The Siamese Twin Mystery
The Siamese Twin Mystery is an English language American novel written in 1933 by Ellery Queen. It is the seventh of the Ellery Queen mysteries.
 First US edition | |
| Author | Ellery Queen |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ellery Queen mysteries |
| Genre | Mystery novel / whodunnit |
| Publisher | Stokes (US) Gollancz (UK) |
Publication date | 1933 |
| Media type | |
| OCLC | 1506529 |
| Preceded by | The American Gun Mystery |
| Followed by | The Chinese Orange Mystery |
Plot summary
Ellery Queen and his father are driving through a mountainous area of the United States on vacation when they are forced by a forest fire to seek shelter in a private home on the top of a mountain. The home soon becomes impossible to escape due to the fire. Dr. Xavier's aerie is host to an unusual assortment of characters, including his family and guests, a pair of teenage boys who are "Siamese" or conjoined xiphopagous twins, the doctor's assistant "Bones", who keeps burying mysterious parcels in the grounds, and another refugee who insists that his name is "Mr. Smith".
As the fire creeps towards the top of the mountain, first the doctor and then his brother are murdered. Each victim is found clutching half a playing card, and half of a jack of diamonds seems to indicate that one - but only one - of the Siamese twins is the murderer. The limited circle of suspects includes a kleptomaniac who steals only rings, and a blackmailer.
Ellery and his father investigate the murders and battle the fire at the same time. He performs an extended feat of deduction about the handedness of the murderer based upon the torn playing cards. The solution to the crimes is revealed in a dramatic finish when the flames reach the top of the mountain.
Literary significance and criticism
The character of Ellery Queen and the more-or-less locked room mystery were probably initially suggested by the novels featuring detective Philo Vance by S.S. Van Dine, which were very popular at the time. At this point in time, however, Van Dine's sales were dropping and Queen's were beginning to rise. This novel was the seventh in a long series of novels featuring Ellery Queen, the first nine containing a nationality in the title.
The introduction to this novel contained a detail which is now not considered part of the Ellery Queen canon. The introduction is written as by the anonymous "J.J. McC.", a friend of the Queens. Other details of the lives of the fictional Queen family contained in earlier introductions have now disappeared and are never mentioned again; the introductory device of "J.J. McC." lasts only through the tenth novel, Halfway House, then vanishes (though J.J. appears onstage in Face to Face in 1967).
The "nationality" mysteries had the unusual feature of a "Challenge to the Reader" just before the ending is revealed—the novel breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the reader, stating that all essential facts have been revealed and the solution to the mystery is now possible. The first paperback edition of this novel does not contain such a challenge, possibly because World War II paper restrictions in the United States meant that all unessential material must be trimmed.