Die Laughing

Steve Allen Mystery #9

by Steve Allen

Just as Benny Whipple, a vaudeville veteran who had died at age ninety-three, is being buried, Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows discover the body of murdered slapstick king Terry Parker, and with the upcoming Comedy Awards fast approaching, everyone in Hollywood is a suspect. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Humor, Cozy Mystery

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Stephen Valentine Patrick William "Steve" Allen was an American television personality, musician, actor, comedian, and writer. Though he got his start in radio, Allen is best-known for his television career. He first gained national attention as a guest host on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He graduated to become the first host of The Tonight Show, where he was instrumental in innovating the concept of the television talk show. Thereafter, he hosted numerous game and variety shows, including The Steve Allen Show, I've Got a Secret, The New Steve Allen Show, and was a regular panel member on CBS' What's My Line?

Allen was a "creditable" pianist, and a prolific composer, having penned over 14,000 songs, one of which was recorded by Perry Como and Margaret Whiting, others by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, Les Brown, and Gloria Lynne. Allen won a Grammy award in 1963 for best jazz composition, with his song The Gravy Waltz. Allen wrote more than 50 books and has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Reviews

[Irina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Come to find out, per Wikipedia, that writing credit for this book belongs to Robert Westbrook, the son of columnist Sheilah Graham. Westbrook spent much time in both California and New York, so was happily endowed with details about these two often-used settings familiar to Allen, and featured in the Allen mystery series. (Reportedly, Walter J. Sheldon wrote at least one of early Allen mysteries, and Westbrook the later ones.)

Authorship aside, this isn't one of the better entries in the 10-book series. The Murder Game and Wake Up to Murder are far better in plot construction, plausibility, wit and writing polish. Read those instead, if you're interested in seeing how Westbrook imitates the Allen quippy humor style, and that is an artistic feat in itself.

As a "serious" mystery buff admirer of the Golden Age favorite authors and also of lesser well-known fringe mystery writers of the late 19th century and 20th century, I naturally do no comparison, and just take the Allen mysteries for what they are - pleasant, sometimes witty, usually clunkily-plotted light reading.

[Stephanie Tanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable mystery set in the Hollywood comedian scene. Another friend of Steve Allen turns out to have a hidden agenda that turns sour.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Steve Allen, but this series continues to be clunky. This is one of the few of the Allen mysteries I hadn't read and thought I'd read one of the last in the series. Unfortunately, the series ended when Allen suddenly died. The concept is great in that Allen and his wife, Jayne, who died this past April, are the sleuths out to solve mysteries they stumble into.

The plot is fun involving a comedian that has died, or has he? Allen clearly has fun leading readers in one direction and then the next. Hollywood and it's luxurious lifestyle is the backdrop and is well described and commented on by Allen.

The trouble with the book is it's length. This book could easily have been whittled to 150 or 200 pages. A lot of Allen's writing, as I wrote, is fun. It's just not stellar to warrant the excess.

A really good writer of fiction could have streamlined this. But, Allen is writing as Allen does in all his fiction & non-fiction. Lots of sidelines, funny jokes and commentary. Worked well in his non-fiction, but is like large speed bumps to readers.

However, this is a fun book with good characters and the fun of following Allen, Jayne and their limo around.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 5 out of 10 points.

[Alan Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steve Allen is best known as a comedian and song writer. When he spoke to our writer's group one time I asked him whether song lyrics (he wrote several thousand)were poetry. He said no. I partially disagree with him. I think some lines of some songs are poetic. But I digress. I think Steve was a better comedian than mystery writer. In this book the protagonists are him and his wife Jayne Meadows. They get involved in the murder of comedians, do some very crazy things, and try to untangle a complicated mess. Steve has to spend a whole chapter explaining everything that happened. The best part of the book was his references to real celebrities he knew and to places in LA.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Steve Allen book I ever read, when I was done, it felt like he had me at "Hello". I became a big fan of his books in which he and his wife, Jane, solved big-time murder mysteries, which kept me laughing.