The Dragon Murder Case, Paperback

No question, The Dragon Murder Case showcases Our Philo at his most supremely irritating. The book is set at a mansion in the northern reaches of Manhattan, complete with picturesque pool. Into that pool dives Sanford Montague, never to be seen again. Fools (and as usual, they're thick on the ground) rush to blame the supernatural: They note that the pool is known as the "Dragon Pool," supposedly home to a monster known to the Lenape Indians. Philo's not so sure: He is (of course) an expert on both dragons and the Lenape Indians, with a sort of sideline expertise in pools and fish. It would be tempting to sympathize with Ogden Nash's claim that "Philo Vance needs a kick in the pance." But, as the New York Times noted, "The piscatorial side of this book, at least, is authentic. The author is on the Board of Governors of the Aquarium Society of New York, and has won many prizes with his fish." Philo may be a know-it-all, but apparently he comes by it honestly. By the time you reach the end of Dragon, you will almost certainly want to aim your boot at Vance's posterior, but you will have had a swell time getting there.

S.S. Van Dine, pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright, (1888-1939) was an American critic, editor, and author of a series of best-selling detective novels featuring the brilliant but arrogant sleuth Philo Vance.