Fourth Postman

John J. Malone #9

by Craig Rice

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfectionssuch as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed worksworldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Justice In Taxation As A Remedy For Social Discontent: A Paper Read January 8, 1898, Before The Round Table Frederick Newton Judson Nixon-Jones printing co., 1898 Business & Economics; Taxation; General; Business & Economics / Taxation / General; Law / Taxation; Taxation

Genres: Mystery

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Pseudonym for Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig aka Daphne Sanders and Michael Venning.

Known for her hard-boiled mystery plots combined with screwball comedy, Georgiana 'Craig' Rice was the author of twenty-three novels, six of them posthumous, numerous short stories, and some true crime pieces. In the 1940s she rivaled Agatha Christie in sales and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. However, over the past sixty years she has fallen into relative obscurity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ri...

Reviews

[Sally Kilpatrick]

Eh, not my favorite, but it definitely has some funny moments. The mystery didn't completely work for me, but I have to be honest that I was reading it in fits and starts, so that could be on me.

[Derek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Screwball comedies are not my thing, especially when the antics are fueled by heavy drinking. Nick and Nora Charles, of The Thin Man, had fantastic razor-sharp repartee, while Malone and his cohorts struggle under the weight of running gags, near slapstick, and weirdly self-destructive behavior.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Please, Mr. Postman, look and see
Is there a letter, a letter for me..."

John J. Malone finds himself representing Rodney Fairfaxx when a procession of postmen get themselves killed in the alley that runs beside the Fairfaxx house. Rodney is a small, mild-mannered man who just likes to collect stamps while waiting patiently for a letter from his sweetie, a woman whose name appeared on the Titanic passenger list and whom everybody (except Rodney) has accepted as lost at sea. The police (in the person of Captain Daniel von Flanagan) believe Rodney has been driven crazy by the non-appearance of letters and has decided to take it out on the innocent postmen who are not delivering the goods. But when Malone takes a look at the scene of the crimes and considers the circumstances, he knows his client didn't do it...and what's more, he knows that von Flanagan knows it too. So....

Who would want to kill a postman? [A question posed by several of our characters.] And...who would want to kill three postment? These are questions that John J. Malone and Captain Daniel von Flanagan are trying to answer. But to my mind, the more burning question is why on earth, after two of your fellow postmen have been bashed on the head while going down an alley short-cut, would you--as the third postman to take this route--go down that alley? If I'm the third postman, I'm going to take the long way round and avoid that alley like the plague.

Another observation, as soon as one of the characters announced to all and sundry that he was changing his will--and definitely not in y'all's favor; in fact, none of you are gonna get anything now--I fully expected another murder/attempted murder. And, by golly, I was right. But not in the way I thought.

Anyway, Malone, von Flanagan and Helene Justus spend the rest of the book running around town looking for hammers, making mysterious phone calls, tracking down motives for either killing postmen or seeing that Rodney Fairfaxx takes the rap, feeding their newfound doggy friend beer, and trying to keep Jake Justus, currently suffering from a bad case of chicken pox, safely at home in bed. Malone discovers that Rodney's family (a brother and a niece and nephew) and neighbors (who are the wife and daughter of one Rodney's dearly departed friends) all might have a motive to keep postmen and Fairfaxx from seeing one another. But who wanted it enough to kill?

Malone's antics with his new booze-hound side-kick and the interactions with Helen and Jake (and the doctor who keeps popping in and out to attend to the chicken pox) are well worth the price of admission. The quirky motive behind the murders adds a bit of spice to the proceedings and it all makes for a fun, fast-paced mystery.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.

[Jim Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical screwball comedy with Malone and Jake & Helene Justice. Not as funny as some of the others but with the wonderfully tangled up dialogue from the 3 protagonists that is usually the result of heavy drinking. It's too bad that the late 40's film industry wasn't able to film adaptations of some of these books that really captured that surreal fast paced chatter and their strange brand of morals and ethics that still manages in having them usually do the right thing. The three films based on the books didn't really capture the essence of these characters although they weren't bad films. Only one had all 3 characters, the other two just had Malone. I see them as a more serious version of "The Thin Man" while being even more madcap at the same time. Of course you would need to suspend the Hayes Code for these films to really work. The 3 actors that played Malone were Pat O’Brien, Brian Donlevy and James Whitmore. Not who I would have picked. I envision a cross between Pat O'Brien and Groucho Marx with the ability to quickly spew out the quips like the early Gary Grant. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate any actor fitting that description around that time.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best Of The Malone Series So Far

I’m reading Craig Rice’s John J. Malone series in order, and for me this is the best one so far. The mystery is both clever and entertaining, the supporting characters are fun and interesting, ant the writing is, as always, top notch. The regular cast of Malone and his friends Jake and Helene Justus are, of course, all present, though Malone is definitely the star this time out, with Helene more or less a bit player and Jake stuck at home with chicken pox through most of the book. All in all, a great 1940s mystery set in Chicago’s upper crust, where things aren’t always as they seem.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some mysteries open with a murdered body and some make us wait a bit while the author sets the scene and introduces the characters. Sometimes there's a second or third murder later in the book, just to keep the reader's attention. Agatha Christie was a big believer in the "Bring on another body" school of plot development.

Craig Rice NEVER followed the herd and this one opens with THREE murders. And we never learn any of their names. They're simply postmen who made the mistake of taking a shortcut through the wrong alley and were murdered. Not sure why the second and third victims would go down that alley after the first guy was killed there. Maybe if you're on your feet all day a shortcut that saves a few steps is worth the risk.

Or maybe they were lulled into complaisance because the alley runs between two large, expensive mansions. The people who live on that street are RICH, for Pete's sake. Rich people aren't murderers, are they?

Chicago defense Lawyer John J. Malone has met all kinds of murderers. He's brought into this odd case by Captain von Flanagan, who's about to make an arrest, but not sure he wants the "perp" to be convicted. Mr. Rodney Fairfaxx is such a gentle old man; generous to his family and obsessed with his stamp collection. Unfortunately, he's convinced that he will shortly receive a letter from his long-lost sweetheart, who went down with the Titanic. Mr. Rodney believes that she survived and will be contacting him. It's 1948, so that's possible, although unlikely.

His family (all dependent on his generosity) humor his little quirk, but when three postmen in a row are bumped off in the alley beside the Fairfaxx mansion, it begins to look like old Rodney may be crazier than they thought. Is he angry at the Postal Service for not delivering that letter from the lovely Annie? Rodney Fairfaxx is the easiest arrest ever made in Chicago and no one could be more polite about the whole thing. Malone is confident he can get an "innocent by reason of insanity" judgement and a nice room at a well-run hospital for the likable old guy. There's sure to be a big fee and (as always) Malone desperately needs the money.

Then things get complicated. A stray dog in the murder alley latches onto Malone and won't let go. And he's a bigger booze-hound than the little lawyer himself. What a perfect pair.

Of course, the rest of the family are eventually suspects. Nephew Kenneth is divorced from the lovely Glida (pronounced G-i-l-d-a and just wait 'til you meet her) and engaged to the not-so-lovely Gay. They're cousins and part of the Lacy family next door. The Fairfax family and the Lacy family are connected in some expected ways and some unexpected ones, too. Matriarch Abbey Lacy is determined that HER daughter will inherit the Fairfaxx fortune and she's hands-down the toughest person in the neighborhood.

Niece Elizabeth is a long-legged beauty - the product of a Fairfaxx marriage to a gorgeous actress. The actress disappeared soon after her daughter's birth and is supposed to be living in California, but Malone soon figures out that she's hiding in plain sight. Uncle Ernie is Rodney's half-brother and penniless except for his allowance and (maybe) expectations. But he turns out to have some valuable information, if only he lives long enough to tell it.

Every one of them could have bumped off the mailmen and then there's the Lacy's butler, Boris Karloff look-alike Huntleigh. He shows up in chapter 11, determined to save his beloved family and he doesn't care who he has to run over to do it. Ask Malone.

And naturally, socialite Helene Brand Justus is right in the middle of the action. She went to school with the Lacy girls and knows both families and their secrets. And even though her husband Jake Justus has chicken pox, she's GOING to be involved in this investigation and there's nothing Malone can do about it.

This is surely one of the funniest of Craig Rice's books and that's saying something. By the end of the book, I'd pretty much lost the plot and when the murderer is revealed, I was a bit fuzzy about the motive. Still am, but it doesn't make any difference. It's a wonderfully enjoyable read and that's all Rice was going for. If you like eccentricity, you'll love this one.

[David Macpherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Craig Rice book. I liked it. Did not love it. SOme one is killing postmen. The solution is pretty lame and the characters seemed to stretch out the page length. They were just not as charming to me then I think they were supposed to be. I will try another Rice book just to make sure

[Sanjay Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is the best

It was the last one of John Malone Mystery - I have read them all now and I am going to restart from the beginning again. There is not only no one like her in the annals of mystery writing, there is no one even remotely like her.

[Danny Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The climax and reveal is a bit of a letdown, but otherwise it's a masterpiece of screwball mysteries.

[Mary Stenvall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another from the golden era, paperback mysteries from the the forties and fifties. This one featured the lawyer, J.J. Malone, who is always fun. Revisiting my youth.

[EvelienTalitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me laugh so many times and I really felt like I got to know the author (Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig), and her sass and sarcasm in her writing is absolutely amazing.

[M.A. Monnin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Craig Rice was a bit chatty for me, but other than that, I enjoyed the mystery.

[Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 lesser effort but still fun

[Tuesdayschild · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like a 1940’s grade B movie complete with screwball, slapstick comedy. The comedic portions were fuelled by alcohol, lots of alcohol - even the dog drank.
A redeeming feature of this book, for me, was that I listened to it on audio and the narrator, Johnny Heller, did an excellent job.

Extra: some bawdy talk, lots of cussing.

*Read for a Crime-spree challenge/ American authors

[Adam Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was released in 1948, fifteen years after the end of prohibition. Orgies of alcohol were really out of fashion. Perhaps more than that, the talents of Craig Rice were in decline. Call Ms. Rice many things, but she was no hypocrite. She practiced the wild hard drinking lifestyle her books uplift and perhaps that caused a decline of her writing ability ahead of her too early death.

Jake Justus was the main on-stage character in The Corpse Steps Out and had been relegated to third banana. He finally married the wealthy woman sometime after that book and seems to have become a shiftless derelict whose main scene involved waltzing into the crime scene with a murder weapon while in a drunken stupor.

Malone investigates the case somewhat ably in his constantly pickled state. The book is a notch below The Corpse Steps Out with no real likable characters and even more of its humor falling flat.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my tour of "Golden Era" mystery writers, I come to Craig Rice. This one is part of her John J. Malone series, a hard-boiled detective style combined with much humor resulting in a sort of screwball detective series. I found this novel to be more about the humorous situations and characters than the mystery itself, but that was fine. It's good to see that not all mysteries of that era are the same.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quirky and enjoyable, though the story is mostly about the adventures of the protagonist and less about the mystery.