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playboy-march-1971Still enormously popular, the cousins were able to sell their last three short stories to large circulation magazines like Playboy and the Saturday Evening Post. All three were boilerplate Puzzle Club tales, beginning with “The Three Students.”

Here, there are three college students accused of stealing an engagement ring. A rhyming clue is left behind, which anyone who has studied the twelve cranial nerves would understand in a moment. For the rest of us? Not so much.

One interested addition to this story is the return of the Challenge to the Reader, a welcome break signifying that the clues have been presented, and there is very little chance the reader will actually solve the mystery.

Finally, a sad note: this was the last work by Ellery Queen published in Manfred Lee’s lifetime. He passed away on April 2, 1971.

One thought on “The Three Students (1971)

  1. This was written by Isaac Asimov. It is a Union Club Mystery adapted to Ellery Queen. A comparison of it with the Union Club Mysteries should allay any doubts in authorship.

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