This--is Murder!

by Gerald Adams, Cortland Fitzsimmons

It started off as a publicity stunt, a short cruise to Catalina Island on the producer’s yacht for some of the cast and crew of his next film, Blue Lagoon. But when the leading lady, the exotic Zara fails to come up after a dive off the yacht, the cause of death is found to be poison. Trapped on the yacht by a thick fog, it’s up to Dean Mallory, mystery author and screen writer to solve the crime, knowing that one of the passengers is the murderer. But which one? Is it the leading man, the rival actress, the mysterious central casting “Rajah,” the Russian, or even the producer? And was the motive jealousy, blackmail, or something even more sinister? This–is Murder! is a mystery for all fans of those classic 1930's movies.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 23, 2015

Reviews

[Anna Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This- is Murder! belongs firmly in the classic mystery sub-genre of 'comic murder' or 'murder mystery humor.' Yes, there is a murder, but everything except the actual death reads like a screwball movie- perhaps unsurprisingly, since the victim, amateur detective, and all suspects are linked to Hollywood in some way or other. Mystery novelist/screenwriter Dean Mallory is relaxing on his cruiser anchored off Catalina Island when he- and his Peke Shanghai- are reluctantly dragged into a party on a neighboring yacht by his love interest Vicky Blaire. Vicky's nervous and thinks things feel off, and before long a publicity stunt involving diving for (fake) rubies thrown overboard by a (fake) Rajah results in a dead starlet and a boat full of suspects hemmed in by impenetrable fog. Mallory is pressed into detective service, Shanghai gets drunk, and Vicky serves as an able sidekick through a series of improbable events and further acts of attempted violence. True to form, none of the Hollywood notables on board are remotely who they seam to be, and all have reason to resent the beautiful dead woman. There's plenty of witty wordplay and madcap escapades, along with a bit of the usual bigotry typical of the period. Light and fun.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite good fun in its own way.
The exotic film star Zara is murdered while engaged in a publicity stunt on board a producer's yacht.

Fortunately a screenwriter and author of crime fiction is available to investigate the passengers and their possible motives while the boat is trapped in the fog.

First published in 1941, this is rather good quality pulp fiction.

3.5 stars.