Customer Reviews

The Fourth Side Of The Triangle

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Written in the sophisticated style of the classic Queen morphed into a more knowing, sexually daring 60s setting, THE FOURTH SIDE OF THE TRIANGLE is a little more mechanical than usual. Would any district attorney, even in Manhattan, try first a man, then his wife, then his son, for the same crime? I don't think so, even though one marvels at the way Ellery Queen, or whoever wrote this potboiler, ultimately does his best to make it seem possible if not plausible.

The plot turns on a particular sexual quirk of the victim, a fashionable New York coutierere called Sheila Grey, that not many will find convincing, and it also depends on the way everyone is willing to believe that the millionaire dad, Ashton McKell, is actually impotent. I suppose the point is that no man would ever say anything like that about himself unless it was really true and he was backed into a corner? McKell's wife, Lutetia, is from the old school but I do not believe that any woman, even one who seems to have stepped out of Edith Wharton's imagination, would be reading, in 1965, a novel by "Mrs. Oliphant." Give me a break.

Also, I will add, apparantly written by Avram Davidson and not the original authors who wrote under the Ellery Queen psuedonym.Be that as it may, this is an intriguingly written mystery in four parts, each part focussing on one of the four principle characters. Ellery doesn't show up until the 2nd part and there's a rather humorous twist at the conclusion involving the actual solving of the case.It is spoiled to a degree by various flaws, but still is fun reading for Ellery Queen fans albeit a bit sophisticated compared to the earlier books.