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Philo Vance #2
O crimă aproape perfectă
The beautiful Margaret Odell, famous Broadway beauty and ex-Follies girl known as "The Canary", is found murdered in her apartment. She has a number of men in her life, ranging from high society to gangsters, and more than one man visited her apartment on the night she dies. It is Philo Vance's characteristic erudition that leads him to a key clue that allows him to penetrate a very clever alibi and reveal the killer.
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1927
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October 12, 2025
The literate, intelligent, and almost insufferably smug at times creation of culturally influential art critic Willard Huntington Wright, amateur detective Philo Vance, was Wright incognito. Philo Vance could drone on about art, dogs, arcane historical facts and languages all while solving the most intricately designed murder puzzle. The Philo Vance mysteries made Wright, who eventually owned up to writing them and embraced the celebrity hoisted upon him by the masses who read mysteries — as he viewed them — a literary sensation. William Powell’s portrayal of the urbane know-it-all who helped DA Markham solve the unsolvable cases in the movie adaptation of the wildly popular books added glamour to the mix.
Van Dine’s detective was a sensation in print and in the movies. Wright’s creation would eventually become out of step with the genre as it gravitated to the hardboiled detective, but there’s no denying his impact on the genre; if you doubt it, read the Spenser series by Robert B. Parker sometime; you’ll run across several fun references to Philo Vance.
Today, Van Dine’s mystery novels and his creation Philo Vance seem more arcane than some of the tidbits about ancient history and art that would come out of the detective’s mouth while he was deciphering clues. But these mysteries are very nostalgic of another time — specifically the jazz age — and the murder puzzles are still top-notch, some of the best ever, in fact. But you as a reader will either loathe them, or love them. And in a strange irony many other reviewers have noted, the reason some readers loathe them is much the same reason others like myself love them. Vance is like escargot — there’s no middle ground; you either partake, or you don’t.
Canary is a very early Vance novel, with Vance the ultimate version of the urbane intellectual know-it-all. Trouble is, he seemingly does know it all, and expects the people around him to understand even the most arcane cultural reference he applies to working the Canary case. Markham usually does, but not everyone else, don’t y’ know?
The brutal strangulation of Broadway’s Margaret Odell is as sensational as she was to the opposite sex. But there seems no way possible for anyone to have been present with her at the time of her demise. But there’s a closet locked from the inside, and a steel box opened with a steel chisel; but only after someone tried to open it another way. An amateur? Did she interrupt a robbery? Was it one of her lovers? Or does it all point to blackmail?
What makes matters worse, is the more people Markham, his man Heath, and Vance talk to, the murkier it all gets. The more details they have, the more impossible the murder seems at all. This leads to Vance good-naturedly needling his old pal, DA Markham:
“Y’ know, Markham, it appears to me that the testimony in this case constitutes conclusive legal proof that no one could have been with the deceased at the hour of her passing, and that, ergo, she is presumably alive. The strangled body of the lady is, I take it, simply an irrelevant circumstance from the standpoint of legal procedure. I know that learned lawyers won’t admit a murder without a body; but how, in Heaven’s name, do you get around a corpus delicti without a murder?”
As one possible avenue of inquiry after another leads to solid alibis or no possibility of the suspect having anything to do with the murder, Vance jokes with the frustrated Markham:
“I say, if you keep up this elimination much longer,” observed Vance, “you won’t have anything left but the lady’s corpse.”
When there finally appears to be a break in the case regarding who the man hiding in the closet may have been, Vance turns the murder investigation upside down with an entirely new theory he’s been holding back:
“Markham,” said Vance quietly, but with unwonted seriousness, “if that’s what you really believe, you might as well drop the case now; for you’re foredoomed to failure. You think it’s an obvious crime. But let me tell you, it’s a subtle crime, if ever there was one. And it’s as clever as it is subtle. No common criminal committed it — believe me. It was done by a man of very superior intellect and astoundin’ ingenuity.”
Eventually when the case seems like a circular dead end, Vance, his lawyer Van Dine (our narrator) in tow, does a bit of sleuthing sans Markham and Heath, altering alibis and the suspects various connections to Odell and each other. But when he passes what he can on to Markham, all this info only creates new conundrums. That is until the person who was actually in the room when Odell was strangled makes arrangements to spill the beans. Only in an epiphany which arrives too late to Vance — his mind had been on Monet, don’t y’ know — does he realize the real reason for the call, and the imminent danger.
Despite the highfalutin banter and attitude, it’s a poker game with all the suspects who clues Vance into the real killer. But that alibi can’t be broken. Or can it?
Hidden beneath the erudite goings on, obscured by the two dollar words and the intellectual highhandedness, and veiled by the delicious murder puzzle of Canary, and every other Philo Vance novel penned by S.S. Van Dine, is pulp-style movement. Yes, you read that correctly. Philo Vance is/was touted as a mystery and detective series for the smarter and more intellectual members of the reading public; by design, it began as a lark by a man not dissimilar to his own creation. How ironic then that the thing which makes these so readable and enjoyable to those who’ve acquired an appreciation for them — and Philo Vance is undoubtedly an acquired taste — is the most basic staple of pulp writing: movement within the narrative.
You may feel like you’ve read 25 pages when you look up to discover that you’ve only read 10 in a Philo Vance novel; the reason is because it’s overflowing with dialog and actions that create movement in the story. Van Dine may have been a culture-centric snob, but my oh my could he write! There is a sweeping sense of being carried along somewhere by the highfalutin jargon flying between Vance and Markham in Canary. That’s no accident; it can’t be, because it’s an earmark of every Philo Vance novel. One has to surmise that somewhere in Heaven, Willard Huntington Wright, aka S.S. Van Dine, is probably smirking, because the masses finally figured it out, don’t y’ know, eh what?
While it’s impossible to in good conscience make a general recommendation to readers on a book like this — because you may end up in the camp who just can’t stand Philo Vance, rather than the camp who embrace him and the classic mystery novel in which he appears — for fans of Van Dine and his high-brow detective of the jazz age, this one is great fun. This particular edition I have doesn't have the map diagrams, but I'm not big on that stuff anyway, and happen to adore the art deco cover. Highly recommended — for some.
Van Dine’s detective was a sensation in print and in the movies. Wright’s creation would eventually become out of step with the genre as it gravitated to the hardboiled detective, but there’s no denying his impact on the genre; if you doubt it, read the Spenser series by Robert B. Parker sometime; you’ll run across several fun references to Philo Vance.
Today, Van Dine’s mystery novels and his creation Philo Vance seem more arcane than some of the tidbits about ancient history and art that would come out of the detective’s mouth while he was deciphering clues. But these mysteries are very nostalgic of another time — specifically the jazz age — and the murder puzzles are still top-notch, some of the best ever, in fact. But you as a reader will either loathe them, or love them. And in a strange irony many other reviewers have noted, the reason some readers loathe them is much the same reason others like myself love them. Vance is like escargot — there’s no middle ground; you either partake, or you don’t.
Canary is a very early Vance novel, with Vance the ultimate version of the urbane intellectual know-it-all. Trouble is, he seemingly does know it all, and expects the people around him to understand even the most arcane cultural reference he applies to working the Canary case. Markham usually does, but not everyone else, don’t y’ know?
The brutal strangulation of Broadway’s Margaret Odell is as sensational as she was to the opposite sex. But there seems no way possible for anyone to have been present with her at the time of her demise. But there’s a closet locked from the inside, and a steel box opened with a steel chisel; but only after someone tried to open it another way. An amateur? Did she interrupt a robbery? Was it one of her lovers? Or does it all point to blackmail?
What makes matters worse, is the more people Markham, his man Heath, and Vance talk to, the murkier it all gets. The more details they have, the more impossible the murder seems at all. This leads to Vance good-naturedly needling his old pal, DA Markham:
“Y’ know, Markham, it appears to me that the testimony in this case constitutes conclusive legal proof that no one could have been with the deceased at the hour of her passing, and that, ergo, she is presumably alive. The strangled body of the lady is, I take it, simply an irrelevant circumstance from the standpoint of legal procedure. I know that learned lawyers won’t admit a murder without a body; but how, in Heaven’s name, do you get around a corpus delicti without a murder?”
As one possible avenue of inquiry after another leads to solid alibis or no possibility of the suspect having anything to do with the murder, Vance jokes with the frustrated Markham:
“I say, if you keep up this elimination much longer,” observed Vance, “you won’t have anything left but the lady’s corpse.”
When there finally appears to be a break in the case regarding who the man hiding in the closet may have been, Vance turns the murder investigation upside down with an entirely new theory he’s been holding back:
“Markham,” said Vance quietly, but with unwonted seriousness, “if that’s what you really believe, you might as well drop the case now; for you’re foredoomed to failure. You think it’s an obvious crime. But let me tell you, it’s a subtle crime, if ever there was one. And it’s as clever as it is subtle. No common criminal committed it — believe me. It was done by a man of very superior intellect and astoundin’ ingenuity.”
Eventually when the case seems like a circular dead end, Vance, his lawyer Van Dine (our narrator) in tow, does a bit of sleuthing sans Markham and Heath, altering alibis and the suspects various connections to Odell and each other. But when he passes what he can on to Markham, all this info only creates new conundrums. That is until the person who was actually in the room when Odell was strangled makes arrangements to spill the beans. Only in an epiphany which arrives too late to Vance — his mind had been on Monet, don’t y’ know — does he realize the real reason for the call, and the imminent danger.
Despite the highfalutin banter and attitude, it’s a poker game with all the suspects who clues Vance into the real killer. But that alibi can’t be broken. Or can it?
Hidden beneath the erudite goings on, obscured by the two dollar words and the intellectual highhandedness, and veiled by the delicious murder puzzle of Canary, and every other Philo Vance novel penned by S.S. Van Dine, is pulp-style movement. Yes, you read that correctly. Philo Vance is/was touted as a mystery and detective series for the smarter and more intellectual members of the reading public; by design, it began as a lark by a man not dissimilar to his own creation. How ironic then that the thing which makes these so readable and enjoyable to those who’ve acquired an appreciation for them — and Philo Vance is undoubtedly an acquired taste — is the most basic staple of pulp writing: movement within the narrative.
You may feel like you’ve read 25 pages when you look up to discover that you’ve only read 10 in a Philo Vance novel; the reason is because it’s overflowing with dialog and actions that create movement in the story. Van Dine may have been a culture-centric snob, but my oh my could he write! There is a sweeping sense of being carried along somewhere by the highfalutin jargon flying between Vance and Markham in Canary. That’s no accident; it can’t be, because it’s an earmark of every Philo Vance novel. One has to surmise that somewhere in Heaven, Willard Huntington Wright, aka S.S. Van Dine, is probably smirking, because the masses finally figured it out, don’t y’ know, eh what?
While it’s impossible to in good conscience make a general recommendation to readers on a book like this — because you may end up in the camp who just can’t stand Philo Vance, rather than the camp who embrace him and the classic mystery novel in which he appears — for fans of Van Dine and his high-brow detective of the jazz age, this one is great fun. This particular edition I have doesn't have the map diagrams, but I'm not big on that stuff anyway, and happen to adore the art deco cover. Highly recommended — for some.
December 9, 2023
Philo Vance is an irritating, posturing, very poor copy of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. As for the writing, Van Dine is no Dorothy Sayers.
I agree with Ogden Nash - "Philo Vance / Needs a kick in the pance."
I agree with Ogden Nash - "Philo Vance / Needs a kick in the pance."
March 17, 2022
A warning before you tackle this book. The reason.....the personality of the main character, Philo Vance. A snobbish, rich, educated amateur detective who lounges around, ends most of his sentences with "don't y' know" and "eh,what?" and calls his friends "old dear". It takes some getting used to and will remind you of Lord Peter Wimsey. But is was a sign of the times when the book was written. You must be a fan of early (1920/30s) mysteries.
I started reading this series when I was a teenager as I inherited the original hard backs, and to preserve the, I bought several of the paperbacks. The series was wildly poplar when first released and this the second book of that series. The author's talent for complicated mysteries is evident here and the story is basically of the "locked room"variety. A fast and easy showgirl, known as the Canary, is strangled in her lush apartment and it appears that it is impossible for the murderer to enter and leave the scene of the murder. Vance joins forces with his friend, The District Attorney (who acts more like a detective) to investigate the mystery and, as usual, there are several suspects who all have had a reason for killing the Canary.
It is a clever story which was the author's strength and if you can get past the affected personality of Vance, you will have fun. Unfortunately, the quality of the books started to fail in the mid-to-late 30s and fell out of favor with the mystery loving public. Or maybe the Great Depression effected the use of a spoiled rich man as the main character. They now seem to have been forgotten by many but there are a few of us who still read them with enjoyment.
I started reading this series when I was a teenager as I inherited the original hard backs, and to preserve the, I bought several of the paperbacks. The series was wildly poplar when first released and this the second book of that series. The author's talent for complicated mysteries is evident here and the story is basically of the "locked room"variety. A fast and easy showgirl, known as the Canary, is strangled in her lush apartment and it appears that it is impossible for the murderer to enter and leave the scene of the murder. Vance joins forces with his friend, The District Attorney (who acts more like a detective) to investigate the mystery and, as usual, there are several suspects who all have had a reason for killing the Canary.
It is a clever story which was the author's strength and if you can get past the affected personality of Vance, you will have fun. Unfortunately, the quality of the books started to fail in the mid-to-late 30s and fell out of favor with the mystery loving public. Or maybe the Great Depression effected the use of a spoiled rich man as the main character. They now seem to have been forgotten by many but there are a few of us who still read them with enjoyment.
March 18, 2020
This Golden Age mystery story was very well plotted. I liked the way Van Dine made himself a character in the book - one that is very self-effacing but nontheless present during Philo Vance's investigation. Basically he is Vance's Watson but I liked the fact that he used his own name.
I do have a quibble though - Van Dine violated his own first rule for detective stories:
"1. The reader must have equal opportunity with the detective for solving the mystery. All clues must be plainly stated and described."
There was one important clue that Vance (and apparently the police who disregard it) discovered that the reader isn't told about until Vance is doing his explanation.
I do have a quibble though - Van Dine violated his own first rule for detective stories:
"1. The reader must have equal opportunity with the detective for solving the mystery. All clues must be plainly stated and described."
There was one important clue that Vance (and apparently the police who disregard it) discovered that the reader isn't told about until Vance is doing his explanation.
March 1, 2024
Locked Room Puzzle
Review of the Felony & Mayhem Press Kindle eBook edition (January 15, 2019) of the Charles Scribner’s hardcover original (March 1927).
I enjoyed my recent rediscovery of S.S. Van Dine's (the mystery writing pseudonym of art critic Willard Huntington Wright) Philo Vance series so much that I decided that it was worth pursuing as a series binge. The tales of the amateur sleuth assisting his district attorney friend Markham while accompanied by his personal lawyer and 'Watson' seemed to be the epitome of the Golden Age of Crime mysteries on the American side.
The Canary Murder Case uses one of the classic scenarios of the Golden Age, the 'locked room mystery.' A murder occurs in a situation where no apparent suspect has entered or left the room where a dead body is found. In this story a showgirl with the nickname of "The Canary" is found murdered in her apartment. Witnesses say that no one entered or left the apartment after she was last heard alive while speaking through the door.
Front cover of the original Charles Scribner’s first edition (1927). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The suspects are plentiful as it turns out that the lady in question had a inclination towards blackmailing her various paramours, several of whom were seen in the vicinity prior to her demise. The police and the district attorney are baffled of course until Philo Vance is able to determine the explanation for the various 'impossible' means by which the crime was committed.
For me, on the Berengaria Ease of Solving Scale® this was a 0 out of 10, i.e. "an immediate solve." That was just due to a guess that the most impossible suspect will be the actual culprit without having any other basis at first. Eventually the discovery of various clues proved it. I think that was due to my growing familiarity with S.S. Van Dine's plots. A newcomer would likely find it to be a very difficult solve as they wait for the various clues and reveals to appear.
Footnote
* Latin: It is certain that it is impossible.
Trivia and Links
This novel was adapted for film as The Canary Murder Case (1929) directed by Malcolm St. Clair and starring William Powell as Philo Vance in his first performance as the character. You can see the entire movie on YouTube here.
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 Press Kindle eBook edition (January 15, 2019) of the Charles Scribner’s hardcover original (March 1927).
“Put that way, the idea does sound a bit supernatural. And yet: Certum est quia impossibile est*. I rather like that maxim, don’t y’ know; for, in the present case, the impossible is true."
I enjoyed my recent rediscovery of S.S. Van Dine's (the mystery writing pseudonym of art critic Willard Huntington Wright) Philo Vance series so much that I decided that it was worth pursuing as a series binge. The tales of the amateur sleuth assisting his district attorney friend Markham while accompanied by his personal lawyer and 'Watson' seemed to be the epitome of the Golden Age of Crime mysteries on the American side.
The Canary Murder Case uses one of the classic scenarios of the Golden Age, the 'locked room mystery.' A murder occurs in a situation where no apparent suspect has entered or left the room where a dead body is found. In this story a showgirl with the nickname of "The Canary" is found murdered in her apartment. Witnesses say that no one entered or left the apartment after she was last heard alive while speaking through the door.
Front cover of the original Charles Scribner’s first edition (1927). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The suspects are plentiful as it turns out that the lady in question had a inclination towards blackmailing her various paramours, several of whom were seen in the vicinity prior to her demise. The police and the district attorney are baffled of course until Philo Vance is able to determine the explanation for the various 'impossible' means by which the crime was committed.
For me, on the Berengaria Ease of Solving Scale® this was a 0 out of 10, i.e. "an immediate solve." That was just due to a guess that the most impossible suspect will be the actual culprit without having any other basis at first. Eventually the discovery of various clues proved it. I think that was due to my growing familiarity with S.S. Van Dine's plots. A newcomer would likely find it to be a very difficult solve as they wait for the various clues and reveals to appear.
Footnote
* Latin: It is certain that it is impossible.
Trivia and Links
This novel was adapted for film as The Canary Murder Case (1929) directed by Malcolm St. Clair and starring William Powell as Philo Vance in his first performance as the character. You can see the entire movie on YouTube here.
Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.
February 22, 2018
Segundo caso del detective Philo Vance y tan entretenida o más que la primera. De hecho, me ha gustado más que "El caso del asesinato de Benson", porque creo que los elementos están más equilibrados: Vance es menos enervantes y su amigo el fiscal es menos inútil. Además, se plantea un "misterio de habitación cerrada", que es un subgénero del "murder mistery" que exige un gran ingenio por parte del autor, porque todos sabemos que solo hay tres soluciones posibles y es tarea del escritor esconder lo más posible cuál de ellas es.
Es una novela, por tanto, con mucho diálogo (muy ligero, con Vance dando muchos toques de humor, y a tiempos ingenioso), descripciones funcionales (e incluso algún que otro plano dibujado) que se centra mucho en el puzle. Todo lo demás es un poco superfluo. Sí, los sospechosos tienen suficiente entidad para diferenciarlos entre sí y que te quedes con ellos, pero lo cierto es que lo más interesante es averiguar quién fue y cómo lo hizo. Un "murder mistery" de lo más clásico, vamos.
Perfecto para los amantes del género y aquellos que quieren una lectura ligera para pasar el rato.
Es una novela, por tanto, con mucho diálogo (muy ligero, con Vance dando muchos toques de humor, y a tiempos ingenioso), descripciones funcionales (e incluso algún que otro plano dibujado) que se centra mucho en el puzle. Todo lo demás es un poco superfluo. Sí, los sospechosos tienen suficiente entidad para diferenciarlos entre sí y que te quedes con ellos, pero lo cierto es que lo más interesante es averiguar quién fue y cómo lo hizo. Un "murder mistery" de lo más clásico, vamos.
Perfecto para los amantes del género y aquellos que quieren una lectura ligera para pasar el rato.
August 8, 2021
Philo Vance is a wealthy man-about-town who solves mysteries in his free time, which he has a lot of. In this case, it is the murder of the "Canary," Margaret Odell, a former Follies girl who was strangled in her apartment. Margaret was basically a courtesan, who had a series of well-paying lovers and at least one lover (Skeel) who was leeching off her. A number of men - former and current lovers - just happened to be in the area at the time. Even the male switchboard operator is a possible suspect.
Philo Vance and his creator, S S Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright) are both something of an acquired taste. Many people find the books to be dated and perhaps they are. Vance is very effete and prone to obscure literary quotes. He seems to regard the crime solving as a game. There are times when you would just love to shake him because he's being so annoying. However, Van Dine could craft fascinating, complicated mysteries. I have read three of his novels so far and never came close to figuring out who did it.
To quote Julian Symons:
The story is pure puzzle with little to no emotional involvement and rather flat characters. I do not mean that as an insult. Sometimes it's nice to read a mystery story that's just mystery and not full of details regarding the detective's love life or drinking habits, recipes for chocolate cake, or cute cat stories (and I'm a cat lover!). A couple years ago, I read a collection of recent mystery short stories. The editor commented about the difference in mysteries today with vintage mysteries like "Canary". He said, "They don't write stories like that any more." No, unfortunately, they don't.
A few notes about "Canary":
1. It was made into a very early talkie (1929) with William Powell (as Philo Vance) and Louise Brooks (as the Canary). It was originally filmed as a silent movie. However, with the success of "The Jazz Singer," a decision was made to dub "Canary." There was one problem - Louise Brooks had fled to Germany to make movies and refused to return to the US to record her lines. This led to her famous banishment from Hollywood films. Another actress, Margaret Livingstone, recorded the lines instead. A second Vance movie was filmed in 1933 based on "The Kennel Murder Case" and also starred William Powell as Philo Vance.
2. The story is based on the real-life murder of Dot King (Anna Marie Hearn), also known as the "Broadway Butterfly." A 28-year-old "artist's model", Dot was really more of a courtesan or call girl. Like Margaret Odell, Dot had an older male "protector" and a boyfriend who took her money and abused her. She was found dead in her apartment in 1923. She had been chloroformed to death. The killer was never found. However, there is a theory that she was accidentally killed. Another woman in the same line of work died in a similar manner about the same time. It was believed that robbers were preying on "kept women." They would break into the women's apartments, chloroform them, and then steal what they could get away with. In two of the cases, they overdid the chloroform and the women died. However, this was never proven.
3. Philo Vance was the inspiration for Ellery Queen. You can see the resemblance in the early Queen novels.
Philo Vance and his creator, S S Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright) are both something of an acquired taste. Many people find the books to be dated and perhaps they are. Vance is very effete and prone to obscure literary quotes. He seems to regard the crime solving as a game. There are times when you would just love to shake him because he's being so annoying. However, Van Dine could craft fascinating, complicated mysteries. I have read three of his novels so far and never came close to figuring out who did it.
To quote Julian Symons:
"It should be said that the best of the Van Dine stories are models of construction. Utterly remote from real life, they remain fascinating by strict adherence to the rules of their own dotty logic, and through their creator's self-absorbed immersion in his own work."
The story is pure puzzle with little to no emotional involvement and rather flat characters. I do not mean that as an insult. Sometimes it's nice to read a mystery story that's just mystery and not full of details regarding the detective's love life or drinking habits, recipes for chocolate cake, or cute cat stories (and I'm a cat lover!). A couple years ago, I read a collection of recent mystery short stories. The editor commented about the difference in mysteries today with vintage mysteries like "Canary". He said, "They don't write stories like that any more." No, unfortunately, they don't.
A few notes about "Canary":
1. It was made into a very early talkie (1929) with William Powell (as Philo Vance) and Louise Brooks (as the Canary). It was originally filmed as a silent movie. However, with the success of "The Jazz Singer," a decision was made to dub "Canary." There was one problem - Louise Brooks had fled to Germany to make movies and refused to return to the US to record her lines. This led to her famous banishment from Hollywood films. Another actress, Margaret Livingstone, recorded the lines instead. A second Vance movie was filmed in 1933 based on "The Kennel Murder Case" and also starred William Powell as Philo Vance.
2. The story is based on the real-life murder of Dot King (Anna Marie Hearn), also known as the "Broadway Butterfly." A 28-year-old "artist's model", Dot was really more of a courtesan or call girl. Like Margaret Odell, Dot had an older male "protector" and a boyfriend who took her money and abused her. She was found dead in her apartment in 1923. She had been chloroformed to death. The killer was never found. However, there is a theory that she was accidentally killed. Another woman in the same line of work died in a similar manner about the same time. It was believed that robbers were preying on "kept women." They would break into the women's apartments, chloroform them, and then steal what they could get away with. In two of the cases, they overdid the chloroform and the women died. However, this was never proven.
3. Philo Vance was the inspiration for Ellery Queen. You can see the resemblance in the early Queen novels.
August 23, 2021
Niente male, Vance è sempre antipatico e gli altri troppo pazienti nei suoi confronti.
I sospetti sono tutti molto interessanti, così come i vari testimoni.
Si legge tutto di un fiato con grande soddisfazione, nonostante gli isopportabili spiegoni di Vance.
I sospetti sono tutti molto interessanti, così come i vari testimoni.
Si legge tutto di un fiato con grande soddisfazione, nonostante gli isopportabili spiegoni di Vance.
November 7, 2019
3,5 Estrellas
December 20, 2020
★★★☆☆ 3 stars
March 5, 2024
Good grief, Philo Vance is somehow even more insufferable than early Ellery Queen! What a chore it was to get through this overly long novel, with chapters devoted to ridiculous psychological theory of the criminal (v physical evidence of a crime), and Vance spouting off in the slang of so many different languages that practically every chapter required footnotes! Bleh. Did not enjoy, will not read again. Thank goodness for the library!!
August 10, 2023
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
4* The Canary murder case
TR The Benson murder case
4* The Canary murder case
TR The Benson murder case
December 18, 2014
Philo Vance is a descendant of Lord Peter Wimsey (aristocratic sort who approaches crime detection as an amateur who thinks he can outsmart the police) and the progenitor of Ellery Queen (just compare the openings of the first books in each series). What I like about each of these other mystery series -- and what I dislike -- carry over to this series of which this is the second book.
I like how the amateurs can see things the police can't. I like how they tend to be more open to the discovery process rather than latching on to a particular suspect (or piece of evidence) and not letting go. Like the Queens, I like New York City as a setting.
But all three have their flaws. The aristocratic nature of all three tends to be a put down of the lowly copper on the beat. Each has their inside police connection whom they work with, but beyond that they brush off the rest of police work. Each takes their sophisticated education and ticks off others, even me, with their erudite pronouncement -- especially Vance who is constantly quoting little sayings in Latin, French, German, etc. And this trying to pretend to be normal by dropping their "g"s and using slang, doncha know -- ick.
This was a pretty good puzzle -- a locked room mystery -- which played "mostly" fair with the clues. I enjoyed it and came close to figuring it out. I'll read more in this series.
I like how the amateurs can see things the police can't. I like how they tend to be more open to the discovery process rather than latching on to a particular suspect (or piece of evidence) and not letting go. Like the Queens, I like New York City as a setting.
But all three have their flaws. The aristocratic nature of all three tends to be a put down of the lowly copper on the beat. Each has their inside police connection whom they work with, but beyond that they brush off the rest of police work. Each takes their sophisticated education and ticks off others, even me, with their erudite pronouncement -- especially Vance who is constantly quoting little sayings in Latin, French, German, etc. And this trying to pretend to be normal by dropping their "g"s and using slang, doncha know -- ick.
This was a pretty good puzzle -- a locked room mystery -- which played "mostly" fair with the clues. I enjoyed it and came close to figuring it out. I'll read more in this series.
January 25, 2016
A New York Broadway star, known as the "Canary", is found strangled in her locked apartment. There are several possible suspects, so whodunit? And how? They all have seemingly airtight alibis. A quite intriguing mystery and Philo Vance is on the case with his friend, New York County District Attorney John F.-X. Markham and Sergeant Ernest Heath of the Homicide Bureau.
August 27, 2015
When the beautiful, hard-bitten singer Margaret Odell, known as the Canary, is found murdered in her apartment, it seems like the classic locked room mystery. The police, and district attorney Markham, think the death was incidental to a burglary; Philo Vance knows better.
July 6, 2015
The pleasure of reading a well written mystery novel cannot be replaced by anything in the world.
August 1, 2023
Pesados todos, literalmente decidió quién quería que fuera el asesino al principio y se notaba demasiado así que empezó a negar y hacer todo imposible y narrarme la vida de hombres (ya me jodería)... para luego decir en las últimas páginas actually no lo era ja ja shockeados? Pues no chico, no, irritada.
June 7, 2025
3,5 🌟
March 29, 2021
Major characters:
Philo Vance, dilettante detective
John F. X. Markham, District Attorney
Margaret Odell, Broadway beauty, found murdered in her aparrtment
Amy Gibson, Margaret Odell's maid
William Jessup, telephone switchboard operator
Suspect #1, Charles Cleaver, a man-about-town
Suspect #2, Kenneth Spotswoode, a manufacturer and Margaret's date that evening
Suspect #3, Louis Mannix, a fur importer
Suspect #4, Dr. Ambrose Lindquist, neurologist who is quite cozy with Margaret
Tony Skeel, professional burglar
Locale: New York City
Synopsis: Margaret Odell, known as "The Canary", is murdered in her apartment, and found the following morning by her maid Amy Gibson. Witnesses and evidence show no one entered or left the apartment at the time, and it appears the assailant had been hiding in a closet waiting for her to return home from a date.
It seems like a classic locked-room mystery, although quite obvious someone was hiding in the closet since the keys were found on the inside of the closet door! The only door to the apartment was under constant view by the telephone operator. So how did he get in and out?
Skeel is the only one known to be in the apartment at the time. But while narrowing down the possibilities, Skeel himself winds up murdered.
Vance finds the culprit by staging a poker game in which he observes and applies the psychology of poker to the players.
Review: Looks like S. S. had been reading Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (which came out the year prior, 1926) before coming up with the solution to this one! If you have read T.M.O.R.A .then you already know how this one ends. Other than the copycat ending, a nice solid book in the series, before Philo Vance became so pedantic.
Vance just issues snide comments through most of the book, but nothing much happens to solve this locked-room puzzle until they get four suspects lined up:
Suspect #1, Charles Cleaver, a man-about-town
Suspect #2, Kenneth Spotswoode, a manufacturer and Margaret's date that evening
Suspect #3, Louis Mannix, a fur importer
Suspect #4, Dr. Ambrose Lindquist, neurologist who is quite cozy with Margaret
Vance's poker-game investigation is interesting - you may have to skim the play-by-play of the various hands, but even if you do not know poker you can follow Vance's logic following the game to pin the killer.
This book doesn't have any long side-trips through Vance's various eruditions (good!) but it does have a plethora of irrelevant footnotes (zzzz). I did enjoy the nicely drawn sketch maps of the crime scene.
Philo Vance, dilettante detective
John F. X. Markham, District Attorney
Margaret Odell, Broadway beauty, found murdered in her aparrtment
Amy Gibson, Margaret Odell's maid
William Jessup, telephone switchboard operator
Suspect #1, Charles Cleaver, a man-about-town
Suspect #2, Kenneth Spotswoode, a manufacturer and Margaret's date that evening
Suspect #3, Louis Mannix, a fur importer
Suspect #4, Dr. Ambrose Lindquist, neurologist who is quite cozy with Margaret
Tony Skeel, professional burglar
Locale: New York City
Synopsis: Margaret Odell, known as "The Canary", is murdered in her apartment, and found the following morning by her maid Amy Gibson. Witnesses and evidence show no one entered or left the apartment at the time, and it appears the assailant had been hiding in a closet waiting for her to return home from a date.
It seems like a classic locked-room mystery, although quite obvious someone was hiding in the closet since the keys were found on the inside of the closet door! The only door to the apartment was under constant view by the telephone operator. So how did he get in and out?
Skeel is the only one known to be in the apartment at the time. But while narrowing down the possibilities, Skeel himself winds up murdered.
Vance finds the culprit by staging a poker game in which he observes and applies the psychology of poker to the players.
Review: Looks like S. S. had been reading Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (which came out the year prior, 1926) before coming up with the solution to this one! If you have read T.M.O.R.A .then you already know how this one ends. Other than the copycat ending, a nice solid book in the series, before Philo Vance became so pedantic.
Vance just issues snide comments through most of the book, but nothing much happens to solve this locked-room puzzle until they get four suspects lined up:
Suspect #1, Charles Cleaver, a man-about-town
Suspect #2, Kenneth Spotswoode, a manufacturer and Margaret's date that evening
Suspect #3, Louis Mannix, a fur importer
Suspect #4, Dr. Ambrose Lindquist, neurologist who is quite cozy with Margaret
Vance's poker-game investigation is interesting - you may have to skim the play-by-play of the various hands, but even if you do not know poker you can follow Vance's logic following the game to pin the killer.
This book doesn't have any long side-trips through Vance's various eruditions (good!) but it does have a plethora of irrelevant footnotes (zzzz). I did enjoy the nicely drawn sketch maps of the crime scene.
Read
October 26, 2023I picked this one up because I'd read a dog-eared copy of S.S. Van Dine back in high school. (Thanks for loaning it to me, Heidi Myers--wherever you are) I'd been looking for more S.S. Van Dine books pretty much ever since, and lo and behold these *mumble mumble* years later I find this one.
At first, it was really hard to get into because Philo Vance is...something. I do still love his over the top vocabulary, but the liberal peppering of "don't y'know" took me out of the book. Because I always heard it in Ed Wynn's voice. These are the things that happen when your husband likes to do assorted impressions.
Anyhoo...the book picked up steam, and I laughed out loud in many places and really enjoyed the puzzle of it. So I might get another of the rereleases. Assuming I can stop hearing Philo Vance as the Mad Hatter/Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins. We'll see.
At first, it was really hard to get into because Philo Vance is...something. I do still love his over the top vocabulary, but the liberal peppering of "don't y'know" took me out of the book. Because I always heard it in Ed Wynn's voice. These are the things that happen when your husband likes to do assorted impressions.
Anyhoo...the book picked up steam, and I laughed out loud in many places and really enjoyed the puzzle of it. So I might get another of the rereleases. Assuming I can stop hearing Philo Vance as the Mad Hatter/Uncle Albert from Mary Poppins. We'll see.
March 17, 2020
Puoi trovare questa recensione anche sul mio blog, La siepe di more
Devo dire che il secondo libro dedicato alle investigazioni di Philo Vance mi è piaciuto più del primo, per almeno due motivi. Il primo riguarda la mia antipatia per Vance, che ne Il caso della canarina assassinata è diventata quasi una simpatia: l’ho percepito meno aristocratico annoiato e più personaggio con sfumature interessanti e questo ha tenuto desto il mio interesse.
In secondo luogo, mentre ne La strana morte del signor Benson Vance sembrava già sapere tutto e giocare a essere irritante nascondendo le sue scoperte, nel caso della morte di Margaret Odell fatica a trovare la soluzione del mistero e deve mettere in campo tutte le sue doti e tutti i suoi stravaganti metodi per smascherare l’assassino.
Per quanto mi riguarda il colpevole a un certo punto diventa palese per essere quello dei sospettati che si comporta in maniera più equivoca e ho risentito comunque delle duecentosettanta pagine: tuttavia, c’erano vari dettagli da definire che mi hanno evitato la noia. Procedo quindi con maggiore entusiasmo verso La fine dei Greene (che suona davvero molto male).
Devo dire che il secondo libro dedicato alle investigazioni di Philo Vance mi è piaciuto più del primo, per almeno due motivi. Il primo riguarda la mia antipatia per Vance, che ne Il caso della canarina assassinata è diventata quasi una simpatia: l’ho percepito meno aristocratico annoiato e più personaggio con sfumature interessanti e questo ha tenuto desto il mio interesse.
In secondo luogo, mentre ne La strana morte del signor Benson Vance sembrava già sapere tutto e giocare a essere irritante nascondendo le sue scoperte, nel caso della morte di Margaret Odell fatica a trovare la soluzione del mistero e deve mettere in campo tutte le sue doti e tutti i suoi stravaganti metodi per smascherare l’assassino.
Per quanto mi riguarda il colpevole a un certo punto diventa palese per essere quello dei sospettati che si comporta in maniera più equivoca e ho risentito comunque delle duecentosettanta pagine: tuttavia, c’erano vari dettagli da definire che mi hanno evitato la noia. Procedo quindi con maggiore entusiasmo verso La fine dei Greene (che suona davvero molto male).
April 29, 2021
Il delitto è estremamente articolato e complesso e si dirama lungo tutto il libro cercando di sviare il lettore dal colpevole che in realtà si intuisce senza troppa difficoltà, più difficile invece è capire la dinamica.
Il detective intuitivo e geniale Vance ricorda molto Poirot per il modus operandi ma gli viene lasciato decisamente troppo poco spazio, forse per non rendere il tutto eccessivamente semplicistico.
Le ultime pagine sono sicuramente piene di emozioni e di colpi di scena ma il libro procede forse troppo lentamente nella parte centrale con interrogatori ripetuti alle stesse 4 persone a cui alla fine orbita attorno l'omicidio.
Il punto forte rimane sicuramente scoprire il "come" del mistero, che, nota di merito, è ben diverso dai soliti gialli.
Il detective intuitivo e geniale Vance ricorda molto Poirot per il modus operandi ma gli viene lasciato decisamente troppo poco spazio, forse per non rendere il tutto eccessivamente semplicistico.
Le ultime pagine sono sicuramente piene di emozioni e di colpi di scena ma il libro procede forse troppo lentamente nella parte centrale con interrogatori ripetuti alle stesse 4 persone a cui alla fine orbita attorno l'omicidio.
Il punto forte rimane sicuramente scoprire il "come" del mistero, che, nota di merito, è ben diverso dai soliti gialli.
January 6, 2019
Rileggendo il commento all’altro romanzo di Van Dine noto che molti degli aspetti che qui non mi sono piaciuti erano comunque anche presenti già lì, solo che o mi avevano fatto un effetto diverso, oppure non mi avevano disturbato la lettura. Quindi i casi sono due: o questa volta ho approcciato il romanzo in maniera diversa e in un periodo diverso che ha mutato il mio giudizio, oppure questo romanzo è effettivamente meno avvincente del precedente. In ogni caso non mi sento particolarmente interessata a continuare con la serie, ma ovviamente non si sa mai.
http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodilegg...
http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodilegg...
February 9, 2016
Second in the Philo Vance series of mysteries. Very similar to Ellery Queen. Actress, the "Canary," is murdered in locked room and there is no way anyone could have done it because of the person who sits in the lobby of her apartment complex. There are four men who had the motive but none seemed to have had the means. Vance, utilizing luck and music and deduction, proves how and who did the murder. Would have been a five star but the main two characters talk in such a ridiculous manner at times - will need to go back and look up dozens of words they used.
May 16, 2013
One of the best locked rooms I had read ever.
Ingenuity, creativity, learning, psychology in a novel that marked a new era. It can be said that the boom of the mystery novel of the thirties was the result of the success of this novel when it was published (in the late twenties, it pulverized sales data above).
At the end of last April, I posted on my blog Mondadori an essay on this novel:
http://blog.librimondadori.it/blogs/i...
Ingenuity, creativity, learning, psychology in a novel that marked a new era. It can be said that the boom of the mystery novel of the thirties was the result of the success of this novel when it was published (in the late twenties, it pulverized sales data above).
At the end of last April, I posted on my blog Mondadori an essay on this novel:
http://blog.librimondadori.it/blogs/i...
July 14, 2024
Познакомилась с еще одним классиком "золотого века детектива" (1920-30-е годы). Известен он как автор свода «20 правил для пишущих детективы», которым, возможно, все еще руководствуются современные нам авторы.
Прочла две первых историй в цикле о сыщике-любителе Фило Вэнсе, но этот сноб, эрудит и поклонник изящных искусств не сумел меня очаровать. Позже я читала, что и современники ругали автора за нелепого и даже недалекого персонажа; возможно, Ван Дайн слишком слепо следовал тем же "20 правилам".
Прочла две первых историй в цикле о сыщике-любителе Фило Вэнсе, но этот сноб, эрудит и поклонник изящных искусств не сумел меня очаровать. Позже я читала, что и современники ругали автора за нелепого и даже недалекого персонажа; возможно, Ван Дайн слишком слепо следовал тем же "20 правилам".
June 21, 2019
Senza dubbio "La canarina assassinata" si colloca tra le mie opere preferite pubblicate da S.S Van Dine. Qui Vance, in un tripudio di logica, deduzioni e controdeduzioni, riesce a scovare un astuto criminale. Ottima la camera chiusa e molto interessante la vicenda.
Read
July 1, 2021Lectura agradable
van Dune ofrece un Sherlock Holmes muy ácido y hasta cómico que hace más agradable el poder leerlo y disfrutalo
van Dune ofrece un Sherlock Holmes muy ácido y hasta cómico que hace más agradable el poder leerlo y disfrutalo
July 21, 2022
El problema del libro, para mí, es que el protagonista me resultó un tipo irritante e insoportable.
September 5, 2023
"Philo Vance
Needs a kick in the pance."
-Ogden Nash
Needs a kick in the pance."
-Ogden Nash
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