This book is my selection for a 1954 book for the Crimes of the Century meme, hosted by Rich at Past Offences. Every month he designates a year and bloggers contribute a post on a crime fiction book (or film, TV, comics, or short story) published in that year.
Murder Is My Mistress
Julian Cross is hired to find out the death of a dog. He would not have done it except for the money. He meets the suspects at a party that produced something new out of a box, called a murder. A screwball murder, as he told his employer. A bunch of screwballs they were. Sylvia Stamford, a silver blonde who never stopped acting when she left the stage. Johnny Zoan, an ex-racketeer. Theresa Boon, a sultry blonde with the beat of tom-toms in her voice. Juliet, a tall redhead and every inch of her a women. Jeff Peters, the guy people flattered when they call him a moron. Helen Mills, the girl with the horn-rimmed glasses with a burning need for a psychiatrist. And D'Aguerri, who was even more irritating as a memory than he had every been when he was alive. But Cross is not undaunted as no blonde can side track him for more than a couple days at a time. No gun at his ribs can give him hysterics as he gets them as soon as he sights the gunman. When he finally tracks down the murderer, he stands his ground as there is no place else to run.
Julian Cross is hired to find out the death of a dog. He would not have done it except for the money. He meets the suspects at a party that produced something new out of a box, called a murder. A screwball murder, as he told his employer. A bunch of screwballs they were. Sylvia Stamford, a silver blonde who never stopped acting when she left the stage. Johnny Zoan, an ex-racketeer. Theresa Boon, a sultry blonde with the beat of tom-toms in her voice. Juliet, a tall redhead and every inch of her a women. Jeff Peters, the guy people flattered when they call him a moron. Helen Mills, the girl with the horn-rimmed glasses with a burning need for a psychiatrist. And D'Aguerri, who was even more irritating as a memory than he had every been when he was alive. But Cross is not undaunted as no blonde can side track him for more than a couple days at a time. No gun at his ribs can give him hysterics as he gets them as soon as he sights the gunman. When he finally tracks down the murderer, he stands his ground as there is no place else to run.
Murder Is My Mistress (Julian Cross)
December 1954 by Associated General Publications (Hard Cover)
1955 by Horwitz Publications Numbered Series #8
1960 by Horwitz Publications Reprint By Demand Series #19
Bonus Cover
Note
This title was originally posted on January 9th 2011, in a sightly different format
