A hat left behind. A man dead in his seat. And a theater full of secrets. In the heart of Manhattan, at the prestigious Roman Theater, a packed house is stunned when a well-dressed man is found murdered during a performance—his only trace a mysteriously missing hat. Enter Ellery Queen, the brilliant amateur detective with a razor-sharp mind and a flair for the unconventional. Together with his father, Inspector Richard Queen of the NYPD, they unravel a tangled web of deception, blackmail, and high society scandal hidden beneath the surface of the city’s glittering entertainment scene. But as they dig deeper, the case becomes more puzzling. Why was the victim sitting alone? What was in the missing hat? And what secret was so deadly it demanded murder? A masterclass in classic detective fiction, The Roman Hat Mystery is the debut that launched the legendary Ellery Queen name—clever, stylish, and brimming with suspense. For lovers of golden age mysteries, this is the case that started it all.