From School Library Journal
YA-It's 1937, and Groucho Marx teams up with Frank Denby to solve mysteries. The first appears in a new radio series, written by Denby, in which Groucho stars as a flaky detective who solves crimes using his own wacky techniques. The other one involves the death of a young starlet whom Groucho had known a few years earlier. The comic enlists the help of Denby and eventually Denby's girlfriend, Jane Danner, in his quest to solve the case. Goulart inserts period details throughout the novel. Local gangsters add another view of Hollywood in the 1930s. The ending has a few surprises, lots of action, and a tying together of loose ends. Goulart's best effort is in the characterization of Groucho, emphasizing his keen wit and rapid, often one-line, responses. Some of the funniest lines are those retorts he makes to people on the street who have recognized him. For those who enjoy the Marx Brothers movies, this is another chance to experience the same type of word play. For those young people who may not know of Groucho and his brothers, this title will serve as an introduction and may spur them on to find out more. Readers who are familiar with the 1930s-type mystery series, such as those by Stuart Kaminsky featuring Toby Peters, will find this novel particularly appealing.
Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
You wouldn't think the most ribald movie comic of his age would have a sentimental streak, but Groucho Marx is so sad that Peg McMorrow, a starlet he'd had a brief relationship with two years ago, is dead that he persuades Frank Denby, the former police reporter who's writing his farcical new radio show, Groucho Marx, Master Detective, to see what he can get on the death. It doesn't take long for Frank to find that the official verdict--suicide--is a lot of hooey. (Whatever finally killed Peg, she'd been beaten thoroughly first.) It doesn't take him long to find that the cops are dead serious about burying the case. (A day after Peg's death, they've already closed and vanished the case file, cremated the body, and scattered the ashes at sea.) And it doesn't take him long to find Jane Danner, the comic-strip artist who'll hold his hand and trade quips with Groucho while he's waiting for the trail of blackmail and corruption to lead from blackmailing Peg to organized crime, the Bayside Police Department, and the upper reaches of Monarch Studios. Throughout the starlet-studded proceedings, Groucho is hilarious. Unfortunately, the non sequiturs that pepper his conversation so amusingly seem to have wormed their way into the helter-skelter mystery as well. Historical Hollywood background, celebrity cameos, rapid-fire patter, and ramshackle plotting: Veteran Goulart's series debut is just the thing for readers who think George Baxt and Stuart Kaminsky aren't turning out this sort of product fast enough. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
