“The Roman Hat Mystery” is a detective fiction book written by Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee. The two were cousins and used the pseudonym, Ellery Queen. “The Roman Hat Mystery” features Inspector Richard Queen and his son Ellery Queen. The story takes place in a Broadway theater called the Roman Theatre in New York. On a rainy night, during “Gunplay!” a Broadway hit, an audience member falls dead, but no one notices until the show is over. It is up to Inspector Richard Queen and his son, Ellery, to solve the mystery. The most important piece of evidence is the victim’s, Monte Field’s, top hat. The readers are unable to notice this significant clue in the beginning of the book, and may think that it is unnecessary to have all the information about the top hat. However, as the book progresses, readers will realize why the details about the top hat were critical to solving the murder.
Monte Field is an attorney that has numerous enemies. But, a significant number of Field’s enemies are present in the Roman Theatre, which makes the case a dilemma. However, a crucial point in the murder, is that the victim’s top hat is missing. Nobody in the theatre carried an extra hat, nor was it found anywhere inside the auditorium. Inspector Richard Queen and his son, Ellery, continue to investigate and interview all the suspects and guests of the Broadway. The book itself is very perplexing because it contains numerous suspects that could be the murderer. Readers will have a difficult time trying to figure out who the killer is.
Overall, the book is very exciting and enjoyable to read. In mystery novels, it is a stereotypical thing to have theaters as crime scenes. Almost all mystery novel authors have at least one book that takes place in a theater. Although many authors have theaters as their crime scenes, all of the books have their own unique feature that makes them different. Read “The Roman Hat Mystery” to figure out its unique feature that makes it distinctive from other mystery books.
Review By ~ Jamie
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