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John J. Malone #4
The Right Murder
A dozen murders and counting--and any one of them could lead a Chicago attorney to a hotheaded female tycoon.
It's 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He's been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone's not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney's name, and drops dead--stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker who once challenged Jake in a high-stakes gamble: She'd bet him she could get away with murder.
Is this dead man a pawn in Mona's game? If so, thank goodness Jake and Helene's honeymoon turned as a sour as a margarita. They're already back in town, at odds, yet ready to play. With a crazy wager like Mona's, Malone fears they'll be ringing in the New Year with a countdown of corpses.
The first mystery writer to ever make the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice is "the Queen of the Surrealistic Crime Story" (Thrilling Detective).
The Right Murder is the 2nd book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
It's 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He's been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone's not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney's name, and drops dead--stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker who once challenged Jake in a high-stakes gamble: She'd bet him she could get away with murder.
Is this dead man a pawn in Mona's game? If so, thank goodness Jake and Helene's honeymoon turned as a sour as a margarita. They're already back in town, at odds, yet ready to play. With a crazy wager like Mona's, Malone fears they'll be ringing in the New Year with a countdown of corpses.
The first mystery writer to ever make the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice is "the Queen of the Surrealistic Crime Story" (Thrilling Detective).
The Right Murder is the 2nd book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1941
15 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Craig Rice
103 books56 followersPseudonym 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...
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...
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 29, 2022
Read this on the bus ride (it was almost 6 hours) and oh boy was it super fun.
January 4, 2024
This book starts soon after The Wrong Murder finishes, right at New Year’s Eve. A man seeking Malone enters the bar, calls out his name and dies. And so the never ending (never sleeping either) chase begins.
I found this story to move much better than The Wrong Murder. And also the events, no matter how nutty, did all fit together in some way - and the strangeness of it all also was really entertaining - as you tried to see how you could glue the clues together to make sense.
(I hate to say much more about the plot of the book as it would ruin the surprise.)
Should you read The Wrong Murder before this one? YES. It’s actually critical to do so.
Another solid mystery from Craig Rice!
I found this story to move much better than The Wrong Murder. And also the events, no matter how nutty, did all fit together in some way - and the strangeness of it all also was really entertaining - as you tried to see how you could glue the clues together to make sense.
(I hate to say much more about the plot of the book as it would ruin the surprise.)
Should you read The Wrong Murder before this one? YES. It’s actually critical to do so.
Another solid mystery from Craig Rice!
December 10, 2020
I did not read the edition pictured above. I read a 1941 Popular Library paperback pocket book copy. It was one of the small paperbacks from the 1940s and 50s that really would fit in your back pocket. I picked it up second hand. The glue in the binding was all dried out so the pages were loose. The edges of the pages were water stained. This book lead a tough life.
It was an odd feeling to know that I was destroying the book by reading it. As I turned each page it separated from the binding. I finished with a collection of loose pages. It was not the kind of thing you get reading a book on a Kindle. I like to know that I am reading a particular copy of a book with a particular history. It is more than a formatted text file.
This is a Malone and Justus story. Rice did a series of madcap crime capers set in 1940s Chicago. They featured John J. Malone, the best criminal lawyer in Chicago, Jake Justus, who worked variously as a reporter, a press agent and a bar owner, and his wife, the wealthy socialite Helene Justus.
Everyone drinks like crazy. The cops are not that bright. Dead bodies keep popping up and everyone talks in a snappy patter. There are running gags in the series. Malone is always broke. Helene's driving terrifies everyone. Flanagan, the Homicide detective, is always planning where he is going to move to, away from Chicago, when he retires.
This is a sequel to Rice's previous book, "The Wrong Murder". The set up for both stories is that a wild society dame, Mona McClane, bets Jake that she can commit a murder in Chicago in public in front of witnesses and get away with it. If Jake can prove she committed the murder, he wins her nightclub. ( These types of screwball stories aren't too worried about realism)
Fun plot. Satisfying ending. Great 1940s style and talk. What's not to like?
It was an odd feeling to know that I was destroying the book by reading it. As I turned each page it separated from the binding. I finished with a collection of loose pages. It was not the kind of thing you get reading a book on a Kindle. I like to know that I am reading a particular copy of a book with a particular history. It is more than a formatted text file.
This is a Malone and Justus story. Rice did a series of madcap crime capers set in 1940s Chicago. They featured John J. Malone, the best criminal lawyer in Chicago, Jake Justus, who worked variously as a reporter, a press agent and a bar owner, and his wife, the wealthy socialite Helene Justus.
Everyone drinks like crazy. The cops are not that bright. Dead bodies keep popping up and everyone talks in a snappy patter. There are running gags in the series. Malone is always broke. Helene's driving terrifies everyone. Flanagan, the Homicide detective, is always planning where he is going to move to, away from Chicago, when he retires.
This is a sequel to Rice's previous book, "The Wrong Murder". The set up for both stories is that a wild society dame, Mona McClane, bets Jake that she can commit a murder in Chicago in public in front of witnesses and get away with it. If Jake can prove she committed the murder, he wins her nightclub. ( These types of screwball stories aren't too worried about realism)
Fun plot. Satisfying ending. Great 1940s style and talk. What's not to like?
March 17, 2024
A Funny And Clever Old Fashioned Mystery
I’m reading Craig Rice’s John J. Malone mysteries in order and this one, the fourth in the series, is the best one so far. (I recommend reading the one before this, The Wrong Murder, before you read this one, as the plots overlap quite a bit.) Like the others, it’s fast-paced and a very easy read. It’s also the funniest of the four, with several laugh-out-loud lines. The mystery itself is also very clever, and the payoff is more than satisfactory. It was written in the 1940s, so there may be a few words or situations that offend a modern reader, but that’s par for the course for mysteries of that era. All in all, a fun and entertaining book if you enjoy light mysteries.
I’m reading Craig Rice’s John J. Malone mysteries in order and this one, the fourth in the series, is the best one so far. (I recommend reading the one before this, The Wrong Murder, before you read this one, as the plots overlap quite a bit.) Like the others, it’s fast-paced and a very easy read. It’s also the funniest of the four, with several laugh-out-loud lines. The mystery itself is also very clever, and the payoff is more than satisfactory. It was written in the 1940s, so there may be a few words or situations that offend a modern reader, but that’s par for the course for mysteries of that era. All in all, a fun and entertaining book if you enjoy light mysteries.
November 1, 2023
Not as funny as Rice's 'the corpse steps out (which read), it is nevertheless laugh-out-loud hysterical in spots. The denouement / revelation is too much like a standard drawing room mystery writer's exposition, but we can forgive that. Rice's books, and the newer mystery called 'Exit', and Dave Barry's novels, are probably some of the funnies books we have ever read. Available on hoopla audio.
December 26, 2024
Fast-paced detective read of the 1940s
This is another great instillation of the John J. Malone series by Craig Rice. Quick pace of murder, mayhem, humor, and puzzling plot to hook you fast and keep those pages turning. The characters are vibrantly entertaining, and the storyline keeps one guessing what's really happened and to whom. Highly recommend getting sucked down this 1940s rabbit hole and dreaming of high-waisted fast-talkers, see?
This is another great instillation of the John J. Malone series by Craig Rice. Quick pace of murder, mayhem, humor, and puzzling plot to hook you fast and keep those pages turning. The characters are vibrantly entertaining, and the storyline keeps one guessing what's really happened and to whom. Highly recommend getting sucked down this 1940s rabbit hole and dreaming of high-waisted fast-talkers, see?
Read
April 12, 2023Eh. This one didn't come together as well for me as some did. Interesting premise, spotty execution?
Or maybe it's just that Jake and Helene spend too much time broken up. The book doesn't really heat up until the two are reunited.
Or maybe it's just that Jake and Helene spend too much time broken up. The book doesn't really heat up until the two are reunited.
March 1, 2022
Really good more 3 1/2 stars.not quite as good as the wrong murder.
April 3, 2023
Usual fun (sometimes funny) plot by a author who knew how to weave a story and entertain his readers. Narrator does the job with a bit of humor adding to the reader’s pleasure.
December 24, 2025
This series is super-fun. Where has it been all my life. Very Zany and wry. Yes, dated with the incessant drinking, but dated in a good, noir, comic way. Love it.
March 21, 2018
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
July 31, 2021
If you think Mondays are bad, wait 'til you meet the Tuesdays.
Craig Rice wrote eleven novels and numerous short stories about Chicago Lawyer John J. Malone and his friends. I think it's best to read the books in order of publication, but most of the novels are stand-alone. Not so with this one, which is a continuation of the third book in the series - "The Wrong Murder." I've no idea why Rice decided to spread a story over two book-length mysteries, but I think the results are two of her weaker efforts. Still good reading, but PLEASE don't start with this one if you're new to this author. And I strongly advise that you read "The Wrong Murder" before you read this one. Frankly, they're hard enough to follow if you read them in order.
In the first book, Malone's drinking-buddies-and-crime-solving-partners Jake Justus and Helene Brand are ready to leave on their honeymoon when eccentric socialite Mona McClane bets Jake she can kill someone in broad daylight in front of lots of witnesses and get away with it. And a murder like that occurs and Mona has a dandy motive, but so do several other characters. After the murderer is identified, Mona makes a strange remark. She says Jake's solved the WRONG murder! Uh-oh.
This book finds Malone at Joe the Angel's Bar on New Year's Eve, drunk and morose because Jake and Helene have left for their honeymoon and he's ringing in the New Year alone. He figures they'll return and settle down to wedded bliss and respectability and he'll never see them again. Woe is him.
Before he can drink enough to pass out, a stranger stumbles into the bar, calls his name, and collapses. Of course, the man dies and his last act was to press a numbered key (hotel? lock box? apartment?) into Malone's hand. And there's no ID on him and no one knows where he came from or who stabbed him, so the key is the only clue. And, naturally, Malone gets into a drunken brawl and loses the key.
Before he and Chicago Police Captain von Flanagan have made any headway at all, Helene and Jake return from their honeymoon. Only they're not speaking to each other. So much for wedded bliss. Helene is staying with Mona McClane, who has a bunch of guests at her stately mansion. Most of them are as eccentric as she is. And then one of them is stabbed to death. His name is Gerald Tuesday and he was trying to contact Malone at the time he was killed. And he reminds Malone of someone he's seen recently. Could there be more than one Tuesday in this week?
The plot is even stranger than most of Rice's books and certainly more complicated than some of them. Malone and Jake and Helene out in the snow in evening clothes searching an eerie old estate to find a grave that's empty, then full, then empty again. There's a body (stabbed, of course) that they have to get back to Chicago, but Helene knows a guy with a hearse who's willing to bend the law, so no problem. Well, you get the idea.
So why did I like it? Because the writing is wonderful and the characters are delightfully daffy and the dialog is always witty and frequently hilarious. Rice wrote "surreal" or "madcap" mysteries, not traditional figure-out-where-the-suspects-were-when-the-crime-was-committed detective novels. There's some of that, but it's not why Craig Rice fans love her.
If you can relax and enjoy the ride, these are great books.
Craig Rice wrote eleven novels and numerous short stories about Chicago Lawyer John J. Malone and his friends. I think it's best to read the books in order of publication, but most of the novels are stand-alone. Not so with this one, which is a continuation of the third book in the series - "The Wrong Murder." I've no idea why Rice decided to spread a story over two book-length mysteries, but I think the results are two of her weaker efforts. Still good reading, but PLEASE don't start with this one if you're new to this author. And I strongly advise that you read "The Wrong Murder" before you read this one. Frankly, they're hard enough to follow if you read them in order.
In the first book, Malone's drinking-buddies-and-crime-solving-partners Jake Justus and Helene Brand are ready to leave on their honeymoon when eccentric socialite Mona McClane bets Jake she can kill someone in broad daylight in front of lots of witnesses and get away with it. And a murder like that occurs and Mona has a dandy motive, but so do several other characters. After the murderer is identified, Mona makes a strange remark. She says Jake's solved the WRONG murder! Uh-oh.
This book finds Malone at Joe the Angel's Bar on New Year's Eve, drunk and morose because Jake and Helene have left for their honeymoon and he's ringing in the New Year alone. He figures they'll return and settle down to wedded bliss and respectability and he'll never see them again. Woe is him.
Before he can drink enough to pass out, a stranger stumbles into the bar, calls his name, and collapses. Of course, the man dies and his last act was to press a numbered key (hotel? lock box? apartment?) into Malone's hand. And there's no ID on him and no one knows where he came from or who stabbed him, so the key is the only clue. And, naturally, Malone gets into a drunken brawl and loses the key.
Before he and Chicago Police Captain von Flanagan have made any headway at all, Helene and Jake return from their honeymoon. Only they're not speaking to each other. So much for wedded bliss. Helene is staying with Mona McClane, who has a bunch of guests at her stately mansion. Most of them are as eccentric as she is. And then one of them is stabbed to death. His name is Gerald Tuesday and he was trying to contact Malone at the time he was killed. And he reminds Malone of someone he's seen recently. Could there be more than one Tuesday in this week?
The plot is even stranger than most of Rice's books and certainly more complicated than some of them. Malone and Jake and Helene out in the snow in evening clothes searching an eerie old estate to find a grave that's empty, then full, then empty again. There's a body (stabbed, of course) that they have to get back to Chicago, but Helene knows a guy with a hearse who's willing to bend the law, so no problem. Well, you get the idea.
So why did I like it? Because the writing is wonderful and the characters are delightfully daffy and the dialog is always witty and frequently hilarious. Rice wrote "surreal" or "madcap" mysteries, not traditional figure-out-where-the-suspects-were-when-the-crime-was-committed detective novels. There's some of that, but it's not why Craig Rice fans love her.
If you can relax and enjoy the ride, these are great books.
maybe
May 4, 2019
June 16, 2008
Another great satire on American idealism and morality where everyone is either honestly corrupt or dishonestly corrupt, and everyone is always wildly drunk. The thing about "escapist" fare is that one is always escaping from something, and alcohol becomes a primary the primary vehicle for fleeing. Also, the political context that was quietly implicit in Rice's earlier works finally emerges in the plot, as several of the characters are European exiles fleeing from the war. Rice's caricatures are still spot-on, but there is a new level of sympathy in her work.
August 26, 2013
The direct sequel to The Wrong Murder, this starts about a month after that one ends. John J. Malone is busy getting drunk in a Chicago bar on New Year's Eve, when a man walks in the door shouting his name; Malone has never seen this man before, and before he can meet him, the man falls to the floor, dead.
Who this guy is and why he wanted Malone is the start of another screwball mystery featuring Malone and Jake and Helene Justus. Much confusion (not to mention booze consumption) happens before the killer is revealed, and Jake wins the bet made in the book before this.
Who this guy is and why he wanted Malone is the start of another screwball mystery featuring Malone and Jake and Helene Justus. Much confusion (not to mention booze consumption) happens before the killer is revealed, and Jake wins the bet made in the book before this.
December 18, 2022
Another fun outing with Jake, Helene and John J Malone. This one takes place as Jake and Helene come back separately from their honeymoon, both vowing to solve Mona McLain's murder - and then never speak to one another again. After many drinks, and much running around, things seem more confused than ever. Madcap adventures ensue.
May 24, 2014
"The sun rose that morning of January first at 7:24. No one of importance noticed it."
I love living in the 1940s of these books. The plots seem to be getting thinner, while the writing seems to be getting better. And the drinking is starting to get out of control. (*starting*?)
I love living in the 1940s of these books. The plots seem to be getting thinner, while the writing seems to be getting better. And the drinking is starting to get out of control. (*starting*?)
May 6, 2016
read SOMETIME in 1998
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews