 By the time the uncle escapes his captor and swims to shore, Ellery is ready to reveal the identity of the murderer and the reason for the victim's nudity in a dramatic final scene.The character of Ellery Queen was probably initially suggested by the novels featuring detective Philo Vance by S.S. Van Dine, which were very popular at the time.At this point in time, however, Van Dine's sales were dropping and Queen's were rising.