Penzler Pick, March 2000: How does one discuss the Philo Vance mysteries by S.S. Van Dine? The best of them are meticulously plotted fair play adventures--the apotheosis of America's golden age of detective fiction, along with Ellery Queen's stories. When first published, they were the most successful mysteries ever, topping bestseller lists for months at a time. The books reflect the lives of the upper class in New York during what can be described as the art deco era of the 1920s and '30s in a way that encourages nostalgia for that time of martinis and penthouses.

The Van Dine novels also feature a detective who is so infuriatingly pompous that Ogden Nash's famous couplet must resonate for every reader: "Philo Vance/Needs a kick in the pance." He drops his g's; just happens to know everything about Egyptology, toxicology, and every other arcane subject ever invented or discovered; and is rude, pedantic, and supercilious at every opportunity. Still, he manages to solve the most complex cases in an utterly fair manner, and The Dragon Murder Case is no exception.

In this, the seventh Philo Vance mystery, Sanford Montague is away for a weekend party, dives into the swimming pool, and never comes up again. The pool is known as "The Dragon Pool" because it has long been regarded as the home of the devil-monster of the Lenape Indians. The mystery is solved by Vance partly thanks to his deep knowledge of dragon lore.

The Van Dine detective novels retain an inexplicable charm that keeps them remarkably popular even today, 62 years after the last one was written. --Otto Penzler