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The Bishop murder caseS. S. Van Dine

The Bishop murder case

by OpenStories

Original author: S. S. Van Dine

CompletedPublished Updated

"The Bishop murder case" by S. S. Van Dine is a mystery novel published in 1929. Detective Philo Vance investigates a series of murders in a wealthy New York neighborhood, each accompanied by cryptic notes signed "The Bishop" and containing verses from Mother Goose nursery rhymes. As victims fall according to the rhymes' dark patterns, Vance must decode the killer's twisted game before more lives are claimed. Believed to be the first nursery-rhyme mystery, it established a popular template for Golden Age detective fiction.

The Bishop murder case, by S. S. Van Dine. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #75157.

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  • 27chapters
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27 Chapters

  1. 1.Front Matter248 words
  2. 2.Chapter I: “Who Killed Cock Robin?”3,182 words
  3. 3.Chapter II: On the Archery Range4,443 words
  4. 4.Chapter III: A Prophecy Recalled3,372 words
  5. 5.Chapter IV: A Mysterious Note3,449 words
  6. 6.Chapter V: A Woman’s Scream3,058 words
  7. 7.Chapter VI: “‘I,’ Said the Sparrow”3,325 words
  8. 8.Chapter VII: Vance Reaches a Conclusion3,151 words
  9. 9.Chapter VIII: Act Two2,827 words
  10. 10.Chapter IX: The Tensor Formula2,857 words
  11. 11.Chapter X: A Refusal of Aid2,655 words
  12. 12.Chapter XI: The Stolen Revolver3,569 words
  13. 13.Chapter XII: A Midnight Call3,974 words
  14. 14.Chapter XIII: In the Bishop’s Shadow3,230 words
  1. 15.Chapter XIV: A Game of Chess3,487 words
  2. 16.Chapter XV: An Interview with Pardee3,380 words
  3. 17.Chapter XVI: Act Three3,078 words
  4. 18.Chapter XVII: An All-Night Light2,586 words
  5. 19.Chapter XVIII: The Wall in the Park3,103 words
  6. 20.Chapter XIX: The Red Note-book2,124 words
  7. 21.Chapter XX: The Nemesis2,357 words
  8. 22.Chapter XXI: Mathematics and Murder3,237 words
  9. 23.Chapter XXII: The House of Cards3,233 words
  10. 24.Chapter XXIII: A Startling Discovery2,917 words
  11. 25.Chapter XXIV: The Last Act2,858 words
  12. 26.Chapter XXV: The Curtain Falls4,144 words
  13. 27.Chapter XXVI: Heath Asks a Question3,465 words