World War II hero Davy Fox has returned to his New England hometown of Wrightsville a changed man. When his wife Linda wakes up to find Davy's hands squeezed around her neck, it takes all of her strength to get away. But Davy is more than shellshocked from the war. He's haunted by events of twelve years before, when his mother was murdered by his father, Bayard, who is serving life in prison and had always insisted that he was not the one who killed his wife.Linda hopes that if Dav...

A classic collection of short crime fiction from the Grand Master Edgar Award–winning author.For Ellery Queen, there is no puzzle that reason cannot solve. In his time, he has faced down killers, thugs, and thieves, protected only by the might of his brain—and the odd bit of timely intervention by his father, a burly New York police inspector. But when a university professor asks Queen to teach a class, the detective finds there are people whom reason cannot touch:...

When a popular singer goes from retired to dead the day before New Year's Eve, Ellery Queen is certain it’s murder. Luckily, just before she died, the victim managed to scribble out a single mysterious word: F A C E. Unfortunately, no one knows what it means.With the help of a new acquaintance, Inspector Harry Burke from Scotland, Queen uncovers even more baffling clues written in invisible ink. Enter the beautiful, discarded conquests of the dead singer's playboy husband, who prov...

The classic mystery novella The Lamp of God is paired with eight short stories in this collection by a Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster."Ellery Queen is the American detective story." —Anthony Boucher, author of Nine Times NineIs it possible for a man to lift himself off the ground by his shoelaces and fly away? Can a w...

Beautiful actress Martha Lawrence has a problem. Her once loving husband, Dirk, has become violent and controlling, and she doesn't know why. When she reaches out to their friend, mystery-solver Ellery Queen for help, Dirk interrupts their meeting in a drunken rage. He is convinced that the two are having an affair.Martha needs Ellery's help to convince Dirk that she's never cheated and never will. But from the clues he uncovers, it looks as if Martha might be two-timing after all....

At the tail end of the Roaring Twenties, a birthday bash for publishing heir John Sebastian, Jr., perfectly coincides with the twelve days of Christmas. Among the twelve invited guests is Ellery Queen, a newly published mystery writer planning to enjoy every last minute. But when an uninvited Santa Claus shows up on Christmas Eve and then mysteriously goes missing, the party takes a disturbing turn. Threatening clues masked as gifts begin to appear under the tree, and Queen - a novice crim...

Lew Bascom is an idea man, and he has quite an idea. To put his career on the fast track, Bascom plans to pen a film about Hollywood's longest-running theatrical feud—Blythe Stewart and her daughter Bonnie's rivalry with Jack Royale and his son Ty. The twist? Bascom wants the four actors to play themselves in the film.The film's producer insists on bringing Ellery Queen, a successful New York writer, out to Hollywood to help close the deal. Only problem is that Bascom - a notorious...

When every last one of the Ohippi hydro-electric power plants are destroyed by flood, Rhys Jardin is one of many who loses everything. But somehow Jardin's longtime partner, finance magnate Solly Spaeth, manages to come out of it wealthier than before, thanks to a brilliant-if-underhanded move to sell off his shares before disaster struck. Spaeth has more than enough money to rebuild the plants, but why should he, with the law on his side?The only problem is that Spaeth's son Walte...

Cherchez la femme was one rule of detection Ellery Queen was always glad to obey—but this case provided too much of a good thing. One girl was a dazzling creature from Hollywood with an unfortunate talent for attracting handsome men and ugly violence. The other was fresh from the French Riviera, where she specialized in sophisticated fun and games. Ellery had a dead millionaire on his hands, two beautiful warring female hellcats on his back, and danger tightening its embrace as he put his ...

At the 37th libel suit Thurlow Potts has brought to court to protect the family name, the family’s beleaguered lawyer Charlie Paxton loses the case. Thurlow seems driven beyond reason to protect the million dollar shoe business of his mother, Cornelia Potts, known to the press as the ‘Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe.’ But some people in the courtroom think Thurlow should be taken seriously, including Ellery Queen, who is looking on while waiting with his father, Inspector Queen of the New Yo...

Raised in Japan by American expatriates, Karen Leith now lives a reclusive life in New York, known chiefly for her highly regarded novels, of which the latest has won a major American literary award. When she is found on the floor behind her desk, surrounded by blood, it looks like foul play. But the only possible suspect is Leith’s future daughter-in-law, Eva, who has recently become engaged. Eva swears by her innocence, even though she was the last to hear Leith alive and the first to fi...

A nursery rhyme leads Ellery Queen to a killer in this classic by a Mystery Writers of America Grand Master."Ellery Queen is the American detective story." —Anthony Boucher, author of Nine Times NineEllery Queen was raised in New York City, but his heart belongs to the village of Wrightsville. An idyllic New England hamlet, it was the site of some of the world-famous de...