Who Was That Lady? Craig Rice: The Queen of Screwball Mystery

by Jeffrey Marks

Rice Was on the Cover of Time: Craig Rice, the author of fourteen novels, countless short stories, and a number of true crime pieces, once rivaled Agatha Christie in sales. Rice's popularity with the reading public (FDR was a fan) landed her on the cover of Time in January 1946. While rumors about Rice continue to surface within the mystery community -- i.e. did she really write the Gypsy Rose Lee mysteries? -- the past fifty years have seen her fall into relative obscurity. "Rice was something of a mystery herself", Marks says. "Nearly every identification point about her was in dispute: her birth, her real name, her number of marriages, number of children, her canon of fiction, and the cause of her early death". Following a trail that led from Venice, Italy to Venice Beach, CA, Marks talked to a number of her contemporaries, her family, and her friends to find the answers to those questions. The biography, complete with footnotes, index, and eight pages of photographs (many never before published), covers her life and firmly establishes the oeuvre of Rice's novels and short story works.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Mystery

186 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 bk 181. I started this book in March. I finished it the 2nd to last day of May. Don't get me wrong, the story of Craig Rice needed to be written. Back in the 1980's I had a reference book on American mystery authors and I tried to read at least one book by each author. I read 8 of Craig Rice's books. True, they were period pieces, but her characters felt like they could walk right into the room with you. In fact, I picked up Home Sweet Homicide to read concurrent with this biography as a refresher and what I felt about her characters and plotting held true to my memories. I only wish that the author of the biography had Rice's ability with characters. Rather than spring to life as a multi-dimensional woman / author / resident of the first - middle part of the 20th century, he let the tragedies of her life box her into a flat picture, not unlike the box around her picture on the cover of Time magazine. I know it is hard to write about people an author has never met. I did learn new things about Craig Rice and her family, but I was left feeling very flat and had to push myself to finish the book.

[Anastasia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Muddled and definitely in need of some major editing this short biography never the less shows the respect and honest love of another human being and their work. A quick alright read if you love detective fiction of the forties and fifties. Although I wou ld suggest skating over the unnecessarily long synapses and quotes pertaining to Rice's many books. Unless you have already read each book the comments will mean next to nothing. This biography needed a bit more life and a little less overreaching undergraduate project.

[Susan Rutherford-Estes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but I found the book hard to read. Basically kept reading to see if it would get better.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an unusual person and mystery writer with a misleading name (a combination of her two last names). I wondered why I had never heard much about her and her writing. Some of this is due to the fact that she died fairly young in August of 1957. Much of her work is lost or out of print. I had to borrow this biography through interlibrary loan.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...

[Jim Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a couple of Craig Rice mysteries when I was in my late teens. They belonged to my aunt and uncle. I was surprised later when I discovered Craig Rice was a woman and even more surprised by reading her biography that she made the cover of Time magazine, something no other mystery writer has done. Not Chandler, Hammett or Agatha Christie who was almost chosen but Rice was American and at that time maybe even more popular than Ms. Christie. The creator of the famous Perry Mason mysteries, Earle Stanley Gardner was also extremely popular and was upset because he believed he deserved being the Time cover story more then Rice. Craig Rice, born Georgiana Craig (or was it Randolph) was actually combined from surname of biological and adoptive parents. She wrote like no one else. Hardboiled crime with a lot of wit and humor, her books filled with fun loving, hard drinking and chain smoking party people much like herself. She was an alcoholic who lived much like her characters who in her best books were John J. Malone who was an attorney who claimed he never lost a client and Malone's pals Jake and Helene. The closest thing to Rice's mysteries I can think of would be Hammett's Thin Man or the lesser known but still entertaining Johnny Fletcher - Sam Cragg mysteries by the underrated author Frank Gruber. Gruber was adept at writing good westerns as well as his mystery books. I'm glad that author Marks has written about this sadly, almost forgotten author, Craig Rice. Try to find a copy of The Corpse Steps Out or The Right Murder by Rice. I find her stuff entertaining and hope that her work will stay in print.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biography of Craig Rice, a mystery writer of the 1930s -1950s. In her day, she was popular and famous enough to have her name in the title of a magazine. However now days she is mostly forgotten, but she still has 4 books in print.
An author is remembered by the public, not by their life, but by their work. So one needs to start there. Her work is good, and the book does describe each novel, and has a biography of known short stories and other works - including films based on her stores, and films she worked on.
Her life was not so good, and the author of the book is constantly explaining her behaviors (not justifying, but explaining). Most of the explanations are plausible. Certainly explains why she died in her late 40s - and was not writing too much that last decade. Author talked with the family and many other folks who knew Rice. If you want to know about Craig Rice the person, this is the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting look at the life of a once popular author who has faded into obscurity. Seemed to be very well researched and now I'd like to read at least one of her books.

I'm glad the author took the time to write about her. There is a lot to learn. Her brilliance didn't seem to bring her real happiness, nor did her fame.

Note: This book was provided through the GoodReads First Read program with the expectation of an honest review. My opinions are my own.

[Shannon Baas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an unusual book. I had never heard of Craig Rice before this. The book is a biography that details her writing career and the problems she faces throughout her life. It is an interesting book and one that I would recommend.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Biography of a fabulous mystery writer.

[Therese]

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