The Four of Hearts

 The Four of Hearts (1938) by Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen is going stir-crazy in Hollywood. After a hugely successful investigation into a Los Angeles murder in the previous book and the West Coast fame that came with it, he was in demand. He's now under contract to Magna Studios to produce scripts. All fine and dandy--except he hasn't actually met with his supposed boss, Jacques Butcher, and he hasn't actually been given any work to do. His agent tells him not worry, it's just the way studios operate. And why complain about getting a paycheck for just sitting around or seeing the sights? But Ellery can't stand to be idle and when "Butch" finally calls him (as if he's just heard that Ellery is around), he tells the boss that he's had enough and is leaving. Which results in immediate work.

The studio is planning an epic biopic featuring their two big stars--Blythe Stuart and Jack Royle. The film will tell all and the masses will flock to the theaters to learn the "true story" of the legendary feud between the two families. A feud that revolves around the once engaged couple and their respective children, Bonnie Stuart and Ty Royle. And as a bonus--Blythe and Jack will play themselves. Just as the Ellery gets down to work gathering background for the script, the two stars through a wrench into the works. Not only have they patched up the feud--they are going to get married. At first Butch and the studio are furious--there goes the melodrama of the feud. But--they decide to cash in on the romantic ending and make the most of the situation. They arrange for Blythe & Jack to be married in front of fans at the LA airfield. Then the happy couple will fly off into the sunset for a honeymoon on a secluded island. And, though Bonnie and Ty aren't happy about it (and are still feuding themselves), Ty volunteers to fly the plane.

But after the plane has taken off, Bonnie and Ty are found--tied up and gagged. So, who is flying the plane? Are the two stars being kidnapped? A few hours later, the plane is found on a mountain plateau. The pilot is missing and Blythe and Jack have been fatally poisoned. Ellery must give up researching to hunt for clues the murders. Apart from the family feud, there seems to be no motive for the death of either of the stars...let alone both. It's soon discovered that Blythe has been receiving mysterious mailings with playing cards and if Ellery can correctly decipher the cards' hidden meanings, he'll be able to hand the murderer over to Inspector Glücke.

This is a fun, slightly madcap, slightly convoluted mystery. It's obvious that Queen (Frederic Dannay & Manfred Lee) are thoroughly ensconced in Hollywood screenwriting at this point. The book reads as though "we" had a movie deal in mind. Lots of dialog, lots of action scenes--not a whole heck of a lot of focus on the mystery. A nice little romance for Ellery, but apparently not as serious as we're led to believe because Paula Paris disappears rapidly after this book. It's obvious who the leads are--Bonnie, Ty, and Ellery, with a good dose of Paula, syndicated columnist, thrown in. We could have used a bit more "screen" time for other characters. Maybe if I'd seen more of them I would have remembered how some of them were connected and I might have spotted the killer. As it was...I didn't. The solution is good and consistent, though a bit of a violent ending for the killer. ★★★★

Other Reviews:
Cross Examining Crime
The Grandest Game in the World
The Green Capsule
In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel 
The Mystillery blog
  

First line: It is a well-known fact that any one exposed to Hollywood longer than six weeks goes suddenly and incurably mad.

Last line: And, her eyes still closed, stumbled blindly across the threshold into the world.
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Deaths = 7 (three natural; three poisoned; one fell from height)