Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Publication
Stockholm : Bonnier, 1964 ;
Description
In post-Depression America, an amateur sleuth uncovers a small town's dark side in "the best mystery produced by Ellery Queen" (The New York Times). At the tail end of the long summer of 1940, there is nowhere in the country more charming than Wrightsville. The Depression has abated, and for the first time in years the city is booming. There is hope in Wrightsville, but Ellery Queen has come looking for death. The mystery author is hoping for fodder for a novel, and he senses the corruption that lurks beneath the apple pie façade. He rents a house owned by the town's first family, whose three daughters star in most of the local gossip. One is fragile, left at the altar three years ago and never recovered. Another is engaged to the city's rising political star, an upright man who's already boring her. And then there's Lola, the divorced, bohemian black sheep. Together, they make a volatile combination. Once he sees the ugliness in Wrightsville, Queen sits back--waiting for the crime to come to him.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member rosalita
My mom had the Wrightsville Murders omnibus on our bookshelves when I was growing up. It was a big heavy hardback containing three full-length Ellery Queen novels — Calamity Town, Crazy Like a Fox, and Ten Days' Wonder — that I devoured starting in about sixth grade (40-some years ago). And I
On every page — nearly in every paragraph — there was a phrase or sentence or scrap of dialogue that triggered the strongest sense of dejà vu. It wasn't so much that I remember the outlines of the story or whodunit (I actually didn't) but that I remember actual words and phrases! I've never had that happen before and it was a pleasingly disconcerting sensation.
Fortunately the vertigo wore off after Part I (which makes me wonder if I read and re-read just the first section over and over? I wish I could go back in time to find out, but then again that would mean living through junior high and high school again and no thank you) and I could just enjoy the book for what it is, which is a splendidly plotted mystery full of appealing characters put into realistic situations and left to find their way out.
A brief plot overview: It's 1940, and famous writer Ellery Queen has traveled to Wrightsville, a small town in upstate New York, in search of "color" for his next mystery novel. While there, he is befriended by the Wright family, descendants of the town's founder. That leaves him in the perfect place to observe as one misadventure after another befalls the family, culminating in the requisite murder.
Perhaps because they take Ellery out of his usual New York City locale, the Wrightsville novels have always had an extra appeal for me. Whereas the "regular" Queen mysteries set in NYC seem to rely on intricately formed plots with clues and red herrings scattered about, in Wrightsville the characters come to life fully formed and breathing. Incredibly for a novel written in the 1940s, there is virtually no offensive racial stereotyping or cheap laughs gained at the expense of the "hicks" that populate Wrightsville. Ellery does not condescend to his hosts, not even the Town Soak who is prone to declaiming Shakespeare from his drunken perch at the base of the founder's statue in the town square. It feels so much like a real town that I am half convinced I've been there before.
I guess the best thing I can say about this novel is that now I remember why I read and re-read it over and over all those years ago. It's a magnificent piece of scene-setting and characterization, with a mystery that more than lives up to its surrounding structure. I have a feeling I won't wait another 30 years before reading this one again ...
Show More
knew I had re-read it more than once, but I don't think I fully grasped how often I must have read and re-read it until I started this latest read of the first book in the omnibus, Calamity Town. On every page — nearly in every paragraph — there was a phrase or sentence or scrap of dialogue that triggered the strongest sense of dejà vu. It wasn't so much that I remember the outlines of the story or whodunit (I actually didn't) but that I remember actual words and phrases! I've never had that happen before and it was a pleasingly disconcerting sensation.
Fortunately the vertigo wore off after Part I (which makes me wonder if I read and re-read just the first section over and over? I wish I could go back in time to find out, but then again that would mean living through junior high and high school again and no thank you) and I could just enjoy the book for what it is, which is a splendidly plotted mystery full of appealing characters put into realistic situations and left to find their way out.
A brief plot overview: It's 1940, and famous writer Ellery Queen has traveled to Wrightsville, a small town in upstate New York, in search of "color" for his next mystery novel. While there, he is befriended by the Wright family, descendants of the town's founder. That leaves him in the perfect place to observe as one misadventure after another befalls the family, culminating in the requisite murder.
Perhaps because they take Ellery out of his usual New York City locale, the Wrightsville novels have always had an extra appeal for me. Whereas the "regular" Queen mysteries set in NYC seem to rely on intricately formed plots with clues and red herrings scattered about, in Wrightsville the characters come to life fully formed and breathing. Incredibly for a novel written in the 1940s, there is virtually no offensive racial stereotyping or cheap laughs gained at the expense of the "hicks" that populate Wrightsville. Ellery does not condescend to his hosts, not even the Town Soak who is prone to declaiming Shakespeare from his drunken perch at the base of the founder's statue in the town square. It feels so much like a real town that I am half convinced I've been there before.
I guess the best thing I can say about this novel is that now I remember why I read and re-read it over and over all those years ago. It's a magnificent piece of scene-setting and characterization, with a mystery that more than lives up to its surrounding structure. I have a feeling I won't wait another 30 years before reading this one again ...
Show Less
LibraryThing member markatread
The first of the Wrightsville novels. All the previous Ellery Queen novels had occurred in New York City and had his dad, the metropolitan police department, and very complex mysteries at the heart of the story. This time Ellery moves to a small town where the murder that occurrs is done by
IF you have read very many mysteries, you will likely see the two plot points that are important to solving the mystery. But even in recognizing them both, I still enjoyed the book and especially enjoyed seeing a very different side to Ellery Queen in this book. He actually has a girlfriend and there is more humor from him.
Show More
poisoning. There is much less complexity and more character development in Calamity Town. In fact the primary focus as far as the mystery is concerned is - how could someone have actually done the poisoning. There are plenty of clues and characters, but the murder is actually announced and then we watch as it happens. It is then up to Ellery to figure out how the poisoning could have happened and, of course, who did it..IF you have read very many mysteries, you will likely see the two plot points that are important to solving the mystery. But even in recognizing them both, I still enjoyed the book and especially enjoyed seeing a very different side to Ellery Queen in this book. He actually has a girlfriend and there is more humor from him.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JeffreyMarks
An incredible accomplishment and one of my top 5 Ellery Queen titles. The book appears on the surface to be a small town murder case, but beneath the ease of the plot are themes that still speak today. A definite recommendation.
LibraryThing member sleahey
The town of Wrightsville is a main character in this crime novel. When there is a murder with an obvious suspect, the community makes up its mind about one person's guilt, turns its back on old friends and relatives, and violence against outsiders becomes accepted. Ellery Queen is sure someone else
Show More
is guilty, but finding out who, and then proving it, provide the suspense in this carefully plotted mystery. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Calamity Town is my first book by Ellery Queen, picked because it appears on H. R. F. Keating’s List of Best Crime Novels. Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. They also use the name Ellery Queen for their main fictional
The Wrights are the leading family of Wrightsville and Ellery becomes friendly with the youngest daughter and eventually the whole family. The middle daughter, Nora, has just gotten back together with the love of her life. But bad luck seems to follow Nora as first she has to play host to her husband Jim’s unpleasant sister, Rosemary, and then comes to the realization that her new husband is plotting to murder her. With plenty of twists and turns, the book keeps both Ellery Queen and the reader on their toes although it appears that small town gossip has already decided who the poisoner is. A difficult case to predict, I was absorbed in the story and couldn’t wait to find out what exactly did happen on New Year’s Eve and who the villain was going to be.
I really enjoyed this puzzler and now I have a new author to add to my list of vintage crime authors that I want to read more of.
Show More
character, a mystery writer. In this outing Queen comes to the small town of Wrightsville for research and ends up helping to solve a case involving murder by poison.The Wrights are the leading family of Wrightsville and Ellery becomes friendly with the youngest daughter and eventually the whole family. The middle daughter, Nora, has just gotten back together with the love of her life. But bad luck seems to follow Nora as first she has to play host to her husband Jim’s unpleasant sister, Rosemary, and then comes to the realization that her new husband is plotting to murder her. With plenty of twists and turns, the book keeps both Ellery Queen and the reader on their toes although it appears that small town gossip has already decided who the poisoner is. A difficult case to predict, I was absorbed in the story and couldn’t wait to find out what exactly did happen on New Year’s Eve and who the villain was going to be.
I really enjoyed this puzzler and now I have a new author to add to my list of vintage crime authors that I want to read more of.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1942