Ellery Queen

Ellery Queen was the shared pen name of two American cousins, Frederic Dannay and Manfred B. Lee, who created both the authorship identity and the fictional detective of the same name. Beginning with The Roman Hat Mystery in 1929, they built a long-running series of puzzle-rich crime novels and short stories that became central to American mystery fiction.

Their work is especially known for its fair-play style, inviting readers to match wits with the detective by spotting clues and solving the case before the final reveal. Over several decades, they wrote dozens of novels and stories, and the name Ellery Queen also became closely associated with editing and promoting crime fiction through Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

Because Ellery Queen was a joint identity, the story behind the author is a little unusual: behind the signature were two writers with distinct strengths who together shaped one of mystery’s most recognizable brands. For listeners who enjoy classic detective stories, Ellery Queen remains a gateway to elegant plotting, brainy surprises, and the golden age of the whodunit.