The “tremendous popularity” (New York Times) of the Philo Vance series stems in part from author S.S. Van Dine’s preference for ripping his plots from the headlines of the day. By the early ‘30s, when Casino came around, those headlines included creepy chemical discoveries and scandalous doings at secret Manhattan gambling dens, where rich folks knocked back cocktails and snickered at both the Depression and the Volsted Act. Philo, of course, is no stranger to cocktails or snickering and knows more about chemistry than the management at Dow—just the man to turn to when the owners of one such den are poisoned. As deliciously, irritatingly erudite as ever, Philo is in his element here, solving what one reviewer called an “uncommonly subtle” crime.
