From Library Journal
In this detective story, Ellery Queen finds himself investigating the death of an eccentric millionaire who has hired Ellery's firm to find his heirs. A penniless actress and a mysterious European woman are transformed into heiresses with some very strange strings attached, including the requirement that they never marry. As Ellery's partner becomes increasingly attracted to the actress, and her life is repeatedly threatened, Ellery must get to the truth behind all the secrets. Naturally, this is all very dated, but in a charming way; one is jolted into remembering what "I made love to her" meant then! Blain Fairman has a pleasant, slightly high narrative voice and establishes characters with tonal changes. His diction is precise and clear, and he works a silky quality into his women's voices, which makes up for their being just a bit high-pitched at times. He imbues both Ellery and his partner with a down-to-earth directness. An engaging, comfortable mystery suited to large fiction collections. Melody A. Moxley, Rowan P.L., Salisbury, NC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Audio Partners deserves high praise for pulling together its catalog of semi-forgotten gems from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Among these is Blain Fairman's reading of Queen's 1939 novel about the young detective's search for true and worthy heirs to the fortune of a missing tycoon. The story is a light and amusing piece of pre-War frivolity, with Mr. Queen and his new partner, Beau Rummell, chasing clues, uncovering deceptions, and falling under the spell of gorgeous dames. Fairman matches the novel's peppery banter with his own and amusingly dandy, almost effete, style. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
