The King Is Dead

by Ellery Queen

Book Overview

Armed men invade the Queen apartment, led by Abel Bendigo, brother of one of the world's most powerful men. King Bendigo of Bodigen Arms is an industrial monster whose tentacles embrace the planet. Someone is threatening to kill King, and Ellery must undertake to save his hated life. Virtual prisoners, Ellery and his father are whisked away to an island "somewhere in the Atlantic". In a frightening atmosphere of industrial slavery and brute militarism,...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451052900
• ISBN13: 9780451052902
• Release Date: December 1972
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Classic Locked Room Mystery

King Bendigo was the head of a powerful family-run company, with his own island kingdom. Ellery and his father are hired to keep him from being killed after a series of anonymous notes announces his impending murder. The good: The mystery. It's a logic puzzle of a mystery, the kind Ellery Queen is rightly famous for. The take-over-the-world conspiracy is a fun bonus. The bad: The murder, the solution, and the conspiracy are all over-the-top, but that's part of the series charm. The verdict: Don't expect in-depth characterization, and don't be surprised that it's dated (it's copyright 1952, after all). Just relax and enjoy a little mental puzzle.