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Ellery Queen Detective #Short Stories 7
Queens Full
An awe inspiring and thought provoking book!
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
52 people are currently reading
163 people want to read
About the author
Ellery Queen
1,780 books489 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 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 13, 2023
these were a lot of fun.
i'd never heard of Ellery Queen before this; his personality (if he does in fact possess one) does not show through much in this collection, but he's attractive in a vague way.
i'll be reading more, if i can get ahold of them...
i'd never heard of Ellery Queen before this; his personality (if he does in fact possess one) does not show through much in this collection, but he's attractive in a vague way.
i'll be reading more, if i can get ahold of them...
December 15, 2025
As with the Rex Stout novella collections, so here we get a collection of three EQ novellas (plus two very short stories added in), only one of which was recommended and only one of which I read: “The Case Against Carroll”.
It is a gem (6 stars), ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️, and well worth the price of admission all on its own. As with some other works, the solution comes into focus before the ending, but not the means by which Ellery (in this case) gets there…. It is also a perfect example of the “Intuitionist” aspects of EQ:
https://mikegrost.com/realist.htm#Int...
Loved this one!
It is a gem (6 stars), ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️, and well worth the price of admission all on its own. As with some other works, the solution comes into focus before the ending, but not the means by which Ellery (in this case) gets there…. It is also a perfect example of the “Intuitionist” aspects of EQ:
https://mikegrost.com/realist.htm#Int...
Loved this one!
February 19, 2017
جالب توجه ترین نکته جدای از داستان اصلی این بود که نوسنده الری کویین ، در واقع دو نفر اند . دو پسرخاله ای که با یکدیگر کتاب مینوشتند و نامی خیالی برای خود برگزیده اند .
داستان ها معمایی جنایی بودند و تا حدی سرگرم کننده و خود الری کویین نیز بعنوان کارآگاه داستان فعالیت میکند .
اما باز هم مثل همیشه داستان آخر اصلا جذاب نبود بلکه انگار عجله داشت تمام شود و درواقع برای یک داستان جنایی بودن زیادی کوتاه بود .
داستان ها معمایی جنایی بودند و تا حدی سرگرم کننده و خود الری کویین نیز بعنوان کارآگاه داستان فعالیت میکند .
اما باز هم مثل همیشه داستان آخر اصلا جذاب نبود بلکه انگار عجله داشت تمام شود و درواقع برای یک داستان جنایی بودن زیادی کوتاه بود .
October 26, 2012
This volume includes three longish short stories, and two short stories. They show off Queen the author and Queen the detective, especially his penchant for "dying messages." At least one story has greater emotional depth than the average.
July 2, 2019
These are short stories written in the autumn years of the golden age detective. Ellery has no back story, no loves, no pain to bring forward from some really hard case. He just has a few puzzling mysteries to solve. He finds one of the cases upsetting, as later EQ can have a strain of melancholy. But he is always an indeterminate age (“young”) and sexually neuter.
And, frankly, this is quite welcome in a mystery. The reader can focus on the case and miss the clues that make the seemingly impossible logical. He can imagine all the mayhem is happening in an imaginary Art Deco world full of master detectives, despite the startling reference to Vietnam in one of the stories.
The stories are good, all written in a smooth, mildly satiric prose that ages well. EQ fans will be pleased that a number of the stories are set in Wrightsville, home of a number of classic EQ novels. Just don’t expect Ellery to grow, age, change, or really even feel all that much. That doesn’t happen in EQ shorts.
And, frankly, this is quite welcome in a mystery. The reader can focus on the case and miss the clues that make the seemingly impossible logical. He can imagine all the mayhem is happening in an imaginary Art Deco world full of master detectives, despite the startling reference to Vietnam in one of the stories.
The stories are good, all written in a smooth, mildly satiric prose that ages well. EQ fans will be pleased that a number of the stories are set in Wrightsville, home of a number of classic EQ novels. Just don’t expect Ellery to grow, age, change, or really even feel all that much. That doesn’t happen in EQ shorts.
January 19, 2012
I first became aware of Ellery Queen at a young age when reading Michael Avallone's U.N.C.L.E. novel, The Thousand Coffins Affair, when a dying agent frantically reverses his clothes to leave a vital clue. The clue was a reference to the Queen novel, THE CHINESE ORANGE AFFAIR.
I became interested and started to hunt his books down. Still too young to be aware that Ellery Queen was actually two men, cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee.
The title refers to the lineup of the stories within, three novelettes and two short stories. A couple take place in Wrightsville, a small New England town Ellery visits frequently and the scene of several novels.
Murders, jewel thefts, dying confessions, all left to Ellery to decipher and find the real criminals.
A lot of fun as always.
I became interested and started to hunt his books down. Still too young to be aware that Ellery Queen was actually two men, cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee.
The title refers to the lineup of the stories within, three novelettes and two short stories. A couple take place in Wrightsville, a small New England town Ellery visits frequently and the scene of several novels.
Murders, jewel thefts, dying confessions, all left to Ellery to decipher and find the real criminals.
A lot of fun as always.
May 29, 2022
This title includes three novellas (they call them 'novelets') and two short stories (they call then 'short shorts').
The Death of Don Juan (novella): Scutney Bluefield buys the vacant Bijou theatre in Wrightsville, and sets out to revitalize it. He produces The Death of Don Juan and brings in washed-up Equity actor Mark Manson to star. But Manson injures himself, and they scramble to find a last-minute substitute: hard-drinking Foster Benedict. He trashes the first act, going off-script and making improper advances to the heroine, played by Joan Truslow. Before the second act can begin, someone stabs Benedict in his dressing room.
The Wrightsville Heirs (novella): Bella Livingston, wealthy widow, announces to her three stepchildren that she is writing a new will - putting her live-in companion, Amy Upham, first in line to inherit her millions instead. This, naturally, results in Bella's murder before (as the murderer thinks) she can do so. Then someone is trying to do away with Amy to speed up the process. And, there is something strange about the will too.
The Case Against Carroll (novella): Estate attorney John Carroll is challenged by partner Meredith Hunt - he has discovered Carroll has 'borrowed' $20,000 from a client's account. Hunt is then found shot, and Carroll is the #1 suspect. Carroll has a solid alibi, although he is loathe to use it - for he was spending the night with Hunt's wife, Felicia. She is the only one who can clear him, and then she is found dead.
E= Murder (short story): This very short story is the typical quicky found in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Dr. Agon is found murdered, having left a cryptic name-the-murderer note which no one can understand.
Diamonds in Paradise (short story): Lili Minx, seven-times divorced Broadway star visits a gambling den. A police raid occurs, and in the confusion, her diamond earrings disappear. The thief is quickly found, but falls to his death trying to escape. His dying words are a clue to the location of the diamonds.
Review: An odd aspect of this book is that the table of contents does not list the stories in order, but rather sorts them by length - making navigating the book a bit counter-intuitive.
The Death of Don Juan is predictable just from the structure of the story - a character is introduced in detail early, but then disappears from the story. I immediately picked that character as the (future) murderer - and I was right. The Wrightsville Heirs is a solid conventional mystery with an interesting twist. The Case Against Carroll is definitely intriguing and different, pay attention with this one - it does not end as you expect. E=Murder relies on some arcane academic knowledge, not quite fair to the reader. Diamonds in Paradise is rather silly, with a typical Queen 'mystery' based upon characters misunderstanding a homonym.
The Wrightsville Heirs and The Case Against Carroll are definitely worth the read.
The Death of Don Juan (novella): Scutney Bluefield buys the vacant Bijou theatre in Wrightsville, and sets out to revitalize it. He produces The Death of Don Juan and brings in washed-up Equity actor Mark Manson to star. But Manson injures himself, and they scramble to find a last-minute substitute: hard-drinking Foster Benedict. He trashes the first act, going off-script and making improper advances to the heroine, played by Joan Truslow. Before the second act can begin, someone stabs Benedict in his dressing room.
The Wrightsville Heirs (novella): Bella Livingston, wealthy widow, announces to her three stepchildren that she is writing a new will - putting her live-in companion, Amy Upham, first in line to inherit her millions instead. This, naturally, results in Bella's murder before (as the murderer thinks) she can do so. Then someone is trying to do away with Amy to speed up the process. And, there is something strange about the will too.
The Case Against Carroll (novella): Estate attorney John Carroll is challenged by partner Meredith Hunt - he has discovered Carroll has 'borrowed' $20,000 from a client's account. Hunt is then found shot, and Carroll is the #1 suspect. Carroll has a solid alibi, although he is loathe to use it - for he was spending the night with Hunt's wife, Felicia. She is the only one who can clear him, and then she is found dead.
E= Murder (short story): This very short story is the typical quicky found in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. Dr. Agon is found murdered, having left a cryptic name-the-murderer note which no one can understand.
Diamonds in Paradise (short story): Lili Minx, seven-times divorced Broadway star visits a gambling den. A police raid occurs, and in the confusion, her diamond earrings disappear. The thief is quickly found, but falls to his death trying to escape. His dying words are a clue to the location of the diamonds.
Review: An odd aspect of this book is that the table of contents does not list the stories in order, but rather sorts them by length - making navigating the book a bit counter-intuitive.
The Death of Don Juan is predictable just from the structure of the story - a character is introduced in detail early, but then disappears from the story. I immediately picked that character as the (future) murderer - and I was right. The Wrightsville Heirs is a solid conventional mystery with an interesting twist. The Case Against Carroll is definitely intriguing and different, pay attention with this one - it does not end as you expect. E=Murder relies on some arcane academic knowledge, not quite fair to the reader. Diamonds in Paradise is rather silly, with a typical Queen 'mystery' based upon characters misunderstanding a homonym.
The Wrightsville Heirs and The Case Against Carroll are definitely worth the read.
April 23, 2025
I took it upon myself to seek out some Ellery Queen stories on the back of a recommendation by a friend.
I write Sherlock Holmes stories, and have been a voracious reader of other detective fiction, e.g. Mickey Spillane, Agatha Christie, Dashiel Hammet, Lee Child, etc.
This collection didn't do it for me. It was possibly because I knew nothing of Ellery Queen, and these stories certainly added nothing to that knowledge. There is no back story for Queen, as the reader is meant to already know. There's no real growth for him either.
The style was a little strange as well, it sat somewhere between Pulp and Christie, and was a weird mix with that.
I tried to picture a Mike Hammer or Sam Spade detective, but Queen was always just a bit player in the back of the stories.
I might have missed something, and it did take me quite a while to plough through such a short book.
I write Sherlock Holmes stories, and have been a voracious reader of other detective fiction, e.g. Mickey Spillane, Agatha Christie, Dashiel Hammet, Lee Child, etc.
This collection didn't do it for me. It was possibly because I knew nothing of Ellery Queen, and these stories certainly added nothing to that knowledge. There is no back story for Queen, as the reader is meant to already know. There's no real growth for him either.
The style was a little strange as well, it sat somewhere between Pulp and Christie, and was a weird mix with that.
I tried to picture a Mike Hammer or Sam Spade detective, but Queen was always just a bit player in the back of the stories.
I might have missed something, and it did take me quite a while to plough through such a short book.
April 2, 2022
I read this through the ebook I got through Hoopla digital . It is only a hundred and sixty-eight pages but it's a quick read and enjoyable. The stories are as follows:
The Case Against Carrol: The best of the lot.
The Murder of Don Juan: Old school Ellery. Very good.
E = Murder: stopped after a few pages as subject seemed so dated and boring.
The Wrightsville Heir:This story is rather short but it's actually very good. It kept me guessing towards the end.
Diamonds in Paradise: Very short. Ellery says it was his shortest case ever. Still fun.
All in all I recommend this book of short stories.
The Case Against Carrol: The best of the lot.
The Murder of Don Juan: Old school Ellery. Very good.
E = Murder: stopped after a few pages as subject seemed so dated and boring.
The Wrightsville Heir:This story is rather short but it's actually very good. It kept me guessing towards the end.
Diamonds in Paradise: Very short. Ellery says it was his shortest case ever. Still fun.
All in all I recommend this book of short stories.
December 3, 2016
I think I'd owned this book for something like twenty years before I finally picked it up and read it through on a long plane flight.
I found the stories suitably entertaining in that "Golden Age" style (although these are all later Queen stories from the '50s and '60s). Queen isn't my favorite of those authors -- I prefer the grim, relentless logic of John Dickson Carr -- but the stories are certainly well executed. The twists of "The Case Against Carroll" made that one my favorite in this volume.
I found the stories suitably entertaining in that "Golden Age" style (although these are all later Queen stories from the '50s and '60s). Queen isn't my favorite of those authors -- I prefer the grim, relentless logic of John Dickson Carr -- but the stories are certainly well executed. The twists of "The Case Against Carroll" made that one my favorite in this volume.
October 3, 2019
Another fun romp with Ellery Queen. I really enjoy the quieter era of mystery novels when the mystery was the brain-teasing centerpiece as opposed to the ever increasing blood and gore of today's mysteries and thrillers. It seems to be a competition of how violent and how novel the cause of death can be in today's mysteries. Ellery Queen uses his ears and the basic forensics available in the early to mid 20th century to solve his mysteries.
A welcome break from the fast-paced world of today's literature.
A welcome break from the fast-paced world of today's literature.
May 13, 2025
Ellery At His Best
A collection of shorter stories of varying length,,but all with the customary detail and characters found in the larger books.
All interesting stories with unexpected turns.
My problem is I’m running out of unread Ellery Queen stories.
A collection of shorter stories of varying length,,but all with the customary detail and characters found in the larger books.
All interesting stories with unexpected turns.
My problem is I’m running out of unread Ellery Queen stories.
May 31, 2017
Some great Queen stories in this collection, but not all of them are top-notch.
December 18, 2020
Uneven stories. I really liked one, but the rest were not too entertaining for me.
February 3, 2023
A collection showing the wit and wisdom of Ellery Queen.
November 3, 2024
"Three men were in the doorway behind the Indian woman. One was vast and powerful; one was small, gray, and wiry; and the third was tall, slender, and young."
For an Ellery Queen fan, that description speaks immediately of adventure and a mystery to be solved!
How did I miss this collection of three EQ novellas and two short stories? I think I thought it was an "edited by" anthology. Instead it is EQ at the height of their writing powers, just before the marvel that is The Finishing Stroke.
The novellas are GREAT! "The Death of Don Juan" and "The Wrightsville Heirs" are set Wrightsville NY, the upstate town of several great EQ novels. The first is a fascinating fair mystery of the early EQ style, but with the character realism that the second period brought in; the solution was unexpected and yet inevitable. It also has a strong sense that time passes even in Wrightsville; Ellery often has to work with a new generation of Wrightsville leaders. "The Wrightsville Heirs" is set in an earlier time, with a great mystery where I thought I had it figured out (but was wrong).
The final novella, "The Case Against Carroll" is a great example of how the cousins made deeper books later in the EQ chronology. It's great. An unusual feature is that the point of view is the accused character. Most EQ books are told from Ellery's perspective (albeit in a third-person voice), or occasionally from a third-person observer point-of-view that can see things Ellery doesn't. But this is the only work I've seen from the accused point-of-view. And it really works, and is perhaps the only way to tell the story the cousins wanted to tell. And this is the story that gives us that visual opening I put at the top of this review.
The short stories are palette cleansers; the novellas are the main course. And it is very filling.
A reminder that EQ really works at the novella length. These are not at the level of Queen's masterpiece, The Lamp of God, but they are great reads.
For an Ellery Queen fan, that description speaks immediately of adventure and a mystery to be solved!
How did I miss this collection of three EQ novellas and two short stories? I think I thought it was an "edited by" anthology. Instead it is EQ at the height of their writing powers, just before the marvel that is The Finishing Stroke.
The novellas are GREAT! "The Death of Don Juan" and "The Wrightsville Heirs" are set Wrightsville NY, the upstate town of several great EQ novels. The first is a fascinating fair mystery of the early EQ style, but with the character realism that the second period brought in; the solution was unexpected and yet inevitable. It also has a strong sense that time passes even in Wrightsville; Ellery often has to work with a new generation of Wrightsville leaders. "The Wrightsville Heirs" is set in an earlier time, with a great mystery where I thought I had it figured out (but was wrong).
The final novella, "The Case Against Carroll" is a great example of how the cousins made deeper books later in the EQ chronology. It's great. An unusual feature is that the point of view is the accused character. Most EQ books are told from Ellery's perspective (albeit in a third-person voice), or occasionally from a third-person observer point-of-view that can see things Ellery doesn't. But this is the only work I've seen from the accused point-of-view. And it really works, and is perhaps the only way to tell the story the cousins wanted to tell. And this is the story that gives us that visual opening I put at the top of this review.
The short stories are palette cleansers; the novellas are the main course. And it is very filling.
A reminder that EQ really works at the novella length. These are not at the level of Queen's masterpiece, The Lamp of God, but they are great reads.
January 12, 2012
I am not much on short stories, but the last one in this volume was really good. the other 2 longer ones were pretty good and the really short ones OK, but I love Ellery-except for cigarette smoking. lol
August 20, 2011
I had not read any Ellery Queen's in a long, long time but saw the 1970's TV series earlier this year from NetFlix. The stories were as good as I remember. Really excellent mystery stories.
February 25, 2014
A sampling of Ellery Queen in tidbits: 3 short stories and 2 short shorts. I would have found this slim book super cool in my highschool days, I'm sure.
May 6, 2016
read SOMETIME in 2001
November 23, 2025
The Death of Don Juan --3
The Wrightsville Heirs --3
The Case against Carroll --3
E = Murder --2
Diamonds in Paradise --2
The Wrightsville Heirs --3
The Case against Carroll --3
E = Murder --2
Diamonds in Paradise --2
March 2, 2024
★★☆☆☆ 2.75 stars
February 5, 2015
Short and deceptive....very likeable.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews