The Chinese Orange Mystery

The first name that comes to mind when I think of American Golden Age mystery authors is Ellery Queen.  In a stroke of brilliance, the cousins who wrote the novels decided to have their pen name match the name of their detective.  The introduction to this reprint of The Chinese Orange, offers readers a glimpse into the world of Queen’s creators and some fascinating background material.  Two items make the Ellery Queen novels unique. 1) All of the clues that are available to Ellery Queen are also available to the reader. 2) There is a point in the novel where the detective directly addresses the reader and challenges the reader to solve the puzzle.  Afterwards Ellery Queen provides the solution.


The Chinese Orange Mystery is a classic locked room puzzle with a bizarre twist.  When the body is discovered, not only are his clothes on backwards, but most of the furniture and decorations.  Odder still, two spears are used to keep the body straight. Ellery Queen, the brilliant amateur detective, and his father, the dedicated and hardworking inspector, seek not only whodunnit, how and why, but also the identity of the victim.  


The novel is a bit dated in some of the language, and the presentation of Chinese culture is according to the stereotypes of the time it was written.  Ellery Queen is often egotistical and pedantic, at times flaunting his superior knowledge. At its core, however, The Chinese Orange Mystery is a puzzle that is unique and memorable, a definite sign that American authors were able to hold their own during the Golden Age of Mystery.


4 / 5


I received a copy of The Chinese Orange Mystery from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.


— Crittermom

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishing for a digital galley of this novel.

Otto Penzler is reissuing mystery and detective fiction novels from the Golden Age of crime fiction through his American Mystery Classics series. I was glad to choose The Chinese Orange Mystery by Ellery Queen (actually cousins Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee). This one was originally published in 1934 and is a very good example of the "fair-play" idea used to give readers all the clues they need to solve the crime problem presented in the story. In this one, between chapters 15 and 16, there is a section where the author tells the reader that at that point they could have picked up on all the clues necessary to solve the mystery. I had the "who" (guilty party) but only some pieces of the "why". Even so, I just wallowed in all this old fashioned goodness.

The story concerns a dead man found in a room with a door opening into a hotel corridor. The hotel attendant outside in the corridor didn't see anyone enter the room during the time the murder must have been committed. That was bad enough for Inspector Queen and his son, Ellery, but what in the world did all the changes to the room and the corpse mean? Everything, every single thing in the room, was turned backwards. Solving this murder means the Queens have to touch on a lot of sensitive spots for the Kirk family with secrets being uncovered right and left.

The Chinese Orange Mystery was a lot of fun to read. Combine this book with a comfortable place to sit, a good drink to satisfy your thirst, a little snack to satisfy your appetite, some quiet time away from "life" and you have the makings of a relaxing indulgence that will have you feeling really good!