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Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak #2
The Thursday Turkey Murders
Bingo and Handsome take their cameras and head for Hollywood, only to break down in the small town of Thursday, Iowa. While stuck there, a convict escapes, there are murders, and a disappearance, with clues leading back to a 15-year old bank robbery, with money reputed to be hidden in the town.
275 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1943
26 people are currently reading
87 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 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 14, 2017
The Thursday Turkey Murders (1943) is the second in a trio of books by Craig Rice (with help on the third by Ed McBain). These are screwball mysteries starring Rice's photographers with a penchant for landing in the middle of murder, Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kuzak. Bingo and Handsome, late of New York, have decided to head west to seek fortune and fame in Hollywood. Handsome has the added talent of being able to remember everything he has ever read (especially in newspapers) which tends to help the duo get themselves out of more than one jam.
On their journey west, they get sidetracked in the town of Thursday, Iowa when they accidentally run over a prize turkey. Bingo hops out the car to haggle with the farmer over how much the bird was worth and before you know it, he and Handsome seem to be the proud owners of 500 turkeys with hopes of turning their $1,200 investment into $5,000 with just a few weeks of work. The fact that he and Handsome are city boys who don't know one end of turkey from the other doesn't really bother him.
But the boys really don't seem to have much time for tending turkeys what with being accused of murdering Gus (the fellow they bought the turkeys from) as well as there being five escaped convicts, a disappearance, a second murder, links to a 15-year-old bank robbery--with the money rumored to be hidden somewhere in Thursday, and a lovely dark-haired beauty who keeps popping in and out when you least expect it. Even though Bingo and Handsome don't know what's going on half the time, they still manage to help the local sheriff round up the bad guy and dig up the missing dough. Which results in the boys coming out about a thousand dollars ahead (even if those turkeys weren't Gus's to sell).
It's quite possible that I just wasn't prepared for Bingo and Handsome's particular brand of screwball this time around. Last February (almost exactly a year ago), I found these two unlikely detectives to be a lot more entertaining in The April Robin Murders. [Yes, I know I'm reading these in reverse order--I take 'em as I can get 'em.] It's also possible that Ed McBain's assistance with the unfinished work made Robin more appealing. Regardless of the reason, I wasn't quite as interested in the shenanigans going on in Thursday. The boys seem to be up to their usual tricks and innocently getting themselves in the middle of crime and murder. The sheriff is a pleasant fellow and makes and interesting foil for our two photographers. It's even clever how the turkeys get worked into everything...but all the turkey feathers in the plot just couldn't tickle my fancy quite enough. ★★ and 1/2. Rounded to 3 here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
On their journey west, they get sidetracked in the town of Thursday, Iowa when they accidentally run over a prize turkey. Bingo hops out the car to haggle with the farmer over how much the bird was worth and before you know it, he and Handsome seem to be the proud owners of 500 turkeys with hopes of turning their $1,200 investment into $5,000 with just a few weeks of work. The fact that he and Handsome are city boys who don't know one end of turkey from the other doesn't really bother him.
But the boys really don't seem to have much time for tending turkeys what with being accused of murdering Gus (the fellow they bought the turkeys from) as well as there being five escaped convicts, a disappearance, a second murder, links to a 15-year-old bank robbery--with the money rumored to be hidden somewhere in Thursday, and a lovely dark-haired beauty who keeps popping in and out when you least expect it. Even though Bingo and Handsome don't know what's going on half the time, they still manage to help the local sheriff round up the bad guy and dig up the missing dough. Which results in the boys coming out about a thousand dollars ahead (even if those turkeys weren't Gus's to sell).
It's quite possible that I just wasn't prepared for Bingo and Handsome's particular brand of screwball this time around. Last February (almost exactly a year ago), I found these two unlikely detectives to be a lot more entertaining in The April Robin Murders. [Yes, I know I'm reading these in reverse order--I take 'em as I can get 'em.] It's also possible that Ed McBain's assistance with the unfinished work made Robin more appealing. Regardless of the reason, I wasn't quite as interested in the shenanigans going on in Thursday. The boys seem to be up to their usual tricks and innocently getting themselves in the middle of crime and murder. The sheriff is a pleasant fellow and makes and interesting foil for our two photographers. It's even clever how the turkeys get worked into everything...but all the turkey feathers in the plot just couldn't tickle my fancy quite enough. ★★ and 1/2. Rounded to 3 here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
June 22, 2020
Not as riveting as The Sunday Pigeon Murders but a bit funnier IMO. I wish these were more widely read.
October 16, 2024
Rice's sly and playful humor is out in full force, but this novel is not one of her best efforts. The main characters are not that likeable and there are just way too many characters and too much plot. Not bad, but not her best.
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December 4, 2020Not funny.
March 28, 2022
I enjoyed this visit with Bingo and Handsome. They are quite the pair.
December 3, 2024
This was on Audible and read wonderfully. Great murder mystery. Enjoy Handsome and Bingo once again, this time in Thursday, Iowa.
March 2, 2022
Great, the best of the three
September 20, 2014
This was a reread, as I always enjoy the adventures of Bingo and Handsome, and was in need of some chuckles. From the 40s, and with the sensibilities of the time, the writing is funny, and with a mystery more convoluted than anything Agatha Christie wrote. The paperback I own is an old edition, and the paper is actually flaking. If i have to replace it to find a reading copy, I will, as this is one of the 'keepers'.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews