The Big Midget Murders

The Big Midget Murders PDF Author: Craig Rice
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504051726
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
It’s murder backstage for a cynical Chicago attorney—from “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction” (William Ruehlmann). It’s part casino, part nightclub, and part circus. For its new owners, Jake Justus and his socialite wife, Helene, it’s also a gamble. Luckily they have Jay Otto. Next to a bouncy burlesque bit, Otto’s high-wire act is the hottest draw in the joint. But the crowd isn’t the only thing left breathless. The performer has just been found in his dressing room, doped up, dead, and hanging by eleven silk stockings. The method is fetching. The probable motive? Otto was the nastiest, most hateful, devious, blackmailing little cuss on the circuit. But Jake’s friend, attorney John J. Malone, thinks this is more than a case of justifiable homicide—especially when Otto isn’t the last on the bill to get all choked up. Now Malone has a lot of secrets to untangle so he can collar the killer, because Jake and Helene’s necks could be next on the line. The Big Midget Murders is “expertly timed . . . and frenzied . . . with lavish accompaniment of good wise-cracking. Verdict: Superior” (TheSaturday Review of Literature). “Call it screwball noir, call it hard-boiled farce, call it whatever you want . . . Craig Rice did it with John J. Malone, her ne-er-do-well bibulous attorney” (Thrilling Detective).

The Big Midget Murders

The Big Midget Murders PDF Author: Craig Rice
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504051726
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Get Book Here

Book Description
It’s murder backstage for a cynical Chicago attorney—from “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction” (William Ruehlmann). It’s part casino, part nightclub, and part circus. For its new owners, Jake Justus and his socialite wife, Helene, it’s also a gamble. Luckily they have Jay Otto. Next to a bouncy burlesque bit, Otto’s high-wire act is the hottest draw in the joint. But the crowd isn’t the only thing left breathless. The performer has just been found in his dressing room, doped up, dead, and hanging by eleven silk stockings. The method is fetching. The probable motive? Otto was the nastiest, most hateful, devious, blackmailing little cuss on the circuit. But Jake’s friend, attorney John J. Malone, thinks this is more than a case of justifiable homicide—especially when Otto isn’t the last on the bill to get all choked up. Now Malone has a lot of secrets to untangle so he can collar the killer, because Jake and Helene’s necks could be next on the line. The Big Midget Murders is “expertly timed . . . and frenzied . . . with lavish accompaniment of good wise-cracking. Verdict: Superior” (TheSaturday Review of Literature). “Call it screwball noir, call it hard-boiled farce, call it whatever you want . . . Craig Rice did it with John J. Malone, her ne-er-do-well bibulous attorney” (Thrilling Detective).

Funny Thing About Murder

Funny Thing About Murder PDF Author: David Geherin
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476669112
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Focusing on crime fiction and films that artfully combine comedy and misdeed, this book explores the reasons writers and filmmakers inject humor into their work and identifies the various comic techniques they use. The author covers both American and European books from the 1930s to the present, by such authors as Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler, Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard, Donald E. Westlake, Sue Grafton, Carl Hiaasen and Janet Evanovich, along with films from The Thin Man to the BBC's Sherlock series.

The Coral Princess Murders

The Coral Princess Murders PDF Author: Frances Crane
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927716217
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
In exotic Tangier, the well-known husband and wife team of Pat and Jean Abbott discover that international drug trafficking, plus greed and intrigue, invariably spell catastrophe for those involved therein. And very bad luck for a number of free-loading beachcombers and expatriates who’d just about convinced themselves that they never had it so good.

The Polkadot Murder

The Polkadot Murder PDF Author: Frances Crane
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927716357
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 203

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Book Description
“The Hollywood-cum-Santa Fe artists, both screwy and sensible, in the desert are all neatly caught in the lively style given to Mrs. Pat to narrate. Grade: A”—The Saturday Review “Plenty of excitement.”—Kirkus From the jacket: “Time was,” said the sheriff of Santa Maria, “when murder was murder in this country. ... But now we got artists and writers and therefore psychology. It's enough to ruin the country.” It was lucky for Sheriff Trask that Pat Abbott and his lively wife, Jeanie, were vacationing in the little New Mexican artists’ colony the day a psychotic war veteran and a gangster's widow arrived on the Plaza. By an unlikely coincidence they were the former spouses of friends of the Abbotts who had just announced their engagement. Gilbert Mason, a Hollywood writer with a penchant for seeing the worst, pointed out to Jeanie that it looked as if there would be no marriage, for the widow packed a gun. The first day of tension exploded into murder and kidnapping, both crimes committed almost simultaneously, as if they had been masterminded to confuse pursuit. Immediately everyone began to act out of character. Competent Vanessa Wells, a writer who had lived alone and liked it for years, turned nervous and absent-minded. Gilbert Mason, a confirmed gossip, acted as if he knew more than he told. The gangster's widow and her apelike retainer became good Samaritans. And the handsome war veteran, who'd always looked after himself, began to plot his own downfall. Through the exciting adventure Mrs. Crane conveys the many aspects of the New Mexican landscape, using the charm of Spanish-Indian culture, the backbiting of bohemia, and the terrifying, cruel loneliness of the desert to enhance the suspense.

And So to Murder

And So to Murder PDF Author: John Dickson Carr
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927551390
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
And So to Murder by John Dickson Carr (as Carter Dickson), a Sir Henry Merrivale mystery. “A first-class murder mystery [and] also a ribald satire of the motion picture industry.”—The Vancouver Sun DEATH RIDES THE TUBE... The speaking-tube whistled. Monica flew at it. “Who are you? What do you want?” She bent her cheek to the mouth of the tube to listen for an answer. Something was happening inside the tube. She jumped back. Something which looked like water, but was not water, spurted in a jet from the mouth of the tube. It splashed across the linoleum. There was a hissing, sizzling noise as half a pint of vitriol began to eat into the surface of the floor. The footsteps in the room above began to run. Monica Stanton has written a saucy best-seller that has landed her her dream job, scriptwriting for a movie studio. Things turn sour quickly as she's saddled with a mentor she despises After someone makes a gruesome attempt on her life, however, her feelings begin to change about him as they are forced together during the investigation. Theories of Nazi “heiling enthusiasts” and espionage soon take form, leading to the entrance of Sir Henry Merrivale, who now works for Britain's Military Intelligence division. Only Sir Henry can wade through the “fat-heads” and schemers to get to the bottom of this amusing and clever mystery.

Murder at Lilac Cottage

Murder at Lilac Cottage PDF Author: John Rhode
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927716616
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Book Description
“One always embarks on a John Rhode book with a great sense of security. One knows that there will be a sound plot, well-knit process of reasoning, and a solidly satisfying solution with no loose ends or careless errors of fact.”—Dorothy Sayers on John Rhode From the jacket: For three years the man had lived in the little Lilac cottage on the Squire’s estate, yet apparently no one in that peaceful village knew a thing about him. The only significant clue that Superintendent Hanslet and Jimmy Waghorn found was the five pound bank note that he received on the day he died. The minute they told Dr. Priestley about it he jumped to the bait and set forth on a trail that picked up such divergent clues as dope fiends, the dismantled engine of a motor mower, and the rear view of an odd man on a bicycle. When the village good-for-nothing was found dead on the estate, it seemed to complicate the affair even more. But for Dr. Priestley it actually simplified things. He brings the case to a smashing conclusion that will leave the reader gasping at the ingenuity of the murders and the unfailing astuteness of this famous criminologist. “Convincingly worked out.”—The Saturday Review

Murder in Bright Red

Murder in Bright Red PDF Author: Frances Crane
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927716195
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Pat and Jean Abbott, visiting relatives in a rich oil town, are called on to clear a pretty air-line hostess, Sally Carroll, who is suspected of having murdered her old beau. By the time the Abbotts arrive on the scene, there has been a curious change of policy: nobody wants them on the case, not the cousin and heir of the dead man, not his widow, and especially not the sheriff. Perversely, they decide to stay. Pat is shot at by a man who is supposed to be helping them, and Jean is buried in an abandoned well by a woman who claims to be on their side. Then a car they think is a friend’s crashes them into a ditch. Nevertheless they stick with the job until they come up with a solution that is both surprising and satisfying—but they cannot prevent the killer from claiming a second victim. “Pro Handling”—The Saturday Review “Congenial and confiding.”—Kirkus

Cumulative Paperback Index, 1939-1959

Cumulative Paperback Index, 1939-1959 PDF Author: R. Reginald
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
ISBN: 0893700223
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 390

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Book Description
This was the first bibliography and guide to the American mass market paperback book, and it remains one of the most definitive. The major index is by author, and lists: author, title, publisher, book number, year of publication, and cover price. The title index lists titles and authors only. The publisher index provides a history of that imprint, with addresses, number ranges, and general physical description of the books issued. This is the place that all study of the American paperback must begin.

Death Sits on the Board

Death Sits on the Board PDF Author: John Rhode
Publisher: St. Swithin Press
ISBN: 1927551935
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
“The murders are most ingeniously planned and executed, and even Dr. Priestley is put to a severe test before the story is ended.” —The New York Times Constable Frean had an unpleasant sensation that he was not, as he seemed to be, patrolling a respectable London suburb, but was back at the Front in the year 1918, enduring a particularly vicious bombardment. Crash! With a roar like a bursting shell the roof of a nearby house blew off. Heading a rescue party, the constable found part of the house in ruins, and the owner, Sir Andrew Wiggenhall, missing. Eventually, his remains, or part of them, were discovered in the garden. Thus passed the Chairman of the Board of Porslin Ltd. Some months later another member of the same board of directors died in mysterious circumstances. Still another followed shortly. The reason for these apparently unrelated mysteries puzzled the police and intrigued Dr. Priestley. After a series of clever deductions, and as a result of clues which led far back into the past, he unearthed the secret of the Death that sat on the Board of Directors.

The Big Book of Reel Murders

The Big Book of Reel Murders PDF Author: Otto Penzler
Publisher: Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
ISBN: 0525563881
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 1202

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Book Description
Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler's new anthology rolls out the red carpet for the stories that Hollywood is made of. A Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original. Lights! Camera! Action! The latest book in the Big Book series takes us behind the curtain to uncover the stories that became some of the greatest films of the silver screen. There's the W. Somerset Maugham short story that inspired Hitchcock's Secret Agent; Robert Louis Stevenson's horrifying tale that was later turned into the iconic movie The Body Snatcher, starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff; Sir Ian Fleming's "From a View to a Kill," later one of Roger Moore's greatest Bond films; and "Cyclists' Raid," the short story that formed the basis for the legendary Brando film The Wild One. Otto Penzler delivers the director's cut on these classic short stories and the films they gave rise to. So grab your Sno-Caps and a jumbo box of popcorn and curl up with these cinematic tales from the likes of Agatha Christie, Dennis Lehane, Joyce Carol Oates, Dashiell Hammett, O. Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, and Arthur Conan Doyle.