The Egyptian Cross Mystery

An Ellery Queen Mystery, Book 5

By: Ellery Queen

Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse

Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

The Queens are intrigued when a grisly murder mars a small town's Christmas.

It's Christmas in Chicago, and Detective Richard Queen is enjoying a busman's holiday at a conference on gangland violence - but his son, amateur sleuth Ellery, is bored silly. Until, that is, Ellery reads of an unusual killing in rural Arroyo, West Virginia. A schoolmaster has been found beheaded and crucified. Ellery hustles his father into his roadster and heads east, since there is nothing he'd like better for Christmas than a juicy, gruesome puzzle.

When the Queens arrive in Arroyo, they learn that the victim was an eccentric atheist, but not the sort to make enemies. What initially looks to be the work of a sadistic cult turns out to be something far more sinister. In the months ahead, more victims will turn up all over the world - all killed in the same horrifying manner. It will take several bodies before Ellery divines the clue that unlocks the mystery of the Christmas crucifixion.

©1943 Ellery Queen (P)2013 AudioGO

how come this says optional, if required?

Quirky, intricate, just enough horror. (I think I put it succuntly enough not to need 20 words!)

Who is who?

great story, narrator better than when he narrated Calamity Town, but, he should research the book so he could pronounce words correctly.

Long and winding - but not suspenseful

I always love the Queens and their cast of peculiar characters but this one (true to life perhaps but bad for fiction) went nowhere forever. Hard to convey the author's frustration and perplexity without confounding the reader who has much less dedication. On the up side, I had plenty of time and tedium to pick out clues and rethink the facts, throw away buckets of herrings, and was still surprised by the ending.

More Convoluted and Less Satisfying

Compared to the previous four books, I found The Egyptian Cross Mystery to be more convoluted and less satisfying. While there were the usual Ellery touches, the final plot seemed rather contrived and padded. I won't post any spoilers, just that it wasn't bad, but it wasn't as good as the previous books. The narration was very good and pleasant to listen to.

Much too long. Labours the point.

I finished this book and was glad to end it. It could be half the length and more interesting.
It’s a gruesome story that has its roots in reality. If you enjoy procedural police/crime stories this one will interest you. There’s too much of it for me, but if you listen well and ask yourself some questions about the homicides you will be able to identify the culprit.

full of suspense, cleverly written

cleverly written and engaging. one of the best Ellery Queen thrillers I've read in the series. it encourages me to read more

an adequate entry in the series

It's an all right story but plays too fast & cute with the business with the story title. Other than the story title it was a fine mystery. You can see why they got away from the beginning title gadget McGuffin.

Loved it.

The story was long but had plenty of twists and turns. Like getting all the clues!

Very Bloody for an Ellery Queen

What did you like best about The Egyptian Cross Mystery? What did you like least?

The Ellery Queen stories are getting more gorey as the series goes on. Some of the "conclusions" drawn from the evidence are a little thin. Overall, it still had a nice way of twisting and turning at the very end.

Ten little Indians, sort of

I saw the ending coming a mile away. Of course I didn't know the motive, but I was waiting to see who the last man standing was, and then I knew which relative was the killer. All throughout the book, i kept thinking of ten little Indians, another cheat ending.

But some questions really bother me. Like who tended to the person in the cave when the murderer was away? Why didn't they notice the rope marks on his body? How did he go to the bathroom? Things like that make the solution wholly unsatisfying and unrealistic.