Ellery Queen, página 2 de 4

When a popular singer goes from retired to dead the day before New Years Eve, Ellery Queen is certain its murder. Luckily, just before she died, the victim managed to scribble out a single mysterious word: F A C E. Unfortunately, no one knows what it means.With the help of a new acquaintance, Inspector Harry Burke from Scotland, Queen uncovers even more baffling clues written in invisible ink. Enter the beautiful, discarded conquests of the dead singers playboy husband, who prove a dangerous distraction for both Queen and Burke. Will erotic temptation derail the investigation? If it does, hearts will be broken, and whats worse -- someone will get away with murder.From his first appearance in print in 1929, Ellery Queen became one of Americas most famous and beloved fictional detectives. Over the course of nearly half a century, Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, the duo writing team known as Ellery Queen, won the prestigious Edgar Award multiple times, and their contributions to the mystery genre were recognized with a Grand Master Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Mystery Writers of America. Their fair-play mysteries won over fans due to their intricate puzzles that challenged the reader to solve the mystery alongside the brilliant detective. Queens stories were among the first to dominate the earliest days of radio, film, and television. Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, which the writers founded and edited, became the worlds most influential and acclaimed crime fiction magazine.

Called to an urgent meeting at a mysterious shack in the middle of nowhere, attorney Bill Angell finds his brother-in-law, traveling salesman Joe Wilson, stabbed. With Joes dying breath, he manages to convey that his murderer was a veiled woman. Was it the wild-eyed woman who had sped past Bill on his way up the dark road to the shack?To help him unravel the mystery, Bill calls on his old friend Ellery Queen. But first Queen will have to unravel the victims double life - starting with the shack where hes been found dead, smack dab between two very different worlds.From his first appearance in print in 1929, Ellery Queen became one of Americas most famous and beloved fictional detectives. Over the course of nearly half a century, Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, the duo writing team known as Ellery Queen, won the prestigious Edgar Award multiple times, and their contributions to the mystery genre were recognized with a Grand Master Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Mystery Writers of America. Their fair-play mysteries won over fans due to their intricate puzzles that challenged the reader to solve the mystery alongside the brilliant detective. Queens stories were among the first to dominate the earliest days of radio, film, and television. Ellery Queens Mystery Magazine, which the writers founded and edited, became the worlds most influential and acclaimed crime fiction magazine.

New York, anni Quaranta. Non miagola il "Gatto" che si aggira nel cuore di New York. Si muove in silenzio e con estrema abilita strangola le sue prede con una corda di seta indiana. La citta cade nel panico. L'assassino sembra imprendibile: non si sa nulla di lui, e nulla sembra accomunare tra loro le vittime. Chiunque potrebbe cadere sotto i suoi affilati artigli... Unico indizio, il lungo laccio di seta stretto intorno al collo delle prede. Sara Ellery Queen a sciogliere con la sua ferrea logica quegli inestricabili nodi post mortem, macabra firma dell'assassino.

Nonostante l'età avanzata, l'ex ispettore Richard Queen ha deciso di sposare la sua Jessie, infermiera in pensione. E la vita coniugale si dimostra subito movimentata. Al ritorno dalla luna di miele, infatti, i coniugi Queen trovano uno strano invito, accompagnato da mezza banconota da mille dollari: se si recheranno alla Casa dell'Ottone, dimora della ricchissima famiglia Brass, riceveranno l'altra metà, e in più potranno vivere quella che viene garantita come "un'inusitata esperienza". Giunti al palazzo gli sposi scoprono che la posta in gioco è ancora più alta e che alla partita parteciperanno altri cinque ospiti, tutti in lizza per essere nominati eredi del facoltoso Hendrik Brass, già proprietario di una delle più rinomate gioiellerie di Manhattan. L'atmosfera è inquietante: la dimora è un grottesco ammasso di cianfrusaglie placcate in ottone, gli invitati sono accolti da un domestico che ricorda il mostro di Frankenstein e il padrone di casa, un vecchio cieco dai modi autoritari, ha in mente un piano preciso quanto oscuro. Richard capisce subito che c'è qualcosa che non va, ma solo l'arrivo del figlio Ellery risolverà il mistero...