No, not Dame Agatha. Ellery. I hadn’t read any Ellery Queen mysteries until about 18 months ago. Don’t know how I missed them. I had seen the short run TV series with Jim Hutton.

I’ve now read twenty in about two years. I enjoy them. There are many interesting characters and plots, of course, but I like trying to follow Ellery’s logic. Ellery is dedicated to his logical analysis. He occasionally runs into travails of all logicians: a disproved assumption, too few facts, and unsubstantiated facts. Always, he lands on his feet through his persistence and mental machinations.

If you can, start with the earliest ones: The Roman Hat Mystery, The French Powder Mystery, The Dutch Shoe Mystery, The Greek Coffin Mystery, The American Gun Mystery, The Siamese Twin Mystery, The chinese Orange Mystery.

These are examples of standard Queen, complete with the challenge to the reader. This challenge was very popular. It’s the mini-chapter before the reveal when Ellery tells the reader that all facts necessary have been presented and asks them to solve the case before they read on.

Lately, I’ve thought about watching the TV series again. First time, it was free on Hulu. Now, I think you can rent or buy it through Amazon Video.