Episode 7, "The Adventure of Colonel Nivin's Memoirs," is one of the few entries to feature a love interest for Ellery (Jim Hutton), in the form of Jenny O'Brien (Gretchen Corbett), an attractive publicist whose most recent client, Colonel Alec Nivin (Lloyd Bochner), has just finished an autobiography that exposes recent war crimes (the series is set in 1947). Attending a book-signing in New York City, the Colonel is delighted to see all 2000 copies sell out in just 2 hours (due mostly to Jenny's expertise), and coaxes her into joining him for a celebration at his private club. Unfortunately, the girl discovers Nivin stabbed to death and herself a prime suspect caught by the doorman (Pernell Roberts). Ellery finds evidence that the wife of a Soviet diplomat (Robert Loggia) was another visitor in the Colonel's room, while other suspects include two men whose wartime activities were exposed in unsavory fashion in Nivin's book: British counter-spy Colin Esterbrook (Peter Bromilow), and French photographer Marcel Fourchet (Rene Auberjonois), who was forced to reveal the names of his fellow freedom fighters after 3 days enduring Nazi tortures. Auberjonois stands out with a believable, sympathetic performance, and it's a shame that Gretchen Corbett never returned as Jenny (nor did any other actress who supplied a love interest), as she is pretty and sexy, her determination helping Ellery find the one vital clue that shatters the killer's alibi. For the record, there were only 3 other females that were involved with Ellery, Karen Machon as Kitty McBride in episode 1, "The Adventure of Auld Lang Syne," Nancy Belle Fuller as Margie Coopersmith in episode 10, "The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse," and Ann Reinking as Lorelei Farnsworth in episode 14, "The Adventure of the Eccentric Engineer," none of whom were as endearing or well-written as Jenny O'Brien. Of course, Gretchen Corbett was concurrently appearing in another NBC series, THE ROCKFORD FILES, for which she seems to be best remembered (33 episodes).