Mon 24 Jan 2011
Reviewed by Marvin Lachman: CRAIG RICE – The Corpse Steps Out.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[4] Comments
CRAIG RICE – The Corpse Steps Out. Simon & Schuster, hardcover, 1940. Reprint hardcover: Tower Books, 1945. Reprint paperbacks: Pocket #476, October 1947; International Polygonics, 1989.
Paperbacks published by International Polygonics Ltd. are worth noting for quality and variety. Recently IPL has been publishing Craig Rice’s series regarding John J. Malone, aided and abetted by Jake and Helene (nee Brand) Justus, and has already published her very scarce first novel, Eight Faces at Three.
Now comes the almost as scarce and equally enjoyable second Malone mystery, The Corpse Steps Out (1940), a wild and wacky mystery set in pre-World War II Chicago. Appropriate to the time, many of the cast of characters work in radio, and their fear of sponsor censorship is important to the plot. (Chicago at one time was an important center of national radio.)
This is a classic case of “murder without tears,” and even the incredible amount of booze consumed by the characters seems inoffensive, though, with hindsight, we know how harmful it is.
Included is a brief biography of Rice by William Ruehlmann which is crammed with information. Rice had a terrible alcoholism problem which contributed to her death and “wrote the binge but lived the hangover,” according to Ruehlmann. Her brief, unhappy life ended at age forty-nine in 1957; her enjoyable mysteries live on.
Vol. 11, No. 4, Fall 1989 (slightly revised).
January 24th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Craig Rice remains one of my favorite mystery writers, one I wish more of was still in print.
From her Time magazine cover to forgotten writer, her personal life continues to overshadow the fact that she was among the best ever to write comedy mysteries.
January 25th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
I love Rice’s books. This one is about the dead body that is transported ao ll over Chicago multiple times. It’s utter lunacy. I think I enjoy her books all themore because, living here since the late 1980s, I like reading what the Loop used to be like and how vibrant the city seemed decades ago.
What I find fascinating is that she claims she never plotted out the story. She merely made it up as she went along never really knowing who the murderer would be until the final pages.
Truly undeserving that her books have been doomed to the limbo of non-printdom. Those IPL editions are out there, but sadly most online booksellers are asking absurd prices for them. A copy of Eight Faces at Three, Rice’s first book, in the IPL is available for a $25. Another seller has the IPL of Having a Wonderful Crime and wants an outrageous $35 for it! That’s what I would charge for the true first edition without a DJ. Unreal. You can find either title in the IPL reissue in a Chicago used bookstore for under $8. (shaking his head in disgust)
January 25th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Amazon has been my on line source for used Craig Rice books.
Amazon may be a capitalist monster set to take over the world, but it is nice they allow many small independent booksellers a place on the web to sell their books.
I wonder why Rice does not have more books available in the e-book format. Whoever owns the rights is missing a chance to make some money.
January 25th, 2011 at 5:22 pm
I became a fan of Craig Rice a few years ago, and as far as internet availability goes she is on par with GA writers such as Dickson Carr and Stuart Palmer (some original editions can be got for pennies, whilst recent paperbacks require big bucks). I have to say that I regard the whole ‘I never plot’ claim with a big pinch of salt. A lot of authors have had the experience of having to change stuff during writing, but that’s not the same as making it up as you go along.