The House of Brass

Book excerpt: Newlyweds Richard Queen and his wife are invited to a dead man’s treasure hunt in a mystery that’s “incredibly intricate; in other words Queentessential” (Kirkus Reviews). Ellery Queen is vacationing in Istanbul when he learns that his aging father, the retired police inspector Richard Queen, is getting married. The world-famous sleuth rushes home to congratulate the happy couple and enjoy the unique experience of giving his father away to the bride. The honeymoon over, Richard and his new wife return home to find an envelope containing a $100 bill and half of a $1,000 bill—a down payment for one of the most puzzling cases the Queen men will ever encounter. Accompanying the money is a letter summoning Inspector Queen and his spouse to a peculiar vacation in the wilds of New York. Also invited are a con man, a country doctor, a charitable spinster, and a few other disreputable characters who have been assembled for a weekend of murder and mystery they will never forget.