Queen, Ellery - Queen's Full (1966)

Three 'novellas' -- actually longish short stories -- and two very short stories in a Penguin book package. This is Ellery from the 50s and early 60s  -- mildly romantic, occasionally angst-ridden, and given to prolonged explanations. The stories are as follows:

The Death of Don Juan -- An aging ham actor is called in at the last minute to save a failing theatre in Wrightsville. He makes a mockery of the first act, and when he fails to reappear after the first-act interval, he is found stabbed to death in his dressing-room. A last-gasp accusation points to the female lead, and most of Ellery's efforts go to trying to wrench the clue in another direction. Experienced readers will find this one a little obvious, I think.

E=Murder -- a short short with a highly contrived clue. A nuclear scientist is stabbed to death in a high-security room at the top of a tower. He scrawls a deathbed clue which -- naturally -- has several alternative meanings. Ellery works out the right one, but this reader was not convinced. Note to potential murder victims: if you want to incriminate someone, try and do it properly.

The Wrightsville Heirs -- Three ne'er-do-wells are threatened with disinheritance when their stepmother decides to leave her money to her young paid companion, Amy Upham. Bella Livingstone is smothered, and Ellery is called in as a bodyguard when it looks as if Amy might be next. The detection here is reasonably solid, though a little long-winded, but one of the basis premises struck me as fairly implausible.

Diamonds in Paradise -- Introduces Lili Minx, diamond-wearing darling of the demi-monde, and the short career of Harry the Actor, who perishes in an attempt to get away with her jewels  - said jewels then proving impossible to find. Only complete incompetence on the part of the police can make this one even remotely plausible.

The Case Against Carroll -- Ellery makes an angst-laden attempt to rescue a man on Death Row accused of shooting his business partner. When a second death takes place it looks as though it might be the break that Ellery needs -- but is it? A little too overwrought for me, but fairly if sparsely clued.

Jon.