The Kidnap Murder Case

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


image_caption =
author = S. S. Van Dine
illustrator =
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country = United States
language = English
series = Philo Vance
genre = Mystery, Detective Novel
publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
release_date = 1936
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 316 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by = The Garden Murder Case
followed_by = The Gracie Allen Murder Case

"The Kidnap Murder Case" is a 1936 murder mystery novel by S. S. Van Dine, the tenth of twelve books featuring fictional detective Philo Vance.

Plot summary

A member of the wealthy Kenting family is kidnapped, and Philo Vance's suspicions lead him to the victim's home, the "Purple House" on New York's 86th Street. A mysterious ransom note and the family collection of gems both play a part in the plot, which ends with the murderer's suicide with the connivance of Vance. "To be sure, the motive for the crime, or, I should say, crimes, was the sordid one of monetary gain ... through Vance's determination and fearlessness, through his keen insight into human nature and his amazing flair for the ramifications of human psychology, he was able to penetrate beyond the seemingly conclusive manifestations of the case." [Page 2, Van Dine, S. S. (1936). "The Kidnap Murder Case", (1948), first paperback edition, New York: Bantam #300.]

Literary significance and criticism

"The decline in the last six Vance books is so steep that the critic who called the ninth of them one more stitch in his literary shroud was not overstating the case." [Symons, Julian, "Bloody Murder", London: Faber and Faber 1972, with revisions in Penguin Books 1974, ISBN 0 14 003794 2]

References