The Spanish Cape Mystery

By Ellery Queen

Book Overview

A house party turns a millionaire's hacienda hideaway into a crime scene in this classic whodunnit from an Edgar Award-winning Grand Master

The Godfrey family is vacationing among the picturesque rocky cliffs of the North Atlantic seaboard, expecting peace, quiet, and, perhaps, a bit of golf or tennis. But one dusky evening in an isolated spot on the grounds of Spanish Cape, Rosa and her uncle David get into an argument about her secretive romance with one of their guests, the roguish John Marco, a handsome cad with a yellow roadster and no visible source of income. That's when a towering one-eyed man with a .38 revolver emerges from the twilight.

When renowned sleuth Ellery Queen arrives the next day from New York City, looking forward to a summer getaway on the coast, he realizes his trip will be no walk on the beach. Rescuing Rosa, he discovers her captor mistook David for John and struck the former down instead. But Ellery has more work to do when Rosa's shady sweetheart is found stone dead and stark naked . . . aside from a black fedora and a theatrical-looking opera cloak. There are plenty of guests and members of the household who might have wanted John dead, but who did it--and what in the world happened to the victim's clothes?

In this iconic series inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and praised by none other than Agatha Christie, carefully planted clues, logical deduction, and an atmospheric 1930s setting combine for an irresistibly enjoyable read for anyone who loves a murderous puzzle.

Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1613163606
• ISBN13: 9781613163603
• Release Date: November 2022
• Publisher: American Mystery Classics
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

"In the mountains of truth," Nietzsche wrote, "you never climb in vain."

I have to admit that I watched the movie first. They run parallel, but as with most movies, they are a pale reflection of the well-designed book. Ellery Queen and Judge McClain are on vacation at a seaside cottage near a cape called "Spanish Cape." Little did they know that they were going to be involved in a strange mystery with a mix of victims and suspects. We are used to mysteries like "And Then There Were None" where we get introduced to people upfront and know one of them is a ringer. This story, however, has many secretive people, and Ellery must extract the truth like pulling teeth. Part of the fun, or maybe a distraction, is that Ellery has a habit of quoting various writers, contemporary and from antiquity. If you read a lot of 20s mysteries, you will be o.k., but if not, you will need a dictionary on hand. We also hear in-depth explanations that may cause us to jump to conclusions, and in every chapter, we suspect a different person. The wonderful part of Ellery Queen books is that all the clues are there, and you are expected to extrapolate the solution to the mystery before Ellery reveals his logic.