Resumo de Chinese Orange Mystery

The Chinese Orange Mystery is one of the most
remarkable mysteries ever written. I found it to be the most
interesting Ellery Queen mystery, even if it was not the most realistic
one. It is about a very bizarre and seemingly impossible murder that is
very complex, but simple at the same time. There are only a few clues
and it is unlikely that even the most discernable reader will solve the
case. The novel begins when a mysterious stranger is looking for the
renowned publisher, Donald Kirk. Mr. Kirk is out of his office so the
stranger is greeted by Mr. Osbourne and Miss. Diversey who are Mr.
Kirk?s assistant and secretary. The man claims that he needs to
urgently speak to Mr. Kirk, but will give any information about his
business. Later on the stranger is found murdered in Mr. Kirk?s office
under the most unusual of circumstances. All his clothes are on
backgrounds and all the furniture in the room have been rearranged so
they are backwards as well. The man was stabbed with two very large
spears. The door of the office was locked from the inside so the
murderer could have only left through the window or the hallway. If the
murderer left through the hallway he would be seen and the window was
bolted on the inside. The crime appears to have been committed under
impossible circumstances. Nobody seems to know who the murdered man is
or where he is from. It is up to Ellery Queen to try to solve this
baffling case.In addition to being a famous publisher Mr. Kirk is also
a well-known stamp collector. Later on during the investigation a rare
stamp from China was found, which indicates that the man might have
been there to try to sell Kirk a stamp. The stamp was known as the
Chinese Orange, which is where the title of the book gets its name. He
did not look rich so he probably wanted to sell a stamp rather than buy
one. There are a few other clues. The man?s body was dragged across the
floor to another part of the room and the fact that he was killed with
large spears is important. The other clue has to do to with the man?s
clothes, which if one is not familiar with how people dressed during
the 1930?s, it will be difficult to see. The man had a collar and no
tie, but most men who had collars had ties so this is very odd. It
seems that the man?s tie had been stolen.Also, that the man?s clothes
and items in the room are backwards continues to be puzzling. At first
Ellery Queen believes that everything is backwards to point to
something in the man?s past that may be important, but later on Queen
realizes that everything is backwards to conceal something backwards
that may be important. Queen comes to the conclusion that the man is a
priest. Priests were the only people that wore collars, but no ties.
Also, priests wore collars backwards. Turning the man?s clothes
backwards would conceal that the man was a priest. This was not enough.
If the man was found with his clothes on backwards then somebody might
suspect about the collar and deduce that he is a priest. The murderer
therefore decided to turn everything around in the room. Since the man
was from China based on the stamp?s origin, he was probably a
missionary. Despite knowing who the man is, it does not help to find
out who the murderer is. This is where the clues of the spears and the
body being dragged come in. This was used so the murderer can leave the
room and lock it from the inside. The way it was done is very
far-fetched. The man was murdered with two large spears because it
would hold his body in place making it rigid. The murderer ties a piece
of rope from the spears to the door and drags the body across the room.
He exits the room and drags the rope under the door. In the inside of
the room the rope is tied to the hinge. The murderer pulls on the rope
when he is outside the room. It bolts the oorlocking it from the inside
and he pulls the rest of the rope under the door. This may seem
far-fetched, but it is an inngenuous construction. The murderer ended up
being Osbourne the assistant. He talked to the missionary several
months earlier and knew about the stamp that was worth a lot. He did
not tell Mr. Kirk about it and made up his mind to kill the man when he
came there. He already planned the idea to use the spears. He had no
idea the man was a missionary. After killing him he saw that he was a
priest. He removed the distinguishable clothes and came up with the
backwards idea. There would be records that he talked to the
missionary, so his identity had to be unknown. It still seems unlikely
that he would have had time to rearrange all the furniture. Plus it
would make a lot of noise. The mystery may be difficult to solve, but
it was very interesting and bizarre.

Resumos Relacionados