The first best-selling title in S.S. Van Dine's series of Philo Vance detective mysteries, The Benson Murder Case (1926), was inspired by the real-life unsolved murder of Joseph Bowne Elwell (1873-1920) in which the victim was shot from within his locked house. Intellectual dandy and amateur sleuth Vance - 'a man of unusual culture and brilliance' - finds the case of murdered playboy stockbroker Alvin Benson fascinating, the missing toupee and false teeth being especially curious... Vance kindly comes to the aid of his friend District Attorney Markham and sets about tracking down the killer using his cerebral powers of deduction in contrast to the short-sighted methods of the police.
A specially commissioned biography of the author and a glossary of Victorian and Literary terms make this new edition essential for all classic crime fans!
