Door Between Devil

The Door Between (1936) belongs to the vibrant, early period of Ellery Queen that spanned 1929 to 1939. The setting is an elegant house in Washington Square in New York City. The quiet, reserved Karen Leith had lived much of her early life in Japan, and her award winning novel, Eight-Cloud Rising, reflected her Oriental background. Her home was furnished with Japanese décor, complete with a magnificent garden. I found this Japanese motif rather interesting, as only a few years later the US and Japan would be at war. In this classic locked room mystery Karen Leith, dressed in a formal kimono, is found dead in her locked study without any trace of a murder weapon. The solution is fair (as it must be in a Golden Age mystery), but it does rely on a coincidental event that only becomes apparent late in the game. However, my slight reservations with Ellery's logic were subsequently washed away when Ellery reveals yet another solution, one that leaves Ellery facing a difficult ethical dilemma. It will be a rare reader indeed that will keep pace with Ellery's deductions. (4 stars) I found The Door Between in a 1980 Signet Double Mystery paperback that also contains The Devil to Pay (1937), another mystery with Ellery Queen. The Devil to Pay (1937), written the year after The Door Between, takes a less serious, light hearted approach to murder. Ellery Queen has been persuaded to rush to Hollywood to assist in writing a major production only to find that the producer is unavailable. Waiting for his first assignment, Ellery fortuitously becomes involved in solving a bizarre murder of a hard-hearted, unethical financier. The murder weapon is an Italian dueling sword of the seventeenth century; its tip is coated with molasses and cyanide. Ellery's remarkable reputation on the eastern seaboard is of little value in Los Angeles and he is ejected from the murder scene. Masquerading as Hilary "Scoop" King, a colorful investigative reporter, he regains access to confidential information regarding the crime. While a bit farcical, this device allows the story to proceed. (3.5 stars)