The John Riddell Murder Case
Plot summary
Plot summary
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Acting in response to an incomprehensibly phrased note in [Walter Winchell](/wiki/Walter_Winchell "Walter Winchell")'s gossip column predicting that John Riddell will be murdered at 9:00 that morning, Philo Vance alerts the police and travels with the narrator to Riddell's home, only to find that they are too late. 

As might be expected from a work of parody, much of the book's humor comes from absurdities and from the ridiculous portrayals of the writings and authors caricatured. Repetition is frequently employed for comedic effect. The [fourth wall](/wiki/Fourth_wall "Fourth wall") is broken on several occasions, as when Philo Vance responds to Heath's suggestion that Vance believes that all of the recent best\-selling authors are going to be murdered: "'Already there have been thirteen murders, and we're only at'\-\-he glanced down swiftly\-\-'at page 124\.'" Philo Vance himself is portrayed as affecting an inconsistently cultured vocabulary and a lazy style of speaking. For example: "I've been evolvin' a rather fantastic theory, and I want to test it a trifle further."

[Category:1930 American novels](/wiki/Category:1930_American_novels "1930 American novels")
[Category:Philo Vance novels](/wiki/Category:Philo_Vance_novels "Philo Vance novels")
[Category:Parody novels](/wiki/Category:Parody_novels "Parody novels")
[Category:Charles Scribner's Sons books](/wiki/Category:Charles_Scribner%27s_Sons_books "Charles Scribner's Sons books")


Can you provide examples of the ridiculous portrayals made in the book?