The KENNEL MURDER CASE

Rating:
Summary: Disappointment
Review: I have just finished reading this story, which was the very first Philo Vance mystery for me to encounter. The book was full of dull and rather pointless (at least to the plot of the story) information about Chinese ceramics and dog breeding. Vance's ramblings made it very difficult for me to get into the book, and I found myself sympathizing with Marcum and others when they were fuming over his endless and dull speeches. But I persevered and kept on reading, sure that all this would pay off to a wonderfully clever ending. And I do admit, that trick with the door lock was wonderful! But other than that, the ending was unsatisfactory and disappointing. I do not wish to spoil the story, but what happened to the dead body after it had been initially attacked? Oh, come on! I know that it could actually happen, but please, to bring that unusual an element into the conlusion of a mystery is just plain anticlimactic, though I understand the author's intention of surprising his readers.

Overall, the events of the story are not very well arranged, and although the events do come together at the end, it was not in a very satisfactory manner. Other than the ingenius door lock trick, the story was not really worth the time I spent in reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery from the Art Deco Era
Review: If you have a chance to read the Philo Vance mysteries, do so. They are wonder old thirty-style of mysteries. One of S.S. Van Dine's most famous mysteries in the Philo Vance series is The Kennel Murder Case from which the 1933 movie was made starring William Power as Philo Vance. In the movie, it seems that William Powell is more like his Thin Man character of which he was to star later than the character Philo Vance. Philo Vance is portrayed in all the books by Van Dine as a rather cynical upper-crust sort of fellow, lounging in the era of boot leg liquor and Art Deco.

Van Dine tells the story in the book by portraying himself as a character who is a close friend to Vance. Always being asked to help solve crimes by the New York police, Vance watches Van Dine solve complex and interesting murder cases.

Van Dine always throws in numerous suspects. In the Kennel Murder Case, Hilda Lake is angry that her uncle, Archer Coe, refuses to loan her any more money. Coe's brother, Brisbane (very Art Deco name) hates his brother for unknown reasons. Then there is Doris Delafield who throws him out of her apartment, and (instead of the butler), there is the Chinese cook who knows and resents that Archer is selling Chinese art treasures.

Then Archer Coe is found dead holding a gun in his locked bedroom by the butler. The police first report it as suicide, but then Philo Vance investigates and discovers it was a murder. But who did it, and how did do they in a locked room with no evidence of escape?

There are more red herrings thrown in, more dead bodies. But Philo Vance with his advanced wit and knowledge solves the case.

If you can get hold of these little gems, they are great reading.

Rating:
Summary: A hodgepodge of lectures on topics that no one cares
Review: The only contribution in this novel is the invention of a new gadget to bolt a door from outside, otherwise, it's worse than the worst of Carr's. The bookish van Dine almost turned a detective fiction into voluble lectures on dog breeding and Chinese ceramics. As to his "dead man walking" theory supported by several references, though a genuine eye opener, the story could well live without it.

Although I've no idea this novel or The Bishop Murder Case came earlier, van Dine's sleuth again employed his ultimate detection technique (see my review on Bishop Case). When one of the only 2 suspects was stabbed, anyone with half a brain knows the bad guy. What a disgrace!