LITERARY REPUTATION IS AS FRAGILE in crime fiction as anywhere else, but the precipitous decline of Ellery Queen may be unique, one of the most total, and in some ways inexplicable, cases of devalued ...

Ellery visits a cousin in a tiny town. His aunt, a sprightly, lovable artist at age 91, is murdered. A tramp, John Kowalsyzk, is a suspect, and a posse is organized against Ellery’s wishes and forces ...