''The Winter Murder Case'' (

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

) is a

Philo Vance Philo Vance is a fictional amateur detective originally featured in 12 crime novels by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s and '30s. During that time, Vance was immensely popular in books, films, and radio. He was portrayed as a stylish—even foppish� ...

novella that S. S. Van Dine intended to expand into his twelfth full-length book, a project cut short by his death. ''The Winter Murder Case'' seems especially similar to the B mystery movies of the 1930s, a cross between Van Dine's usual style and the film style. It was intended as a vehicle for

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

. Van Dine's last two books were intended as

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

scenarios. Both are shorter than his typical novels.

Literary significance and criticism

"The decline in the last six Vance books is so steep that the critic who called the ninth of them one more stitch in his literary shroud was not overstating the case." wrote

Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons, pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was born ...

in ''Bloody Murder''.Symons, Julian, ''Bloody Murder'', London: Faber and Faber 1972, with revisions in Penguin Books 1974, "This is an Dine'slast work, left in an only semi-expanded outline form at the time of his death. Philo Vance is still the detective but the pseudo-scholarly footnotes are not in evidence nor is the pearl-handled telephone. In fact, this short book is pleasant reading; add your own nostalgia if you wish.", according to Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor in ''

A Catalogue of Crime ''A Catalogue of Crime'' is a critique of crime fiction by Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, first published in 1971. The book was awarded a Special Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1972. A revised and enlarged edition w ...

''.Barzun, Jacques and Taylor, Wendell Hertig. ''A Catalogue of Crime''. New York: Harper & Row. 1971, revised and enlarged edition 1989.

References

External links

*
The Winter Murder Case
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

, including Van Dine's essay "Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories". 1939 American novels Novels by S. S. Van Dine Philo Vance novels {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub