"Hilarious." - Kirkus Review In this inventive mystery set in Hollywood's golden era, Ron Goulart revives America's favorite cigar-wielding comic--Groucho Marx. Needing a project to occupy him between movie stints, Groucho agrees to act in a radio serial. But when a beautiful starlet is found dead before production even begins, Groucho is determined to find out who killed her.
Groucho Marx made the transition from screen to paper in Ron Goulart's widely acclaimed first novel, Groucho Marx, Master Detective, where he debuted as a radio star-cum-private eye. Groucho and Frank aren't enjoying their latest costar, singing child prodigy Polly Pilgrim, a spoiled ingenue. When a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon is found dead in his palatial home, and Polly's mother, the faded actress Frances London, is accused of his murder, Polly's request for Groucho and Frank to help prove her mother's innocence surprises them. She is convinced that Frances has been framed, and despite the mounting evidence against the washed-up perfromer, the pair takes on the case.
Frank Denby and Groucho Marx arrive on the set of the new Ty-Gor film, a Tarzan knockoff, expecting to have Groucho do his humorous walk-on. What they find is that Randy Spellman, the star of the picture, has been murdered. Frank's wife, Jane, is only a few weeks away from having their baby and the amateur detective team has promised to lay off on the sleuthing. But when a stuntwoman who has gone missing is suspected of the murder, Jane insists they take up the case to clear the young woman's name. In addition to being a horrible actor, Spellman was a womanizer and a blackmailer. Many people had reason to dislike him, or even kill him, and the investigation leads Frank and Groucho through the glamour and seediness of 1940s Hollywood, Groucho signing autographs all the while. In this latest installment of the series, Ron Goulart is at the top of his game, reminding readers there's no business like show business, except when this charming team is wearing its gumshoes.
When a body is found in Holmes's 221B Baker Street lodgings on the set at Mammoth Studios during the shooting of The Valley of Fear, Groucho Marx and his sidekick Frank Denby begin investigating, in Ron Goulart's hilarious mystery Elementary, My Dear Groucho. The victim is the German emigre director of the movie who was found in the great detective's favorite armchair, stabbed in the chest with Holmes's pearl-handled letter opener. There is another murder but it takes more than murder to stifle Groucho's quips or to quiet the laughter this surprising reincarnation inspires. "Chance meetings with celebrities and Groucho's constant wordplay keep the action light and snappy." - Publishers Weekly
Connie Willis has won more Hugo and Nebula awards than any other science fiction author. Now, with her trademark wit and inventiveness, she explores the intimate relationship between science, pop culture, and the arcane secrets of the heart. Sandra Foster studies fads—from Barbie dolls to the grunge look—how they start and what they mean. Bennett O'Reilly is a chaos theorist studying monkey group behavior. They both work for the HiTek corporation, strangers until a misdelivered package brings them together. It's a moment of synchronicity—if not serendipity—which leads them into a chaotic system of their own, complete with a million-dollar research grant, caffé latte, tattoos, and a series of unlucky coincidences that leaves Bennett monkeyless, fundless, and nearly jobless. Sandra intercedes with a flock of sheep and an idea for a joint project. (After all, what better animal to study both chaos theory and the herd mentality that so often characterizes human behavior?) But scientific discovery is rarely straightforward and never simple, and Sandra and Bennett have to endure a series of setbacks, heartbreaks, dead ends, and disasters before they find their ultimate answer. . . . Praise for Bellwether “One of science fiction's best writers.”—The Denver Post “Connie Willis deploys the apparatus of science fiction to illuminate character and relationships, and her writing is fresh, subtle, and deeply moving.”—The New York Times Book Review “Keen social satire touched with genuine humanity . . . Connie Willis's fiction is one of the most intelligent delights of our genre.”—Locus “A sheer pleasure to read . . . Sprightly, intelligent fun.”—Publishers Weekly
It could be said that in this episode Groucho Marx operates as a Hollywood-style Scarlet Pimpernel, with a repertoire of outrageous puns covering the steely, daring life of a counterspy. But, as Groucho might retort, his cover is at the dry-cleaner, and, besides, Groucho is not one to hide his light under any bushel (even one of stuffed clams). So he and Frank Denby, his sidekick, scriptwriter and close friend, set out to uphold their reputation as amateur sleuths by looking into the death of British director Eric Olmstead. First Olmstead fainted at a star-studded Halloween party after a man dressed as the Grim Reaper had whispered to him and then disappeared. But it is not until the next day that he is found dead--presumably by his own hand. It is 1939; everyone expects the U.S. to join the war raging in Europe. And everyone is looking under the bed for spies. Soon the questions surrounding the death of Eric Olmstead takes on an odor of espionage. The police call Olmstead's death a suicide. After all, he did leave a (typed) note. His widow refuses to believe that her husband shot himself, and persuades Groucho and Frank to look further. Soon the pair is enmeshed in FBI agents and Los Angeles police, while the grieving widow clamors for revenge. Here is where Groucho proves his genius as a detective--he seizes on the clue that reveals the death to be murder. This, however, is only the beginning. There is another murder. Groucho and Frank are attacked; Frank is shot at (but not hit); Groucho is hit (but not shot at; just knocked to the floor by the fleeing assailant). They not only survive, but they pinpoint the Nazi spy and the Hollywood figures working with them. In a romp made delightful in spite of spies, murders, and occasional dire peril, Goulart uncannily resurrects the most garrulous Marx brother and his unique brand of patter. The Groucho Marx of these stories is the next best thing to the capering of the late comedian himself, and a happy gift to everyone who remembers him fondly as well as those meeting him for the first time.
With the full agreement of Groucho Marx Productions, Ron Goulart sets Groucho on the hunt for a murderer - in between bouts of verbal war with the sponsor of his new radio show. Both Groucho and his Watson, a scriptwriter named Frank Denby, would gladly murder the sponsor but it's a real murder that the zany actor must investigate - the killing of a young actress from his past. Set in the Golden Age of Hollywood, and combining hard-boiled fiction with humour, this is entertainment of the highest order from a writer twice nominated for an Edgar.
Miles Vorkosigan is back! Kibou-daini is a planet obsessed with cheating death. Barrayaran Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan can hardly disapprove¾hes been cheating death his whole life, on the theory that turnabout is fair play. But when a Kibou-daini cryocorp¾an immortal company whose job it is to shepherd its all-too-mortal frozen patrons into an unknown future¾attempts to expand its franchise into the Barrayaran Empire, Emperor Gregor dispatches his top troubleshooter Miles to check it out. On Kibou-daini, Miles discovers generational conflict over money and resources is heating up, even as refugees displaced in time skew the meaning of generation past repair. Here he finds a young boy with a passion for pets and a dangerous secret, a Snow White trapped in an icy coffin who burns to re-write her own tale, and a mysterious crone who is the very embodiment of the warning Dont mess with the secretary. Bribery, corruption, conspiracy, kidnapping¾something is rotten on Kibou-daini, and it isnt due to power outages in the Cryocombs. And Miles is in the middle¾of trouble! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). _Fresh, intriguing, and, as always with Lois McMaster Bujold, superb.Ó ¾Robert Jordan _It is such a delight to read something by such a good writer, who now seems to be writing at the height of her powers. . . . I really have seldom enjoyed a book so much . . . I couldnt turn the pages fast enough.Ó ¾Diana Wynne Jones _Living breathing characters who inhabit unusual yet believable worlds.Ó ¾Jean Auel _Bujold successfully mixes quirky humor with just enough action, a dab of feminist social commentary and her usual superb character development . . . enormously satisfying.Ó ¾Publishers Weekly _One of sfs outstanding talents . . . an outstanding series.Ó ¾Booklist _Excellently done . . . Bujold has always excelled at creating forceful characters and she does it here again.Ó ¾Denver Post _. . . an intelligent, well-crafted and thoroughly satisfying blend of adventure, sociopolitical commentary, scientific experiments, and occasional perils . . . with that extra spicing of romance. . . .Ó ¾Locus
This inspired bio musical about The One and Only begins with Groucho as an old man doing his famous Carnegie Hall show. It then goes back to the beginnings of the Marx Brothers and their struggles to make it in vaudeville, their rise to stardom and their eventual break up. All classic Groucho songs are included. One actor plays Groucho, another plays Chico and Harpo, and one actress plays all the wives, girlfriends and Margaret Dumont. A hit in New York, across the U.S. and in London, this show will delight Marx Brothers fans and the as yet uninitiated.
In this rip-roaring retrospective, Basil Wolverton’s often warped imagination combines with his outlandishly wacky visual humor to fascinate and delight It collects the ultra-rare treasures Scoop Scuttle, Mystic Moot, Bingbang Buster, and Jumpin’ Jupiter — as they’ve never been seen before! Due to the rock-bottom printing methods of 10¢ comic books, Wolverton’s intricate line work was routinely obscured, and often obliterated. In this collection, every effort has been made to restore the art to its original splendor, and to at last present the uniquely detailed graphics of this justly revered comic book master.
