The Benson Murder Case

by S. S. Van Dine

Overview

This book contains S. S. Van Dine’s 1926 mystery novel, "The Benson Murder Case". When a baffling murder case piques the interest of New York dilettante Philo Vance, he offers his assistance to the police, and his friend - District Attorney Markham. After reconstructing the crime, Vance is able to determine the murderer’s height and, together with Markham, sets of to investigate the victim's love interests and business associates. A thrilling and masterful mystery novel, "The Benson Murder Case" will appeal to lovers of detective and mystery fiction, and it is not to be missed by fans and collectors of Van Dine’s work. The chapters of this book include: “Philo Vance at home”, “At The Scene of the Crime”, “A Lady’s Handbag”, “The Housekeeper’s Story”, “Gathering Information”, “Vance Offers an Interview”, “Vance Accepts a Challenge”, “The Height of the Murderer”, etcetera. Many vintage texts such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive, and it is with this in mind that we are republishing this volume now, in an affordable, high-quality, modern edition. It comes complete with a specially commissioned biography of the author.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781443720816
Publisher:	Hesperides Press
Publication date:	11/04/2008
Series:	Philo Vance Series , #1
Pages:	432
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 1.13(d)

About the Author

S. S. Van Dine is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-World War I New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the immensely popular Philo Vance character, one of the most influential detectives in American mystery fiction and, in turn, in film and radio as well.

Editorial Reviews

"Mr. Van Dine’s amateur detective is the most gentlemanly, and probably the most scholarly snooper in literature."

Chicago Daily Tribune

"The Philo Vance novels were well-crafted puzzlers that captivated readers . . . the works of S.S. Van Dine serve to transport the reader back to a long-gone era of society and style of writing."

Mystery Scene

"With his highbrow manner and his parade of encyclopedic learning, Philo Vance is not only a detective; he is a god out of the machine."

New York Times

"The perfect sleuth for the Jazz Age"

CrimeReads

The perfect sleuth for the Jazz Age!” —CrimeReads

“Philo Vance is superb. He is destined for a place in the hall of fame reserved for the immortal sleuths of fiction” —Macon Chronicle-Herald

“A thriller the like of which has never been seen before” —Edmonton Journal

“A really entertaining baffler, which will test the detective powers of the best sleuths in the audience” —Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer

“Philo Vance is one of the most remarkable characters in the history of the detective novel” —Honolulu Star-Bulletin

“Has all the hallmarks of a ripping, puzzle-solving crime!” —Bloomsbury Reader

From the Publisher

With his highbrow manner and his parade of encyclopedic learning, Philo Vance is not only a detective; he is a god out of the machine.”

praise for the series New York Times

2022-05-11
The most polarizing detective from the golden age, or maybe ever, returns in this reprint of his debut appearance.

As both the first chapter and the introduction by Ragnar Jónasson make clear, Philo Vance is a languid Oxford-educated dilettante with an interest in art, philosophy, and contempt. So it’s only natural that Manhattan District Attorney John F.-X. Markham would indulge his friend’s desire to traipse along to the apartment of financial broker and man about town Alvin H. Benson, who’s been shot through the head as he sat reading in an easy chair (no rationale is given for the DA’s own need to be on the scene). Vance, accompanied by Van Dine, his legal adviser, agent, and virtually mute amanuensis, solves the crime, as it turns out, within five minutes. Instead of enlightening Markham or the Homicide Bureau’s Sgt. Ernest Heath, though, he stands idly by for nearly a week, bestirring himself only to scoff at Markham’s plans to arrest first Muriel St. Clair, who shared Benson’s last dinner, then her fiance, Capt. Philip Leacock, then Benson’s old friend Leander Pfyfe. When the action lags, Vance weighs in with opinions about classical music or the inferiority of Japanese to Chinese art or apothegms like “the only crimes that are ever solved are those planned by stupid people.” Vance pooh-poohs so many of the suspects that the identification of the last man standing will come as a surprise only to Markham. This first of his dozen cases was an instant bestseller in 1926, presumably because your great-grandparents were able to find real ingenuity in Vance’s scorn of material evidence in favor of high school psychology.

An acknowledged historical landmark whose insufferable hero retains all his power to annoy.

Kirkus Reviews