S.S. Van Dine

• Mar-2026
• 

• Mar-2026
• 

• May-2025
• 

• Jul-2023
• 

Delve into the intricate world of the crime fiction genre as S. S. Van Dine provides an in-depth analysis and critique of what makes a great detective story.In this essay, S. S. Van Dine examines the various elements that make a brilliant detective n...

• Nov-2022
• 

• Feb-2020
• 

• 1939
• 

A murder in the mountains is the latest case for the Manhattan detective famed for his "highbrow manner and parade of encyclopedic learning" (The New York Times). Wealthy and worldly-wise detective Philo Vance has been asked to keep watch at a ho...

• 1938
• 

A horse race turns into a murder case . . . "Mr. Van Dine's amateur detective is the most gentlemanly, and probably the most scholarly snooper in literature." -- Chicago Daily Tribune Aristocratic detective Philo Vance has gotten ...

• 1938
• 

In this delightful outing, S. S. Van Dine introduces his real-life friend, comedienne Gracie Allen, into a Philo Vance mystery. The setting is New York City, but far from Philo Vance's typical milieu of Chinese antiquities, rare books, and esoteric s...

• 1936
• 

When a playboy is abducted, the highly educated detective "reveals himself as a gun-fighter who can pump hot lead with the best of them" (The New York Times). Recently returned from a refreshing sojourn in Egypt and on his way out the door to enj...

• 1934
• 

Bet on this Golden Age mystery from the author of The Dragon Murder Case. "One is tempted to say that this is the best of the Philo Vance stories." -- The New York Times The "tremendous popularity" of the Philo Vance series stems in part from au...

• 1933
• 

A whodunit that "presents a good puzzle, and that, according to Mr. Vance and his tens of thousands of readers, is what murder mystery books are for" (The New York Times). No question, The Dragon Murder Case showcases Our Philo at his most suprem...

• 1933
• 

A classic mystery featuring dogged detective Philo Vance. "An intricate puzzle . . . [Vance] has an uncanny insight into the subtler aspects of crime." -- The New York Times Given all the rich people getting bumped off in Philo Va...

• 1930
• 

These Egyptian hieroglyphics spell "murder." "Classic, almost textbook, golden age detective fiction. The plotting is ingenious and fiendishly convoluted." -- Vintage Pop Fictions In 1922, English anthropologist Howard Carter discovered the long...

• 1929
• 

A chilling nursery rhyme becomes the blueprint for murder in The Bishop Murder Case (1929), one of the most ingenious and suspenseful entries in S. S. Van Dine's celebrated Philo Vance mystery series. When a prominent scientist is found dead -- shot...

• 1928
• 

S. S. Van Dine's The Greene Murder Case (1928) stands as one of the most gripping and atmospheric novels in the acclaimed Philo Vance mystery series. A tale of greed, family betrayal, and relentless murder, this classic detective story transports rea...

• 1927
• 

Step back into the glittering world of 1920s New York in The Canary Murder Case, the second thrilling installment in S. S. Van Dine's legendary Philo Vance Mystery series. When a glamorous Broadway starlet -- known to her adoring public as "The Canar...

• 1926
• 

Brilliant amateur sleuth Philo Vance solves a puzzling murder in one of the most influential detective novels of the twentieth centuryAll of Wall Street and Manhattan high society is abuzz after playboy stockbroker Alvin Benson is discovered dead in ...

This early work by S. S. Van Dine was originally published in 1916 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introduction. 'Man of Promise' is one of Van Dine's earliest novels. S. S. Van Dine was born Willard Huntington Wright in Charlottesvil...