S. S. Van Dine

S. S. Van Dine was the pen name of American critic and mystery writer Willard Huntington Wright, best known for the Philo Vance detective novels. The Benson Murder Case, The Canary Murder Case, The Greene Murder Case, The Bishop Murder Case, The Scarab Murder Case, and The Casino Murder Case helped define a highly intellectual style of Golden Age detective fiction.

For English-language readers, Van Dine is important because his mysteries emphasize deduction, art, culture, psychology, and elaborate puzzle construction. Philo Vance can be aristocratic and mannered, but the books shaped the development of American detective fiction between classic clue puzzles and popular crime entertainment. Readers interested in Golden Age mysteries, amateur sleuths, locked-room-style logic, and early American crime fiction will find a notable figure.