Trivia / Philo Vance

• Died During Production: Wright died before he finished The Winter Murder Case. His publisher didn't need to bring in another writer to finish it — Wright had completed the core of the story, he just hadn't finished all the foreign quotations, elaborate descriptions, and other (by modern standards) Padding. The book was published as it was when Wright died, making it almost half the length of the other novels but still perfectly readable.
• Science Marches On: Vance's primary approach is to work out the psychological makeup of the suspects, and compare it to the psychological makeup that would be needed to commit the murder in question. Fine and dandy, but some of his psychological analysis consists of looking at physical traits and generalizing; "a man with those ears would be willing to shoot someone".