I'm not sure how to classify this book. It was somewhat of a mystery in the vein of the old American noir, but with more wise-cracking humor - a lot more. Or, maybe it's humor, using the mystery as a vehicle. Unfortunately, although I did find it to be an entertaining light read, to me the story wasn't as interesting as it could have been. The jokes were often funny, and I think it was a pretty good imitation of Groucho's style.

I may read more in the series, and perhaps I'll change my mind. The book was enjoyable, and it was a quick read. ( )

4 Stars
If you’ve never seen a Marx Brothers movie you won’t enjoy this book as much as I did, so if you have any plan to read it I’d suggest watching either Duck Soup (1933) or A Night at the Opera (1935) two of their best. If you love the Marxs then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book.

“I know who you are,” he exclaimed, clasping his plump hands together and producing a chuckling sort of sound inside himself someplace.
Groucho rushed up to him, taking long bent-knee steps, and clutched the fat man’s upper left arm. “Then, praise the Lord, you’re the very person I’m seeking,” he confided. “I’ve been suffering from a nasty bout of amnesia for days now and, myself, have absolutely no idea who I am.”

Same gag different result

She gasped again. “You’re,” she began, pausing to inhale, “you’re one of the Marx Brothers, aren’t you?”
Groucho halted, scowled, removed the dead cigar from his lips and pointed at her with it. “No, my good woman, I’m actually all of the Ritz Brothers,” he replied. “And let me tell you, it’s a thankless task. Bad enough being Al and Jimmy, but being Harry as well takes all my spare time and you can’t imagine how far behind I’m getting with my quilting.”

Still picking on the Ritz Brothers

“Who tried to shoot you, Groucho?”
“We suspect sibling rivalry,” he said, his back against the door. “Right now the prime suspects are the Ritz Brothers, the Boswell Sisters and the Dionne Quintuplets.”

The mystery isn’t really the point of this book, it’s the humor and that really delivers, it’s very easy to figure out early on who the killer was.

Cozies Reading Challenge ( )

I was surprised by this, not expecting too much. Well written and very funny. Goulart has captured enough of Groucho's movie personna to making flipping him into a true-to-life detective plausible. ( )