{"product_id":"best-mystery-books-double-crossing-van-dine","title":"Best Mystery Books Double Crossing Van Dine","description":"\u003ch2 class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eDON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eAs the Golden Age of Mystery began to flourish, the books spread their wings and, in some cases, stretched believability. These authors sometimes shocked the readers, but at other times, the books seemed to be oh-so-similar to other mysteries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eOf course, Agatha Christie’s \u003cem\u003eThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd\u003c\/em\u003e fell into the former category. A hundred years later, readers are still fascinated by the solution to the story. At the time, people were up in arms about the “trick” in the story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eTo prevent another \u003cem\u003eAckroyd\u003c\/em\u003e, authors began to develop a code of fair play. What should the author do – and not do—to give the reader a shot at solving the crime? Ellery Queen issued a Challenge to the Reader, which informed them that all the clues had been presented.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eWriters have never been ones to color inside the lines, and being told not to do something brought out their creative ideas. Crippen \u0026amp; Landru presented \u003cem\u003eSchool of Hard Knox \u003c\/em\u003ein 2023, breaking all of Father Knox’s rules, and we’re publishing a second, similar volume this year.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIn the 1920s S.S. Van Dine wrote a list of twenty rules that must be followed. We’ve broken each of them. Willard Huntington Wright, who wrote as Van Dine, was not the usual mystery writer. He had written for literary magazines and lectured on philosophy before he had a breakdown in 1923. While he recovered, Wright completed the synopses for six novels featuring a dilettante sleuth, Philo Vance. Scribner was interested and thus began his twelve-novel career. The twenty rules were written in 1928, the same year as his third novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Greene Murder Case\u003c\/em\u003e. The article was published by \u003cem\u003eAmerican Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eIntroduction by Catriona McPherson\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eThe Chapbook is “The Vanity Murder Case,” a S.S. Van Dine pastiche by Jon L. Breen.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Crippen \u0026 Landru, Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Clothbound signed numbered with add'l chapbook","offer_id":67520039092269,"sku":"fen1789216865113","price":32.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Trade Paperback","offer_id":67520039125037,"sku":"bkl1789216865114","price":15.84,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0682\/3654\/1997\/files\/best-mystery-books-double-crossing-van-dine_1.jpg?v=1789216869","url":"https:\/\/www.marketandmuse.shop\/products\/best-mystery-books-double-crossing-van-dine","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}