The misadventures of Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen, the quintessential American brilliant amateur detective, who appeared in scrupulously fair novels (penned by Frederick Dannay and Manfred Lee using the Queen pseudonym), certainly merits a revival, but this anthology of 16 short stories, many of which first appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, works best for established fans. Most of the entries are parodies whose enjoyment hinges on familiarity with the originals or with the mystery writing scene. Though Edward D. Hoch's "The Reindeer Clue" successfully passes as the last short story written by Dannay or Lee, it's too brief to give first-timers much of a sense of the spirit and appeal of the originals. The best effort in that direction is "The Mystery of the Red Balloons" by French author Thomas Narcejac, one of the coauthors of the novel that Hitchcock's Vertigo was based on; the story is translated into English for the first time. Narcejac provides a bizarrely intricate puzzle about a series of murders linked only by the presence of a red balloon, and also includes the original's "Challenge to the Reader," a short insert before the end in which the reader is advised that all the clues necessary to solve the crime have been provided. Too many entries will be lost on non-devotees. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.