Time Off for Murder

Mary Carner #2

by Zelda Popkin

Zelda Popkin made a definite place for herself when her first mystery novel "Death Wears a White Gardenia" was published. "The New York Times Book Review said: ""Zelda Popkin has a genuine talent for writing mystery stories."" "The Saturday Review's Guide to Detective Fiction, The Criminal Record," pronounced the Verdict, ""Good!"" In "Time Off For Murder" Mary Carner, the efficient department store detective, leaves her job at Blankfort's Fifth Avenue Store when her friend, Phyllis Knight, a young socialite attorney is found murdered after having been missing for six months. Inspector Heinsheimer of the New York Homicide Squad admires Mary Carner and is willing to work with her but - Mary is finally on her own entirely; poking into the affairs of Rockey Nardello who is doing time as leader of a numbers racket gang. "Dangerous?" . . . so Mary Carner found out! Smart, tough, sophisticated, fast, "Time Off For Murder" keep mystery fans burning the midnight oil. Boson Books also offers "Death Wears a White Gardenia" by Zelda Popkin. For an author bio and photo, reviews and a reading sample, visit bosonbooks.com.

ebook

First published January 1, 1940

About the author

Zelda Popkin (1898–1983, née Feinberg) was an American author of novels and mystery stories. She created Mary Carner, one of the first professional female private detectives in fiction. Carner was a store detective who appeared in five novels. Connections have been made with Angela Lansbury’s character in the television series Murder, She Wrote — Jessica Fletcher.

Popkin's most successful book was The Journey Home, published in 1945, which sold nearly a million copies. Small Victory, published in 1947, was one of the first American novels with a Holocaust theme, and Quiet Street (1951) was the first American novel about the creation of the state of Israel. She also wrote an autobiography, Open Every Door (1956), chronicling her childhood, life with Louis, and life after his death. Herman Had Two Daughters (1968), a novel about two young Jewish women growing up in a small Pennsylvania town, is also largely autobiographical.
Zelda Popkin was married to Louis Popkin, and together they ran a small public relations firm until his death. They had two children, Roy and Richard.