Ellery Queen was the pseudonym of two cousins: Frederick Denny (1905–1982) and Manfred Lee (1905–1971). They have written about 30 detective stories that share a common hero, detective and crime novelist Ellery Queen, whose fame rivals that of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. The work of the co-author brothers generally falls into the mainstream of the classic detective story, where there are enough intricate logical moves, false leads, and ingenious traps. Ellery Queen is not only the pseudonym of the two writers, but also the protagonist of many of their works - a professional writer of detective stories and an amateur detective, coming to the aid of his father, police inspector Richard Queen, when another criminal nut turns out to be too much for him.