... ma l'esperienza mi ha insegnato che tutto ha una spiegazione a questo mondo, e basta agire con un po' di astuzia o trovare il punto di vista giusto, per giungere alla soluzione dell'enigma.
(pagina 31)

Rientrato in casa, Ellery si mise la veste da camera preferita, poi si sdraiò nella poltrona davanti al caminetto, presentando voluttuosamente i piedi alla fiamma, e così rimase a lungo. Rifletteva, rannicchiato nella poltrona, ed era come isolato dal mondo.
(pagina 149) ( )

3.5* ( )

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Title: The Chinese Orange Mystery
Series: Ellery Queen
Authors: Ellery Queen
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 172
Words: 70.5K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.org

A wealthy publisher and collector of precious stones and Chinese postage stamps has a luxurious suite in a hotel that serves to handle his non-publishing business and the comings and goings of his staff, his relatives, and his female friends. When an odd and anonymous little man arrives and refuses to state his business, no one is surprised; he is locked (from outside only) in an anteroom with a bowl of fruit (including tangerines, also known as Chinese oranges) and left to await the publisher's arrival. When the door is unlocked, though, a truly bizarre scene is displayed.

The little man's skull is crushed, his clothing is reversed, back to front, all the furnishings of the room have been turned backwards — and two African spears have been inserted between the body and its clothing, stiffening it into immobility. The circumstances are such that someone has been observing every entrance to the room, and no one has apparently entered or left. The situation is further complicated by some valuable jewelry and stamps, the publisher's business affairs and romantic affaires, and a connection with "backwardness" for seemingly every character. It takes the considerable talents of Ellery Queen to sort through the motives and lies and arrive at the twisted logic that underlies every aspect of this very unusual crime.

My Thoughts:

First off, this whole time (however long since I've heard that Ellery Queen was a mystery writer) I have thought that Queen was a woman. A Grand Dame of the Golden Age of Mystery Writers. So imagine my surprise when it turns out that not only is Ellery Queen the writer AND main character of the series but that HE is a young middle aged private detective living at home with his father.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh.

There was no real order listed on the library site I borrowed this from so I pretty much randomly poked my finger at a title and said “I am reading YOU”. I guess this is book 8? Didn't really seem to matter though.

This reminded me of Dorothy Sayers and her Lord Peter Wimsey and not in a positive way. While there were no railroad schedules or pages of fake code to decode, there was an exhausting amount of detail that didn't matter to me as I just wanted a fething mystery to read about, not solve. I've talked about that aspect of mysteries that I despise but since a large segment of the mystery community wants such garbage, well, the authors pander to them and not to me. It was a very shocking realization to my delicate and fragile ego.

I have to admit, I am not having a good feeling about the longevity of the friendship struck up between me and Queen. I'm giving Queen 3 books to impress me and then it's cement shoes for him if he doesn't. These authors think they're big stuff and as a reader, I've learned to put them in their place. With cement shoes.

★★★☆☆ ( )

Believe it or not, the first Ellery Queen mystery I’ve ever read. A good one too. Queen is a little kind of over the top smarmy and pain in the butt like, though I understand as the series goes on the act kind of wears off. ( )

One of Ellery Queen’s early cases from the 1930s, this has not only a locked room but also the murder victim is unknown to all the people involved.

The Hotel Chancellor is the site of the crime. A bit of a posh place and the people involved are residents there.

Ellery has run into Donald Kirk, a friend of his, and been asked to dinner. Kirk is a collector of stamps and fine gems and also owner of The Mandarin Press publishing.

When they arrive at Kirk’s office at the hotel, his assistant, James Osborne, relays all messages that have come in while Kirk was gone, along with letting Kirk know that a man is in the waiting room to see Kirk. When the men try to enter the waiting room, they find the door locked — both the one between the office and the room and the outside door from the hallway to the room.

Finally gaining entry, they find a very strange scene. Everything has been turned backwards — furniture, pictures, rug, even the victim’s clothes. There is nothing in the way of identifying material on the body. No ID, not clothing tags, nothing. No one knows why the man came to see Kirk.

The suspect list is very interesting in identities and their own personal secrets come to light as Queen investigates. Ellery’s dad, Inspector Queen is called in to investigate and is frustrated by the lack of information, along with pressure from the higher ups for a quick resolution to the matter.

This is the style of Ellery Queen books I love and enjoy! ( )