The Scarab Murder Case

infobox Book |
name = The Scarab Murder Case
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = An early edition cover
author = S. S. Van Dine
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Philo Vance
genre = Mystery novels
publisher = Ernest Benn (UK) & Scribner's (USA)
release_date = 1929
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = NA
preceded_by = The Bishop Murder Case
followed_by = The Kennel Murder Case

"The Scarab Murder Case" (1929) is a classic whodunnit written by S. S. Van Dine. In this book, detective Philo Vance 's murder investigation takes place in a private home that doubles as a museum of Egyptology, and the solution depends in part on Philo Vance's extensive knowledge of Egyptian history and customs, which enable him to sort through suggestions of godly vengeance and reveal the misdirections perpetrated by the real murderer.

Literary significance and criticism

The reviewers "were disgusted by the author's bland insults to the reader's intelligence -- e.g., the heavy Egyptian statue in the gallery, upended on a piece of pencil and conveniently toppling on the designed victim. By that date they were fed up with the whole bag of tricks, which successive settings did not rejuvenate."Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. "A Catalogue of Crime". New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989. ISBN 0-06-015796-8]

Film adaptation

"The Scarab Murder Case" (1936) starred Wilfrid Hyde-White as Philo Vance. Reportedly, no prints exist of this British production.

External links

* Reviewed by Mary Reed on the [http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=733 "Mystery*File"] blog.

References

Text

[http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200361.txt Text of the novel from Project Gutenberg, Australia]