The urbane New Yorker sets out on his fifth and sixth cases

This is the third volume of the Leonaur series of Philo Vance Murder Mysteries. In the first novel of this book-the fifth in the series-the title 'The Scarab Murder Case' gives the clue to its subject matter. The crime takes place in a private house which is also a museum of Egyptology. The murderer has deliberately hidden his identity under a smoke screen of ancient Egyptian references-including the introduction of the possibility that the death may actually be due to the vengeance of an angry Nilotic god. Predictably, Philo Vance knows better. From ancient history and hieroglyphics, Vance steps into the world of dog breeding-a subject about which, predictably, he is also an expert-to solve the second story in this volume: 'The Kennel Murder Case'. Two dead brothers, a wounded Scottish Terrier, broken Chinese porcelain and a cast of suspicious characters all combine to provide an entertaining romp of detective fiction from the dependably erudite Philo Vance which will delight both newcomers and acolytes alike.