Blurbs for Ellery Queen Mysteries
(Note: Books are listed alphabetically.)
American Gun Mystery, The (1933)
by Ellery Queen
Ballantine Books (2nd printing, February 1976)
Cover price: $1.50
20,000 WITNESSES TO MURDER!
'Buck Horne was shot down in front of 20,000 fans awaiting his comeback in the world's largest rodeo.
'Ellery Queen was in the audience. But after a month of investigation the brilliant detective was as baffled as everyone else.
'There was no motive and no murder weapon. So the rodeo re-opened with the death unsolved ... and then another man died in precisely the same manner as Buck Horne ... and again there was no motive or murder weapon!'
Cat of Many Tails (1949)
by Ellery Queen
Ballantine Books (1st printing, October 1975)
Cover price: $1.50
Inside a large golden letter 'Q':
'THE CAT HAD 9 KILLS'
Then:
NIGHT ...
'The silent rush of footsteps, the muffled shriek, the ever-tightening noose of exotic silk ... the mark of the Cat. The Cat had claimed Number Nine.
'The Cat had nine kills, but Ellery Queen found Number Ten alive, and offered the victim temptingly to the killer. The trap was baited, and Ellery and the police poised for the strike that had to come.
'But the strangler struck elsewhere. Desperately, as Queen raced toward the screams, his heart chilled at the thought of what he would find. The smell of fear in a fog-bound alley, a crumpled form on the pavement, the knotted silk about the neck ... of Number Ten.'
Comment: Unusually evocative language for a blurb, utilizing sensory words (sight, sound, touch, smell).
Chinese Orange Mystery, The (1934)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, April 1970)
Cover price: 75 cents
TURNABOUT IS FOUL PLAY
'There were many odd things about the fat man. No one had seen him enter the luxurious suite, and no one know his name. Somehow all his clothes had been put on him backwards, and all the furniture around him reversed. The room in which he was found was locked from the inside, and aside from him, was empty.
'It was unlike any other case Ellery Queen had ever seen -- except for two hard facts. The man was dead. And it was Queen's baffling job to find the murderer ....'
And inside a box in much smaller type is the following:
'Featuring Ellery Queen's famous challenge to the reader!
'Can you solve THE CHINESE ORANGE MYSTERY? You'll have the lineup of suspects, their secrets, their alibis, their ties to the deceased. Follow the clues, and they'll lead you straight to the killer. Take one wrong turn --and you're lost. Can you do it? Can you match the fabulous Ellery Queen wit for wit, killer for killer?'
Devil to Pay, The (1937)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, June 1971)
Cover price: 75 cents
BULL MARKET FOR MURDER
'Stocks rose, stocks fell, but Solly Spaeth always came out ahead. The little fat man with the computer mind was a financial magician -- a wizard at making other people's money disappear into his own pocket.
'Then Spaeth made one fast deal too many, and someone decided to make a different kind of killing. By the time Ellery Queen arrived on the scene, Solly had cashed in his blue chips, everyone including his loving mistress and his hating son was a suspect -- and Ellery had no margin for error as he plunged into a game of wits with a murderer too deadly to sell short ....'
Door Between, The (1937)
by Ellery Queen
Pocket Books (5th printing, September 1964)
Cover price: 45 cents
THE PERFECT MURDER?
'Ellery Queen knew that Karen was a Greenwich Village character -- a silent, unhappy woman who found escape only when she was working on one of her brilliant novels.
'As he penetrated deeper and deeper into Karen's past, he learned her hideous secret. He became certain that this strange woman, living in New York's strangest neighborhood, had been murdered -- but how? And by whom, when seemingly the only person who could have done it was obviously innocent?
'As Ellery unravels the mysterious details of Karen's death, one surprise follows another, until the reader is left gasping in amazement.'
Dutch Shoe Mystery, The (1931)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, January 1968)
Cover price: 75 cents
On the BACK cover, underlined:
'Abigail Dorn, aged 70. Fabulous female financier, lover, philanthropist, eccentric. Dead of strangulation at the Dutch Memorial Hospital.'
Then below that (the capitalized words are printed in red):
'ELLERY QUEEN challenges you to solve THE DUTCH SHOE MYSTERY.
'You'll have the lineup of suspects; their secrets, alibis, ties to the deceased. Follow the clues, and they'll lead you straight to the culprit. Take the wrong turn -- and you're lost. Can you do it? Can you match the fabulous Ellery Queen wit for wit, killer for killer?'
But on the FRONT cover we have this:
'Reader: Can you solve The Dutch Shoe Mystery? By page 177 you will be in possession of all the facts concerning the murder of Abigail Doorn. No tricks, no catches. The killer is practically shouting his name. Can you get him before _Ellery Queen_ does?'
In other words, the Challenge to the Reader is printed on the FRONT -- most unusual.
Fourth Side of the Triangle, The (1965)
by Ellery Queen
Ballantine Books (1st printing, November 1975)
Cover price: $1.50
HE PLOTTED TO SEDUCE HIS FATHER'S MISTRESS
'Sheila, exotic young international leader of haute couture -- quest of every JET SET male -- is found brutally murdered in her Park Avenue penthouse.
'Two floors down, the distinguished middle-aged millionaire -- Ashton McKell -- is torn from his luxurious duplex and hauled off to jail. Next to go, Lutecia, his shy patrician wife. And then -- Dane, their handsome, sensitive son. Together -- a triangle of murder suspects.
'ELLERY QUEEN, immobilized from his accident, can trick the police into becoming his "legmen" if he discovers THE FOURTH SIDE OF THE TRIANGLE before the blackmailer squeals.'
French Powder Mystery, The (1930)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, November 1969)
Cover prices: (mod) 75 cents; (50th Anniversary) $1.75
There are two versions of this printing; one has the usual '60s mod blonde on the front cover, but the other (the "Special 50th Anniversary Edition") has a photo of a porcelain face mask of a woman with blood trickling down her chin.
The copy on the back cover is similar but different.
A. Mod version:
DEATH FOR SALE
'French's department store of New York's Fifth Avenue was famous for the rare merchandise it offered its elite clientele. But no one in the store could be proud of its latest exclusive window-display: the blood-stained corpse of the owner's wife.
'Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, soon discovered that this palace of commerce was a viper's nest of fear, jealousy, suspicion and hatred, where love was cheap and the price of honor marked down. And baffling them at every bizarre turn was a mysterious mocking mastermind who was out to turn the glittering store into a bargain basement of murder ....'
This is followed by the usual boilerplate Challenge to the Reader, with this title substituted.
B. Compare that with the subtle changes in the text from the "Special 50th Anniversary Edition":
DEATH FOR SALE
'French's department store was famous for the rare merchandise it offered its elite clientele. But no one there could be proud of its latest exclusive window display: the bloodstained corpse of the owner's wife.
'Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, soon discovered that this palace of commerce was a viper's nest of fear, jealousy, suspicion and hatred, where love was cheap and the price of honor marked down. But worst of all was the mysterious mocking mastermind who was out to turn the glittering store into a bargain basement of murder ....'
This is followed by a full-color photo of the dust jacket of a hardback copy, underneath which is:
'To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ellery Queen, featured above is the cover which appeared on the first edition of this mystery.'
That's followed by the usual boxed Challenge to the Reader:
'By page 220, you'll have the lineup of suspects ...'
Greek Coffin Mystery, The (1932)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, December 1969)
Cover price: $2.50
THE FINE ART OF MURDER
'Someone was playing nasty tricks on Ellery Queen. Every clue the famous sleuth followed led him further into a crazy-house maze of multiplying suspects and proliferating possibilities.
'All Ellery knew for sure was that an eminent art dealer was dead, a brilliant forger had been slain, a priceless painting had been stolen, a mysterious will had disappeared, and a ruthless killer was ready to strike again. As a connoisseur of crime, Queen had to admit he was up against a master. As a detective, he had to put his reputation on the line in the most puzzling case of his career.'
The boxed Challenge to the Reader adds:
'By page 244, you'll have the lineup of suspects ...'
King is Dead, The (1952)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, December 1972)
Cover price: $1.25
QUEEN WAS ROYALLY STUMPED --
'Ellery Queen's job was to keep a powerful tycoon from being murdered. With the help of all the King's money and all the King's men the task looked simple. But here was a case where the perfect detective came face to face with a killer who had contrived the perfect crime!
'For how could King Bendigo, closely guarded behind steel doors, be shot by Judah, who was being watched by Ellery in another room?
'The pressure was on and Ellery knew he had to think fast -- before the Bendigo court really lost its head!'
Roman Hat Mystery, The (1929)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, August 1967)
Cover price: 60 cents
HE WAS DRESSED TO KILL
'Suit, cape, and gloves worn with a whisky flair ... everything but the top hat. And he was dead. With a characteristic display of intemperance, Monte Field had succumbed during Act II of the Broadway hit GUNPLAY!
'"Foul play!" claimed the local constabulary. It was clearly a case for the Queens -- father and son. A case of shadowy death, an unsavory victim, and a lengthy list of suspects whose tarnished pasts had made them prime targets for blackmail.
'Someone had enacted the performance of the year: THE PERFECT MURDER.'
Siamese Twin Mystery, The (1933)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, April 1970)
Cover price: 75 cents
LABORATORY OF DEATH
'With curiosity mixed with dread, Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Queen, unlocked the door and slowly swung it open. It was here that the famous John Xavier conducted his mysterious experiments, and from here that the strange bundles were carried each day to be buried.
'But whatever secret the room revealed, it could not match in horror the evil afoot outside. Dr. Xavier was dead now, and he was just the first victim. Someone -- man, woman or monster -- had turned the isolated mountain lodge itself into a laboratory -- for a diabolical experiment in perfect murder ....'
Spanish Cape Mystery, The (1935)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books (1st printing, September 1970)
Cover price: 75 cents
THE NAKED LOVER
'Men hated John Marco just as much as women adored him. For other men's women were Marco's meat, high-priced sex his trade, and perhaps it was fitting that he died as he had made love so often, absolutely naked.
'The moment Ellery Queen unwrapped the long black opera cloak from Marco's nude corpse, he knew the naked truth would be even nastier. Every guest at the isolated mansion had a shameful tie with Marco -- but which one had twisted it into a strangler's knot ...?'
The boxed Challenge to the Reader asks:
'Can you solve THE SPANISH CAPE MYSTERY by page 210?'
There Was an Old Woman (1943)/Origin of Evil, The (1951)
by Ellery Queen
Signet Books Double Ellery Queen Edition (1st printing, July 1980)
Cover price: $1.95
THERE WAS AN OLD WOMAN
'Cornelia Potts was a wicked old witch of a woman with many millions of dollars, a henpecked husband, and six miserable children, and every life she touched turned to sheer hell. But no one objected until death came to the vast, grotesque Potts mansion and began claiming its inhabitants one by one. That was when Ellery Queen was invited to sup on this devilish brew of diabolical murder and baffling mystery -- in a case that made the most horrific crimes in his entire career seem like innocent fairy tales ...'
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
'Ellery Queen was sunbathing, au naturel, in the doorway of his Hollywood bedroom when the pretty young girl appeared. She was small and slender but three-dimensional where it counted. But this vision of loveliness beckoned Ellery into eerie nightmare adventure when she put him on the scent of a case where the only murder weapon appeared to be a dead dog ....'
Comment: Small black type on a red background is a poor contrast and hard to read.
Tragedy of Z, The (1933)
by Ellery Queen
Avon Books (7th printing, May 1966)
Cover price: 60 cents
SHE STARED IN HORRIFIED FASCINATION
'The senator lay before her with the knife buried up to the hilt in his still warm body. This was a murder with national repercussions. He had hundreds of political enemies. Any one of them could be the murderer.
'DRURY LANE, the brilliant criminologist, had to come up with a lead in a tangle of faulty clues. Patty, luscious, wandering blonde with melting blue eyes was on his side -- and she was a very necessary aide in one of the most startling mysteries by ELLERY QUEEN.'
Note: The blurbster is obviously trying to inject as much sex as space will allow.
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