Started May 31
Finished June 3
Pages 316
Not all popular fiction ages well. Ellery Queen isn't awful, but you can't help being aware that you're reading a book written in 1930. And, alas, not in a good way. Want your medical examiner to remove a bullet from the victim's heart at the actual crime scene, while simultaneously determining the bullet's angle of entry? Want a know-it-all detective hero who doesn't for a moment wonder about the guilt of one of the possible suspects because, after all, the fellow is the right sort and went to the same school as him?
If you're interested in classic American detective fiction, you're probably best off with Noir: Dashiell Hammet or Philip Chandler. If you're not in the mood for darkness, you can't beat Nero Wolfe.
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