The King Is Dead

From The Grand Master Edgar Award–winning author, Ellery Queen and his detective father investigate murder on a private island in this locked-room mystery.

Ellery Queen and his father are meandering through breakfast when their apartment is invaded. Without making a sound, two men appear in the Queens' living room, guns drawn, and proceed to search the place. When they're done, a third man follows: a paunchy little professor-type who happens to be the brother of a king. King Bendigo doesn't rule a country, but his control of the international arms trade has made him one of the richest men in the world. It's not surprising that somebody wants him dead.Bendigo's brother comes to the Queens to ask them to save the tycoon's life—but they fail. The king is found dead in a hermetically sealed room, a bullet lodged in his heart. The murder is impossible to solve—that is, for anyone but Ellery Queen.

Praise for the writing of Ellery Queen:

"Ellery Queen clearly is, after Poe, the most important American in mystery fiction." —Otto Penzler, editor of The Best American Mystery Stories

"A new Ellery Queen book has always been something to look forward to for many years now." —Agatha Christie

"Ellery Queen is the American detective story." —Anthony Boucher, author of Nine Times Nine