The French Powder Mystery is a classic example of the detective novel as pure puzzle. The first piece of the puzzle is the discovery of Mrs. French's murdered body in the display window.

From here the novel proceeds through a lengthy collection and examination of clues, alibis, and motives until the final solution is presented by Queen. While this novel, like so many other classic whodunits, has its fair share of red herrings, confusion, and deception, its central technical achievement is its strict adherence to the principles of fair play. With sufficient attention paid, by the conclusion of Queen's deductive puzzles the reader is already in a position to solve the mystery himself, for Queen presents all clues fairly and clearly as the case unfolds. Abiding by the rules of fair play, Queen invites the reader to match his wits against those of Ellery, and the appeal of...