The Ellery Queen TV show got me interested, and though the character in the TV show and the book were not quite the same, I soon devoured the whole series – haunting libraries all over the area to find lesser known titles.

But after that first passionate year or two of reading, I haven’t actually looked at any of the Ellery Queen books since.  I had a vague memory of a very old-fashioned clue-based series, and maybe I was afraid that they wouldn’t stand up to my memory.  But recently I decided to go back and read them again, so I picked up one of the first Ellery Queen’s I had ever read – The Chinese Orange Mystery.

I was not disappointed.

Sure, the style was a little old-fashioned, an it was a little slow to get moving, but it was fun, and I was drawn once again to the great relationshop between the effete, bookish Ellery and his no nonsense father, Inspector Queen.  That relationship is the heart of this series and I have to say that Inspector Queen has a habit of stealing the show (especially when Ellery gets a little annoyingly coy about his conclusions.)

In The Chinese Orange Mystery, an strange little man no one can identify is murdered while waiting to see a wealthy publisher.  Everything in the room, from the man’s clothing to the furniture, has been carefully turned backwards.  Why?  This story drags a little as Queen grasps at straws, trying to find connectins between backwards elements of any sort.  Red Herrings pop up and go away, but soon Ellery and his father start to dig up all sorts of tangles in the relationships among the publisher’s friends and family.

If you are interested in classic mystery, this is the stellar example of the early Ellery Queen stories.

First Light by Craig and Tapply

When it comes to mystery books for real summer reading, you can’t beat Philip R. Craig and his mystery pi series about J.W. Jackson – a professional beach bum on Martha’s Vineyard (once a cop who was shot in the line of duty and had to retire young).  As J. W. goes around digging quahogs and surf casting for bluefish, he is called upon to investigate disappearances and crimes.

Second Sight by Craig and Tapply

Reading these books are like sitting on the beach.  You can taste the salt water and hear the surf and the gulls.  Even so, there is a slightly hard-boiled edge to these mystery books.

A few years ago Craig teamed up with fellow writer William Tapply, and they wrote a mystery novel that involved both of their characters – J. W. Jackson, and Tapply’s lawyer detective, Brady Coyne.  First Light was a perfect blend.  Brady comes to the Vineyard to get in some fishing and help a dying client sort out her will.  J. W. is his host and guide in the fishing tournament, and has his own case trying to locate a missing woman.  When the nurse of Brady’s client disappears under very similar circumstances, their cases tie up together as tightly as a fishing line.

Third Strike by Craig and Tapply

I’ve never read another Tapply mystery novel, but I think I’ll have to try soon. First Light and the next book, Second Sight, are written by both authors, trading off an on with each of their characters narrating a chapter.  The stories they tell overlap and go back in time and play artfully with your expectations.

I’m only a short way in to Second Sight, but already enjoying it as much as the first.  The setting this time is a big festival and concert being held on the island.  J.W. has been hired to drive a famous pop star around the island, and help her look for the leader of a famous ashram, while Brady has been asked to fine a runaway teen who may be on the island for an event too.

And they’ve just discovered the first body.  Gotta get back to it….

(Oh! And I just discovered the third mystery book in this series is out. It’s called  Third Strike, and I’m licking my chops.)