John J. Malone Mysteries
13 primary works • 14 total works
Book 1
John J. Malone, defender of the guilty, is notorious for getting his culpable clients off. It's the innocent ones who are problems. Like Holly Inglehart, accused of piercing the black heart of her well-heeled and tyrannical aunt Alexandria with a lovely Florentine paper cutter. No one who knew the old battle-ax liked her, but Holly's prints were found on the murder weapon. Plus, she had a motive: She was about to be disinherited for marrying a common bandleader. With each new lurid headline, Holly's friends and supporters start to rally. There's North Shore debutante Helene Brand; Holly's groom's press agent, Jake Justus; the madam of a local brothel, and Alexandria's hand-wringing servants. But not one of them can explain the queerest bent to the crime: At the time of the murder, every clock in the Inglehart mansion stopped dead. And that's only the first twist in a baffling case of "aunty-cide"-because Alexandria won't be the last to die. Making his debut in this fun and funny novel, Craig Rice's one-of-a-kind Chicago attorney is "an inspired creation . . . an unapologetic champion of the defense bar . . . a defender of the guilty whose contempt for society outstrips his contempt for criminals" (Jon L. Breen, Edgar Award-winning author). Eight Faces at Three is the 1st book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 2
Radio star Nelle Brown is known coast-to-coast for her sweet and sultry voice. But her press agent and manager, Jake Justus, is familiar with another side of the darling of the airwaves: her crackpot marriage to a penniless tycoon, disastrous string of lovers, and propensity for flying into spectacular fits of rage. Now, it appears she's being burned by an ex-flame who's holding her scandalous love letters for ransom. The missives could ruin Nelle's career, but so could the scoundrel's murder. For Nelle and Jake, reporting the crime is out of the question—not to mention pointless, as the corpse has vanished along with the incriminating evidence. John J. Malone, Chicago's rumpled yet resourceful legal beagle is tasked with finding both. But as every new unscrupulous lead turns up dead, Malone isn't sure whether Nelle is orchestrating a killer cover-up to save her pretty neck or if she's about to belt out her own swan song. The first writer of detective fiction to appear on the cover of Time magazine, former crime reporter "Craig Rice was a funny lady, [and] a good writer undeservedly forgotten . . . She's worth remembering" (Jon L. Breen, Edgar Award-winning author). The Corpse Steps Out is the 1st book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 3
Book 4
It's 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He's been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone's not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney's name, and drops dead—stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker who once challenged Jake in a high-stakes gamble: She'd bet him she could get away with murder. Is this dead man a pawn in Mona's game? If so, thank goodness Jake and Helene's honeymoon turned as a sour as a margarita. They're already back in town, at odds, yet ready to play. With a crazy wager like Mona's, Malone fears they'll be ringing in the New Year with a countdown of corpses. The first mystery writer to ever make the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice is "the Queen of the Surrealistic Crime Story" (Thrilling Detective). The Right Murder is the 2nd book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 5
When club owner Jake Justus and his wife, Helene, flee a sweltering Chicago summer for rural Jackson County, Wisconsin, they expect sweet-as-apple-pie locals and calm lakes for fishing. Instead, they become the bait: When the town's two-term senator is shot to death, Jake and Helene are held as material witnesses-and, if the fathead sheriff has anything to say about it, suspects. Attorney John J. Malone comes to help out his friends, but in a town where everybody knows everybody-be it by blood, sex, or church socials-only out-of-town strangers are fit to be accused. Oh yeah? So what's their motive for the second murder? Or the third? And the fourth? To find out, Malone will turn Jackson County upside down-with pleasure-and give it a good shake. It might be easier than finding a decent bar! "The Dorothy Parker of detective fiction" is back with the unbeatable trio of sharp-witted attorney John J. Malone and snarky high-society couple Jake and Helene (William Ruehlmann). Trial by Fury is the 5th book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 6
Book 7
On a break from the Windy City, aspiring crime novelist Jake Justus and his wife, Helene, are acquainting themselves with Manhattan's finest cocktail lounges when they befriend Dennis Morrison, a blind-drunk groom. The handsome former male escort thought he'd found his bounty in homely heiress Bertha Lutts, but while their wedding night may have been a bust, the morning after turned out to be the real horror. It seems Bertha has vanished from their bridal suite and in her place is an unidentified beheaded woman. Having taken a shine to Dennis, Jake and Helene call on his best defense: Chicago attorney John J. Malone. Winding his way through both the city's low lives and its high society, Malone quickly discovers a link between the nameless victim, the missing bride, and a slick gigolo: a bohemian Greenwich Village poetess who is free with her verse, knows more than she realizes, and is becoming more frightened with every New York minute. But when Dennis disappears as well, Malone's left with the itchy feeling that another dead end is right around the corner. The basis for the 1945 film starring Carole Landis and Pat O'Brien, Having Wonderful Crime is "a pleasure to read as pure entertainment but there's a also a wicked social voice reporting back from the eyries of the wealthy and privileged. [Rice's] observations are worthy of Tom Wolfe at his best and nastiest" (Ed Gorman). Having Wonderful Crime is the 3rd book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 8
Wrongly convicted of murder, a death-row chorus girl lives for revenge, in this novel from "the grand dame of mystery mixed with screwball comedy" (Ed Gorman). Anna Marie St. Clair was a normal Wisconsin-farm-girl-turned-mistress when she was framed for the murder of her racketeer boyfriend, one of Chicago's sleaziest politicians. Sentenced to death, and only hours from getting fried, a lucky hitch sets Anna Marie free, but she blackmails the corrupt warden into informing the tabloids that she took her volts like a real trouper. What better payback than to haunt the lives of those who tried to steal hers? As the shapeliest ghost in the Windy City, she's going to prove that dying well is the best revenge. Even luckier for Anna Marie, she has enthusiastic backup: attorney John J. Malone, who's got a soft spot for scrappy dames; her best friend, nightclub stripper Milly Dale; and crime reporter Jake Justus and his wife, Helene, who are always game for adventure. But when navigating the criminal underworld gets a little too spirited, there's no telling who's going to end up dead. The Lucky Stiff was the basis for the 1949 film starring Dorothy Lamour and Brian Donlevy. Says Louis Untermeyer, Gold Medal Award-winning poet, author Craig Rice is a "composite of Agatha Christie's ingenuity, Dashiell Hammett's speed, and Dorothy Sayers's wit." The Lucky Stiff is the 4th book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 9
Rodney Fairfaxx is influential and wealthy enough for his family to ignore the Chicago magnate's one little quirk: Ever since his sweetheart sank with the Titanic three decades ago, he's been anxiously awaiting her letter assuring him she's dry, on the mend, and coming home soon. Now, attorney John J. Malone is defending the harmless eccentric against a charge of murder. The victims: three postmen, clubbed to death. The alleged motive: failure to deliver. Malone's good friend, socialite Helene Justus, has been close to the Fairfaxx family for years and she's not buying it. However, her intuition may be as unreliable as the mail. The respectable clan yields a cluster of certified suspects-from Rodney's crafty niece and nephew to the tight-lipped housekeeper to Rodney himself, who may not be as off the beam as everyone thinks. But as tensions rise and secrets are revealed, another murder sends Malone on an entirely different route. With The Fourth Postman, author Craig Rice delivers "plot and people as wacky as ever, with . . . plenty of comedy and, surprisingly, much intriguing sleuthing. Verdict: Fun" (The Saturday Review of Literature). The Fourth Postman is the 5th book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 10
Book 11
From her velvety voice to a pair of legs that say walk this way, Delora Deanne is the most divine creation ever put on earth to sell moisturizer. As Chicago attorney John J. Malone's new client, the notoriously reclusive model has requested a rare one-on-one. Imagine Malone's surprise when he's greeted by Hazel Swackhammer, as midwestern as a stalk of corn and less remarkable. She's also the brain behind Delora Deanne Cosmetics and its closely guarded secret: Delora doesn't exist. Print-ad perfect, she's a composite of several different women. But one of them has gone missing, her hands delivered to Hazel in a pair of lavender gloves. Malone's stumped-and more than a little queasy. Whether her vengeful ex-husband or an entrepreneurial rival, someone's clued in to the truth behind Hazel's success and wants to bring her down. Now, with each special delivery, the illusion of Delora Deanne is literally falling apart, piece by beautiful piece. The first mystery writer to grace the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice is "the Queen of the Surrealistic Crime Story. Almost everything that happens in one of her witty, wacky novels is completely off the wall" (Thrilling Detective). My Kingdom for a Hearse is the 6th book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 12
From suburban cocktail parties to music halls to the precarious ledge of a high-rise, Chicago attorney John J. Malone is willing to take on any case-as long as it'll pay his bar tab. In this ten-story collection of murder most offbeat, a wedding anniversary party turns deadly for an unlucky housewife; a client's supposed innocence hangs by a thread after a suicide attempt; a forlorn ballad may contain the key to a mystery; a relatively harmless lady wrestler gets pinned for cracking her husband's skull; an old flame's diary reveals a poisonous past; and a surprising obituary forces Malone to investigate his own suspicious death. The hero of fourteen novels, more than three-dozen short stories, three feature films, a radio show, and a television series, "Malone is an inspired creation . . . [of] deductive brilliance, malaprop speech, diminutive stature, rumpled appearance, fiscal imprudence, and Irish romanticism . . . closer in spirit to John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey than to his contemporary Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason, whose clients are always innocent" (Jon L. Breen, Edgar Award-winning author).
Book 13
