Number one, first in a series of mystery novels (1929) ( )

The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen is a 1929 publication.

A murder takes place at a packed theatre and Inspector Richard Queen is called in to investigate. His son, Ellery, a crime novelist, has joined him and together they attempt to solve the most perplexing case the Inspector as ever encountered…

This is the first book of the Ellery Queen mystery series, which was originally published in 1929. The series has a quite a legacy, but I’d never thought of tackling it until I was gifted a copy of one the installments for Christmas one year. I have since acquired a stack of Ellery Queen paperbacks, but unfortunately, the print is so small I can’t read them in that format- which forced me to attempt to find them in digital format so I can adjust the font size.

I do believe that most of the series is digitized, but whew! They want a bit too much for books this old and this short! My local library only had a handful of them to check out… but Hoopla saved the day.

But, after going to all that trouble to track down digital copies- I found this first installment to be incredibly confusing. The bit about the hat droned on and on and on and on until my eyes glazed over.

I love, love, love old mysteries and had really high hopes for this series, but found that it was too slow for my taste and the Queens were not likeable or interesting enough to keep me invested when the plot spun in place for too long.

All that said, my understanding is that this first novel by the authors- who were cousins, if you didn’t already know- is not considered to be a very good representation of their work.

Unfortunately, we are so hardwired to start a series with the first installment, when possible, that this one may not make a strong enough impression to motivate the reader to continue on with the series. At this writing, I don't plan to read another installment for a good long while- but...

With of the books available on Hoopla, in both eBook and audio formats- I may give Queen another chance someday. ( )

It was interesting, but at times it seemed like the author was speaking down to the reader. Also, at a certain point it indicated we had all of the facts to solve it, but we actually didn't have some of the important facts until it was explained after the arrest. It was good and I will probably read more of his books, though. ( )

Listened on Hoopla.

Top hats, so many top hats.

This mystery was fine, and I guessed where it was going based on a line of inquiry that was not mentioned in the investigation. Then, at the end, it was pulled out of a hat (ba-dum-tssss) as a key point.

Not gory or violent, but very very 1929. Especially the motive. ( )

I liked the book until I got to the end. I realize the book was written in 1929, but I was still disappointed. The murdered man was a blackmailer and he was blackmailing someone who was passing for white. There was a reference to "tainted blood".