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The Wrong Murder (The John J. Malone Mysteries) Kindle Edition

by Craig Rice (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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A cynical Chicago attorney butts heads with a beautiful killer socialite—from “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction” (William Ruehlmann).
 
Press agent Jake Justus doesn’t care if all of Chicago drops dead. He’s just tied the knot with debutante Helene Brand, and a Bermuda honeymoon is only three in-flight martinis away. But the shooting death of a man in broad daylight, on the busiest shopping day of the year, with plenty of witnesses, is particularly ill timed. Jake’s pal, attorney John J. Malone, agrees. Only a day before, wedding guest Mona McClane, notorious jetsetter and tipsy big-game hunter, bet the two men she could bag an innocent stranger and they’d never be able to prove a thing.
 
Then Malone discovers that the victim wasn’t so innocent. Any number of people wanted him dead. And if Mona is only one of them, Malone’s wagering there’s much more to this murder than just the thrill of getting away with it.
 
The first mystery writer to ever make the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice was known for her fizzy cocktails of hard-boiled noir and screwball comedy, prompting the New York Times to ask: “Why can’t all murders be as funny as those concocted by Craig Rice?”
 
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  1. Book 3 of 14
    The John J. Malone Mysteries
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
  6. Publication date
    August 14, 2018
  7. File size
    3474 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Craig Rice (1908–1957), born Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig, was an American author of mystery novels and short stories described as “the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction.” In 1946, she became the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time magazine. Best known for her character John J. Malone, a rumpled Chicago lawyer, Rice’s writing style was both gritty and humorous. She also collaborated with mystery writer Stuart Palmer on screenplays and short stories, as well as with Ed McBain on the novel The April Robin Murders.
 

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07DPGKTDG
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ MysteriousPress.com/Open Road (August 14, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 14, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3474 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

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Craig Rice

Craig Rice

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
43 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sanjay Kumar
5.0 out of 5 stars Craig Rice is unique in the annals of mystery fiction
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
The Wrong Murder or The Right Murder, there is no one like Craig Rice - the Gods of mystery writers broke the mold after they created her - even if you discount whodunnit part of her books, which definitely falls into the category of “baffles the reasonably intelligent person”, the sheer hilarity of the romp is priceless, right down to the unforgettable characters and their names too - flossie, ogletree. Once I finish all her books, I am going to reread them in order. Five stars do not do her justice.
2 people found this helpful
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R. Jones
4.0 out of 5 stars A Nicely Done 1940s Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is the third of Rice’s John J. Malone mysteries and, in my opinion, the best one yet. (I’m currently reading them in order.) Set in Chicago in the 1940s, it follows Malone and his friends as they try to figure out who committed a couple of related murders involving both the city’s lowlifes and its high society folk. With snappy writing and a well-constructed plot, it’s an entertaining and easy read. There are also some funny running gags and nice little character quirks that add to the fun. All in all, a delightfully old-fashioned whodunnit.
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Helen Joy Dhar
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic murder mystery by Ms. Craig Rice!
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you purchase the Wrong Murder, you must purchase the Right Murder. Both books are fantastic! Actually, I have purchased the entire collection of The John J. Malone, Helene and Jake Justus novels by Ms. Craig Rice. The plots are intriguing and the characters are unique and funny. The lawyer, Malone, who knows everyone in Chicago, always finds the solution to the crimes, even without sleep, no funds, and too much to drink. Helene, a wealthy debutant, and Jake, her husband, drink with Malone and help him with his cases, but seem to land in jail for various reasons. All of Ms. Rice's books are worth every penny you spend on them, beginning with the novel, 8 Faces at 3 - and they just get better with every novel that follows! Extremely entertaining!
6 people found this helpful
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annemaryt1
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2015
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Very strange book. I would not read again.
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MK
2.0 out of 5 stars Misleading and confusing
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2018
Verified Purchase
SPOILER ALERT -- please do not read this review unless you have read the book. I started reading Craig Rice's John J. Malone books after watching the movie "Mrs. O'Malley and Mr. Malone," which features a version of the Malone character (but not the madcap couple, Jake and Helene). I'm not crazy about Rice's books. To me they are too confusing to be good mysteries and the characters are incredibly unbelievable. I realize they are supposed to be funny, but I just found them mostly annoying. Now, the reason I'm only giving "The Wrong Murder" two stars is this (last warning, SPOILER AHEAD). At the very beginning of the book (page 16 in my copy), a young woman makes a bet with the Jake character, in front of a lot of witnesses. She is extremely rich and owns a large casino. She bets Jake the casino that she can murder someone and get away with it and he will not be able to prove that she did it. Her exact words are: "I'll commit a murder and you pin it on me. I'll bet you can't do it. I'll bet you the Casino." To which Jake replies, "Lady, it's a bet." Very soon, someone is in fact murdered. At the end of the book, it turns out that the murderer was not the young woman who made the bet. It also turns out that she didn't murder anyone at all. So the bet is totally meaningless. You spend the entire book, right down to the last two pages, watching Jake try to prove this young woman murdered somebody, but she didn't. So what's the point? I just felt completely cheated and misled. Making matters worse, the murder's real solution is so convoluted and weird and confusing that I didn't really care who did it, and when in the end they revealed "who done it," I wasn't even sure who the heck they were talking about. So, for both those reasons -- the absurd bet that wasn't a bet, and the totally confusing mystery plot -- I can only give this one two stars. (I reserve one star for books I can't even finish reading.) With apologies to all who liked this book.
2 people found this helpful
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