This was pretty fun. Murder mystery is not a big genre of mine, this has a large cast but aprt from character confusion i was able to follow the plot contortions pretty well.

My main gripe is actually what should have been a positive. This should be a unique look into the world of the 40's burlesque scene but instead i often felt like an outsider. There's a lot slang and references which i felt you would need to know the timeperiod well already in order to fully get.

The best element is the humour/sarcasm. It borders on the Scream films at times as the main character seems well aware of the noir film cliches and the whole book has a glimmer in its eye. Overall it has a lot of character (and characters). ( )

Mystery element is pretty feeble but first person narrator is engaging and backstage details a glimpse into a vanished world. Saraband edition has about forty pages of commentary, plus GRL’s correspondence with her editor, which add interesting context to the book.

[The G-String Murders] was written by Gypsy Rose Lee, burlesque queen of the 1940s who became a well known American celebrity. Although not formally educated, she was one “smart cookie” and managed to build upon her fame with acting, writing and television appearances. She is probably best remembered today for the Broadway musical and film “Gypsy” that was based on her life. This book is a murder mystery, set in a burlesque theatre and features Gypsy as the main character.

Using herself as the main character gives the book a realistic slant, it feels like one is peeking into her diary. She knows of what she writes, and all the show biz pzazz and backstage shenanigans ring true. As strippers are found strangled by G-strings, Gypsy and her boyfriend act as detectives and with plenty of wise-cracking humor, they figure out whodunit.

I enjoyed this story and was agreeable surprised at the quality of writing. There have been rumours that the stripteaser had writing assistance, but the manuscripts seem to prove that she wrote a large portion of the book herself. One thing is certain and that is that Gypsy Rose Lee knew how to entertain and with a few well placed twists and plenty of “bump and grinds”, The G-String Murders does exactly that. ( )

Before there was Dita Von Tese there was Gypsy Rose Lee, a vaudeville performer turned strip teaser who went on to become a cultural icon with fluctuating media success. According to her son’s introduction, Gypsy Rose Lee was never formerly educated, having spent her whole life travelling for the stage, but had a voracious appetite for reading, individual books becoming her tutors and her windows into different worlds and different lives. Lee is no stranger to the pen, either, and in 1941 turns to pulp fiction with her publication of The G-String Murders.

The G-String Murders takes readers behind the scenes of a burlesque theatre, illustrating contentious and complex human relationships between stage performers, which leads to the very real (and welcomed, at times) murders of women with more enemies than back-door Johnnies. Gypsy Rose Lee herself is the protagonist, adding a realistic and identifiable voice to the telling of a series of garish murders, when strip-teasers are found strangled with glittering g-strings in a performance that seems fit for a stage. A classic whodunit, nearly everyone is suspicious, and the animosity between burlesque performers and the police force add a tension to the plot that adds believability to the suggestion that a comic and his dancer girlfriend need to investigate on their own. The scenes backstage and in the dressing rooms are just as grand and engaging as the acts on stage, and the pace runs high and keeps twirling from beginning to end. The G-String Murders will delight fans of mystery, pulp, and cozy-mysteries alike, and would be a real treat for anyone interested in burlesque and strip tease. Strong personalities and an intimate understanding of narrative make this pulp a real winner. ( )

Written by "intelligent stripper" Gypsy Rose Lee The G String Murders became a salacious best seller in 1940's. Vividly set in the deliciously seedy world of burlesque this is a crime story to read for its perspective. Don't get me wrong the plots fine and it edges into tense, creepiness towards the end but the star of the show is the time and place.

The characters are fab, a snapshot of the typical types you would find in the theatre and of a course written from a protagonist who I suspect mirrors Miss Lee quite closely. So you get the G string salesman, the ego inflated stage manager, the prima dona all clashing and fighting in between the murders. Then of course you get the titbits, the melting of their make-up for reuse, the soaking of breasts in cold water or petroleum to make them pert or the corruption involved in avoiding obscenity charges. You do also get Lee's wry humour and parting shots at hypocrisy and wealth but oddly you don ‘t get much of a feminist stance. I guess Lee putting her name to a story was enough in itself

It could be accused of being episodic but I didn’t really care less, it’s still good fun. On top of that you get a lot of great extras, background on Lee, amusing letters between her and her publisher. Lee is a fascinating character in her own right and her biography is now on the wish list.

All in all recommended. ( )