make Van Dine’s intellectual sleuth seem insignificant and a bit preposterous.
S.S. van Dine was enormously popular between 1926 and 1936, something which is also demonstrated by how quickly Hollywood adapted his novels to the screen with such famous actors as William Powell. But in the 1930s Hammett and Chandler started the hard-boiled genre with violent detectives who would make Van Dine’s intellectual sleuth seem insignificant and a bit preposterous.
June 17, 2018
Despite the title, Gracie Allen is not the murder victim. She is a sweet but dim-witted woman (think 'legally-blonde') Vance encounters in a forest clearing, and much attention is given to their repartee. The first portion of the book comprises more of a romance novel, with Gracie creating her own love triangle; using Puttle as a pawn to get Burns jealous. The middle portion has all the action, taking place at the Domdaniel Cafe, complete with secret doors and red herrings aplenty. Vance encounters the dying Owl Owen, allegedly a crime boss, but much better suited as a philosopher. They engage in a long, protracted esoteric conversation about the meaning of life, which forms the trademark S. S. Van Dine deviation to run the page count up and prevent the plot from moving along. There is a bit of unfair play with the reader regarding the dead man, but overall not a bad title; not withstanding the long complicated denouement at the finale.
March 28, 2023
In this S.S. Van Dine mystery, Philo Vance is assisted by Gracie Allen and her sweetheart George Burns, who both work in a perfume factory. Vance meets Gracie early on, but it isn’t until a kitchen helper is found dead at the Domdaniel Café that Gracie becomes involved. It seems the victim is named Philip Allen.
Vance’s original case is to locate the escaped criminal, Benny Pellinzi aka Benny the Buzzard, who has threatened to kill District Attorney F.-X. Markham. Domdaniel Café is Benny’s old hangout and where his girlfriend, Dixie Del Marr, sings. It also is a place of activity of many other shady dealings.
Vance figures he can get better results than the police as he doesn’t have to deal with protocol. But the murder puts a kink in things.
Thought Gracie is a bit of a ditz, she does find some of the more important key clues. Seems perfume does play a part.
Written in 1938, it is an enjoyable read of an enjoyable era.
Vance’s original case is to locate the escaped criminal, Benny Pellinzi aka Benny the Buzzard, who has threatened to kill District Attorney F.-X. Markham. Domdaniel Café is Benny’s old hangout and where his girlfriend, Dixie Del Marr, sings. It also is a place of activity of many other shady dealings.
Vance figures he can get better results than the police as he doesn’t have to deal with protocol. But the murder puts a kink in things.
Thought Gracie is a bit of a ditz, she does find some of the more important key clues. Seems perfume does play a part.
Written in 1938, it is an enjoyable read of an enjoyable era.
May 4, 2019
Bir yerde Van Dine'ın dedektifi Philo Vance'in tüm dedektif tiplemeleri içinde en entelektüel olanlardan biri olduğunu okumuştum ve kitaba böyle bir umut ve beklentiyle başladım. Fakat sonuçta bu cümleyle kesinlikle aynı fikirde değilim! Philo Vance, başlangıcından itibaren uluslararası polisiye edebiyat dünyasının en itici ve en sıkıcı karakterleri sıralamasında birinci olması kaçınılmaz bir tipleme olmuş. Çok kötü bir S. Holmes taklidi olduğunu, entellektüellikle uzaktan yakından alakası olmadığını düşünüyorum. Kitap, muamma kurma ve çözme konusunda da ayrıca oldukça başarısız. Kitapta yer alan Gracie Allen ve George Buns karakterleri gerçek ve ünlü kişilermiş; dönemin ve kültürün dışından olduğum için birçok göndermeyi kaçırmış olabilirim, belki bu karakterleri tanıyanlar kitabı daha çok sevmişlerdir.
June 28, 2017
This one's pretty bad. The author basically wrote it so that it could become a film vehicle for the title character. The comedy is not funny and the plot is very thin. Half the time you forget you are reading a murder mystery and think you are reading instead inane dialog. So why two stars? Some interesting history and geography make their way into the novel, and plus I guess I'll give Van Dine some credit for trying something different. His career was about over--the next, and final, novel in the series was not even finished upon his death. I don't think I will be too sad upon soon finishing this series.
October 21, 2021
"Impara le regole come un professionista, in modo da poterle rompere come un artista."
Questa frase attribuita (forse a torto) a Picasso si applica a questo romanzo che smonta le regole che l'autore americano aveva dato al genere (e che per la verità aveva violato allegramente anche nei suoi romanzi più riusciti)
Purtroppo per fare un bel romanzo non basta violare le regole. La lettura è stata anche piacevole, una gangster story con qualche intermezzo rosa e con uno stile molto leggero e umoristico, purtroppo viziata per la parte gialla vera e propria da qualche inverosimiglianza di troppo
Se vi fa piacere approfondire l'autore vale la pena di leggerlo per averne una visione più completa, altrimenti potete saltarlo tranquillamente
Questa frase attribuita (forse a torto) a Picasso si applica a questo romanzo che smonta le regole che l'autore americano aveva dato al genere (e che per la verità aveva violato allegramente anche nei suoi romanzi più riusciti)
Purtroppo per fare un bel romanzo non basta violare le regole. La lettura è stata anche piacevole, una gangster story con qualche intermezzo rosa e con uno stile molto leggero e umoristico, purtroppo viziata per la parte gialla vera e propria da qualche inverosimiglianza di troppo
Se vi fa piacere approfondire l'autore vale la pena di leggerlo per averne una visione più completa, altrimenti potete saltarlo tranquillamente
October 12, 2022
I decided to ease into the Philo Vance mysteries with the one I knew would be least typical of them; I enjoyed it enough to take a stab at another one (randomly chosen for my by Amazon via a sale in the Kindle Store), and now I expect to read them all.
This one finds Philo Vance, who I gather is a professional aesthete, solving a mystery involving Gracie Allen, her boyfriend George Burns, and some members of her family. The delightfully surreal premise is that the Gracie in this story is a woman who very much resembles the character that the real Gracie Allen usually portrayed; but here of course she is actually NAMED Gracie Allen, even though she's not THAT Gracie Allen (and indeed there is no acknowledgment in the book's universe that THAT Gracie Allen, i.e., the actual one, even exists).
The remarkable thing about The Gracie Allen Murder Case is that author S.S. Van Dine pulls off the hat trick with aplomb. The case involves a murder but nevertheless doesn't feel heavy or scary or in any way less light-headed than its heroine. And Van Dine gets the character just about exactly right, capturing her speech patterns and her singular approach to dealing with reality with amazing felicity. Yet, she's never comic; she's just ditzy and addled and sweet and, somehow, smart. Or canny. It's quite a feat.
The other characters get short shrift, as indeed does Vance himself, whom we hardly get to know save his mannered way of speakin' (which will be wearing thin by the time I read too many more of the books). He comes off as gentle and good-natured in his dealings with Gracie, which makes him more endearing than I expect he'll be in his other adventures.
A fun and unexpectedly engaging (and quick) read.
This one finds Philo Vance, who I gather is a professional aesthete, solving a mystery involving Gracie Allen, her boyfriend George Burns, and some members of her family. The delightfully surreal premise is that the Gracie in this story is a woman who very much resembles the character that the real Gracie Allen usually portrayed; but here of course she is actually NAMED Gracie Allen, even though she's not THAT Gracie Allen (and indeed there is no acknowledgment in the book's universe that THAT Gracie Allen, i.e., the actual one, even exists).
The remarkable thing about The Gracie Allen Murder Case is that author S.S. Van Dine pulls off the hat trick with aplomb. The case involves a murder but nevertheless doesn't feel heavy or scary or in any way less light-headed than its heroine. And Van Dine gets the character just about exactly right, capturing her speech patterns and her singular approach to dealing with reality with amazing felicity. Yet, she's never comic; she's just ditzy and addled and sweet and, somehow, smart. Or canny. It's quite a feat.
The other characters get short shrift, as indeed does Vance himself, whom we hardly get to know save his mannered way of speakin' (which will be wearing thin by the time I read too many more of the books). He comes off as gentle and good-natured in his dealings with Gracie, which makes him more endearing than I expect he'll be in his other adventures.
A fun and unexpectedly engaging (and quick) read.
February 22, 2023
I read this book years ago and enjoyed it immensely . Rereading it now I still find it enjoyable for the interactions with Gracie Allen. The writing is very dated though and filled with enough meandering to make you want to skip pages. I was and am a big fan of George Burns and Gracie Allen. If you are, then I can recommend this book to you.
August 16, 2025
Io adoro i romanzi gialli di Van Dine, che lessi molti anni fa nelle due ottime raccolte Omnibus Mondadori a lui dedicate.
Ora comprendo perché questo era l'unico romanzo mancante nella collezione e che quindi non conoscevo. Si sente che è stato scritto svogliatamente, per fare cassa, alla fine della parabola professionale e umana di questo autore.
Peccato, perché Philo Vance qui è sprecato.
Ora comprendo perché questo era l'unico romanzo mancante nella collezione e che quindi non conoscevo. Si sente che è stato scritto svogliatamente, per fare cassa, alla fine della parabola professionale e umana di questo autore.
Peccato, perché Philo Vance qui è sprecato.
March 20, 2020
Sin dudas se deja ver al leer la novela que es una de las últimas que escribió S.S. VAN DINE. Falta de ideas y con un desarrollo muy simple y mediocre.
September 20, 2021
Ben aslında Türkçe çevirisini okdudum ancak goodreadste bulamadığım için İngilizcesi olarak görünüyor.
August 14, 2023
Hiç durmadan konuşan bir kızın tesadüfen cinayeti çözmesi. Dedektif Philo Vange ilginç bir karakter.
April 1, 2024
Too silly for me. Couldn’t get past the annoying dialogue and characters to get to the mystery
July 8, 2024
Al di là del giallo, un bel libro con un personaggio femminile fantastico.
Davvero divertente, una lettura rilassante e piacevole.
Davvero divertente, una lettura rilassante e piacevole.
December 12, 2024
Riletto, ma ricordavo il finale
November 16, 2025
I like wordy conversations but this was a bot too much and with quite a few unusual words.
But in all very entertaining.
But in all very entertaining.
February 10, 2017
Well...I started out thinking this was going to be the "oh man, really?" book of the series...I mean, the two main characters of the mystery are named Gracie Allen and George Burns. Its the shortest book of his series (150 pages) and seems silly on the surface in the beginning...but....the plot evolves into one of the best of the series with a "knock me over" twist at the end....very very good....but puts Philo Vance in a totally different light, so reading the other stories first to get the whole picture is recommended...sigh...only one more book in the series.
September 19, 2016
The Gracie Allen and George Burns of this book are not the characters from their TV show but are more like their movie roles in the 30's. In those movies, George has a normal job with Gracie playing his ditzy assistant or just an acquaintance . George has a minor role in the book, with Vance playing the bemused straight man. However, the expected delights are just not there. Philo Vance, as someone mentioned in a review, is one of the more annoying detectives ever. A word snob of the worst kind (meaning he uses words even I have not seen in print). He is the rich private detective, who the District Attorney and cops obediently allow to solve their toughest crimes while hanging about his richly appointed study, that is more typical of earlier pulp fiction and was rapidly going out of style in the 1930's. Being replaced by the hard boiled school, exemplified by Raymond Chandler's truly excellent books. Read those, skip this, unless you are curious.
February 10, 2011
I had looked forward to reading this, because Gracie Allen and George Burns are two of my favorite people. But, alas, the only thing this "Gracie Allen" had in common with the radio or TV Gracie Allen was her name. Oh, she was a bit talkative and illogical, but not in the same way. She and "George Burns" work in a perfume factory, where George is the chief "smeller" and perfume concocter. The detective in the story, one Philo Vance, has an annoyin' habit of clipping the g's off his ings, as well as saying, "Don't y'know." The narrator appears to be a friend of Vance's, but he's more like a ghost. He says he is there and he relates conversations and goings on, but never, ever interacts with any of the characters himself. Most peculiar. I finished the book just to see how it turned out, but it wasn't really worth it. Save yourself the time and energy; don't read this book.
February 18, 2016
11th in the Philo Vance mystery series set during May 17 - 21 sometime in the 1930’s. Vance, an independently wealthy college educated, amateur detective, uses his deductive skills and psychological knowledge to help his New York City District Attorney friend deal with the mystery. Unusual in the Vance mysteries the plot is more zany with “nitwit” Gracie Allen trying to help Vance solve a murder. Both George Burns and Gracie Allen are characters, but not in their entertainer capacity. As usual, the action is set in New York City. Vance’s methods are unconventional and go against the more rigid police investigative methods and lawyer legal requirements.
With the Gracie Allen character, this story has a much lighter tone though the mystery and the villains are quite serious.
With the Gracie Allen character, this story has a much lighter tone though the mystery and the villains are quite serious.
September 6, 2016
I was going through a phase of reading mystery books and purchased this for my good lady in an attempt to bring her into the fold. She's a huge Burns and Allen fan and I figured this would be a nice way to lure her unwittingly into the world of old fashioned mystery books.
I may well have put her off for life instead. If anyone can point out a detective fiction hero more irritating than Philo Vance I'd be truly surprised.
The only mystery is how this thing ended up in the shops in the first place.
I may well have put her off for life instead. If anyone can point out a detective fiction hero more irritating than Philo Vance I'd be truly surprised.
The only mystery is how this thing ended up in the shops in the first place.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews