* * *

  Dell Magazines

  www.dellmagazines.com

  Copyright ©2005 Dell Magazines

  * * *

  NOTICE: This work is copyrighted. It is licensed only for use by the original purchaser. Making copies of this work or distributing it to any unauthorized person by any means, including without limit email, floppy disk, file transfer, paper print out, or any other method constitutes a violation of International copyright law and subjects the violator to severe fines or imprisonment.

  * * *

  CONTENTS

  Ellery Queen and His Fans by Marvin Lachman

  2005 EQMM Readers Award Ballot

  Fred Dannay and Me by Edward D. Hoch

  Honor Code by Joyce Carol Oates

  Home by John Harvey

  With a Twist by J. A. Konrath

  To Sleep, Perchance to Die by Brynn Bonner

  Warrant to Search by Donald Olson

  The Gravesend Trumpet by Edward D. Hoch

  Tunnel Girl by Jeffery Deaver

  Wedding in Voerde by Gunter Gerlach

  The Jury Box by Jon L. Breen

  Yule Be Sorry by Lisa Atkinson

  * * * *

  Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

  December 2005

  Vol. 125 No. 5

  Dell Magazines

  New York

  Edition Copyright © 2005

  by Dell Magazines, a division of Crosstown Publications

  Ellery Queen is a registered trademark of the Estate of Ellery Queen

  All rights reserved worldwide.

  All stories in Ellery Queen's

  Mystery Magazine are fiction.

  Any similarities are coincidental.

  Ellery Queens's Mystery Magazine

  ISSN 1054-8122 published monthly except for double-issues of March/April and September/October.

  Janet Hutchings: Editor

  Lauren Kuczala: Managing Editor

  Carole Dixon: Production Manager

  Victoria Green: Senior Art Director

  Shirley Chan Levi: Asst Art Director

  Abigail Browning: Sub-Rights & Mktg

  Scott Lais: Contracts & Permissions

  Peter Kanter: Publisher & President

  Bruce Sherbow: VP of Sales & Mktg

  Sue Kendrioski Dir of Art & Production

  Julia McEvoy: Print Advertising Sales

  Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine

  Editorial Correspondence only:

  475 Park Avenue South

  New York, NY 10016

  ElleryQueen@dellmagazines.com

  Subscriptions to the print edition

  One Year $29.97

  Order online at themysteryplace.com/order/ or call toll free 1-800-220-7443

  Or mail your order to Ellery Queen,

  6 Prowitt Street

  Norwalk, CT 06855-1220

  Ellery Queen and His Fans by Marvin Lachman

  It started in 1943 with this eleven-year-old listening to the Saturday-night radio program The Adventures of Ellery Queen. I was mesmerized by the mystery plot and the chance, when a challenge to the listener was issued, to try to guess the identity of the murderer. (I was wrong.) I became a regular listener to the radio show and soon was reading the Queen novels and short stories. The “Challenge to the Reader” in the former had a special appeal in allowing me to match wits with an author who played fair with the reader by presenting all the clues that Queen, the detective, would use to solve the case. I especially liked the first nine Queen titles, with The Egyptian Cross Mystery (1932) a special favorite for its bizarre series of crimes, rich plotting, and virtuoso reasoning by Ellery in solving the case. I found the Queen short fiction of the 1930s equally engrossing, especially “The Lamp of God” (1935), in which the crime involves a house that has disappeared!

  Eventually, Ellery Queen began writing a different type of detective novel, and when I read Calamity Town (1942) I realized that the kind of complex detective puzzle I loved could coexist with in-depth portrayal and a detailed picture of a location, in this case the typical New England town: Wrightsville. Even better was Cat of Many Tails (1949) with its splendid picture of New York City terrorized by a random serial killer. So good was Queen's characterization that even the victims, some of whom never appear in the book while they are still alive, seemed real.

  I later learned that I was not the only person to be “hooked” on detective fiction by reading Ellery Queen at an early age. This magazine's most prolific author, Edward D. Hoch, read Queen's The Chinese Orange Mystery when he was nine. Other young readers of Queen who went on to write their own fiction include James Yaffe, Francis M. Nevins, and Jon L. Breen. Nevins and Breen have also written Edgar-winning books about the mystery. More important are the countless ordinary readers who are not professional writers but whose introduction to the adult mystery was Ellery Queen.

  I read and collected each novel and each issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine as it appeared. I even went back to repurchase the books and magazines that were lost when my parents moved while I was in the Army. Because there was no organized mystery fandom, I never talked about Queen (or detective stories) to anyone until 1967 when Allen J. Hubin (later a reviewer for EQMM) founded a fan magazine, The Armchair Detective. I wrote for it and Lianne Carlin's The Mystery Reader's Newsletter, founded at the same time. I finally met other fans when they visited New York, where I then lived.

  The ultimate Queen fan, The Reverend Robert E. Washer of Oneida Castle, New York, even founded a magazine, The Queen Canon Bibliophile (TQCB), devoted to Queen. Its first issue in 1968 included an article by Joe R. Christopher, who interrupted work on his doctoral dissertation in Texas to write about Inspector Richard Queen. Breen wrote a letter from Vietnam, where he was stationed in the Army. Nevins began the series of articles about Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee and their work that led to his book Royal Bloodline (1974), winner of a special Edgar from Mystery Writers of America.

  I met Washer in 1968 when he came to the New York area to meet Dannay and Lee in person. In 1969 my wife and I began hosting a series of Mystery Readers’ Parties for fans and writers, and we found almost all were devoted to the work of Ellery Queen.

  The introductions Dannay wrote for stories in EQMM and in the anthologies he edited attracted me to mystery scholarship. I found it fascinating to learn about writers and detectives and to share that information. I eventually wrote hundreds of reviews and articles for fan magazines as well as reference books about the mystery. I wrote an article for TQCB about Ellery Queen's New York, my first writing about regional mysteries, an article that eventually led to my book The American Regional Mystery (2000). I also wrote a history of EQMM and later found that there were other fans of the magazine so devoted that they prepared bibliographies of its issues. Forrest T. Athey of Bayside, New York, prepared one for his own use. John Nieminski of Chicago compiled one that was published by The Armchair Detective Press in 1974.

  "Professional pressures and personal illness” caused Washer's TQCB to appear irregularly; sometimes as long as nine months passed between issues. However, Washer never lost his enthusiasm for Queen. When his son was born on November 13, 1969, he was named Frederic Lee Washer, after Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee. Eighteen months later, Washer was writing poignantly of the death of Manfred Lee.

  For the eighth issue of his magazine in 1971, Washer improved the title to The Ellery Queen Review. He had every intention of continuing it. When Dannay was Guest of Honor at the 1972 Bouchercon in California and was unable to attend due to illness, Washer flew there to speak in his place, telling of the influence of Ellery Queen and Anthony Boucher on his life. However, Washer's own illness limited his involvement in fan activities after that, and that eighth issue was his last.

  Many of the most devoted Ellery Queen fans are still alive and active, and they appeared when a centenary Queen symposium was held in April 2005 at Columbia University. Perhaps there are new future fans waiting to be heard from, some even as young as Edward D. Hoch was when he first read Queen. They may just be waiting for the works of Ellery Queen to be back in print.

  Copyright (c) 2005 Marvin Lachman

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  2005 EQMM Readers Award Ballot

  If 2004 had a theme, it was Movies. In celebration of EQMM's role in the Stephen King movie Secret Window, we featured interviews with the film's actors, director, and producer, a big-screen review, and an article about the movie's production-design team. Though we are eager to gauge reader response to this special nonfiction, none of this material is eligible for the Readers Award. The first, second, and third place spaces on this ballot are reserved for fiction only. But don't worry: If you are anxious to comment on our movie-related nonfiction, an additional space has been provided for that purpose at the bottom of the ballot. Please use it to tell us whether you'd like movie reviews, articles, or interviews to become a permanent EQMM department.

  Whatever enhancements EQMM may make to its nonfiction departments, we never lose sight of the fact that our main business is fiction. And what a year 2004 was for fiction. In anywhere from three pages to thirty-five, eighty-five different authors delivered riveting tales that ranged from cozy to hardboiled, whodunit to psychological suspense. The year was notable for an exceptional number of writers new to EQMM, be they from overseas (as in Passport to Crime), making their fiction debut (as in the Department of First Stories), or just finding a new home in our pages. We hope the index pro
vided on pages 141-143 will prove especially helpful this year, when there are so many new names to be remembered and considered.

  The EQMM Readers Award is presented each May at a cocktail party preceding the Edgar Allan Poe Awards banquet in New York City. It has come to be one of the most pleasurably anticipated events of the extended festivities we call “Edgars” week. Let your voice be heard when authors from all over the world converge to salute their peers; fill out and return this ballot so that the plaque we give the winner next May represents you.

  The rules for 2004 are as follows: Spaces are provided for first, second, and third place selections, but you may vote for just one story or just two, if you prefer. A point system will apply in counting the total number of votes received, with all first place choices receiving three points, second place choices two points, and third place choices one point. The story receiving the highest number of points will be the winner.

  If you can't recall a story title or its author, describe the plot as briefly as you can. Return the ballot itself (no copies will be accepted) to the address below, postmarked no later than the December 31 deadline.

  The 2004 EQMM Readers Award-winning story will be announced in the May 2005 issue. If you would like to learn the results of the voting before the May issue goes to subscribers and newsstands, send a standard-sized stamped envelope with your name and address (include it with your ballot if you like) and you will hear back from us by late January.

  My first selection for the 2004 EQMM Readers Award is:

  My second selection is:

  My third selection is:

  Would you like to see more movie reviews and interviews?

  Comments:

  Other Comments:

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Fred Dannay and Me by Edward D. Hoch

  Looking over the more than sixty letters, most handwritten, that I received from Fred Dannay during the years 1949 to 1971, I am reminded of the wide range of our correspondence.

  It started when I was a mere nineteen years old, inquiring about the value of a first American edition of The Moonstone which I'd recently found in a local bookstore. He sent me a lengthy reply, typewritten and “dictated over the telephone” to his secretary, Connie DiRienzo. This letter was dated December 29, 1949. The next one, dated March 16, 1950, answered my question regarding a paperback collection, The Case Book of Ellery Queen. By August 10 of that year, replying to another of my bibliographic letters, I'd become “Dear Ed” after we'd met at an MWA meeting I attended as an affiliate member.

  Through all this period I was trying unsuccessfully to sell a story to EQMM. But it wasn't until 1962, after my first sale, that the letters began coming directly from Fred, usually handwritten, occasionally typed. He suggested several changes for the second story he purchased and I agreed to them, somewhat reluctantly. He wrote on 11/30/62 to say, “I think the new version of the last page is fine!” Since the story has been reprinted several times, I guess he was right.

  On 12/16/62 he wrote a long letter to explain why he was returning my story “The Trojan Dove” even though he wished he could publish it. It dealt specifically with the Berlin Wall, and he wrote, “It is very dangerous for EQMM to publish topical stories, especially if they are political in theme.” Apparently he thought the story might be outdated by the time it appeared, but fifteen years later the wall was still standing when Mike Shayne finally published the story as “The Wooden Dove."

  When Fred purchased the first two stories in the long series featuring my British cipher expert Rand, he made various changes, shortening his original name of Randolph and changing my titles “The Friday Night Club” and “The Monday Morning Message” to “The Spy Who Did Nothing” and “The Spy Who Had Faith in Double-C.” I could hardly abandon the series when he concluded one letter, “I look forward eagerly to the third story in the series—keep up the quality!” This was my first real series for EQMM, but he cautioned, “...don't let this keep you from sending us non-spy stories."

  At first Fred was reluctant to publish my Leopold stories because he preferred exclusive use of a series and Leopold was appearing regularly in The Saint Magazine, but he finally used one in 1965. Also in ‘65 he bought my first Nick Velvet story, commenting that it was “a good idea for a character, and he definitely has series possibilities.” At first he wanted me to use a pen name for the Velvet stories, but finally decided to use my real name.

  In those early days of selling to EQMM, Fred's suggestions for changes were numerous and often covered two pages. For the most part they were minor points, but he always had a good reason for each one. He was very careful about the stories the magazines published, but assured me he wasn't being a “fuddy-duddy."

  Our correspondence often drifted off into discussions of the Ellery Queen novels and in thanking me for my comments on Face to Face he mentioned that “The next EQ novel will be a ‘wild’ one—that is, for us.” It seems a reference to Cop Out, an unsuccessful 1969 suspense novel without Ellery or any detection.

  Fred wondered what my favorite Queen novels were. On 3/10/67 he wrote, “...my own personal favorite (That is, the one that meant the most to me personally) was And on the Eighth Day (which I consider the most unusual detective novel in a long time—one that broke down barriers of technique and meaning—but no one seems to agree with me!)” After I replied, he wrote on 3/16/67, “Well, it looks as if we have embarked on a long, and perhaps deep, correspondence.... First, about And on the Eighth Day. You could not possibly realize how much I appreciate your comments. This book was the most meaningful EQ novel we've ever done (in my opinion), and when it failed (as it really did) I was (and still am) close to despair."

  Later in the same letter he writes, “You're right about the interrupted-wedding scene—you have a damn good memory: it was used in There Was an Old Woman, but it was too ‘right’ to be passed up for Face to Face. (I think it is the only time in all these years that we ‘cannibalized’ ourselves—and you spotted it!)"

  In a letter dated April 5, 1967, Fred revealed in answer to my question that he'd “written two other books but both are unpublished. Both were submitted under pseudonyms, so there was no connection with FD or EQ. One is an ‘experimental’ novel; I'm afraid it was too experimental for commercially-minded publishers. The other is the major work of my life (in my opinion); publishers were generally unresponsive and/or uninterested. This book is still a ‘work in progress'—I keep revising it, and hope to devote a good part of this summer to it. Who knows?—someday..."

  Another letter outlined Fred's work methods with Manny, and dealt with the Ellery Queen paperbacks, information that was not widely known at the time. Further along in 1967, Fred became concerned that he had not seen some of my stories that appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and The Saint, even though I'd submitted everything to the EQMM office first. This proved to be true of my Edgar-winner that year. Fred was so concerned about this that in a later rejection he commented, “I'd say no—and God help us, AHMM will publish it and it will win an Edgar.” (That didn't happen.)

  On 10/21/69 Fred asked me to telephone him at my convenience so we could discuss an idea for a serial, something suggested by his wife. This proved to be the six-part “Will-o'-the-Wisp Mystery” published in 1971 under the pseudonym of “Mr. X.” For some reason most everyone guessed it was me, and it appeared under my own name in a later EQ anthology.

  I'd also received some correspondence from Manny Lee when I agreed to write The Blue Movie Murders, which was to prove the last of the EQ paperbacks. Lee's letter approving my outline, with some changes, is dated March 29, 1971, just a few days before his death. My last letter from Fred is dated December 31 of that year, and by this time he was telephoning me regularly with no need for further correspondence. It was during a phone call early in 1973 that he informed me he was going to use my stories in every issue of EQMM. I don't think either of us realized that would mean every issue for over thirty-two years.

  Copyright (c) 2005 Edward D. Hoch

  [Back to Table of Contents]