Ellery Queen #3

In a quiet neighborhood where a string of mysterious events begins with children stealing bubble gum, Officer Mulligan investigates a seemingly minor theft that quickly spirals into something far more dangerous. When a boy suddenly falls ill after chewing the gum, Ellery Queen arrives to uncover a hidden drug smuggling operation disguised as a prank, leading to a tense confrontation with a shadowy figure and a shocking twist that blurs the line between joke and crime.

Ellery Queen investigates the strange case of Richard Hobart, a man who sleepwalks onto a rooftop in the middle of the night, believing he’s being pursued by voices and shadows. When the police assume he murdered his wife, Ellery suspects something far more sinister—especially after discovering that Hobart’s new striped pajamas are laced with opium, which caused his delirious state and near-fall. The truth behind the dreamlike hallucinations and the failed murder plot begins to unravel through careful analysis of the pajamas.

Ike, the Blood, a former gang enforcer haunted by a gypsy’s cryptic prophecy, finds himself unsettled after dreaming of a faceless shooter. As rival mob factions clash and violence flares across New York’s underworld, Ike grapples with fear and superstition, determined to uncover the meaning behind the vision before it comes true.

In the midst of a violent hurricane, the isolated Cape Tor Lighthouse becomes the scene of a seemingly impossible murder—Silas Daunt is found dead, with no way for anyone to have reached or escaped the island during the storm. Ellery Queen arrives to investigate, baffled by the mysterious, monster-like footprints left behind and the alibis of those on shore, including Daunt’s brother-in-law Heron Matson and his lover Mabel Townsley. As the storm rages and new clues emerge, Ellery begins to unravel a clever deception rooted in isolation and desperation.