Blast From The Past #3

Blast From The Past #3

The Roman Hat Mystery (1929)

by Ellery Queen

The poisoning of a disreputable lawyer named Monte Field in the Roman Theater in New York City during a performance of a play called "Gunplay!". Although the play is a sold-out hit, the corpse is discovered seated surrounded by empty seats. A number of suspects whose pasts had made them potentially susceptible to blackmail are in the theater at the time, some connected with the Roman Theater and some audience members. The case is investigated by Inspector Richard Queen of the Homicide Squad with the assistance of his son Ellery. The principal clue in the mystery is the disappearance of the victim's top hat, and it is suspected that the hat may have contained papers with which the victim was blackmailing the murderer.

Printing History

Written by Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred Bennington Lee (1905–1971)

USA Edition

Frederick A. Stokes

UK Edition

Gollancz

copyright 1929