Craig Rice Books in Order

Chicago lawyer John J. Malone defends Holly Inglehart after her hated aunt is stabbed and Holly's fingerprints appear on the weapon. With Jake Justus and Helene Brand helping, he investigates why every clock in the mansion stopped at three.

Radio singer Nelle Brown's former lover threatens to expose her scandalous letters, then apparently turns up murdered. When both the body and the letters disappear, lawyer John J. Malone investigates while her press agent Jake Justus tries to protect her career.

Newlyweds Jake and Helene's honeymoon plans are disrupted when a man is shot in a crowded Chicago street. Lawyer John J. Malone recalls a socialite's wager that she could commit an unprovable murder, but discovers the victim had many enemies.

A series of backstage murders unsettles a New York burlesque theater, where performers are found strangled with G-strings. Gypsy Rose Lee investigates among fellow entertainers, uncovering dangerous tensions beneath the troupe's stage routines and daily struggle to make a living.

A stabbed stranger collapses in a Chicago bar after calling lawyer John J. Malone's name. A mysterious key points toward wealthy thrill-seeker Mona McClane, whose earlier murder wager draws Malone, Jake, and Helene into another increasingly deadly puzzle.

Jake and Helene escape Chicago's heat for a Wisconsin holiday, only to become suspects after a local senator is murdered. John J. Malone arrives to help, confronting a suspicious community as further killings make their predicament more complicated.

Gypsy Rose Lee's honeymoon in a cramped trailer is already crowded with relatives and entertainers when the best man is found murdered. More eccentric arrivals and another corpse turn the getaway into a dangerous investigation amid the burlesque crowd.

Jake and Helene's new casino-nightclub venture loses its star attraction when a high-wire performer is murdered in his dressing room. Lawyer John J. Malone investigates the victim's blackmailing activities as further deaths threaten the business and its owners.

The Faulkner brothers assemble an eccentric group for a weekend at Ravensmoor, where guests independently discover George's body in bed. What initially resembles another cruel practical joke becomes a murder puzzle involving the hosts, their acquaintances, and a mysterious stranger.

Struggling photographers Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak discover that an allegedly dead man is part of an insurance fraud. Their kidnapping-and-blackmail scheme soon tangles with gangsters, murder, and a hostage whose reluctance to escape suggests secrets of his own.

David Telefair finally visits the wealthy great-uncle who has supported him for years, arriving at an isolated Chesapeake Bay estate. Strange warnings and hostility turn the family reunion into a menacing encounter with hidden history, madness, and murder.

In Manhattan, Jake and Helene befriend a newlywed whose bride has disappeared, leaving an unidentified woman's body in their suite. John J. Malone joins the investigation, following connections through society circles and Greenwich Village before the groom also vanishes.

Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak's journey to California stalls in rural Iowa after a roadside accident involving a turkey. Hoping to profit from a struggling farm, they instead encounter old secrets, bank robbery, an escaped convict, and murder accusations.

A thief targets wealthy financiers whose schemes have ruined other people's lives, but an unintended kidnapping complicates his campaign. The abducted heiress wants to join him, while a murder threatens to implicate him in crimes beyond his jewel thefts.

Actor George Sanders hopes to leave screen detective roles behind, but a fatal shooting during filming makes him a real murder suspect. With evidence linking his gun to the death, he must investigate a Hollywood mystery without a script.

The children of widowed mystery writer Marion Carstairs hear gunshots next door and decide to investigate using lessons from their mother's novels. Their amateur sleuthing also offers a chance to play matchmaker and improve her distracted family life.

Imprisoned for a murder she did not commit, Anne Marie spends her confinement planning revenge against those responsible. Once cleared and released, she pursues that ambition, only to find herself entangled in another unpredictable murder mystery.

Presumed dead after an attempt on his life, Mike Vickers returns home determined to discover who wanted him gone. His reappearance turns familiar relationships into sources of suspicion as he investigates the people closest to him.

John J. Malone defends a wealthy eccentric accused of killing three postmen for failing to deliver a letter from his long-dead sweetheart. Helene's confidence in the family clashes with clues suggesting its respectable members have secrets of their own.

A gambling boss is found stabbed aboard a Ferris wheel, and apparent eyewitness Ellen Haven suddenly disappears. Detective Art Smith searches for her before a violent former prisoner can reach her, questioning the innocence her frightened manner suggests.

A speeding train carries a fortune in embezzled money and a quarry pursued by two mismatched investigators. Chicago lawyer John J. Malone becomes entangled with an amateur sleuth in this short comic mystery co-written with Stuart Palmer.

John J. Malone accepts an unusual assignment protecting Leopold, a circus lion, after someone begins killing the show's big cats. Investigating among the performers means placing himself between a dangerous animal and an equally dangerous human killer.

Cosmetics entrepreneur Hazel Swackhammer reveals that her advertising model is a composite of several women, one of whom has disappeared. Gruesome deliveries draw John J. Malone into an investigation of rivalries and revenge threatening the company behind the illusion.

An anti-vice financier's body is planted in John J. Malone's office, and the victim's stepdaughter is kidnapped. Accused of involvement in both crimes, Malone must untangle a frame-up while also dealing with the uncooperative girl and missing friends.

Bingo Riggs and Handsome Kusak buy a Hollywood house before learning its sinister history of a suspected murder and vanished suspect. When they discover the caretaker dying, their property purchase becomes another mystery involving the home's past.

Ten short mysteries follow Chicago lawyer John J. Malone through eccentric cases, from a deadly anniversary party to an obituary announcing his own death. Songs, diaries, doubtful clients, and unexpected suspects supply puzzles alongside his legal practice and barroom habits.

This collection gathers twelve mysteries selected by Jeffrey Marks, mostly featuring lawyer John J. Malone and two featuring detective Melville Fairr. The cases include a death during an undertakers' parade, ominous dreams, and a murder involving a rented sailor's suit.

Chicago lawyer John J. Malone and schoolteacher sleuth Hildegarde Withers share the spotlight in six mysteries co-written with Stuart Palmer. Originally published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, the stories combine their contrasting investigative styles in a succession of criminal puzzles.

The killing of a client unsettles John J. Malone, but his friend Helene's strange behavior worries him further. Her secretive laboratory job and visits to a hypnotherapist draw the lawyer into a conspiracy involving espionage and psychological manipulation.