- Hardcover: 262 pages
- Publisher: Vhps Hardcover (Mar 15 1998)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031218106X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312181062
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 15 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #612,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From School Library Journal
YA-It's 1937, and Groucho Marx teams up with Frank Denby to solve mysteries. The first appears in a new radio series, written by Denby, in which Groucho stars as a flaky detective who solves crimes using his own wacky techniques. The other one involves the death of a young starlet whom Groucho had known a few years earlier. The comic enlists the help of Denby and eventually Denby's girlfriend, Jane Danner, in his quest to solve the case. Goulart inserts period details throughout the novel. Local gangsters add another view of Hollywood in the 1930s. The ending has a few surprises, lots of action, and a tying together of loose ends. Goulart's best effort is in the characterization of Groucho, emphasizing his keen wit and rapid, often one-line, responses. Some of the funniest lines are those retorts he makes to people on the street who have recognized him. For those who enjoy the Marx Brothers movies, this is another chance to experience the same type of word play. For those young people who may not know of Groucho and his brothers, this title will serve as an introduction and may spur them on to find out more. Readers who are familiar with the 1930s-type mystery series, such as those by Stuart Kaminsky featuring Toby Peters, will find this novel particularly appealing.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
You wouldn't think the most ribald movie comic of his age would have a sentimental streak, but Groucho Marx is so sad that Peg McMorrow, a starlet he'd had a brief relationship with two years ago, is dead that he persuades Frank Denby, the former police reporter who's writing his farcical new radio show, Groucho Marx, Master Detective, to see what he can get on the death. It doesn't take long for Frank to find that the official verdict--suicide--is a lot of hooey. (Whatever finally killed Peg, she'd been beaten thoroughly first.) It doesn't take him long to find that the cops are dead serious about burying the case. (A day after Peg's death, they've already closed and vanished the case file, cremated the body, and scattered the ashes at sea.) And it doesn't take him long to find Jane Danner, the comic-strip artist who'll hold his hand and trade quips with Groucho while he's waiting for the trail of blackmail and corruption to lead from blackmailing Peg to organized crime, the Bayside Police Department, and the upper reaches of Monarch Studios. Throughout the starlet-studded proceedings, Groucho is hilarious. Unfortunately, the non sequiturs that pepper his conversation so amusingly seem to have wormed their way into the helter-skelter mystery as well. Historical Hollywood background, celebrity cameos, rapid-fire patter, and ramshackle plotting: Veteran Goulart's series debut is just the thing for readers who think George Baxt and Stuart Kaminsky aren't turning out this sort of product fast enough. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
DON'T BET YOUR LIFE ON THIS ONE!,
By
This review is from: Groucho Marx, Master Detective (Hardcover)
Everyone knows Groucho was the master of the somewhat leering, slightly suggestive non sequitur. As a comic he was a master of stage and screen with his equally masterful brothers. And on his own he mastered radio and television with his You Bet Your Life quiz show. But could you ever imagine him as a master detective?Well, that's the premise of this book. Set in the thirties, the story opens with Groucho getting ready to go solo and star in a new radio show to be called GROUCHO MARX, MASTER DETECTIVE. The show is being written by Frank Denby, a former police reporter turned wannabe scriptwriter. Suddenly, a budding movie starlet commits suicide. Groucho, who admits to sleeping with the woman, is convinced she would never kill herself and he asks Denby to help him investigate the matter. Denby's investigation uncovers the possibility of murder, blackmail, police corruption, organized crime and a sinister Hollywood cover-up. And to top it off, he and Groucho seem to have been added to the hit list. Although the author has a parade of thirties era celebrities (or their names) dropping in on the action, his writing does not really have a convincing feel for the era. And while Groucho's constant quips are often quite funny, he comes across more as a caricature than a real character. The book was alright, but in the end take a bit of Groucho's advice ... don't shoot elephants in your pajamas and if you want to read about celebrity sleuths stick to Kaminsky and Baxt. I was also bothered by the dust jacket illustration which seems to be closely based on the classic and highly superior Hirshfield drawing of Groucho.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clever idea for a mystery series!,
By
This review is from: Groucho Marx, Master Detective (Hardcover)
A clever idea--a ham actor and consummate comedian as the detective! Ron Goulart's amusing (what would you expect with a Marx brother?) fictional accounting of a zany murder chase is not so farsical as it seems. Actually, the author, wisecracks aside, has a good case here--and this is the beginning of a series,too! A young actress (could Groucho be involved with any other!) is dead; the police are calling it a suicide; but Groucho is uneasy about all this. Somehow, the lines aren't straight and the cues are out of sync! Before the curtain falls, however, our Groucho has brought the house down in this SRO episode. Bravo, Groucho (and Goulart). A good read! (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)
4.0 out of 5 stars
A pleasant ride with Groucho on the case for the first time,
By Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME)
This review is from: Groucho Marx, Master Detective (Hardcover)
Having read the third book in the series (the cover called to me in the library, what could I do?) I am going back at starting at the very beginning. "Groucho Marx, Master Detective" is not a compelling mystery in which you try to figure out the clues one step ahead of the sleuth, but it is fun to have Groucho alive and kicking. Aided and abetted by the narrator, a former police reporter and current writer for Groucho's fledgling radio show named, surprise, "Groucho Marx, Master Detective," Groucho is investigating the "suicide" of a young starlet with whom he was once involved. Of course, it was really murder and Groucho feels compelled to find out whodunit. Ron Goulart's novel is a pleasant diversion. If you are a hardcore mystery fan there is really not much here, so it may well be this book is going to tickle the fancy of devoted Marxists such as myself. With this Groucho Marx you get both the blazing and constant sarcastic abuse (one of the running gags is people thinking they recognize Groucho without his mustache) and the "real" Julius Marx (on those rare occasions when he forces himself to drop all of the pretenses). The parade of Hollywood stars in the background seems a bit forced at this point, but it becomes more refined down the road. The main thing is that we get another chance to hear Groucho speak. Ever since I heard about "A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine," a play in which the second act is the Marx Brothers doing Chekov (sort of), I have been open to the idea of reviving Groucho and his siblings in new and creative ways. In that regard, Ron Goulart's books are a pleasant way to spend an afternoon.
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