The Brooklyn Murders · Chapter
XXIX: The Lie of the Land explained
Ellery investigates Carter Woodman's alibi by exploring the Cunningham Hotel, discovering a possible unobserved exit through the basement grill room.
What happens
Ellery investigates Carter Woodman's alibi by exploring the Cunningham Hotel, discovering a possible unobserved exit through the basement grill room. He then interviews a Burmese guest, Ba Pu, who reveals that Woodman was not in the writing-room at the time he claimed, thereby undermining his alibi and strengthening Ellery's suspicion that Woodman is the murderer.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Falling action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This excerpt marks the dramatic climax because it presents the psychological peak of Walter Brooklyn’s precari…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Deception and False Clues
Woodman's alibi is revealed to be a fabrication, highlighting the theme of deception as Ellery uncovers the lie.
- Amateur vs. Professional Detection
Ellery, an amateur, conducts his own investigation and discovers flaws in the alibi that the police had accepted.
Characters to notice
- Robert Ellery
Conducts a thorough investigation of the Cunningham Hotel to test Woodman's alibi and interviews Ba Pu.
- Carter Woodman
Subject of Ellery's investigation; his alibi is shown to be false through the discovery of a possible unobserved exit and Ba Pu's testimony.
- Marian Brooklyn
Mentioned as the pretext for Ellery's visit to the hotel; she shares a suite with the Woodmans.
- Joan Cowper
Ellery plans to inform her of his findings to convince her of Woodman's guilt.
Key passages
“Ellery suspected him nevertheless almost to certainty; but he admitted to himself that even now his suspicion was based on what others would regard as no more than a guess.”
Ellery was nearly certain of Woodman's guilt, though he recognized that his suspicion still seemed like mere speculation to others.
Highlights Ellery's intuitive certainty despite lack of concrete proof.
“He had established the fact that it was possible at night for a guest to leave the Cunningham Hotel unobserved.”
Ellery proved that a hotel guest could exit unnoticed after dark.
Key discovery undermining Woodman's alibi.
“Here at last, Ellery said to himself, as he left the hotel, was proof, proof positive, even all but certainty. Woodman had lied about his doings on Tuesday evening, and his alibi was a fake.”
Ellery concluded that he had definitive evidence that Woodman had lied and that his alibi was false.
Climactic realization that Woodman's alibi is broken.
