The Casino Murder Case

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 kn...