9 h 34 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
A Broadway star lies strangled in her apartment, and the men around her have reasons to fear the truth.
In S. S. Van Dine’s The "Canary" Murder Case, New York’s theatre world becomes the setting for a deadly puzzle. Margaret Odell, the performer known as the Canary, is found dead. Her admirers include wealthy men and figures from the city’s shadier corners. Several have cause for anger or fear.
Philo Vance joins the investigation with a different kind of evidence in mind: human character. District Attorney John F.-X. Markham needs a case he can prove. Sergeant Ernest Heath trusts facts and witnesses. Vance questions what physical clues can really tell them, drawing the inquiry toward the minds behind the evidence.
What you’ll discover
- A puzzle with fair clues Follow the evidence and weigh the suspects as the investigation tests your own judgment.
- A detective of strong opinions Meet a learned amateur whose studies of art, philosophy, and psychology shape his approach.
- Broadway beyond the spotlight Enter a world where theatre, money, admiration, and fear meet around Margaret Odell.
- Minds against physical evidence Explore Vance’s belief that clues can be planted, misread, or deliberately left behind.
- A loyal witness nearby Follow the case through Vance’s lawyer friend, a modest narrator attentive to his methods.
Who will love it
For readers who love puzzles with fair clues, old New York, and detectives with strong opinions. It also suits anyone curious about how the golden age mystery took shape.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Broadway star is found dead
- Vance joins the official investigation
- The suspects and their secrets
- Vance prefers minds to fingerprints
- What the story is really about
- How the tale is told
Who’s who
- Philo VanceA rich, learned amateur detective who reads character instead of physical clues and wants to find the truth by understanding the minds of the suspects.
- John F.-X. MarkhamThe District Attorney of New York County, honest and careful, who needs a case he can prove and relies on his friend Vance.
- Sergeant Ernest HeathA blunt homicide policeman who trusts facts and witnesses, doubts theories, and wants an arrest he can defend.
- S. S. Van DineVance's lawyer friend, who tells the story and follows the case closely as a faithful witness to the detective's methods.
- Margaret OdellThe Broadway performer called the Canary, admired and envied in the theatre world, whose death begins the case.
Formats and delivery
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- Audiobook
- 9 h 34 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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Read and hear Le Meurtre du Canari in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Le Meurtre du Canari
by S. S. Van Dine · 1927
A Broadway star is found strangled in her apartment, and Philo Vance studies the suspects' minds to find her killer.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Canary Murder Case is a detective novel by S. S. Van Dine, the pen name of the American art critic Willard Huntington Wright. It appeared in 1927 and was the second book about Philo Vance, a wealthy amateur who solves crimes by thinking about people.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A Broadway star is found dead
The story opens with the death of Margaret Odell. She is a dancer and performer on the New York stage, and the public calls her the Canary. She lives in her own apartment on the West Side, and she has made a comfortable life out of her fame and her friendships. Then she is found strangled, and the news runs through the theatre district at once.
The tale is told by a lawyer who goes by the name S. S. Van Dine, the same name as the author. He is the close friend and legal adviser of Philo Vance. He is not a detective himself. He is the witness who follows Vance from room to room and writes down what is said. This device lets the reader stand beside the great man and hear his reasoning in his own words.
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What is The Canary Murder Case about?
It is a detective novel about the strangling of Margaret Odell, a Broadway performer nicknamed the Canary, in her New York apartment. Philo Vance helps the District Attorney sort through suspects and false trails.
Who is Philo Vance?
Philo Vance is the amateur detective of S. S. Van Dine's novels. He is a wealthy, educated New Yorker and art lover who solves crimes by studying the psychology of the people involved.
Who is S. S. Van Dine?
S. S. Van Dine is both the author's pen name and the name of the narrator, Vance's lawyer friend. The real author was the art critic Willard Huntington Wright.
The author
S. S. Van Dine
1888–1939 · American detective novelist
S. S. Van Dine was the pen name of Willard Huntington Wright, an American art critic and writer. He was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 1888 and died in New York City in 1939. He wrote detective novels, including The Benson Murder Case (1926) and The Bishop Murder Case (1928).
More by S. S. Van Dine
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