Mystery and Crime Rice, Craig: Crime On My Hands. v1. 13 Nov 08

[Dr. Drib]

This title was released under a Creative Commons License with a link to the book here. There is additional acknowledgement AND a link again placed at the end of the book. Book was acquired from Munseys, BUT REFORMATTED BY ME TO MY SPECIFICATIONS.

http://www.munseys.com/detail/mode/t...me_on_my_hands

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Craig Rice wrote very enjoyable mysteries, with a light touch and a sense of humor. This novel was originally published in 1944 and may have been a collaboration with Steve Cartmill. (One source speculates on this.) Her most famous character is John J. Malone, an attorney who likes to drink.

The Wiki has this to say about her work:

"Craig Rice (pseudonym of Georgiana Ann Craig; 1908–1957) was an American author of mystery novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, on January 28, 1946.

"Gritty but humorous, Rice's stories uniquely combine the hardboiled detective tradition with no-holds-barred, screwball comedy. Most of her output features a memorable trio of protagonists: Jake Justus, a handsome but none too bright press agent with his heart in the right place; Helene Brand, a rich heiress and hard-drinking party animal par excellence (to become Mrs. Justus in the later novels); and John Joseph Malone, a hard-drinking, small-time lawyer (though both his cryptic conversation and sartorial habits are more reminiscent of such official or private gumshoes as Lieutenant Columbo). Against the odds and often apparently more by luck than skill, these three manage to solve crimes whose details are often burlesque and surreal, sometimes to the point of grand guignol, and all involving the perpetually exasperated Captain Daniel Von Flanagan of the Homicide Squad. A few stories feature the team of Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak, small-time grifters who become involved in criminal situations and have to dig themselves free by solving the mystery.

"Craig Rice also ghostwrote for a number of celebrities, including Gypsy Rose Lee and George Sanders....Her association with Sanders came about as a result of her work on the screenplays of two of The Falcon movies, The Falcon's Brother (1942, Sanders's final outing as The Falcon) and The Falcon in Danger (1943, when Sanders's brother had taken over the role). She collaborated with fellow mystery writer Stuart Palmer on screenplays and short stories and with Ed McBain on a novel for which she furnished the principal characters."

Like all the books I assemble on MobileRead, this too was assembled to reflect human intervention and artistic judgment.

I hope you enjoy it. There'll be more by her.

Don