WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The "Canary" murder case cover

The "Canary" murder case

Chapter 3: Characters of the Book
Open in WeRead

About This Book

An account by Philo Vance’s former attorney recounts the investigation into the strangling of a celebrated Broadway beauty whose body was found in her ransacked apartment. The detective applies analytic methods to unravel contradictory clues—footprints, fingerprints, telephone records, alibis, and a locked-room puzzle—while collaborating with police and the district attorney. The inquiry exposes the social milieu surrounding the victim and uncovers hidden motives, deceptions, and unexpected witnesses; methodical reconstruction and a concluding demonstration disclose the perpetrator and clarify the intricate sequence of events that produced the baffling crime.

Characters of the Book

Philo Vance
John F.-X. Markham
District Attorney of New York County.
Margaret Odell (The “Canary”)
Famous Broadway beauty and ex-Follies girl, who was mysteriously murdered in her apartment.
Amy Gibson
Margaret Odell’s maid.
Charles Cleaver
A man-about-town.
Kenneth Spotswoode
A manufacturer.
Louis Mannix
An importer.
Dr. Ambroise Lindquist
A fashionable neurologist.
Tony Skeel
A professional burglar.
William Elmer Jessup
Telephone operator.
Harry Spively
Telephone operator.
Alys La Fosse
A musical-comedy actress.
Wiley Allen
A gambler.
Potts
A street-cleaner.
Amos Feathergill
Assistant District Attorney.
William M. Moran
Commanding Officer of the Detective Bureau.
Ernest Heath
Sergeant of the Homicide Bureau.
Snitkin
Detective of the Homicide Bureau.
Guilfoyle
Detective of the Homicide Bureau.
Burke
Detective of the Homicide Bureau.
Tracy
Detective assigned to District Attorney’s office.
Deputy-Inspector Conrad Brenner
Burglar-tools expert.
Captain Dubois
Finger-print expert.
Detective Bellamy
Finger-print expert.
Peter Quackenbush
Official photographer.
Dr. Doremus
Medical Examiner.
Swacker
Secretary to the District Attorney.
Currie
Vance’s valet.