Review: Interesting
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 30, 2014
It's always enlightening to read books from a previous era--especially popular books.  They open a window to the thinking of the time. Wikipedia quotes critic Otto Penzler as saying, "Ellery Queen clearly is, after Poe, the most important American in mystery fiction."  An interesting thought--I personally didn't find them to be as well written as Agatha Christie's stories, but then, she was British. These short stories read sort of like a comic book, and sometimes I almost expected a "biff" or "pow" to show up like in the old Batman TV shows.  These good puzzle stories are set in New York, laden with a a 1930's perspective and a multitude of adjectives used in creative ways.  Who ever heard of a "brisk" living room?  They provide a light but fun read for the odds and ends of time in a busy life.