Barry Forshaw on R. J. Ellory and Stanley Ellin...
A Quiet Belief in Angels was the breakthrough book for British writer R.J. Ellory, and his particular skill lies in a sprawling, ambitious realisation of American locales – at times reminiscent of the great Stanley Ellin. And like the sardonic American author of The Speciality of the House, Ellory has a taste for the darker recesses of human psychology.
'Ellin consistently wrote the best mystery stories of his time' Lawrence Block Stanley Ellin's first short story, 'The Specialty of the House', about a New York restaurant with a special gourmet menu, was published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine in 1948 and caused an immediate sensation, winning him a special Ellery Queen Award. 'The House Party' and 'The Blessington Method' subsequently both won Edgar Awards. Stanley Ellin, who was made a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1980, is acknowledged as one of the great masters of the 20th-century short story, and this volume brings together the best of his work in the genre.
