A whodunit that &“presents a good puzzle, and that, according to Mr. Vance and his tens of thousands of readers, is what murder mystery books are for&” (The New York Times). No question, The Dragon Murder Case showcases Our Philo at his most supremely irritating. The book is set at a Manhattan mansion complete with picturesque pool. Into that pool dives Sanford Montague, never to be seen again. Fools rush to blame the supernatural, noting that the &“Dragon Pool,&” is supposedly home to a monster known to the Lenape Indians. Philo&’s not so sure: He is (of course) an expert on both dragons and the Lenape Indians, with a sort of sideline expertise in pools and fish. It is tempting to agree with Ogden Nash that &“Philo Vance needs a kick in the pance&”: and by the time you reach the end of Dragon, you will almost certainly want to point your boot at his posterior. But you will have had a swell time getting there, and we&’ve got a crisp greenback that says you&’ll be chuckling too hard to aim.Praise for the Philo Vance series &“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.&” —The New York Times &“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 &“Outrageous cleverness . . . among the finest fruits of the Golden Age.&” —Bloody Murder