Reviews

Having Wonderful Crime by Craig Rice

katieinca's review

4.0

Hooray, the Jake, Helene, and Malone show goes to New York! And Malone gets lost in my old neighborhood! I love that the intersection of 4th and 11th streets has been both a source of confusion and a punchline for at least 70 years.
Grisly crime this time around, with more sympathetic victims, and our protagonists hiding things from each other. So not an unalloyed joy, but well done.

jenniferc's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

5.0

ssejig's review

4.0

John J. Malone has joined Jake and Helene Justus on a trip to New York. They are having a night of drinking and pick up a fourth man. They found him blind drunk in the lobby of their hotel. When they wake up in the morning, they discover the man is on his honeymoon. Shortly after that they find out the man's wife has been murdered in their bedroom. Helene immediately decides the man must be innocent and tries to get Malone interested. He is not. He wants to go back to Chicago. Too bad he's not going to get his wish.
Jake is also wanting to solve the mystery but for his own sake. He's trying to sell a mystery novel but the publisher in New York, unaware of his entanglements with such things back in the Midwest, aren't impressed. His strange behavior is making Helene wonder exactly what is going on.
With the usual banter and pratfalls, this book is a delight. The vague homophobia and other stereotypes are not as egregious as some books of the time but nonetheless are jarring in the present day.

vissara's review

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0