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The French Powder Mystery
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Series: Ellery Queen, Book 2
- Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins
- Categories: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, Mystery
Non-member price: $25.31
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Reading exceptional
- By Lancashire Lad on 06-01-2021
Publisher's Summary
French's department store was famous for the rare merchandise it offered its elite clientele. But no one there could be proud of its latest exclusive window display: the bloodstained corpse of the owner's wife. Ellery Queen and his father, Inspector Richard Queen, soon discover that this palace of commerce is a viper's nest of fear, jealousy, suspicion, and hatred, where love is cheap and the price of honor marked down. But worst of all is the mysterious mocking mastermind who is out to turn the glittering store into a bargain basement of murder.
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What listeners say about The French Powder Mystery
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kathi
- 29-03-2014
Mystery from the era of the classics
Although Richard Queen is actually the police inspector, it is his erudite, book-loving son Ellery who is the real sleuth in these stories. They are almost a century old, but have not lost any of the punch they must have had back in the 1920's.
In this book, a woman is murdered and discovered in a shocking place. Her husband is in his office having a business meeting at the time of the discovery--and immediately the detection begins. Everyone in the business faction, as well as family, become suspects (sooner or later).
The hallmark feature of the Ellery Queen works is that they are like cerebral murder puzzles. Ellery Queen professes to be interested in "ivory tower" kinds of ideas, peppers his conversation with latin and french comments, and would appear to be the least likely person to take an interest in something as far removed from that mindset as a police investigation. But since his father is working on solving cases, he brings his powers of deduction to the scene and proceeds to unravel what took place.
The beauty of this series is that the clues are always there for the alert reader to put together, just as EQ does. The difficulty with (at least this particular book) was (to me) that it dragged on a bit unnecessarily long. I was growing a bit weary of it by the end. However, I was not able (despite all the clues being right there) to figure out the murderer, almost until this person was revealed by Ellery, in an Agatha Christie style ending where everybody is brought together and the murderer revealed.
It is a fun read--with only the caveat that it seemed a bit excessively long. Recommend--great fun if you like the early mysteries from that era. Ellery Queen is like the American version of Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey.
13 people found this helpful
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- CuriousReader
- 11-10-2020
Racist product of its time
This series has not aged well. This book contains many negative racial stereotypes; in fact, it uses them for "humor." Avoid this series.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall

- Ralph
- 11-07-2016
Great Book
Great book. Read it non stop. Time to start another e q novel. Thank you
1 person found this helpful
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- Turtle
- 04-12-2020
Be aware
Be aware that you're listening to a book written ~80-90 years ago. No technology, misogyny the norm, racism the norm. Did not finish as was just too irritating. O.K. if you are able to look past the cultural differences.
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- Sam Walker
- 12-11-2020
Engaging all the way through
I am going through these early Ellery Queens for the first time. They are delightfully crafted, if spiced with some of the rascism of the day. The narration is clear, the pace solid. The feel is indeed of the roaring 20s here. Off to another one.
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- Karen Lo
- 14-10-2020
Good narrator, outdated characters
I’ve listened to the first two EQ books and that’s enough for me. Maybe they were more appealing and relatable when they were written. Now, I can’t connect to Richard Queen who has mood swings, can’t manage his feelings and reactions, doesn’t catch on to linear steps but apparently makes twisted leaps into the next dimension. There are certainly cultural/racial mentions that are unfortunately of their time. Which I could take in stride if I didn’t keep wishing that the chief of police should retire and go sell soft pretzels by the seaside.
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- Margaret
- 22-08-2020
Another fun Ellery Queen story
Nothing more entertaining than a period whodunit. Good Narrator with only a couple of mispronunciations (ignominy). Story is a bit repetitive in parts so it’s good for listening while doing yard work or painting.
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- Mary
- 29-09-2013
Nostalgia
Would you listen to The French Powder Mystery again? Why?
I first read these books 60+ years ago so this has been an indulgence in nostalgia.
While much seems dated, after ninety years the basic plot is still timely. So much
for the war on drugs.
What does Robert Fass bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I was concerned about listening to the book and were it available would have preferred
to read it again. The narrator does a good reading but sounds too old for Ellery.
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- M. Barnard
- 25-03-2018
A Painful Narration
Not a good reader for this sort of tale. It requires less of a thin, rather nasal delivery. It got on my nerves almost immediately. I won't be able to sit through the entire book.
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- Mark Liddicott
- 20-01-2021
Ellery
I love the Ellery Queen books and I recommend them to anyone who likes detective fiction.
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