The Dutch Shoe Mystery: An Ellery Queen Mystery

Ellery Queen Detective #3

by Ellery Queen, Otto Penzler (Introduction)

Ellery Queen drops in to Dutch Memorial Hospital for a quick visit with his old friend, Medical Director Dr. John Minchen. Minchen gives him a tour, and invites him to stay and observe an operation on the hospital's benefactor, Abby Doorn. Ellery takes a seat in the operating theatre's gallery. The patient is brought in, but something is wrong. She is dead, garroted with wire.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Classics, Detective, Audiobook, Golden Age Mystery

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1931

About the author

aka 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.

Reviews

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well well well! Third book in the Ellery Queen mystery series read. This one gets 3 stars, while the second one, 'The French Powder Mystery' received 4 stars. There a gulf between the two, in terms of deduction-the quality and brilliancy of it all.

At first I felt betrayed. Firstly because no reflection from the hero detective was forthcoming with the solvency of the case. Ellery Queen remained tight-lipped most of the time. Also, once explained, the mystery felt easy to solve. But in the earliest chapter the chronicler assured me that this was Ellery's most taxing case yet. That it was more difficult to solve than previous cases. Not a chance. Blatantly false advertising, is all. But I couldn't feel cheated for long, because I realise that in the title itself, the authors present an obvious clue, one which I disregarded because, fair enough, I was engrossed in the story, and it's rare that I solve a case prematurely, in cold blood.

The authors do like some variety in their books. In their first book the Dad Queen was first on the scene of crime. He got single billing for a while before his prodigal son turns up. In the second book, both appear together. In this book, Ellery Queen innocently visits a doctor friend and happens to find himself in the star case of this book. The timing of inspiration for solving the murders in one swoop falls to our hero in a different place in the book. This is the first time that two murders occur in the story.

I'm going to compare Ellery Queen-the two authors- with Dame Agatha Christie. I read most of the Poirot books in my mid teens. I found most of them of the highest order, and I found it not easy to be discerning in rating and ranking them. Only the very bad, like 'The Big Four' would I find 'not excellent'. But though Ellery Queen stories are of about the same quality and regularity, I' giving them my -relatively- new found discernment. I enjoy these books with less fervor but I'm happy whenever a great crime mystery novel presents itself.

[Julian Worker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to read. It flows really well and the characters are easy to distinguish. My slight quibble is that a police department wouldn't allow the son of a detective to solve the crimes, even an eccentric and intellectual character like Ellery Queen. But, once you accept that, the book is an enjoyable read. I do find Ellery a bit annoying due to his flowery and unnecessarily clever language, a bit like Lord Peter Wimsey and Bertie Wooster, but I suppose that is good writing by the authors.

I'm not sure I'll read another book in this series, but I'm glad I read this one.

[Teri-K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery that jumps into the action pretty quickly and moves well. There were a couple of chapters that just repeated all the facts and alibis of the story so far, but since there were several murders, an unknown person to trace and some other mysterious goings-on between suspects, it stayed interesting. I didn't completely figure out who did it until late in the story, but I did correctly interpret some of the clues, including the shoes.

This wouldn't be a bad Ellery Queen novel to start reading the series with; it has all the usual characters, plus the section towards the end where the author challenges the reader to figure it out. These books don't have particularly good characterization, they're more about the puzzling plot. Being first published in the 1930's they do give the reader a nice sense of the times, however.

[Greg · Rating 1 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 241 (of 250)
HOOK - 1: "Inspector Richard Queen's alter ego, which was in startling contrast with his ordinarily spry and practical old manner, often prompted him to utter didactic remarks on the general subject of criminology...." And the author(s) yammer on about not much of anything. If this weren't
an 'Ellery Queen' novel (I bought it at a used book store for a buck), it'd be in the trashcan after page one.
PACE - 1: It's only at the end when one realizes the entire book is much ado about nothing, really.
PLOT - 2: A patient is murdered while on the operating table in an anteroom, the doctors are getting ready to move her into the operating theater. It's cold, this novel, sterile, much like an operating room should be. Hence a 2nd star. But it's an unpleasant read.
CHARACTERS - 2: I like Inspector Queen and his son. But there isn't a single character in this novel bringing any warmth or personality to the story. The motive for murder? Nope, doesn't work.
ATMOSPHERE - 1: A cold, sterile hospital populated with cold, sterile people without motives to do much more than get out of bed in the morning. Yes, that's communicated perfectly. This one feels just ugly.
Summary: My rating is 1.4. This might be Queen's weakest work that I've read. Most of all, it's the rather ridiculous motive, or completely lack thereof.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lovely clean book, newly published by Otto Penzler Presents -- Exciting, yes?
Not for this reader. It is somewhat amusing to read of misconceptions about diabetic treatment, I suppose, but not when a diabetic lady philanthropist dies awaiting surgery. By strangulation. And then there were two. Ellery Queen and his son are on the spot.
"'Where's Dr. Janney? Are you going to stand there all day and--let me speak with Janney a moment, son!'
Deep silence from Ellery, 'Well!' exclaimed the Inspector. Ellery said slowly, 'You cant very well speak with Janney, dad.' 'Why? Where is he? Isn't he there?'
'I was trying to explain when you stopped me before...He's here, very much here,' said Ellery grimly, 'but the reason he can't talk to you is--well, he's dead.'
'DEAD?'
'Or somewhere in the fourth dimension...'Ellery's tone was one of profound depression, despite the flippancy of his words....'Dad, he was murdered thirty minutes ago!'
Abigail Doorn, Dr. Francis Janney...Two murders now instead of one. Inspector Queen was sunk in a black slough of reflection as the heavy police car, commandeered outside the District Attorney's office, dashed uptown to the Dutch Memorial Hospital."

[Joana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice detective story.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the most complicated Ellery Queen story yet and despite focusing correctly on the right clue, I came nowhere close to solving it. When Abigail Doorn, wealthy supporter of New York City charities, is murdered in the hospital she founded, the demand that her murderer be caught rises up from powerful men and women across America. But who could the culprit be putting tremendous pressure on the Queens? The woman was strangled with a wire while unconscious waiting for surgery and the culprit appears to be a man posing as her surgeon. And everyone had a reason to kill the beloved woman because they needed the money she was leaving them in her will. It’s a perplexing case and it almost slips up even Ellery Queen.

Honestly, this was not one I ever had any chance to solve. The clues are subtle—way too much so for me. But this is a well written adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ellery sift through the clues and eventually explain them to me. I’m not so certain that this case would have resulted in convictions in court without the all-important confessions at the end of the book. I’m sure a defense attorney would have loved trying to confuse the jury to make it harder to follow Ellery’s chain of logic. But then again, maybe not. The very last clue we discover after Ellery has solved the crime makes the case seem pretty rock solid.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems I'm forever criticizing books which begin with great promise, but do not follow through with the qualities they began with. The reason: most books are like this, and most particularly, those of the mystery genre. While in the midst of The Dutch Shoe Mystery, I thought that perhaps this would be among the select books I keep in my library because they're so good . . . that this was the kind of story that justified being a mystery fan. Ellery Queen builds a deliciously enticing puzzle, and succeeds in breathing life into his characters (of which he is one). Though I usually disparage trying to solve the mystery in a detective novel, I was moved to read parts of the novel over again, looking for evidence to support a pet theory. But in his solution, Mr. Queen comes too close to committing one of the fatal blunders of fictional ratiocination. And here I must insert a

S P O I L E R A L E R T!

I've forgotten whether this is one of Ronald Knox's ten rules for detective story writers; if not, it should be. The culprit must be a substantial character in the story so that the reader has some basis for inferring culpability based on personality and motive. In this case, the killer is barely more than a cardboard functionary; we learn nothing of this person's character, and the deductions which lead to the solution are purely physical. Thus, after intriguing investigations into various interesting characters, the plot dwindles to the status of a crossword puzzle. For better Queens, try Cat of Many Tails and The Origin of Evil.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Dutch Shoe Mystery (1931) by Ellery Queen takes place in the Dutch Memorial Hospital in New York City. It features not one, but two murders carried out--practically under the nose of Ellery Queen himself (in the first instance) and a whole posse of NYC policemen (in the second). The hospital's wealthy benefactress, Abigail Doorn has an accident that requires an emergency gall bladder operation. Since she is a diabetic and her health is a bit fragile there is some concern, but her surgeon, Dr. Francis Janney, is absolutely confident that she will pull through the operation with no problem.

Ellery has stopped by the hospital to consult his friend Dr. John Minchen over a medical point impacting another case and is asked if he would like to watch the operation. The men sit in the operating theater and watch as the patient is brought in. Ellery immediately notices her odd coloring--but puts it down to her ill-health until Dr. Janney bends over the patient, turns and crooks a "forefinger furiously toward Dr. Minchen." Ellery's friend rushes down to the operating table, looks at the neck of the patient (where Janney drew his attention), and then beckons to Ellery.

Ellery rose. His eyebrows went up. His lips formed one soundless word, which Minchen caught.
Dr. Minchen nodded.
The word was: "Murder?"

Yes, it's murder. Someone, somehow has managed to strangle the elderly woman without the hospital staff noticing until that moment in the operating theater.

It's soon revealed that Dr. Janney visited the patient in the prep room prior to surgery and was left alone with her while the attending nurse exited the room on his indication of a need of sterilization materials for his hands (no words were exchanged--gestures were all that were necessary). This, the doctor denies categorically--as Ellery and Minchen know he was called away to attend to a visitor during the time period indicated. And when a discarded set of doctor's clothes, including the cap and mask, are found in the hallway telephone booth, it begins to look like the killer masqueraded as Janney, imitating his characteristic limp, in order to create the opportunity for their deed.

Ellery sorts through all the clues--including the impostor's white canvas shoes with broken lace and folded back tongues--and all the suspects. The suspects include Dr. Janney, Dr. Minchen, Dr. Kneisel (all of whom benefit directly or indirectly from the woman's will), Hulda Doorn (Abigail's daughter), Sarah Fuller (Abigail's companion--who has had an on again, off again raging argument for years), the mysterious Mr. Swanson with whom Janney met (and whom Janney will not assist the police in finding...), and various members of the hospital staff. Ellery thinks that he has begun to see daylight when Dr. Janney is murdered, strangled in exactly the same way as Mrs. Doorn. This time while sitting peacefully at his desk. Ellery is stumped by how the murderer managed to slip behind Janney to deliver the knock-out blow (which allowed the murderer to strangle his victim with no fuss). There's no window behind the desk. In fact, when Ellery enters the doctor's office there is absolutely nothing behind the desk except a blank wall. He can't see a legitimate reason for anyone to go behind the doctor while he was at his desk. It isn't until Dr. Minchen idly mentions that something was removed before Ellery arrived on the scene that our detective has his eureka moment.

This is a decent mystery outing for Ellery. The initial set-up and the two murders are portrayed well. And I'll go along with Ellery's wrap-up. Mostly. One thing Ellery didn't explain: what exactly did the murderer hit Janney upside the head with? According to Dr. Prouty, he was hit by "some heavy blunt instrument" [emphasis mine]. What on earth could the murderer have carried back there (in their legitimate mission explained by Ellery) that wouldn't arouse Janney's interest? "I say, what are you doing with that hammer [insert any suitable blunt object]..." And, apparently, it was something they carried in and out with them because there wasn't anything in the room that was identified as a possible weapon or anything mentioned as missing (like, say, a paperweight always kept on the desk).

Also, I cry foul on the "you have all the evidence" business. Yes, I figured out the main part. But there is a final piece of evidence (which I can't mention without spoiling) that I don't see how the reader was supposed figure out. After all--we didn't get to actually see a certain bit of evidence that is vital. Also, I couldn't figure out the relationship between two characters based on what we were actually told and shown--and it's a relationship that's kind of important to the whole motive thing.

I agree with Ben over at The Green Capsule that there is way too much mulling, interviewing, and reviewing the evidence going on in between murders and solution. If the point was fair play to the reader--waving evidence under our noses repeatedly--then it doesn't come off (see previous paragraph). In actuality, this 305 page book could have been cut to maybe 250 (251, if we add in a portion to at least hint a bit better at the crucial piece of evidence). Still, it was a good plot with a nice bit of misdirection. So-- ★★★ for a solid, mid-range mystery.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before posting any review content. Thanks.

[Joelle Egan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Penzler Press is releasing The Dutch Shoe Mystery as part of its series of Ellery Queen mysteries, arguably the American paragon of Golden Age Mystery writing. Written by two cousins in the mid/post- World War Era, these puzzlers were extremely popular with readers in their day, and the Ellery Queen Magazine based on them is still being published. Each of the stories follow the same formula: a crime occurs that is seemingly impossible to decipher; writer Ellery and his Police Inspector father collect clues and conduct interviews; there is a summary of the clues along with a challenge to the reader to solve the mystery; the story culminates with a satisfying revelation of the responsible party and a detailed explanation of how the crime was committed. In The Dutch Shoe Mystery, Ellery and Richard Queen are challenged by the murder of a wealthy matriarch just as she was being prepped for surgery at the hospital she financially supported. The family of the woman and other suspects are introduced and questioned about their connections and whereabouts. An abundance of contradictory clues and artifacts are discovered that seem to make the case impenetrable. During the investigation, one of the main suspects also ends up being killed, and the sleuths are confounded by hidden motives and misdirection. Due to the notoriety of the victims, Ellery and Richard are also under pressure from the mayor and DA to solve the case as quickly as possible. Despite some antiquated attitudes and questionable portrayals of women and minorities, the Ellery Queen mysteries are a quaint reminder of classic mystery storytelling. They are a flashback to a time when a good mystery was considered an opportunity for cerebral exercise rather than a chance to merely shock the reader. Fans of Christie, Doyle and other classics would enjoy The Dutch Shoe Mystery and the other Penzler reissues of these entertaining titles.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Penzler for an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Meg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once agin, this series is not for me. Ellery is a pompous, arrogant elitist who loves obscure quotes and lording his intelligence over everyone. The explanation of the method and motive for the murder is unnecessarily drawn out, going over such minute details, such as the broken shoelace, with such detail that you have no choice but to skim or go mad. Apparently the only people who would think to use adhesive tape to fix a broken lace are “professionally minded” people. (Insert eye roll here). The main benefactor of the hospital, Abby Doran, was murdered while awaiting surgery and then her doctor was killed several days later. It was his nurse, Miss Price, who was the murderer and she was in cahoots with the doctor’s step-son who also happened to be her husband. They killed Mrs. Doran for the money that she left the doctor and then had to kill him so that it would go to the step-son. This whole theory made no sense. The step-son was constantly hitting the doctor up for money. How could he hide a wife from him? And the whole disguise that Miss Price used, imitating the doctor and his limp, was so elaborate it bordered on ridiculous. And don’t even get me started on the way that they treat their manservant, Djuna. Ugh. And if you have to have a glossary of characters then you have way too many of them and you need to cut some out. Remind me that no matter if amazon is offering other books in this series for free, I don’t want or need to read them.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good mystery.

[Genma496 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not significantly better than the previous books as a mystery, but I enjoyed my time with it more. Setting and characters were more interesting, good pacing too (not spending 100 hours in a department store is a big boon). And some nice moments for ellery, like him playing around with djuna, I liked that scene.

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say, it's an Ellery Queen mystery! A a satisfying fair-play whodunnit with all the clues, characters, and a challenge to the reader to figure it out (I got it right!). The murder in this one takes place in a hospital, and initially everyone - doctors, nurses, staff, visitors, even patients - are suspect. Very entertaining and readable, a page-turner. Not the best Ellery Queen I've read (that was The Cat of Many Tails), but good enough for 4.9 stars.

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yet another dud from the Otto Penzler recommendations of great American Mystery novels. This one didn’t pass the first 50 pages test either. The main detective enters the hospital on a trumped up excuse to solicit advice about rigor mortise time frames for diabetics - a key piece of evidence to close a tricky case. (If so vital and time sensitive why make a personal trip without an appointment on the off chance that your expert is in his office and not in surgery or testifying at another trial? Why not just pick up the damn phone? Seemed such a clunky plot device I was put off from the outset) He’s proven right of course, and then invited to oversee a surgery of another diabetic and high profile patient, a wealth woman in her 70s. The family is vaguely referenced and then it’s all medical jargon. Then there’s the surgery and the murder and none of it feels interesting whatsoever. And then you leave the doctor who’s also the chief heir of the woman’s estate in the room alone with the murdered woman? WHAT?!! Hello why don’t you just invite him to contaminate the evidence? So utterly stupid and unbelievable that I had no desire to read the rest of the plot. Also I’m a sucker for psychology and personality driven murder mysteries and this one seemed highly technical from the get go, so no thanks.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One hallmark of the Ellery Queen books is the logical presentation of facts that explain what happened, why it happened and who the villain is. The solutions are not easy but they do make sense when explained. In this book in the series, the explanation is plausible but the scene of explanation is drawn out. I got bored with all the minute detail Ellery went into to explain how he reached his conclusions. In other words, this story got a bit too OCD for my taste. I am enjoying reading these novels. I just hope this minute attention to detail is not emphasized in all the remaining stories in the series.

[Martina V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Výborná starosvetská krimi, v ktorej nejde o brutálnosť zločinu, ale o šikovné prevedenie a ešte šikovnejšie odhalenie. Páchateľa som síce tesne pred finále odhalila aj sama, ale celú pravdu a motív nie. Ellery Q. je niečo medzi Sherlockom H. a Herculom P., úžasne ľahko sa to čítalo.

[Markku · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever, but a bit old-fashioned detective story.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

De cover geeft eerder de bedoeling weer van het dramatische begin van het boek dan wat er echt staat. Er wordt een patieënte gewurgd vlak voor ze zal geöpereerd worden. Ellery is dan wel geen directe getuige van de moord, hij ziet wel hoe enkele minuten na de moord de patiënte in de operatiezaal wordt binnengereden en de chirurg ontdekt dat ze dood is.
Het is een moeilijke en bijwijlen ietwat vergezochte plot. Ellery Queen, of toch de twee neven die achter het alias schuil gaan, brengen de achtergrond wel op een heel interessante wijze zodat het de aandacht blijft vasthouden. Ook al schijnt Ellery noch zijn vader, commissaris Queen, vorderingen te maken met het onderzoek.
De groep betrokkenen is niet zo heel erg klein, maar de schrijver maakt toch al snel duidelijk dat de moordenaar in een relatief beperkte groep, die op het moment van de moord aanwezig in het ziekenhuis waren, moet gezocht worden. Enkelen krijgen wat meer aandacht dan de anderen en naargelang er een aantal mogelijke verdachten de revue passeren, zal blijken dat ze allemaal wat te verbergen hebben en mogelijk een motief voor de moord.
Doordat er flink de nadruk op wordt gelegd, kan de lezer vermoeden dat de oplossing binnen familiale banden of huishoudelijke beslommeringen moet gezocht worden.
Toch duurt het weer heel lang voor Ellery vooruitgang boekt. Van bij het begin is er het raadsel van de schoenen met aan mekaar geplakte veter en de broek die te lang is... althans voor de lezer is dat een raadsel evenals voor alle betrokkenen behalve uiteraard de moordenaar en Ellery zelf.
De opbouw volgt het vaste stramien uit de beginjaren, met een moord, een resem verdachten, een aantal doodlopende sporen en naar het einde toe, de uitdaging aan de lezer, gevolgd door een gedetailleerde uiteenzetting door Ellery hoe hij tot de oplossing kwam.
Het leest aangenaam, zoals we van deze schrijver gewoon zijn, al zijn sommige uiteenzettging toch wel een beetje saai te noemen, misschien omdat de spanning wegvalt, gedeeltelijk toch, als het al te vergezocht wordt. De eigenlijke ontknoping is slechts gedeeltelijk een verrassing voor de oplettende lezer, al maak ik me sterk dat de complete oplossing toch enkel voor Ellery weggelegd is.

[Marie Fouhey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is enjoyable as an old-fashioned puzzle piece mystery that depends on finding out where people in a hospital were in the brief time between a patient being taken into an ante-chamber to be prepared for surgery where she was murdered before being taken into the operating room. Its very dated in some ways. Ellery Queen watches the operation from a viewing gallery and the anesthetic used is ether but that is period charm nowadays. Not forgivable are Queen's approvingly quoting Euripides ("I hate a learned woman") and Byron ("I hate dumpy woman") after interviewing a female doctor.

[Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had fun listening to this while completing puzzle. I love that all the clues were available to the readers. I did miss a few things due to assumptions & unfamiliarity with some basic practices, but neither my husband nor I guessed, and were relieved that the criminal plan to murder a hospital donor whose largess supported unique research was, in the end, spelled out.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. I had a really hard time getting into this one. Maybe it is the hospital setting or the multiple reports that just seemed to make this book drag on at times. But in the end, it is a clever piece of deduction like most of the Ellery Queen stories.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

No-frills early Queen—mystery and police procedure take front and center, and Ellery’s condescending erudition is less annoying here, though you still want to smack the pince-nez off his nose. You won’t solve it, but it works well.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A millionaire matriarch dies moments before surgery, but not because the doctors are too late.

Mystery Review: The Dutch Shoe Mystery is the third in the Ellery Queen (author and detective) series, set in the 1920's, and is simply a good story meant to entertain during a train ride and then be discarded upon arrival at the reader's destination. It's not much more than average, simply a good but small premise stretched over an entire novel. A carefully plotted puzzle but without much enthusiasm or passion. The story focuses more on the mystery than on the characters, which are only thinly developed. Not much there, there. Even Ellery Queen himself lacks charm and is given to uttering pompous and affected quotes at the drop of a hat (such a dated phrase!). The casual racism of the first book (centered on the Queens' manservant) is fortunately more muted here. The resolution of The Dutch Shoe Mystery is insubstantial. It seems cheap and easy when a nonentity of a character suddenly and for the first time gets center stage just in time to conclude the story. The method is overly elaborate, and the motive is unpersuasive. Solely as an intellectual exercise, however, there is some fun to be had. The Ellery Queen books have a "Challenge to the Reader" toward the end to give mystery fans a chance to play detective. The title The Dutch Shoe Mystery has nothing to do with wooden shoes, just as the first Queen mystery had nothing to do with legionnaire's helmets. Just clever wordplay. The question I'm still pondering is that Ellery Queen was a big noise back in the day, but neither of the two books I've read have seemed anything special. I have more EQ books on the shelf so I may figure it out eventually. [3★]

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

When he is invited by a doctor friend to watch a surgery (it used to be a thing that was quite common) Ellery and the others in the audience are shocked to learn the patient is already dead from strangulation. Now his father the Inspector and Ellery are on the case! Only, what happens when a second murder is committed? Classic Queen fun. You may figure out part of the solution as I did, but I bet you don't completely solve it. Another terrific reissue from the American Mystery Classics line and Penzler Publishers.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1931, The Dutch Shoe Mystery is the third book in the Ellery Queen series, jointly written by cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred Lee, under the pen-name of Ellery Queen. The series was considered one of the finest examples of a ‘fair play’ mysteries, with the reader presented with all of the clues available to the fictional detective so that they might solve it for themselves. Indeed, the book includes a ‘challenge to the reader’ page inserted near the end of the book, prior to the denouement, that asks them to try and identify the killer based on the clues revealed in the plot. The Dutch Shoe Mystery is a variation on the locked room mystery in that one of the workers, patients or visitors within the vicinity of the pre-op room must have perpetrated the crime and was almost certainly still present on its discovery. And the investigation soon reveals plenty of people present with the motive to murder the victim. The strength of the story is the intricate plot, which charts the detective’s investigation and reasoning. However, this offset somewhat by the dryness of the read, the fact that Ellery Queen is quite a difficult character to warm to, being somewhat aloof, snobbish and self-obsessed, and the fact that whole premise felt somewhat contrived in order to produce the puzzle. Nonetheless, an interesting read for the puzzle and challenge of solving it.

[Nisha Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this mystery. I very well know that there is a conspicuous absence of development of the protagonist and the other characters but the wonderful logical deductional chain is such a beauty that I forget about the other shortcomings.

It reminds me of Dupin that by cold logical analysis, there is no mystery that cannot be unravelled. Ellery Queen have perfected this principle to an extent that till now I couldnt have thought it possible. In 'American Gun Mystery'too, they have excelled in once again designing an intricate puzzle and then unravelling it with an exceptional skill, bit by bit, leaving no loose strings lying anywhere.

Some may say, that reading the book is more of a chore than pleasure and to them I answer that its the definition of pleasure that's in question here. For me, pleasure is all about exercising my brain and following the trails of logic. For others, who prefer easy reading, it may sound like a chore. So I recommend them to read one of the thousands of Agatha Christie's as she has no dearth of cheap, low brow stuff where you can easily go through the story without calling your brain to attention.


But for the rest like me who marvel at a seemingly insoluble puzzle and in the beauty of its resolution, Ellery Queen is a MUST READ!!!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 Stars

Ellery Queen is a dork. That's where the lost quarter star comes from. Any character who says out loud "By the minotaur!" when contemplating a labyrinthine problem just isn't cool. They're trying to be, but they're failing hard. And that trying hard bit applies to Ellery Queen the author (really two people). Queen prose always feels stilted- and not in a good Pynchony way. It usually feels a tad corny.

On the other hand, from a technical side, I think this is probably the single best Queen puzzle plot I've read thus far. The deductions at the end spool out very naturally from the clues, and yet I hadn't the foggiest notion of the solution beforehand. And despite this fact, the mystery clocks in at 214 pages, displaying an economy of writing I don't normally associate with Queen. To be certain, I think the book could have been boiled down another 15-20 pages, but there's not much fat on the bone.

Certainly recommended to Queen fans. Also recommended to other puzzle-plot mystery lovers with a tolerance for gee whiz, golly willikers, corniness.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

The wealthy benefactor of a successful hospital has fallen into a diabetic coma. She is wheeled into the operating theater for life-saving surgery only to be found dead by strangulation. All this right under the nose of Ellery Queen, who has come to observe the operation personally!

Suspects abound, both within the hospital staff and from the family of the dear lady. There is even a link to organized crime! This case is a real intellectual knot for Ellery and, at points, he becomes resigned to never solving the caper. But eventually, the fog clears and the perpetrator is brought to justice. And as is standard for all Ellery Queen stories, the clues are presented throughout the story to allow the reader an opportunity to solve the crime just before Ellery provides The Explanation.

As usual, the book was a delight to read and puzzle over. This is the third Ellery Queen stories published, but I have found that they do not need to be read in order to be enjoyed.

[Lee Enderlin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's face it, many Ellery Queen novels are quite contrived. This one, however, is far more contrived than usual. The ending is a huge disappointment that really comes out of nowhere despite the admonition that the reader has all of the information necessary to solve the mystery. The truth is, no, you don't. SPOILER ALERT Furthermore, the perpetrator is a very minor character who has no connection to the crime until the very last sentence of the book making it impossible to determine motive. On top of that, there is a galling lack of medical understanding involved. Appendicitis is a serious, life-threatening condition that requires immediate emergency surgery. It is not scheduled for a month from now nor is it ever postponed indefinitely as is described in this novel. One of the worst stories of the prolific EQ library.