Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Tragedy of X

The Tragedy of X

Queen, Ellery
Penzler, Otto

Hardcover

Series: Ellery Queen Detective

Mystery & Thriller

Publisher Price: $25.95

ISBN10: 1613166680
ISBN13: 9781613166680
Publisher: American Mystery Classics
Published: Aug 26 2025
Pages: 384
Weight: 1.23
Height: 1.34 Width: 5.51 Depth: 8.11
Language: English
A retired Shakespearean actor plays his new role--amateur sleuth--after a murder in a New York streetcar.

Born during intermission in a seedy New Orleans playhouse, Drury Lane has spent the better part of his life in the theater. A majestic old-fashioned thespian, he made his name in London, where his record-breaking run as Hamlet defined the role for a generation. When hearing loss forces him to retire, he turns his attention to human drama--specifically crime. Using his powers of disguise, knowledge of human nature, and an occasional dash of theatrical combat, Lane is the most fantastic detective of all time--onstage or off.

In The Tragedy of X, a man is poisoned in the middle of a crowded New York streetcar and not one of the dozens of witnesses can provide any useful evidence. The police are stumped until they receive a letter from Lane, claiming to have solved the crime by reading newspaper reports. He knows the killer's name--but now he has to catch him.

Originally published under the Barnaby Ross pen name, The Tragedy of X is one of Ellery Queen's most beloved mysteries; though different in character and style from the Queen mysteries, its mixture of classical detection and an erudite sleuth makes for great Golden Age fare.

1 different editions

Also available

Also from

Queen, Ellery

View All

Also in

Mystery & Thriller

View All