BERNARD DOUGALL – The Singing Corpse. Dodd Mead, hardcover, 1943. Pony Book #46, paperback, 1945.

   This is the second of two mystery novels by an author, Bernard Dougall, much better known in his day as a scriptwriter for such radio shows as Maxwell House Show Boat, Front Page Drama and Jungle Jim. As a nephew of Jerome Kern, he was also an occasional Broadway lyricist.

   There is a strong musical component to The Singing Corpse as well, as the first of two murder victims is a much disliked female singer for a small nightclub band, and the second the group’s traveling manager.

   Tackling the case with only a purely amateur standing is Steve Borden, husband of the band’s other vocalist, Linda Sheridan, a pair who also appeared in Dougall’s first mystery, I Don’t Scare Easy (Dodd Mead, 1941). The work of making a success of it in the big band era is gone into in fine detail, but this otherwise lively and breezy tale is undone by an utter lack of knowledge how the police and district attorney actually handle a homicide. From page 108 on, out of 186, the book lapses into bland and nearly incoherent storytelling.

   Not a keeper.