Series
Publication
Blackstone Audio, Inc. (2013)
Original publication date
1929
Collections
Genres
Subjects
Awards
Haycraft Queen Cornerstones (1929)
Description
Despite the dismal Broadway season, Gunplay continues to draw crowds. A gangland spectacle, it's packed to the gills with action, explosions, and gunfire. In fact, Gunplay is so loud that no one notices the killing of Monte Field. In a sold-out theater, Field is found dead partway through the second act, surrounded by empty seats. The police hold the crowd and call for the one man who can untangle this daring murder: Inspector Richard Queen. With the help of his son Ellery, a bibliophile and novelist whose imagination can solve any crime, the Inspector attacks this seemingly impenetrable mystery. Anyone in the theater could have killed the unscrupulous lawyer, and several had the motive. Only Ellery Queen, in his debut novel, can decipher the clue of the dead man's missing top hat.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Lil_Shepherd
Much as I love the early Ellery Queen, this is, unfortunately, one where he makes a blatent scientific error - it's at the heart of the solution to the mystery, and it blows the entire deal. Until then, the book is fun, with the usual cast of delightfully eccentric New Yorkers.
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
first in the Inspector Queen series of mysteries featuring Inspector Richard Queen and his bookwormish geeky son Ellery, the Roman Hat mystery was set in the late 1920s or early 1930s. Very much the classical-style whodunit, complete with a list of suspects, lists of motives and a final showdown,
A new play has just opened on Broadway called "Gunplay!" ... and it is close after intermission that a man gets out of his seat to go out to the lobby and tries to get past another guy who seems to be asleep hunched over in his seat. But it turns out he's not asleep; he's dying. He leans up to the passer-by and says "murder!" and promptly dies. The man runs out of the theater, summons a policeman, and the show is over for the night. The policeman calls on Inspector Queen, who is famous in the department for getting his man. Along with the inspector comes his son Ellery, who carries books in his pocket and keeps notes on the crime in their flyleaves. On the back of the dead man's seat they find his cape but what's missing is his tophat; remember, this is back in the days when going to the theater was an extremely formal occasion. Although they scour the theater, and search everyone leaving for a tophat, they find nothing; thus Ellery and the Inspector come to realize that the key to the murder lies in the missing hat.
To be honest, I guessed the who, but my motive was incorrect. I had the person pegged for an entirely different motive, but I like being wrong in the case of good mysteries.
I have most of the Ellery Queen novels, which I haven't read yet, but I plan to get to them here shortly! If you're an old-fashioned mystery fan, this one should be a fun read.
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this book was a fun read and a definite no-miss for fans of classic detective fiction. I have the 50th anniversary issue; the original was written in 1929. I really enjoy these old mysteries; I have a shelf filled with them just waiting to be read.A new play has just opened on Broadway called "Gunplay!" ... and it is close after intermission that a man gets out of his seat to go out to the lobby and tries to get past another guy who seems to be asleep hunched over in his seat. But it turns out he's not asleep; he's dying. He leans up to the passer-by and says "murder!" and promptly dies. The man runs out of the theater, summons a policeman, and the show is over for the night. The policeman calls on Inspector Queen, who is famous in the department for getting his man. Along with the inspector comes his son Ellery, who carries books in his pocket and keeps notes on the crime in their flyleaves. On the back of the dead man's seat they find his cape but what's missing is his tophat; remember, this is back in the days when going to the theater was an extremely formal occasion. Although they scour the theater, and search everyone leaving for a tophat, they find nothing; thus Ellery and the Inspector come to realize that the key to the murder lies in the missing hat.
To be honest, I guessed the who, but my motive was incorrect. I had the person pegged for an entirely different motive, but I like being wrong in the case of good mysteries.
I have most of the Ellery Queen novels, which I haven't read yet, but I plan to get to them here shortly! If you're an old-fashioned mystery fan, this one should be a fun read.
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LibraryThing member mmyoung
This is one of those books that are so firmly set in the time of their publication that it is difficult to rate them now on their own merits independent of their placement in the development of their genre. Ellery Queen, detective novel writer and son of Inspector Richard Queen, is the
In addition it is hard, when reading this first Ellery Queen novel, to shake off the impressions left by reading Ellery Queens written half a century later and even more, it is almost impossible not to see Jim Hutton in the mind's eye whenever Ellery comes into a room.
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co-protagonist at the center of the early Ellery Queen books. The character of Ellery is clearly inspired by S. S. Van Dine's Philo Vance. The prejudices and attitudes of the time of its initial publication (1929) are obvious with incidents of casual gender, class, education and race biases cropping up throughout. The continuous discussion in the book about the difficulty of solving such a mysterious crime hides the fact that answer to "who was the murderer" is fairly obvious and the most important clue would have been found within hours of the murder had the police been even minimally competent.In addition it is hard, when reading this first Ellery Queen novel, to shake off the impressions left by reading Ellery Queens written half a century later and even more, it is almost impossible not to see Jim Hutton in the mind's eye whenever Ellery comes into a room.
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LibraryThing member mmyoung
This is one of those books that are so firmly set in the time of their publication that it is difficult to rate them now on their own merits independent of their placement in the development of their genre. Ellery Queen, detective novel writer and son of Inspector Richard Queen, is the
In addition it is hard, when reading this first Ellery Queen novel, to shake off the impressions left by reading Ellery Queens written half a century later and even more, it is almost impossible not to see Jim Hutton in the mind's eye whenever Ellery comes into a room.
Show More
co-protagonist at the center of the early Ellery Queen books. The character of Ellery is clearly inspired by S. S. Van Dine's Philo Vance. The prejudices and attitudes of the time of its initial publication (1929) are obvious with incidents of casual gender, class, education and race biases cropping up throughout. The continuous discussion in the book about the difficulty of solving such a mysterious crime hides the fact that answer to "who was the murderer" is fairly obvious and the most important clue would have been found within hours of the murder had the police been even minimally competent.In addition it is hard, when reading this first Ellery Queen novel, to shake off the impressions left by reading Ellery Queens written half a century later and even more, it is almost impossible not to see Jim Hutton in the mind's eye whenever Ellery comes into a room.
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LibraryThing member Jiraiya
I enjoyed this book very well. I hadn't read an Ellery Queen book for 15 years and it took me a full month to read this particular beauty. The mystery is engrossing. In the preface the authors whet your appetite by telling you that the criminal has a remarkable mind. That's kind of a tall order to
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live up to, but this book delivers. At first the criminal could be anyone, but then it turns out that the murderer is someone in the vicinity, not unlike Marple or Poirot stories. The book was pleasing but not cozy enough to warrant 5 stars. It doesn't have that type of pull on you. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
The two things I remember about this mystery are that it is set in a theater --one of my favorite mystery settings --and the victim dies by a particularly horrible form of poisoning.
LibraryThing member Eyejaybee
As a teenager I used to love the Ellery Queen television series (though I imagine they were already rather dated even then), and I remember reading a few of the books at that time. I hadn’t thought of him (Them? ‘Ellery Queen was actually a partnership of two writers) for ages until a colleague
In an idle moment I tracked this book (the first of the series) down on Amazon and decided to give it a go. The book hasn’t aged particularly well, though that is perhaps fair enough, given that it was published in the 1930s, with markedly different social mores and conventions. The basic premise is straightforward enough. Monte Field, a defence attorney with dubious gangland connections, is found dead, apparently poisoned, at a Broadway show. Inspector Queen is summoned to investigate. His son Ellery also turns up and, over the next few days, employs his beloved logical deduction to identify the killer.
The plot is certainly sound, and the clues are certainly all there. The relationship between Ellery and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, is very well constructed, with mutual affection and regard occasionally obscured by utter exasperation. (Well, that certainly struck a chord with memories of my own family!)
I enjoyed the experiment of revisiting Ellery Queen’s mysteries, and I would be interested to see an episode from the television series, too, but I don’t think I will be venturing any further down memory lane as far as the books are concerned.
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chanced to mention him in the office the other day.In an idle moment I tracked this book (the first of the series) down on Amazon and decided to give it a go. The book hasn’t aged particularly well, though that is perhaps fair enough, given that it was published in the 1930s, with markedly different social mores and conventions. The basic premise is straightforward enough. Monte Field, a defence attorney with dubious gangland connections, is found dead, apparently poisoned, at a Broadway show. Inspector Queen is summoned to investigate. His son Ellery also turns up and, over the next few days, employs his beloved logical deduction to identify the killer.
The plot is certainly sound, and the clues are certainly all there. The relationship between Ellery and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, is very well constructed, with mutual affection and regard occasionally obscured by utter exasperation. (Well, that certainly struck a chord with memories of my own family!)
I enjoyed the experiment of revisiting Ellery Queen’s mysteries, and I would be interested to see an episode from the television series, too, but I don’t think I will be venturing any further down memory lane as far as the books are concerned.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
#1 Ellery Queen - how exciting to find these vintage mysteries on Scribd. It's brilliant, of course, but Ellery's character is just developing.
LibraryThing member ladycato
I read this book in annotated form as included in Classic American Crime Fiction of the 1920s
edited by Leslie S. Klinger.
Thus far in this collection, I've read the first books about Charlie Chan and Philo Vance. Both had issues, from my modern perspective--a painfully slow start and barely any
edited by Leslie S. Klinger.
Thus far in this collection, I've read the first books about Charlie Chan and Philo Vance. Both had issues, from my modern perspective--a painfully slow start and barely any
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Charlie Chan in the first, and the rambling, annoying presence of Philo Vance in the second. But in this, the first Ellery Queen novel, I finally encountered a 1920s mystery I absolutely loved. The writing is fantastic from page one, the mystery utterly intriguing, and the cast of characters diverse and amusing. I could see myself reading and enjoying more Ellery Queen novels. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
Listened on Hoopla.
Top hats, so many top hats.
This mystery was fine, and I guessed where it was going based on a line of inquiry that was not mentioned in the investigation. Then, at the end, it was pulled out of a hat (ba-dum-tssss) as a key point.
Not gory or violent, but very very 1929.
Top hats, so many top hats.
This mystery was fine, and I guessed where it was going based on a line of inquiry that was not mentioned in the investigation. Then, at the end, it was pulled out of a hat (ba-dum-tssss) as a key point.
Not gory or violent, but very very 1929.
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Especially the motive. Show Less
LibraryThing member gpangel
The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen is a 1929 publication.
A murder takes place at a packed theatre and Inspector Richard Queen is called in to investigate. His son, Ellery, a crime novelist, has joined him and together they attempt to solve the most perplexing case the Inspector as ever
This is the first book of the Ellery Queen mystery series, which was originally published in 1929. The series has a quite a legacy, but I’d never thought of tackling it until I was gifted a copy of one the installments for Christmas one year. I have since acquired a stack of Ellery Queen paperbacks, but unfortunately, the print is so small I can’t read them in that format- which forced me to attempt to find them in digital format so I can adjust the font size.
I do believe that most of the series is digitized, but whew! They want a bit too much for books this old and this short! My local library only had a handful of them to check out… but Hoopla saved the day.
But, after going to all that trouble to track down digital copies- I found this first installment to be incredibly confusing. The bit about the hat droned on and on and on and on until my eyes glazed over.
I love, love, love old mysteries and had really high hopes for this series, but found that it was too slow for my taste and the Queens were not likeable or interesting enough to keep me invested when the plot spun in place for too long.
All that said, my understanding is that this first novel by the authors- who were cousins, if you didn’t already know- is not considered to be a very good representation of their work.
Unfortunately, we are so hardwired to start a series with the first installment, when possible, that this one may not make a strong enough impression to motivate the reader to continue on with the series. At this writing, I don't plan to read another installment for a good long while- but...
With of the books available on Hoopla, in both eBook and audio formats- I may give Queen another chance someday.
A murder takes place at a packed theatre and Inspector Richard Queen is called in to investigate. His son, Ellery, a crime novelist, has joined him and together they attempt to solve the most perplexing case the Inspector as ever
Show More
encountered… This is the first book of the Ellery Queen mystery series, which was originally published in 1929. The series has a quite a legacy, but I’d never thought of tackling it until I was gifted a copy of one the installments for Christmas one year. I have since acquired a stack of Ellery Queen paperbacks, but unfortunately, the print is so small I can’t read them in that format- which forced me to attempt to find them in digital format so I can adjust the font size.
I do believe that most of the series is digitized, but whew! They want a bit too much for books this old and this short! My local library only had a handful of them to check out… but Hoopla saved the day.
But, after going to all that trouble to track down digital copies- I found this first installment to be incredibly confusing. The bit about the hat droned on and on and on and on until my eyes glazed over.
I love, love, love old mysteries and had really high hopes for this series, but found that it was too slow for my taste and the Queens were not likeable or interesting enough to keep me invested when the plot spun in place for too long.
All that said, my understanding is that this first novel by the authors- who were cousins, if you didn’t already know- is not considered to be a very good representation of their work.
Unfortunately, we are so hardwired to start a series with the first installment, when possible, that this one may not make a strong enough impression to motivate the reader to continue on with the series. At this writing, I don't plan to read another installment for a good long while- but...
With of the books available on Hoopla, in both eBook and audio formats- I may give Queen another chance someday.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English