The King is Dead (Ellery Queen Detective, #23)

A peaceful evening at the Queen household is cut short by the arrival of some uninvited guests. Soon Ellery and his father are winging their way to the mysterious Bendigo Island, recruited by Abel Bendigo to protect his even-more-oddly named brother, King Bendigo.

King Bendigo is a man with his own private army, navy and airforce, a man of power who can topple governments, a man who brokers both war and peace and makes a handsome profit doing so. He is also a man who is receiving death threats, which, while he does not take them seriously, his brother does, which is why Ellery has been summoned.

As the threats become more and more specific, King Bendigo ensures he is safely sealed away at the time the threat is due to be carried out. But when an impossible bullet strikes him down, Ellery finds himself with one of the most baffling cases of his career.