To Norbert L. Lederer Άγαθὴ δἑ παράφασίς έστιν έταίρου...

Murder most foul, as in the best it is; But this most foul, strange and unnatural. Hamlet...

Philo Vance. John F.-X. Markham. District Attorney of New York County. Mrs. Tobias Greene. The mistress of the Greene mansion. Julia Greene. The eldest daughter. Sibella Greene. Another daughter. Ada ...

It has long been a source of wonder to me why the leading criminological writers⁠—men like Edmund Lester Pearson, H. B. Irving, Filson Young, Canon Brookes, William Bolitho, and Harold Eaton⁠—have not...

When Chester Greene entered it was obvious he was under a nervous strain; but his nervousness evoked no sympathy in me. From the very first I disliked the man. He was of medium height and was borderin...

The Greene mansion⁠—as it was commonly referred to by New Yorkers⁠—was a relic of the city’s ancien régime. It had stood for three generations at the eastern extremity of 53rd Street, two of its oriel...

“The Mater’s a crabbed old soul,” Greene apologized offhandedly when we were again in the drawing-room. “Always grousing about her doting offspring.⁠—Well, where do we go from here?” Markham seemed lo...

Sibella entered with a firm, swinging gait, her head held high, her eyes sweeping the assemblage with bold interrogation. She was tall and of slender, athletic build, and, though she was not pretty, t...

Ada Greene’s room was simply, almost severely, furnished; but there was a neatness about it, combined with little touches of feminine decoration, that reflected the care its occupant had bestowed upon...

It was nearly five o’clock when we reached the Criminal Courts Building. Swacker had lit the old bronze-and-china chandelier of Markham’s private office, and an atmosphere of eerie gloom pervaded the ...

The day after we had taken leave of Markham at his office the rigor of the weather suddenly relaxed. The sun came out, and the thermometer rose nearly thirty degrees. Toward night of the second day, h...

At this moment Doctor Doremus, the Medical Examiner, a brisk, nervous man with a jaunty air, was ushered in by one of the detectives I had seen in the drawing-room. He blinked at the company, threw hi...

As Heath spoke Sproot passed down the hall and opened the front door, admitting Doctor Von Blon. “Good morning, Sproot,” we heard him say in his habitually pleasant voice. “Anything new?” “No, sir, I ...

Markham glanced impatiently at his watch. “It’s getting late,” he complained, “and I have an important appointment at noon. I think I’ll have a go at Rex Greene, and then leave matters in your hands f...

The inquiry was pushed according to the best traditions of the Police Department. Captain Carl Hagedorn, the firearms expert,14 made a minute scientific examination of the bullets. The same revolver, ...

The following Sunday evening, November 28, Markham invited Inspector Moran and Heath to the Stuyvesant Club for an informal conference. Vance and I had dined with him and were present when the two pol...

Markham had considerable difficulty in persuading Ada to accompany us. The girl seemed almost in a panic of fright. Moreover, she held herself indirectly responsible for Rex’s death. But at last she p...

When Snitkin and Burke had gone Vance turned from the window and strolled to where the doctor was sitting. “I think it might be well,” he said quietly, “if the exact whereabouts of everyone in the hou...

Markham and Vance and I had a late lunch at the Stuyvesant Club. During the meal the subject of the murder was avoided as if by tacit agreement; but when we sat smoking over our coffee Markham settled...

Eight o’clock that night found Inspector Moran, Sergeant Heath, Markham, Vance, and me seated about a small conference-table in one of the Stuyvesant Club’s private rooms. The evening papers had creat...

Vance, contrary to his custom, rose early the next morning. He was rather waspish, and I left him severely alone. He made several desultory attempts at reading, and once, when he put his book down, I ...

When we returned to Mrs. Greene’s room the old lady was apparently sleeping peacefully and we did not disturb her. Heath gave the key to Nurse O’Brien with instructions to replace it in the jewel-case...

The following day was one that will ever remain in my memory. Despite the fact that what happened had been foreseen by all of us, nevertheless when it actually came it left us as completely stunned as...

Markham brought us the news of Mrs. Greene’s death before ten o’clock the next morning. The tragedy had not been discovered until nine, when the nurse brought up her patient’s morning tea. Heath had n...

At six o’clock that evening Markham called another informal conference at the Stuyvesant Club. Not only were Inspector Moran and Heath present, but Chief Inspector O’Brien25 dropped in on his way home...

Saturday was the District Attorney’s “half-day” at the office, and Markham had invited Vance and me to lunch at the Bankers Club. But when we reached the Criminal Courts Building he was swamped with a...

The Boston Symphony Orchestra was scheduled that afternoon to play a Bach Concerto and Beethoven’s C-Minor Symphony; and Vance, on leaving the District Attorney’s office, rode direct to Carnegie Hall....

It was eight days before Vance returned to New York. He arrived on the afternoon of Monday, December 13, and, after he had had his tub and changed his clothes, he telephoned Markham to expect him in h...

“As you know, Markham,” Vance began, when we were seated about the library fire late that night, “I finally succeeded in putting together the items of my summary in such a way that I could see plainly...

It is, I hope, unnecessary for me to state that I have received official permission for my task. ↩ The Benson Murder Case (Scribners, 1926). ↩ The “Canary” Murder Case (Scribners, 1927). ↩ This was su...