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| Willard Huntington Wright, 1888 – 1939 |
The Benson Murder Case
S. S. Van Dine
1926
4/5 stars
This is the first in the series featuring amateur detective Philo Vance. Van Dine (pseudonym for American art critic Willard Huntington Wright) was a popular and best selling author, whose Philo Vance books became movies and radio programs.
While an arrogant, foppish aesthete, Vance is nonetheless appealing for his intellect, perspicacity, and surprising amount of compassion. While not fully fleshed out in this early novel, the reader can still see facets to his personality.
The plot was intriguing and entertaining. There were many possible believable solutions, and only rarely did Vance seem to pull a clue from thin air. On the whole, this is a well-written, interesting, and intelligent mystery and I look forward to reading more of the series.
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