S. S. Van Dine: The Casino Murder Case (USA 2020)

From the Publisher:
The "tremendous popularity" (New York Times) of the Philo Vance series stems I part from author SS Van Dine's preference for ripping his plots from the headlines of the day. By the early 30s, when Casino came around, those headlines included some creepy chemical discoveries and scandalous doings at secret Manhattan gambling dens, where rich folks knocked back cocktails and played roulette, snickering at both the Depression and the Volsted Act.

Philo, of course, is no stranger to cocktails or to snickering, and he knows more about creepy chemicals than the management at Dow. This comes in handy when the owners of a secret Manhattan gambling den are poisoned, perhaps by some new and creepy chemical. As deliciously, irritatingly erudite as ever, Philo is in his element here, solving what one reviewer called an "uncommonly subtle" crime.

"One is tempted to say that this is the best of the Philo Vance stories, but when one remembers the Benson, Canary, Greene, Bishop, Scarab, Kennel, and Dragon cases, it is not so easy to decide." -- New York Times

S. S. Van Dine: The Casino Murder Case. Philo Vance #8. Felony & Mayhem, ISBN: 9781631942037 (March, 2020), 264 p., $14.95, eBook $9.99.