The Roman Hat Mystery

By: Ellery Queen

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Despite the dismal Broadway season, Gunplay continues to draw crowds. A gangland spectacle, it's packed to the gills with action, explosions, and gunfire. In fact, Gunplay is so loud that no one notices the killing of Monte Field. In a sold-out theater, Field is found dead partway through the second act, surrounded by empty seats. The police hold the crowd and call for the one man who can untangle this daring murder: Inspector Richard Queen. With the help of his son Ellery, a bibliophile and novelist whose imagination can solve any crime, the Inspector attacks this seemingly impenetrable mystery. Anyone in the theater could have killed the unscrupulous lawyer, and several had the motive. Only Ellery Queen, in his debut novel, can decipher the clue of the dead man's missing top hat.

©2013 Ellery Queen (P)2013 AudioGO

Roman theatre and Top hat

my first Queen mystery, style circa 1929, 20 years before I was born. interesting look back to popular fiction of era. Good performance, storyline very dated. I will try a couple more by the author before I can decide yea or nay!

ok but....

Struggled to finish. I usually like these types of stories but this one was hard.

love mystery

I do enjoy a good mystery but this one went on a bit long of tooth. Not that I didn't enjoy listening to the story, but I almost finished before it ended.

A classic period piece

The first in the Ellery Queen series of novels is a classic of the genre. The whodunit style made quite a contrast from my recent diet of 1930s noir crime fiction. But the matter-of-fact use of contemporary realities - like hats! - in ways that seem crazy today offers similar pleasure to the noir scenes of cops pursuing gangsters on the running boards of flivvers.

Fun & Instructive

This cleverly written and engrossing mystery is also a ticket to travel to another era. The trip to the Roaring Twenties is revealing, endearing and, at times, disturbing. Truly worth the read.