Blow Hot, Blow Cold

"Ellery Queen clearly is, after Poe, the most important American in mystery fiction." —Otto Penzler, editor of The Best American Mystery Stories

On a scorching summer afternoon, Nancy Howell bakes in the sun, hoping her neighbor will invite her inside. Lila has central air conditioning—a priceless luxury this time of year—and while Nancy doesn't think much of her notoriously promiscuous neighbor, she would do anything to cool down. Sadly, Lila doesn't step outside. She never will again. After more than a day without seeing her neighbor, Nancy finally goes next door and finds Lila sprawled across her bed, a knife buried deep in her chest.

When Lila's cuckolded husband is also found dead, the police label it a tragic murder-suicide—but Nancy isn't convinced. In this gin-soaked patch of suburbia, adultery is a way of life and jealousy isn't reason enough for a husband to kill. As the mercury inevitably rises, so will the body count.