[Chron]

Originally Posted by Kylon99

How do the Van Dine novels go after the first one? (Benson Murder Case) ... I really didn't like the first one except for the first chapter when I solved the mystery... And I wouldn't have minded the rest except it ... umm.. spoilers:

Spoiler for Van Dine's The Benson Murder Case:

... ended up being a parade of characters I can't even remember. Sometimes we don't even get to see the character; we just get a one-two line summary, "And then whoever came down to the DA's office and said exactly what Vance said he would say. Next."

Now, this was his first novel ever, so, I figure it would take him a few to get good... Does the writing get better? And the mystery?

Mind you, I only solved it in the first chapter because I got loaded up with strategies from Umineko and knew exactly what I was looking for, but I don't need the mystery to be impossible to figure out to enjoy it...

For those that have read a lot of other traditional mystery novels... do any of the other mysteries do much better than this? Does Ellery Queen, for example?

Normally I'm all for everyone having their own preferences, but you have clearly read it the wrong way.

You seem to have completely ignored the writing, and if that's the result of Umineko's influence, then that is a shame.