 First Edition (UK) | |
| Author | John Rhode |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Lancelot Priestley |
| Genre | Detective |
| Publisher | Geoffrey Bles (UK) Dodd Mead (US) |
Publication date | 1927 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Preceded by | Dr. Priestley's Quest |
| Followed by | The Murders in Praed Street |
The Ellerby Case is a 1927 detective novel by John Rhode, the pen name of the British writer Cecil Street.[1] It marked the third appearance of the armchair detective Lancelot Priestley, who featured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.[2] The novel's success led to a contract with Dodd Mead to release it and subsequent novels in the United States, in what proved to be a lucrative arrangement for the author.[3]
The novel is particularly well known for a scene featuring an attempted murder using a hedgehog, with a review in the Evening Standard asking "could there possibly be a more ingenious method of committing a murder?".[4]