ELLERY QUEEN'S CRIME CRUISE ROUND THE WORLD

by Ellery--Ed. Queen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1981

If you've ever had the feeling that some anthologies credited to ""Ellery Queen"" are really edited by the typists' pool, you'll nod knowingly as this grandiosely arranged international collection gets under way: the first section is ""North America"" (""You start by visiting five cities in the United States""), but the very first story, a theft/libel puzzle by Edward D. Hoch, takes place in London! Ah, well--no matter. As it happens, this is one of the better recent Queen gatherings, and some of the attractions are indeed imported curiosities: an alluring slice of deduction and romantic suspense from Japan's Seicho Matsumoto; the first (very characteristic) short story featuring Janwillem van de Wetering's funny, food-conscious Amsterdam cops; the only short story (written in 1948, but neglected till 1979) about Arthur W. Upfield's half-aborigine detective Napoleon Bonaparte. And there are more British stories than usual for a Queen anthology, all of them winhers: a Ruth Rendell creeper, with a sex-confusion twist (even if you catch on fight away, it's still chilling); a nice mercy-killing vignette by Celia Fremlin; a very derivative but stylishly told swindle-puzzle (involving rare stamps) by Peter Lovesey; and Julian Symons' ""The Boiler,"" the story of a loser who can't even manage to succeed at revenge. As for the Americans, Jack Ritchie and Joyce Harrington are in typical good form, Timothy Childs delivers a grisly black comedy, and Stanley Ellin is channing. So--along with a dozen other lesser efforts (including below-par Simenon and Westlake)--a classier and more varied group than usual . . . whoever may have put it together.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1981

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dial

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1981

Categories: FICTION