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Humphrey Bogart #1
We'll Always Have Murder: A Humphrey Bogart Mystery
Humphrey Bogart and down-and-out Hollywood private-eye Terry Scott team up to thwart a scheme to blackmail Bogie for murder and find themselves tangling with gangsters and trying not to trip over corpses. Their investigation takes them to glamorous restaurants like The Brown Derby where the stars go to be seen, and to other, darker, more dangerous places where names are changed and faces are hidden from public view. As Bogie and Terry dig deeper, they uncover too many secrets that someone doesn't want known, and they find themselves the targets of a killer. Getting through alive will take all the smarts, toughness and grit of a character in a Humphrey Bogart movie!
234 pages, Hardcover
First published October 21, 2003
2 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
About the author
Bill Crider
241 books235 followersTaught English at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Tex., and went on to become the chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College in Alvin, Tex.; prolific writer of mystery, science fiction, western, horror, and children's books, not to mention short stories, articles, reviews, and blog posts; perhaps best known for his Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery series.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 14, 2017
Terry Scott is a private eye working in Hollywood for Warner Bros., under the direct instruction of Jack Warner himself; his job is to smooth things over, by fair means or occasionally foul, whenever one of the Warners stars gets into difficulties. The star this time is Humphrey Bogart and the difficulty is that someone is trying to blackmail him. The someone is Frank Burleson, who's Terry's equivalent at the Poverty Row studio Superior; Superior's modus operandi is to make movies in imitation of the major studios' smash hits, but just different enough to avoid copyright suits. Burleson has something on Bogie's divorced first wife, the alcoholic Mayo Methot, of whom the actor is still dutifully protective even though he's by now happily married to Betty Bacall.
Bogie gave Burleson forthright instructions as to what he could do with himself, physiology permitting, but Warner is still keen to make sure a minor incident doesn't become a major embarrassment.
Trouble is, the next thing that happens is that Terry and Bogie find Burleson murdered, with Bogie's gun lying beside the corpse . . .
Crider, whose work I've managed never to read before (a piece of idiocy on my part, I now find), has himself an absolute ball with this situation. Bogie of course insists on tagging along with Terry in the investigation on the (genuine) pretext that he can open doors that'd be slammed in Terry's face; in practice, the actor quite often takes the lead in the detection as they encounter genuine Hollywood characters, like Peter Lorre and of course Warner and Mayo (Bacall is out of town), and fictional ones. In the instance of the fictional characters I initially looked for roman a clef overtones but soon realized I'd enjoy myself more if I ignored this.
And enjoying myself was precisely what I was doing. A lot. Crider seems to have caught Bogie's mannerisms and "voice" just right -- or, at the very least, he's created him on the page so plausibly that I for one am perfectly prepared to believe this is the real Bogie. But the author has cleverly gone further than this: sometimes the character before us is the actor Humphrey Bogart, moving around and interacting within his professional environment, Hollywood, but other times, quite openly and deliberately, the actor slips into the persona of someone he might play in one of his own movies. The resulting transitions of behavior are tremendous fun to follow . . . although one suspects Terry doesn't find them so much of an entertainment as we do.
I laughed aloud fairly often, but We'll Always Have Murder is more than just a humorous novel. In the same way that the best of Terry Pratchett's novels are good solid fantasies behind all the laughter, We'll Always Have Murder also offers us a good solid mystery, one that our two mismatched detectives solve using clues that were fairly presented to us.
As I say, before I read this novel I was a Crider virgin, so to speak. I'm now kicking myself for this decades-long oversight. There are many more novels by this prolific author to be explored, and believe you me I'll be laying my febrile hands on them as soon as I can.
Bogie gave Burleson forthright instructions as to what he could do with himself, physiology permitting, but Warner is still keen to make sure a minor incident doesn't become a major embarrassment.
Trouble is, the next thing that happens is that Terry and Bogie find Burleson murdered, with Bogie's gun lying beside the corpse . . .
Crider, whose work I've managed never to read before (a piece of idiocy on my part, I now find), has himself an absolute ball with this situation. Bogie of course insists on tagging along with Terry in the investigation on the (genuine) pretext that he can open doors that'd be slammed in Terry's face; in practice, the actor quite often takes the lead in the detection as they encounter genuine Hollywood characters, like Peter Lorre and of course Warner and Mayo (Bacall is out of town), and fictional ones. In the instance of the fictional characters I initially looked for roman a clef overtones but soon realized I'd enjoy myself more if I ignored this.
And enjoying myself was precisely what I was doing. A lot. Crider seems to have caught Bogie's mannerisms and "voice" just right -- or, at the very least, he's created him on the page so plausibly that I for one am perfectly prepared to believe this is the real Bogie. But the author has cleverly gone further than this: sometimes the character before us is the actor Humphrey Bogart, moving around and interacting within his professional environment, Hollywood, but other times, quite openly and deliberately, the actor slips into the persona of someone he might play in one of his own movies. The resulting transitions of behavior are tremendous fun to follow . . . although one suspects Terry doesn't find them so much of an entertainment as we do.
I laughed aloud fairly often, but We'll Always Have Murder is more than just a humorous novel. In the same way that the best of Terry Pratchett's novels are good solid fantasies behind all the laughter, We'll Always Have Murder also offers us a good solid mystery, one that our two mismatched detectives solve using clues that were fairly presented to us.
As I say, before I read this novel I was a Crider virgin, so to speak. I'm now kicking myself for this decades-long oversight. There are many more novels by this prolific author to be explored, and believe you me I'll be laying my febrile hands on them as soon as I can.
August 20, 2015
I really enjoyed this mystery especially as Humphrey Bogart is one of my favorite actors. I could almost hear his voice when I read. The story was fast moving and action packed, the characters where well rounded and the premise was true to Hollywood.
The thing I didn't like was the proof errors. I found over a dozen mistakes. Shame on you ibooks and Simon and Schuster for allowing this travesty. You need to quit depending on computers and hire real, live proof-readers.
The thing I didn't like was the proof errors. I found over a dozen mistakes. Shame on you ibooks and Simon and Schuster for allowing this travesty. You need to quit depending on computers and hire real, live proof-readers.
February 16, 2008
Would have been a neat series, but the publisher disappeared with the rights and Crider cannot continue it.
October 30, 2012
FAB 40s MYSTERY FOR HISTORY & MOVIE BUFFS
Bogart and the 1940s era come alive in this entertaining and well-written mystery with a great hero and cast. You get a nostalgic, behind-the-scenes look at how movies were made during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Great plot and sharp dialogue between the characters seem realistic, with authentic period details and descriptions. Fun to hear the latest movie gossip about the big-name stars as if they were still around. Wish the author (Crider) could make this a regular series--hated for this gem to end. A winner!
January 7, 2018
Bill Crider mysteries never let me down.
This 2004 book has Humphrey Bogart as the main character...
What could go wrong?
When Bogart assists P.I. Terry Cook in solving a Tinseltown murder (or two), as a reader, we almost believe it IS Bogart. Bogart is brought back to life, that's how well the voice of Bogart is carried throughout the story.
The plot is easy and most of us can probably ID the murderer quickly. The characters are good, but I really like the secondary characters and the REAL people Crider manages to hide behind the two main characters.
There are a few gaffes in this first book of a promised series that didn't happen.
At this point in time, with Bill Crider's health declining quickly, I'm keeping this paperback as well as all the other books I have that he wrote.
If you like cozy mysteries and you like Bill Crider's writing, then you'll want to grab this one.
This 2004 book has Humphrey Bogart as the main character...
What could go wrong?
When Bogart assists P.I. Terry Cook in solving a Tinseltown murder (or two), as a reader, we almost believe it IS Bogart. Bogart is brought back to life, that's how well the voice of Bogart is carried throughout the story.
The plot is easy and most of us can probably ID the murderer quickly. The characters are good, but I really like the secondary characters and the REAL people Crider manages to hide behind the two main characters.
There are a few gaffes in this first book of a promised series that didn't happen.
At this point in time, with Bill Crider's health declining quickly, I'm keeping this paperback as well as all the other books I have that he wrote.
If you like cozy mysteries and you like Bill Crider's writing, then you'll want to grab this one.
May 1, 2019
I love PI stories and enjoy reading about the golden age of movie making. This combines both and is a delightful journey.
If you are a fan of Humphrey Bogart you will enjoy all of the references to his movies that get dropped into the dialogue.
The plot is nicely told, with plenty of bad guys to fill in as potential killers.
Los Angeles is far different than it is today, but adds a nice backdrop to the cast of characters, some of whom are fictional.
I bought a copy since my library did not have one.
I plan on putting it into everyone's hands as soon as they ask me for my next recommendation. I just wish there had been a sequel.
If you are a fan of Humphrey Bogart you will enjoy all of the references to his movies that get dropped into the dialogue.
The plot is nicely told, with plenty of bad guys to fill in as potential killers.
Los Angeles is far different than it is today, but adds a nice backdrop to the cast of characters, some of whom are fictional.
I bought a copy since my library did not have one.
I plan on putting it into everyone's hands as soon as they ask me for my next recommendation. I just wish there had been a sequel.
January 13, 2021
A fun mystery set in late 1940s Hollywood.
Private Eye Terry Scott is called in to help Humphrey Bogart deal with a blackmail attempt. But Bogey wants to be a part of the action too. Bodies start to pile up....will Scott and Bogart solve the case?
As always, Crider's writing is wonderful.
The only issue I had was with all the typo mistakes. It was distracting at times and took me out of the story. That's the publisher's fault though, not the writer.
I wish this series had continued.
But I will enjoy this one.
Private Eye Terry Scott is called in to help Humphrey Bogart deal with a blackmail attempt. But Bogey wants to be a part of the action too. Bodies start to pile up....will Scott and Bogart solve the case?
As always, Crider's writing is wonderful.
The only issue I had was with all the typo mistakes. It was distracting at times and took me out of the story. That's the publisher's fault though, not the writer.
I wish this series had continued.
But I will enjoy this one.
July 18, 2019
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!! This book was so well written, I thought I was Scott traveling with Bogart through the whole book! It just sucks you in and you don't want to stop reading. This is my very first book I've ever read by this author, but now I'm looking for more of his work. The only sad part was finishing the book. But I can't wait to find more of his books!
January 13, 2020
Fun read. Read it because we had to pick a Bill Crider selection in my book club. I heard Humphrey Bogart’s voice in my head every time he spoke in the book which was fun, loved him as an actor. Too many characters, and some distractions from the plot but overall a good book, easy to read.
May 28, 2020
Nice enjoyable little story about someone trying to blackmail Humphrey Bogart. Not only do you get a good story, but you also get to travel around with Bogart and meet lots of his movie star friends from classic Hollywood.
February 25, 2025
Well written, classic Bogart!
January 28, 2015
An interesting portrait of Bogie, though I have no idea if it's anywhere close to accurate. Fun read. Way too many typos.
February 9, 2016
the book is ok ,
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews