The Finishing Stroke by Ellery Queen Narrator: Mark Peckham
Series: Ellery Queen #26
Published by Blackstone Audio, Inc. on May 1, 2014 (first published 1958)
Source: Purchased
Genres: Vintage Mystery
Length: 9 hrs 18 mins
Pages: 229
Format: Audiobook
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At the tail end of the Roaring Twenties, a birthday bash for publishing heir John Sebastian, Jr., perfectly coincides with the twelve days of Christmas. Among the twelve invited guests is Ellery Queen, a newly published mystery writer planning to enjoy every last minute. But when an uninvited Santa Claus shows up on Christmas Eve and then mysteriously goes missing, the party takes a disturbing turn. Threatening clues masked as gifts begin to appear under the tree, and Queen - a novice crime fighter on his first solo case - must try to solve the killer's puzzle before someone gets murdered.
After a dead body turns up, Queen is no closer to stopping the killer. If he can’t anticipate the next clue before it shows up, John Sebastian’s birthday will end up his funeral.
The Finishing Stroke is set primarily at Christmas-time, but bookended by a prologue set twenty-some years prior to the main events and a wrap-up that takes place over twenty years later. The bulk of the story takes place at Christmas, 1929. John Jr. has put together an extended Christmas party at the home of his guardian, Arthur Craig. We’ve got an assortment of guests, including John’s girlfriend, Rusty Brown and a few of their friends. There is also the family doctor, the family lawyer, a pastor and a publisher. And, of course, Ellery Queen. Sebastian announces that some important events will happen during the party. First, his book of poetry is being published by the House of Freeman. Second, January 6th is his twenty-fifth birthday and he’ll come into the trust fund that his father set up for him in his will. Third, he’s going to marry Rusty. There’s a final item, but he’s keeping that a secret for now.
But someone else has some surprises. On Christmas Day when Sebastian leads them all to the Christmas tree in the living room for gifts, they find the presents have all vanished. As they are musing over this, suddenly a fully costumed Santa Claus appears from the hallway, hands them all gifts, and vanishes just as suddenly. Ellery becomes concerned when no one admits to being Santa, and even more so when laster a dead man is found under the Christmas tree, a man no one admits to knowing. Then the mystery gifts begin. Eachh night a gift appears with Sebastian’s name, with the tone of the gifts becoming more and more menacing. And then there’s a second murder.
In 1957, the case has reminded unsolved. Ellery receives a phone call the re-ignites his interest. Ellery is a bit too clever for my taste and a little too full of himself. I feel like he’s supposed to be charming and funny, but I just don’t love him. The solution is a bit convoluted and not something I could have guessed at- the knowledge you needed to put it all together was just too obscure.
About Ellery Queen
“Ellery Queen” was a pen name created and shared by two cousins, Frederic Dannay (1905-1982) and Manfred B. Lee (1905-1971), as well as the name of their most famous detective. Born in Brooklyn, they spent forty two years writing, editing, and anthologizing under the name, gaining a reputation as the foremost American authors of the Golden Age “fair play” mystery.
Although eventually famous on television and radio, Queen’s first appearance came in 1928 when the cousins won a mystery-writing contest with the book that would eventually be published as The Roman Hat Mystery. Their character was an amateur detective who used his spare time to assist his police inspector father in solving baffling crimes. Besides writing the Queen novels, Dannay and Lee cofounded Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential crime publications of all time. Although Dannay outlived his cousin by nine years, he retired Queen upon Lee’s death.
Several of the later “Ellery Queen” books were written by other authors, including Jack Vance, Avram Davidson, and Theodore Sturgeon.
I have been meaning to read this for a while, because of the Christmas setting, so I was glad to see your review. Now I have more of an idea of what the story is like.
You do have to remember that this is only the second Ellery Queen I’ve read. I know there are people who really enjoy his books, I’m just not one of them yet.
Wow! This sounds interesting.
I like the “gift every evening” set up.