The Scarab Murder Case

The Scarab Murder Case (1929) is a classic whodunit written by S. S. Van Dine. In this book, detective Philo Vance's murder investigation takes place in a private home that doubles as a museum of Egyptology, and the solution depends in part on Vance's extensive knowledge of Egyptian history and customs, which enable him to sort through suggestions of godly vengeance and reveal the misdirections perpetrated by the real murderer.

For the film adaptation, see The Scarab Murder Case (film).
The Scarab Murder Case
First US edition
AuthorS. S. Van Dine
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesPhilo Vance
GenreMystery novels
PublisherErnest Benn (UK) & Scribner's (US)
Publication date
1929
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Preceded byThe Bishop Murder Case 
Followed byThe Kennel Murder Case 

Literary significance and criticism

Some reviewers "were disgusted by the author's bland insults to the reader's intelligence -- e.g., the heavy Egyptian statue in the gallery, upended on a piece of pencil and conveniently toppling on the designed victim. By that date they were fed up with the whole bag of tricks, which successive settings did not rejuvenate."[1]

Film adaptation

The Scarab Murder Case (1936) starred Wilfrid Hyde-White as Vance.

gollark: lyric badhis purging of <#614050573167362079> made me sadlyric badhis poor management during his long reign drove me mad
gollark: Yes, anarchy is bad, bees will be deployed, etcetera.
gollark: No. Deploying counterbees.
gollark: (warning:Do not bring monopole matter into contact with normal matter.Do not gather monopole matter into dense configurations: collapse into a black hole will occur even if the configuration is structurally stable.Construction of monopole matter may require star deconstruction and megascale structures.See your local physics provider for more information and local availibility.)
gollark: THE KNOWLEDGE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF UNLEASHING INDESCRIBABLE HORRORS THAT SHATTER YOUR PSYCHE AND SET YOUR MIND ADRIFT IN THE UNKNOWABLY INFINITE COSMOS.

References
  1. Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. A Catalogue of Crime. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8


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