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Philo Vance #10
The Kidnap Murder Case
This new Van Dine kidnap-murder case deals with two of the most unusual crimes in the whole record of Philo Vance’s criminological researches. Kasper Kenting, a playboy and ne’er-do-well, disappears from his ancestral home, the ‘Purple House,’ in West 86th Street, with all the indications pointing to a kidnapping. Both District Attorney John F.-X, Markham and Sergeant Ernest Heath of the Homicide Bureau participate, with Philo Vance, in the exciting investigation. In The Kidnap Murder Case Philo Vance runs into the gravest personal danger, and it is through the accuracy of his aim, at the crucial moment, that he saves Sergeant Heath’s life as well as his own. The locale of this amazing crime shifts from one of the most fascinating residential landmarks in mid-town Manhattan to a sordid and obscure hovel on the upper east side. The account moves with arresting swiftness to a dramatic climax and will appeal even to those readers who heretofore have not been especially interested in this type of fiction.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1936
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203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 28, 2024
Kidnap or Murder?
Review of the Arni Books Kindle eBook edition (August 10, 2023) of the Scribner’s hardcover original (1936).
Amateur sleuth Philo Vance is called in on yet another case which has the authorities baffled. He is certain that an apparent kidnapping was in fact murder and that paying the supposed ransom will not result in any return of the victim. Unlike most of the other books in the series, there is a conspiracy involved and a gang of cutthroats are acting as mercenaries on behalf of the actual culprit. This does actually result in a climactic shootout towards the end.
The front cover of the original Scribner’s first edition (1936). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The final unveiling of the mastermind results in the now typical Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ whereby a satisfactory criminal justice proceeding is averted. Many of these endings in the series seem to actually be due to Vance's own machinations, which admittedly end up saving the authorities and therefore the taxpayers any further expense. But it has become such a cliche in the Vance books that is now to be expected and is somewhat tiresome.
Trivia and Links
Unlike almost all of the other Philo Vance books, The Kidnap Murder Case was not adapted into a film version. There is a listing of all the film adaptations under the Wikipedia entry for the fictional Philo Vance character here.
The Kidnap Murder Case is in the public domain and can be read or sourced online at various sites such as Faded Page.
Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.
Review of the Arni Books Kindle eBook edition (August 10, 2023) of the Scribner’s hardcover original (1936).
To be sure, the motive for the crime, or, I should say, crimes, was the sordid one of monetary gain; and superficially the technique was similar to that of the numerous cases in the same category. But through Vance’s determination and fearlessness, through his keen insight into human nature, and his amazing flair for the ramifications of human psychology, he was able to penetrate beyond the seemingly conclusive manifestations of the case.
Amateur sleuth Philo Vance is called in on yet another case which has the authorities baffled. He is certain that an apparent kidnapping was in fact murder and that paying the supposed ransom will not result in any return of the victim. Unlike most of the other books in the series, there is a conspiracy involved and a gang of cutthroats are acting as mercenaries on behalf of the actual culprit. This does actually result in a climactic shootout towards the end.
The front cover of the original Scribner’s first edition (1936). Image sourced from Wikipedia.
The final unveiling of the mastermind results in the now typical Unsatisfactory Ending Alert™ whereby a satisfactory criminal justice proceeding is averted. Many of these endings in the series seem to actually be due to Vance's own machinations, which admittedly end up saving the authorities and therefore the taxpayers any further expense. But it has become such a cliche in the Vance books that is now to be expected and is somewhat tiresome.
Trivia and Links
Unlike almost all of the other Philo Vance books, The Kidnap Murder Case was not adapted into a film version. There is a listing of all the film adaptations under the Wikipedia entry for the fictional Philo Vance character here.
The Kidnap Murder Case is in the public domain and can be read or sourced online at various sites such as Faded Page.
Willard Huntington Wright aka S.S. Van Dine is also the author of the Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories.
March 8, 2024
Più movimentato dei precedenti. I poliziotti più interessanti del solito.
July 21, 2015
Hmm.. Ok? I think the author was running out of ideas by then.
December 10, 2023
The Kidnap Murder Case is the tenth and last of the serious Philo Vance mysteries. Van Dine wrote two more novels featuring Vance, both rewrites of film treatments, one for American comedienne extraordinaire Gracie Allen (The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938) also called The Smell of Murder) and one for Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie (the posthumous and unfinished The Winter Murder Case (1939)). His first four books are considered his best, with the subsequent novels being uneven and formulaic (though all have their moments). Van Dine quickly toned down Vance's unbearable over the top obnoxiousness from the first book (The Benson Murder Case (1926)) and made him a more affectedly eccentric and distinctly quirky amateur detective. I mean, the man has a monocle. Each novel followed a careful formula so the reader always got was expected. Part of the formula was an always lengthy and intentionally annoying showing off of erudition -- in the early books the display was by Vance who would eventually be cut off by an impatient D.A. Markham. In the later books this posing would often (and inexplicably) be by another character. Here we're back to Vance on center stage, this time explaining the intricacies of semi-precious stones (actually interesting I thought). Other of the many parts of the formula were superfluous footnotes in each book, the mutual admiration between the cerebral Vance and the simpler and less erudite Sergeant Heath, and D.A. Markham's increasing abdication of his job to Vance. In response to competition from other mystery writers and their growing number of more physical detectives at the time, Van Dine has Vance is in a more heroic, shoot 'em up mode in this outing. Yes there's a kidnapping (more than one) and a murder and Philo Vance will resolve it all by the last page. Despite a host of irritating mannerisms I find Vance ever-interesting as a character. Maybe not likable, but certainly as memorable as Holmes and Poirot, even if largely forgotten today. [3½★]
September 14, 2021
Spesso si legge che gli utlimi romanzi di Van Dine non sono all'altezza dei primi.
Questo, incentrato come dice il titolo su un sequestro di persona, l'ho trovato invece molto valido. Personaggi ben delineati, con psicologie credibili, e con una soluzione non banale ma comunque realistica, convincente e logica. Per chi ama il giallo classico, da non perdere
Questo, incentrato come dice il titolo su un sequestro di persona, l'ho trovato invece molto valido. Personaggi ben delineati, con psicologie credibili, e con una soluzione non banale ma comunque realistica, convincente e logica. Per chi ama il giallo classico, da non perdere
March 19, 2024
Another absolutely wonderful S.S. Van Dine read. I wish he were still alive and writing because of his wonderful writing voice -- he has such great characters and tells the story that needs to be told. Has fabulous twists and turns.
June 8, 2018
The kidnapping case is full of the usual cliches: a ransom note comprised of words cut from a newspaper, and a demand to leave the ransom in a hollow tree at midnight. So far, it looks like a plot for the Hardy Boys. The odd notes are: How does one kidnap a non-cooperative full grown adult out a bedroom window and down a ladder? Why is the Homicide Bureau out in force investigating, when there is no homicide? Then, how is the kidnap victim’s wife abducted in the same manner?
Vance’s character is quite different from before. No longer content to sit back smoking and making long, rambling pedantic sermons; this Vance is out chasing kidnappers and engaging in gun battles. He disposes of the three of the gang, with the usual “Oh well, it’s for the best” response from the authorities.
Fair-play readers will take some issue with three characters not being introduced until the final denouement, as well as the breaking of Fifth Commandment of Robert Knox's Rules of Fair Play: "No Chinaman must figure in the story".
This is the last of the S. S. Van Dine novels written in the usual sequence. The following two (The Gracie Allen Murder Case and The Winter Murder Case) were reverse-written after the films were made. Please also note pejorative terms used for persons of Chinese ancestry as well as African-Americans.
Vance’s character is quite different from before. No longer content to sit back smoking and making long, rambling pedantic sermons; this Vance is out chasing kidnappers and engaging in gun battles. He disposes of the three of the gang, with the usual “Oh well, it’s for the best” response from the authorities.
Fair-play readers will take some issue with three characters not being introduced until the final denouement, as well as the breaking of Fifth Commandment of Robert Knox's Rules of Fair Play: "No Chinaman must figure in the story".
This is the last of the S. S. Van Dine novels written in the usual sequence. The following two (The Gracie Allen Murder Case and The Winter Murder Case) were reverse-written after the films were made. Please also note pejorative terms used for persons of Chinese ancestry as well as African-Americans.
February 15, 2016
Van Dine's amateur detective Philo Vance is America's answer to Lord Peter Wimsey except that he is really irritating. He lounges around smoking Régis cigarettes, calls everyone "old dear", affects a monocle, drops his g's, is supercilious, very wealthy, and quotes obscure poetry. The first few books of this series were wildly popular and The Canary Murder Case is usually found on most lists of important mysteries of the Golden Age. But the sheen wore off rather quickly and Vance's personality palled with the public.
I have to admit that I have read two books in the early Vance series and really liked them, so was looking forward to this late entry. When I finished it, I wondered why I was so enthralled with Philo Vance once upon a time. The story here is incidental since the Vance character gets in the way and you don't really care much about what happens to the man who has supposedly been kidnapped as indicated by the title.
I probably gave it a higher rating than it deserves but I guess I did it for old times sake!!
I have to admit that I have read two books in the early Vance series and really liked them, so was looking forward to this late entry. When I finished it, I wondered why I was so enthralled with Philo Vance once upon a time. The story here is incidental since the Vance character gets in the way and you don't really care much about what happens to the man who has supposedly been kidnapped as indicated by the title.
I probably gave it a higher rating than it deserves but I guess I did it for old times sake!!
August 22, 2016
Despite the narrator's usual hyperbole, this seemed like a very run-of-the-mill case to me, with none of the horror elements that feature in many of Van Dine's books. It only gets a third star because some of it covers an area that, 80 years later, is familiar to me. Kasper Kenting is missing from the family home, and a ransom note is found. Clues point to Kenting being involved in his own abduction, but Vance sees through this false trail, and surmises that the wastrel playboy is dead. There's a hired gang involved, a gun battle, and even a sinister Oriental (in a small role).
May 24, 2017
This is the last "normal" entry in this series--the next novel was written for film as a comedy, and the final one was incomplete upon the author's death. This novel is a good candidate for the 2.5 rating that wiser reviewers than I have mentioned. It is a perfectly serviceable murder mystery, but lacking the verve and intricacy of early Philo Vance tales. The circle of suspects was quite small; the later "action scenes" (absent in early novels) were a bit hard to believe; the final reveal a bit of a letdown. To be honest I'm not disappointed to be nearing the end of this series.
February 25, 2021
A trip to yesteryear.
This book is a museum piece. It is classist and racist. The plot is filled with interesting twists, but remains predictable. There are some interesting word choices and foreign idioms used in the tale of money and murder. The author would certainly be cancelled if this was written today.
This book is a museum piece. It is classist and racist. The plot is filled with interesting twists, but remains predictable. There are some interesting word choices and foreign idioms used in the tale of money and murder. The author would certainly be cancelled if this was written today.
March 15, 2021
Shallow characterizations and a predictable villain. Philo Vance exudes a phony, overstated serenity, is needlessly cheeky, overly-urbane, and inserts annoying mid-sentence cutesy phrases for no reason. Don't bother with this book.
January 26, 2022
S.S. van Dine wrote 12 detective novels in the late 1920s and 1930s centered on private detective Philo Vance, a wealthy aesthete and connoisseur of the arts. The first six are very good: The Benson Murder Case (1926), The Canary Murder Case (1927), The Greene Murder Case (1928), The Bishop Murder Case (1929), The Scarab Murder Case (1930) and The Kennel Murder Case (1933). Less good but still interesting enough (although in declining order) are four more novels: The Dragon Murder Case (1933), The Casino Murder Case (1934), The Garden Murder Case (1935) and The Kidnap Murder Case (1936). Forgettable are the last two novels, both based on film scripts: The Gracie Allen Murder Case (1938) and The Winter Murder Case (1939).
S.S. van Dine was enormously popular between 1926 and 1936, something which is also demonstrated by how quickly Hollywood adapted his novels to the screen with such famous actors as William Powell. But in the 1930s Hammett and Chandler started the hard-boiled genre with violent detectives who would make Van Dine’s intellectual sleuth seem insignificant and a bit preposterous.
S.S. van Dine was enormously popular between 1926 and 1936, something which is also demonstrated by how quickly Hollywood adapted his novels to the screen with such famous actors as William Powell. But in the 1930s Hammett and Chandler started the hard-boiled genre with violent detectives who would make Van Dine’s intellectual sleuth seem insignificant and a bit preposterous.
December 13, 2024
Sou fã de SS Van Dine. Este talvez não seja dos seus melhores livros...
Kaspar Kenting aparentemente foi raptado. Markaham é informado, e pede ajuda a Philo Vance, pois Kenting é alguém famoso... Chegando à casa da vítima, Heath e o resto da equipa de polícias já lá se encontram a analisar as provas. Primeiramente, um bilhete de resgate. Astuto como é, Philo questiona Mrs. Kenting acerca que alguns objetos que estão em falta. Uma escada na janela, um carro mal estacionado na noite anterior ...Interrogam o resto dos habitantes da casa, o irmão, a sogra e o cunhado. Ninguém, inclusive Mrs. Kenting, morria de amores pelo desaparecido...Descobrem que tem imensas dividas e que pediu dinheiro ao irmão e ao advogado antes de desaparecer...Terá sido um rapto simulado? Já estará morto? E quando vão entregar o resgaste , porque é que vai a sogra buscar o dinheiro?
Kaspar Kenting aparentemente foi raptado. Markaham é informado, e pede ajuda a Philo Vance, pois Kenting é alguém famoso... Chegando à casa da vítima, Heath e o resto da equipa de polícias já lá se encontram a analisar as provas. Primeiramente, um bilhete de resgate. Astuto como é, Philo questiona Mrs. Kenting acerca que alguns objetos que estão em falta. Uma escada na janela, um carro mal estacionado na noite anterior ...Interrogam o resto dos habitantes da casa, o irmão, a sogra e o cunhado. Ninguém, inclusive Mrs. Kenting, morria de amores pelo desaparecido...Descobrem que tem imensas dividas e que pediu dinheiro ao irmão e ao advogado antes de desaparecer...Terá sido um rapto simulado? Já estará morto? E quando vão entregar o resgaste , porque é que vai a sogra buscar o dinheiro?
May 5, 2024
Not bad, but a great deal of time is spent on how insouciant Philo Vance is. His mannerisms reminded me a great deal of Peter Wimsey, who was created by Dorothy Sayers three years before the first Vance novel, but somehow Wimsey is a more attractive character. You'd probably be less frustrated and less likely to fall asleep in his company. I think William Powell did a lot in his film version to make Vance a more interesting character.
The ending of this novel, which seemed long delayed, came at a rush. It was unsatisfying for several reasons that I won't mention, since that would serve as a spoiler.
I'll try some of the other stories, but I hope they have a little more zip.
The ending of this novel, which seemed long delayed, came at a rush. It was unsatisfying for several reasons that I won't mention, since that would serve as a spoiler.
I'll try some of the other stories, but I hope they have a little more zip.
October 29, 2022
One of the better mystery in the end of the series. A person is kidnapped and a ransom was demanded. But the whole kidnapping scheme looks weird, as if the victim kidnapped himself. In cones Philo Vance, he must act before things go more south. And unfortunately, things go south with more kidnapping.
October 5, 2022
The Final Murder Case
I liked it a lot. I read Philo Vance books probably 40 years ago when I was young. I read his and Ellery Queen and Alfred Hickcock.
This book was a nice quick read. Loved the characters. I would recommend it.
I liked it a lot. I read Philo Vance books probably 40 years ago when I was young. I read his and Ellery Queen and Alfred Hickcock.
This book was a nice quick read. Loved the characters. I would recommend it.
February 13, 2020
Clásico libro al estilo Van Dine, interesante con fial previsible.
December 29, 2023
Un racconto facilmente intuibile. Poca suspense.
March 19, 2024
I do enjoy this series. Always thought provoking.
April 13, 2022
This didn't actually take me as long to read as it seems, I just didn't particularly feel like reading it.
It definitely is a product of its time. A lot of deus ex machina going on with Vance doing things with no indication as to how they were actually done until the end.
I did finish it to figure out what happened, but it wasn't that compelling.
It definitely is a product of its time. A lot of deus ex machina going on with Vance doing things with no indication as to how they were actually done until the end.
I did finish it to figure out what happened, but it wasn't that compelling.
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February 14, 2016The Kidnap Murder Case 10th in the Philo Vance mystery series set during July 20 - 23, 1936. Vance, an independently wealthy college educated, amateur detective, uses his deductive skills and psychological knowledge to help his New York City District Attorney friend deal with the disappearance of playboy Kaspar Kenting as Vance sorts through the clues of an apparent kidnapping, uncovering a family secret in the process. The story ends with a lot more action than is usual for this series. As usual, the action is set in New York City. Vance’s methods are unconventional and go against the more rigid police investigative methods and lawyer legal requirements.
February 5, 2017
Another great mystery...I did guess this one before the end, but it was well-written..typical Van Dine style....biggest regret---only 2 more books in series....
February 9, 2011
I have read all of the Philo Vance books and found all of them to be clever and entertaining for the time period and genre.
June 3, 2016
Un giallo molto easy...letto in un pomeriggio, senza troppi clamori...
September 1, 2016
read some time in 1977
December 9, 2016
Not a great story (missing some sort of fair play clues), but a nice palate-cleanser before I move on to something more challenging.
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