Adam Stephanides asked me to name the titles to my atomic-scale reviews.
THE FOUR JOHNS is the one that is "screamingly good until it completely blows out (alas!)";
THE MADMAN THEORY is the one that is "okay, but still better imho than one of the ones published under his own name";
A ROOM TO DIE IN is very good, one of his best mysteries (of the 6 I've read).
The mysteries published under "John Holbrook Vance" I've read are: THE PLEASANT GROVE MURDERS (Joe Bain #2), THE FOX VALLEY MURDERS (Joe Bain #1), and THE DEADLY ISLES.
Personally I would rank them all this way:
1. the Joe Bain books
2. A ROOM TO DIE IN
3. THE MADMAN THEORY
4. THE FOUR JOHNS
5. THE DEADLY ISLES
2 quoted lines
Adam wrote:
Iirc, these are all from the series of paperback tough-guy mysteries published under Queen's name, but without Ellery as the detective.
Yes, that is correct.
1 quoted line
http://www.hycyber.com/MYST/queen_ellery.html lists FACE TO FACE, which iirc is a "regular" Ellery Queen novel, as "ghostwritten by Jack Vance?", though if you follow the link to "Novels Ghostwritten by Others," the attribution is repeated without the question mark.
I have not seen that attribution before. It is not given in my Galactic Central working bibliography. Nor do I find it in Cunningham's JACK VANCE: CRITICAL APPRECIATIONS AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Further investigation is in order!
=mantis=