The DevilтАЩs Cook
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An exciting mystery by the masterly Ellery Queen
Police captain Bartholdi sometimes indulged himself in a harmless fantasy. His thoughts, he would imagine, were irresponsible imps that wriggled out of his head and scampered around with an abandon that was often embarrassing. A woman had been kidnapped. The woman was dead. Bartholdi was convinced that a murderer was at that moment having a grim laugh at his expense. He knew who the murderer was. He would have bet his pension and his sacred soul that he knew. But he could not, knowing, prove what he knew. He needed confirmation of one critical point. From among his antic imps, he culled the three that had directed his mind to its present state: one newspaper too many, a girl who slept too soundly, and, most important of all, a ragout with too many onions.
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Ellery Queen is a pseudonym used by two American cousins from BrooklynтАФDaniel Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (1905тАУ1982), and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (1905тАУ1971)тАФto write detective fiction. In a successful series of novels that covered forty-two years, Ellery Queen served as both the authorsтАЩ name and that of the detective-hero. The cousins also cofounded and directed Ellery QueenтАЩs Mystery Magazine, one of the most influential English crime-fiction magazines of the twentieth century. They were given the Grand Master Award for achievements in the field of the mystery story by the Mystery Writers of America in 1961.
Mark Peckham is an actor and director based in Rhode Island. In addition to working with Trinity Rep, Virginia Stage Co., and many Boston-area theaters, he was the voice of Joseph Smith in the award-winning PBS documentary American Prophet with Gregory Peck.
