The Bishop Murder Case

By S.S. Van Dine

Book Overview

In one of the most well-known classic American murder mysteries, amateur detective Philo Vance must solve a puzzle series of crimes based on nursery rhymes

"The perfect sleuth for Jazz Age New York" -- CrimeReads

"With his highbrow manner and his parade of encyclopedic learning, Philo Vance is not only a detective; he is a god out of the machine" -- The New York Times

A series of gruesome murders has left the glittering world of Jazz Age Manhattan in shock.

When Cock Robin is found dead with an arrow through his chest, New York's DA calls in amateur detective and professional fl neur Philo Vance to solve the case. But this mystery proves to be more challenging than Vance could have imagined, and a cunning presence seems to be constantly one step ahead of him. As Vance investigates, more gruesome murders occur, and a sinister pattern begins to emerge: each perverse death is staged to represent a line from a nursery rhyme.

In an even more disturbing twist, after each murder, the perpetrator sends a note to the press, signed simply 'The Bishop.' As more deaths go unsolved, the murderer's hubris grows, and each act is more brazen than the last. Vance must move quickly to stop the Bishop's bloody spree among the upper echelons of New York society.

Set against the glittering backdrop of Jazz Age Manhattan with a distinctive and erudite detective, this is considered one of the great classic detective stories. This intricate and skillfully crafted murder mystery is sure to delight any armchair detective.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1805335367
• ISBN13: 9781805335368
• Release Date: November 2025
• Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Mathematics and Nursery Rhymes = Good Myster

The Bishop Murder book focuses around a series of murders that are connected to nursery rhymes in the house of a mathematics professor. All of the victims are themselves mathematicians, and Philo Vance is attracted to this case because of mathematics solutions are connected to these nursery rhymes. He solves the equations, thereby producing the murderer. Philo Vance in his complex explanation of the crime says, "In order to understand these . . . we must consider the stock-in-trade of the mathematician, for all his speculations and computations tend to emphasize the relative insignificance of this planet and the unimportance of human life." This is the focus of the mind and personality of Philo Vance, the human intellect at work solving the crime.

Mathematics and Nursery Rhymes = Good Mystery

This book is the first of Van Dine's mysteries, and it introduces Van Dine's sleuth, Philo Vance. Vance is a wealthy, but rather cynical, connoisseur in the arts and finer things of life. He has another hobby, though, helping the New York assistant district attorney solve complex murders. This book focuses more on Philo Vance, showing the reader what to expect in the mysteries to follow. S.S. Van Dine, whose real name was Willard Hunting Wright, while writing mysteries, was also an art critic, and it shows in this book. The whole first chapter concerns Vance's view of the art world. This book plot, though, focuses around a series of murders that are connected to nursery rhymes in the house of a mathematics professor. All of the victims are themselves mathematicians, and Philo Vance is attracted to this case because of mathematics solutions are connected to these nursery rhymes. He solves the equations, thereby producing the murderer. Philo Vance in his complex explanation of the crime says, "In order to understand these . . . we must consider the stock-in-trade of the mathematician, for all his speculations and computations tend to emphasize the relative insignificance of this planet and the unimportance of human life." This is the focus of the mind and personality of Philo Vance, the human intellect at work solving the crime.

5 Stars for Silliness

"Cozy" mysteries don't get much sillier than this, but it's probably the most entertaining of the Philo Vance novels in spite of the hokum. Ultimately, nearly all of the suspects are killed off, so figuring out whodunit isn't a major...uh, undertaking. But if you enjoy a good old-fashioned mystery, complete with bizarre (and not quite believable) goings-on, you'll probably like this one.

Van Dine A Master-Juggler

S. S. Van Dine was one of the leading practitioners of the American detective story, and who inspired Ellery Queen and C. Daly King to write. This book, dealing with a series of murders taking place at secluded houses along Riverside Drive, New York, is similar to Van Dine's earlier "Greene Murder Case," in that the murders are committed to a pattern - in the former book, Grost's handbook on criminology; in "Bishop," according to Mother Goose (the original title was "The Mother Goose Murders," though Van Dine changed them, as he did not want his readers to believe that he was writing for children). Besides being one of the first of the nursery-rhyme murders (c.f. both Agatha Christie and Ellery Queen), the book is also ingenious and bizarre, both in the commission of the murders and the unmasking of the murderer. Some of the scenes, though, owe small ideas to H. C. Bailey, as in the "Little Miss Muffet" murder (c.f. "The Violet Farm," "The Little House," "The Bird in the Cellar," etc.). People have claimed to view Philo Vance as an infuriating snob, but he is no worse in this respect than Dorothy L. Sayer's Peter Wimsey, and a great deal better - Van Dine, for one, did not think of Philo Vance as the ultimate lover. In short, plenty of detection, plenty of atmosphere (despite Van Dine's rules, contained in "The Winter Murder Case"), and a fascinating glimpse of old-fashioned New World.