The Kennel Murder Case

A classic mystery featuring dogged detective Philo Vance. "An intricate puzzle . . . [Vance] has an uncanny insight into the subtler aspects of crime." —The New York Times

Given all the rich people getting bumped off in Philo Vance's Manhattan, it's amazing there are enough left to support the symphony. Latest up: Arthur Coe, found dead in his own locked bedroom. Suicide? The ever-perceptive Philo doesn't buy that theory for a second. The presence in Coe's house of a strange, prize-winning terrier only adds to the mystery, although Philo's fabulously in-depth knowledge of dogs does not in fact solve the crime; his fabulously in-depth knowledge of the murder of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria in 1898 proves much more useful.


Like most of the Philo Vance novels, Kennel was made into a movie, directed this time by Michael Curtiz, who a few years later would turn his hand to a little number known as Casablanca. At least one critic has called the film a "masterpiece," and though we make no similar claim for the book, GoodMysteries.com, dedicated to the art of the classic whodunit, calls Kennel "one of the best locked-room setups ever written."

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


"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