Police Captain Bartholdi sometimes indulged himself in a harmless fantasy. His thoughts, he would imagine, were irresponsible imps that wriggled out of his head and scampered around with an abandon that was often embarrassing. A woman had been kidnapped. The woman was dead. Bartholdi was convinced that a murderer was at that moment having a grim laugh at his expense. He knew who the murderer was. He would have bet his pension and his sacred soul that he knew. But he could not, knowing, prove what he knew. He needed confirmation of one critical point. From among his antic imps he culled the three that had directed his mind to its present state:

• One newspaper too many.
• A girl who slept too soundly.
• And, most important of all, a ragout with too many onions.

Ghost-written by Fletcher Flora. Strangely enough this books seems to be the reason why Ellery pops up a cookery book with "Ellery Queen's Student Ragout". Some commentaries said it looked somewhat like "mashed brain" but don't let that hold you from trying this out during winter: 

Bacon 
1 pound lean round steak 
salt and pepper 
2 carrots, slices thin 
2 medium onions sliced thin 
4 medium potatoes, sliced a little thicker 
water 
1 cup red wine 

Take a heavy dutch oven or stew pot and cover the bottom with cut bacon strips. At this point I usually go ahead and turn the burner heat on low. Next add the round steak sliced thin into bite size pieces. Then add the carrots, then onions, then potatoes, one layer of each. Put salt and pepper on top, can add some parsley if desired. Add 1 cup red wine, then water to make enough liquid to cover potatoes. Cover and simmer on low heat 2 hours. Add water if "gravy" gets too thick. Stir through a few times after about 1 - 1/2 hours. This makes a great meal with garlic bread and a salad.
(Columbus Jr.League cookbook)

In the book itself 3 carrots and 3 onions are used. No wine is mentioned.

The Devil's Cook Translations: Dutch/Flemish: Uitgekookt alibi German: Im eigenen Saft Italian: La ricetta del diavolo Polish: Dábelské ragú Portuguese: Receita Diabólica Spanish:El Cocinero del Diablo