Groucho Marx, Secret Agent [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Ron Goulart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2003

Groucho Marx and his writer attend a lavish Halloween party in hope of landing their new radio show on the host's network. But the Grim Reaper is also on the guest list, and director Eric Olmstead is found dead the next morning. The police call Olmstead's death a suicide, but his widow refuses to believe it and persuades Groucho to look further.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This fifth entry in a charming and funny series isn't quite up to its predecessors' standards, but the story is peppered with enough Groucho gags and '30s movie trivia to make it good fun all the same. Scriptwriter Frank Denby, whose cartoonist wife, Jane, is pregnant, joins with his best pal, Groucho, to solve another Hollywood murder. Frank, Jane, and Groucho are attending a studio Halloween party when someone dressed as the Grim Reaper approaches director Eric Olmstead, who passes out after the figure whispers in his ear. The next day, Olmstead is found dead. Olmstead's wife, famous actress Dinah Flanders, doesn't believe the director shot himself and hires Groucho and Frank to find out what happened. The setup grabs our interest, and the pre-WWII era suggests all sorts of intriguing possibilities; unfortunately, Goulart resorts to a weak, cliched story involving Nazi agents. Luckily, Groucho saves the day with his witty comebacks. A slight stumble in a highly entertaining series. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Ron Goulart has been a professional author for several decades and has over 180 books to his credit, including more than 50 science fiction novels and 20 some mystery novels. He's twice been nominated for an Edgar Award and is considered one of the country's leading authorities on comic books and comic strips. His latest book on comics, Comic Book Culture, was published in May 2000. Ron lives with his wife Frances, also a writer, in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; 1 edition (February 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078624741X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786247417
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,077,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Groucho Makes his Marks!, October 7, 2004

By 

Billy J. Hobbs "Bill Hobbs" (Tyler, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Groucho Marx, Secret Agent: A Mystery Featuring Groucho Marx (Hardcover)

It's number five for Ron Goulart and the author continues to maintain the finesse, creativity, and cleverness in "Groucho Marx: Secret Agent."

Filled with the type of humor and gags one would expect from anything about Groucho, this books is not only for serious movie fans, but anyone who likes a "whodunit"-and this one adds a touch of the surreal (using Groucho is anything but!).

Famed British director Eric Olmstead is dead, with the usual suspicious circumstance. A day before he dies, he is seen whispering to the Grim Reaper-costumed person at a Hollywood Halloween party. When his body is discovered the next day, it looks like suicide, as a letter from Olmstead is found citing the circumstances of his death.

Enter the intrigue of "first rate detective work" in 1939 Hollywood, a time when thoughts are just a often centered upon the Nazi displays in Europe (Gloulart gives a heavy dose of Hitler here!) and Groucho and his friend (a scriptwriter-what else) Frank Denby get down to business. Frank's wife Jane (pregnant here)comes on board for yet another Goulart caper after Olmstead's wife (yes, a famous actress!) convinces them that her husband did not commit suicide. Armed with the fact that they've now been hired to solve the case, off the merry trio trip.

Yes, the books is heavily sprinkled with Groucho-like humor (especially the puns) but that has what kept this series so appealing. Of course, all this humor, plot scenarios, and cleverness are not infinite devices and Goulart, by the fifth book, begins to cede to this. Still-a fun read. Certainly not one to be considered seriously, but then not all books are. As Bacon says, some books are only meant to be chewed and tasted. This is one of them. (...)