Customer Reviews

There was an old woman: A novel

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The Potts family sits atop a fortune built on selling millions of shoes but all is not well in their kingdom. The matriarch, Cornelia Potts is a bitter old hag, three of her six grown children appear to be insane while the remaining three start dying one by one. It's up to Ellery Queen and his father, the Inspector to solve the mystery but even Ellery is stumped to come up with answers amidst one of the most bizarre collection of suspects he's ever stumbled upon.

While I haven't read a great many Ellery Queen novels, I think I'm safe in saying that few of them have a more convoluted path to the ultimate solution, and few stumped Ellery for as long as this one did. Fortunately, the journey is an enjoyable one and the supporting cast is varied and interesting. The Potts household is filled with offbeat characters and Ellery even falls for one of them, which adds an interest element.

This book should please just about anyone looking for a good old-fashioned whodunit. Modern mysteries have largely abandoned this style of novel and I for one enjoy a detective story that focuses primarily on detection instead of police procedure, violence, suspense, and the other elements that are commonly added into the mix (although those can be very enjoyable in their own way as well). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in a good mystery whether you're a first time Ellery Queen reader or a long-time fan.