Calamity Town

Ellery Queen, Book 16

By: Ellery Queen

Narrated by: Richard Waterhouse

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Looking for trouble, Ellery Queen descends on a small town.

At the tail end of the long summer of 1940, there is nowhere in the country more charming than Wrightsville. The Depression has abated, and for the first time in years the city is booming. There is hope in Wrightsville, but Ellery Queen has come looking for death.

The mystery author is hoping for fodder for a novel, and he senses the corruption that lurks beneath the apple pie façade. He rents a house owned by the town's first family, whose three daughters star in most of the local gossip. One is fragile, left at the altar three years prior, never to recover. Another is engaged to the city's rising political star, an upright man who's already boring her. And then there's Lola, the divorced, bohemian blacksheep. Together, they make a volatile combination. Once he sees the ugliness in Wrightsville, Queen sits back - waiting for the crime to come to him.

©2014 Ellery Queen (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Atmospheric story, small town murder

The early Queen tales were mostly puzzles. The middle period Queens are very different, focusing on characterization and the psychology of the characters involved. Calamity Town is set in the fictional New England town of Wrightville, and Ellery immerses himself with the Wright family and their troubles. Here he is not the aloof reasoner, but someone who cares deeply about the family, especially young Patricia Wright. There are, it seems, two types of narrators of audio books: the ones who simply read the book, and the ones that perform the book, giving each character life. Waterhouse is definitely the former type, but at least he has a pleasant voice and differentiates the different characters a little.

Unusual Ellery Queen

To begin with this reads like a novel. I am used to the " Inspector Queen and his son" type of mystery so this was unexpected. I love these mysteries, but I thoroughly enjoyed this as a change of pace. Ellery is a writer trying to get away to a nice quiet place to write his story. This town is anything but quiet as he soon discovers. He quickly becomes involved with the townspeople, their quirky ways, and of course, the murder. I highly recommend this book. It is a good mystery and the narration is excellent. Enjoy!

New location new version of storytelling

Enjoyable & while I was enjoying the newness of the changed environm ent I was able to puzzle out parts of the main puzzle but was left fuzzy on motives. Only at the end did it seem somewhat draw out.

A bit similar to Agatha Christie

This was a good start to Queen’s little block of books set in Wrightsville but contains a solution like his own but has an old Christie solution added. Not bad but too typical

Not your usual Ellery Queen

Not the usual smug Queen. This book has an intriguing and convoluted plot, full of emotional highs and lows. Stay with it to the very end.

Great!

Thought i had it figured out pretty early but too many twist and turns later i was still guessing.

Ellery scratches the itch

Loved the book. Richard Waterhouse is great narrating the different characters. Great twist in the plot. I seriously did not know who did it until the last chapter and why. This is the first book of the "Wrightsville" series and it is a stunner no doubt.

not my favorite, but good.

i prefered roman hat. this seemed out of character, but its good. it just wasnt my favorite queen story.

narration just might fit this story

I am in the first chapter and may not go on. This narrator is awful. He sounds like a high school kid auditioning for a part in a play. I hope the story will

carry his regrettable performance. I will edit my review . I finished. Not what I like.To each.his known.

Ellery Queen!

I liked the narrator and storyline. It was a convoluted mystery-just my type. Smashing!

A long but rewarding listen

I particularly liked the Courtroom chapters which, oddly, reminded me in some ways of Courtroom scenes in Anatomy of a Murder

One of the best Ellery Queens I have listened to

The plot is everything you wish for. The solution, when revealed at the end, was so obvious I wondered how I had missed it, yet I was guessing till close to the end.

The characters are well drawn, and the performance solid.