Celebrity Murder Case Series by George Baxt

Celebrity Murder Case #1

[Celebrity Murder Case 01] - The Dorothy Parker Murder Case

George Baxt

This delightful tour de force has Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott heading an all-star cast of Algonquin Round Table regulars, all taking deadly aim and shooting from the quip in a baffling case of murder that springboards with the body of a murdered Ziegfeld beauty found dead in George S. Kaufman's "hideaway." It's 1926 and the day of Rudolph Valentino's funeral, and the shade of the great screen lover plays an important role in this tantalizing recreation of the Babylon that was New York City in the roaring, bloody 1920's. The intricate web of murder and intrigue in which Mrs. Parker finds herself the willing fly to a very fascinating, mysterious spider whose lifestyle is strangely based on that of Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby, includes meaty appearances by Texas Guinan, Florenz Ziegfeld, George Raft, and Polly Adler and reaches out west to Hollywood and the mysterious, unsolved murder of film director William Desmond Taylor. As the Detroit News summed it up,

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Published: 1986

Celebrity Murder Case #2

[Celebrity Murder Case 02] - The Alfred Hitchcock Murder Case

George Baxt

“It needs something.” Hitch stared out the window as they passed St Peter's Church, which dated from the eleventh century. Alma waited. She was soon rewarded. His face lit up. “I know what we need. We need a marvelous, brutal, bloody murder! The gorier the better. " The taxi driver cringed and narrowly avoided hitting a pedestrian. Alma's shoulders sagged. “Now how do I work a murder into a story of two chorus girls in a music hall? Have you a clue?" “If I had a clue, we'd have a murder." In this stunning new novel by George Baxt, Alfred Hitchcock gets his murder—two, in fact—but with few clues. It is 1925, and Hitch and his wife are discussing the script for his new film, The Pleasure Garden, which they are currently shooting in Munich. It is the set for this film that becomes the stage for just the sort of “brutal, bloody” murder Hitch describes— only this one is quite unpleasantly real. There are no leads to follow, except evidence that the murder weapon had been used the previous night in the grisly stabbing of yet another member of the ill-fated film’s staff—and a curiously catchy and persistent melody last played by the murdered pianist. Eleven years and twenty films later, the Munich murders are still unsolved. Hitchcock, who is living with Alma in London, has begun to win international acclaim as a writer of spy thrillers. He is working on The Lady Vanishes when he receives a mysterious phone call from the past that thrusts the ever-expanding director into the role of the pursued—wanted for a crime he did not commit—in a chase worthy of a scene from one of his own films. Studded with plot detail from Hitchcock’s many films and featuring the famous director himself in this ingenious and stylish thriller, The Alfred Hitchcock Murder Case is a treat for Hitchcock fans and George Baxt fans alike.

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Published: 2020

Celebrity Murder Case #3

[Celebrity Murder Case 03] - The Tallulah Bankhead Murder Case

George Baxt

It is 1952, the dawn of the McCarthy era. The communist blacklist is circulating; careers and even lives hang on the decision of the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. In the midst of all the turmoil, suspicion, and fear is the irrepressible Tallulah Bankhead, enjoying a professional comeback as the star of the hugely successful radio program, “The Big Show.” As confident and brassy as ever, she continues to sip her vodka martinis and inhale deeply upon her trademark Craven A cigarettes, refusing to succumb to the general paranoia. But then the blacklist touches Tallulah’s life: A scheduled guest on her show kills himself after his name is given to the committee, Tallulah herself is threatened with the blacklist, and, worst of all, the first of a series of murders is committed. Detective Jacob Singer begins the investigation alone, but soon finds that he has an avid partner. Tallulah tries her hand at detective work, drawing upon her intimate knowledge of the names and personal lives of countless celebrities and show-business personalities (including a certain theatrical agent named George Baxt). Together, Tallulah and Jacob Singer race against time to puzzle out the murderer’s identity and put a stop to the killings in this brilliant new addition to the work of acclaimed mystery novelist George Baxt.

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Published: 1987

Celebrity Murder Case #4

[Celebrity Murder Case 04] - The Talking Pictures Murder Case

George Baxt

It is 1929, and Hollywood is in chaos. Tinseltown is far removed from the stock market crash, however; the word on everyone's lips is "talkers. The invention of movies with sound means the dawn of an exciting new era in the film industry. But not everyone stands to gain from the demise of silent movies, and some will do anything for revenge. Alexander Roland, czar of Diamond Films ('If it sparkles, it's a Diamond!"), plans to empty his studios of all the players whose voices don't register well in a soundstage. And mega-producer Samuel Goldwyn intends to do the same, in between uttering his famous Goldwynisms ("Mock my words!''). The tyrannical Marie Darling, whose precious offspring—darling daughter Annamary, sullen but swashbuckling son-in-law Willis Loring. and doping and drinking son Jack—were once stars of the silent screen, is determined to make her opinions register. Amidst the wailing prima donnas, aging playboys, and breathless young hopefuls imported from Broadway, lurks a murderer Of course, everyone in the show-biz community is capable of murder, but only in Hollywood are young aspiring actresses strangled with their own silk stockings. Police inspector Herbert Villon is brought in to investigate, but ace gossip reporter Hazel Dickson may beat him to it, and then Bertha Graze—confidante to everyone, it seems—and her crystal ball may have a thing or two to tell him.

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Published: 2020

Celebrity Murder Case #5

[Celebrity Murder Case 05] - The Greta Garbo Murder Case

George Baxt

The legendary star Greta Garbo has seen better days than those of World War II, which has all but cut Hollywood off from her films' biggest markets, Europe and Asia. MGM movie mogul Louis B. Mayer informs her that Warner Brothers would like to "borrow" her, to which she replies, characteristically, "I don't want to be a loan." But, refusing the status of a Hollywood has-been, Garbo reluctantly accepts the title role in a modern rendition of Joan of Arc—now revered as a symbol of anti-Nazism—in an independent production that will employ many down-and-out-in-HoIlywood German expatriates. And everyone— from the lascivious Peter Lorre to the renowned director Erich von Stroheim and his mysterious assistant Lisa Schmidt —seems to have an ulterior motive. Garbo soon finds herself at the center of an international imbroglio full of actors acting as spies, spies acting as actors, and some actors simply acting— a drama in which she must ultimately play a leading role.

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Published: 1992

Celebrity Murder Case #6

[Celebrity Murder Case 06] - The Noel Coward Murder Case

George Baxt

The coroner arrived with his pallbearer's mien, followed by two assistants, one carrying a rolled-up stretcher. "Where's the body?""In her dressing room," said Noel, "resting""Where do you find your amazing equanimity, Noel?""Like Little Jack Horner, I stick in my thumb and pull out aplomb 'Baxt's gung-ho enthusiasm, extensive use of movie lore, and wild narrative verve make his works a delirious...pleasure' said Booklist of the much-loved series of celebrity mysteries. Now, add play wright/actor/singer/ man-about-town Noel Coward to the cast of luminaries who grace Baxt's pages with their insider gossip and acerbic wit.New York City, 1935: A trio of thugs who call themselves Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Bizet are funding a flashy nightclub, and the inimitable Noel Coward has been persuaded to tickle an ivory or two on opening night. Noel's droll, dry, and deadly wit never disappoints an audience — even after a showgirl meets her death onstage.

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Published: 1992

Celebrity Murder Case #7

[Celebrity Murder Case 07] - The Marlene Dietrich Muder Case

George Baxt

“Danger,” whispered Marlene. “How exciting!”“Danger from some of your guests.” Anna Mae Wong's eyes were dark with foreboding.“That is quite possible,” said Marlene. “I've invited the Marx Brothers.” New Year's Eve, 1931: Marlene Dietrich, as the reigning queen of Hollywood, sees fit to throw a royal bash in order to show off her legendary legs— and her secret-recipe potato pancakes. Gloria Swanson. Joan Crawford, and Jean Harlow are only a few of the luminaries who grace Marlene's star-studded guest list, and an astrologer's warning of danger serves only to heighten the Blue Angel's spirits. The only danger Marlene foresees avoiding is Groucho Marx after a bit too much Revelry.The danger, however, centers upon the astrologer herself, who upstages her hostess with a dire prediction about a new world war—and is subsequently murdered. But while death may be a show-stopper in some houses, it makes Marlene a detective for the prosecution.Marlene is convinced that the culprit lies among the astrologer's clientele of show-biz greats and political heavies, and with Dietrich determination, the screen siren takes on Hollywood gossips, European power brokers, and Nazi sympathizers in order to find a star-crossed killer. In the barbed and wickedly witty style for which he is known, George Baxt has brought Marlene Dietrich to life in all her riveting charm, lively humor, and hausfraulich love of cooking.

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Published: 1993

Celebrity Murder Case #8

[Celebrity Murder Case 08] - The Mae West Murder Case

George Baxt

“Goodness, what diamonds you have!”Mae smiled. “Honey, goodness had nothin’ to do with it.” The year is 1936, and Mae West has all of Hollywood wrapped around her little finger: a place many a man would kill to be. The legendary' screen siren has, however, one critic—one with deadly fangs in place of a poison pen—who is knocking off Mae West impersonators along his way to the real thing.But if there’s one thing Mae West knows, it’s that no no-account vampire is going to upstage Tinseltown’s most celebrated vamp. Brought back larger than life as only George Baxt can do it, Mae herself takes charge of the investigation in an adventure brimming with her doubles and her double entendres. This time she’s hoping he won’t have a gun in his pocket, and that he won’t be glad to see her.Armed with glamour, gossip, and curves of every kind, Mae leaps headlong into a web of blackmail and corruption without so much as a trace of fear. Says Mae: “You don’t know danger until you’ve faced the New York critics on an opening night.” And when a Hallowe’en party at one of Hollywood's spookiest, seamiest clubs brings hunter and hunted together, it’s no longer clear who is after whom.What is clear, however, is that once Mae West gets in on the act, no sucker is safe.

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Published: 1993

Celebrity Murder Case #9

[Celebrity Murder Case 09] - The Bette Davis Murder Case

George Baxt

“My specialité. A body in the library." So exclaims Agatha Mallowan, better known as Agatha Christie, to her neighbor Bette Davis at the discovery of the corpse of famous archaeologist (and notorious egoist) Virgil Wynn. Bette has rented Virgil's museum-like mansion in London for a few months of relaxation while her Hollywood lawyers renegotiate her contract, but instead of peace and quiet, she gets embroiled in murder.Bette stumbles headlong into the bitter—and now deadly—Wvnn family feud, complete with a cast of characters only George Baxt could create. Mabel, the domineering mother, still interferes although she’s been dead for years, as her husband. Sir Roland, knows only too well. Perhaps he has taken Virgil's success as an archaeologist and as Mabel’s favorite too personally. Virgil's siblings. Anthea. an unbalanced spinster who writes truly blank verse, and Oscar, who has dedicated himself to cacophonous musical compositions that will never see publication, have begrudged Virgil everything from his lion’s share of their mother’s attention to his wealth, which was their sole support.Where are Bette and Agatha to turn for the solution to a mystery already too close to home? Toss into the mix an overly devoted maid, a beguiling medium whose seances are to die for, a curse from the tomb of an Egyptian queen, a flirtatious police inspector, and a pinch of arsenic—not to mention a host of dead bodies both new and mummified. Only the grand dame of mystery and the sultry starlet of the silver screen could solve the ease! Named “one of the finest of modern satirists” by Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers. George Baxt lives in New York Citv. The Bette Davis Murder Case is his ninth celebrity mystery, following The Mae West Murder Case and The Marlene Dietrich Murder Case.

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Published: 1994

Celebrity Murder Case #10

[Celebrity Murder Case 10] - The Humphrey Bogart Muder Case

George Baxt

Dashiell Hammett's story of The Maltese Falcon comes to life in the witty tenth instalment of George Baxt's popular celebrity mystery series. It's 1941, and in between battles with his third wife, Mayo Methot, Humphrey Bogart is preparing to star with friends Mary Astor and Peter Lorre in what will become one of the jewels of his career. But filming is interrupted before it begins when the Bogarts' own house is ransacked. All clues indicate that someone is looking for a priceless cornucopia filled with jewels dating from the time of Marco Polo that was once in the possession of Mayo's sea captain father. Similarities to The Maltese Falcon draw Dashiell Hammett and his acerbic lady Lillian Heilman into the chase, and for a while it seems that everyone, from the washed-up silent film actress Karen Barrett to the greyest screen vamp of the twenties Theda Bara, to studio mogul Sam Goldwyn, has had his or her hands on the cornucopia. But then a murder is discovered, and another, and a third. Who wants the prize badly enough to kill for it? A bossy Italian contessa or her disgruntled lover? The proprietor of an antique shop or his bewigged ‘daughter’ Nell? The assistant to Hollywood's trendiest interior designer? Samuel Goldwyn?? Once again Detective Herb Villon, his girlfriend, gossip columnist Hazel Dickson, and his assistant Jim Mallory star alongside the real celebrities in a glamorous story of murder mayhem, and ‘such stuff as dreams are made on.’

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Published: 1995

Celebrity Murder Case #11

[Celebrity Murder Case 11] - The William Power and Myrna Loy Murder Case

George Baxt

Basking in the recent success of The Thin Man, William Powell and Myrna Loy stumble onto a situation so typically Hollywood that only the real-life incarnation of Nick and Nora Charles could take the case. A Hollywood madam publicizes that she's in need of money, effectively putting the squeeze on many of Holywood’s leading men by implying that soon she might be desperate enough to sell the contents of her little black book.A book like that could do a lot of damage in a town where Louis B. Mayer is not above exercising the morals clauses in bis actors' connects to suit his own schemes, where gossip spreads faster than you can say Louella Parsons." and where celebrity secrets are a valuable commodity—or a motive for murder.William Powell and Myrna Loy. the silver screen's most charming sleuthing couple, bring tbeir roles as Nick and Nora Charles back to life alongside George Baxt's fictional investigating trio of Herb Villon. Hazel Dickson, and Jim Mallory. Once again. Bait delivers a witty, engaging mystery depicting Hollywood in its heyday as only he can.

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Published: 1996

Celebrity Murder Case #12

[Celebrity Murder Case 12] - The Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers Murder Case

George Baxt

It’s 1953, and Hollywood's most legendary dancing duo is reunited after five years of semiretirement to dance with Russia's celebrated Baronovitch Ballet. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have consented to do their first TV special ever, and, except for Ginger's concern about her age (and looking it), they're tickled to be catching up with the times. The CIA is convinced, however, that the company has been infiltrated by spies, and they've asked local police Detectives Herb Villon and Jim Mallory to keep a close watch on the dancers. But before rehearsal even begins, a psychiatrist is dead. Dr. Igor Romanov, who had connections to the ballet company and who was also Ginger's therapist, collapses soon after the party announcing the ballet's gig with Astaire and Rogers. The rumors fly: Was the good doctor ill, or was he poisoned? With all the talk about communists and conspiracies, defectors and double agents, it's all Fred and Ginger can do to concentrate on the show-until there's another body, and Astaire and Rogers ore on the case. Once again, the venerable George Baxt delivers a witty, satirical mystery set in Hollywood's heyday.

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Published: 1997

Celebrity Murder Case #13

[Celebrity Murder Case 13] - The Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Murder Case

George Baxt

"A clever plot, witty innuendo, and plenty of the Hollywood greats for company." - Library JournalAs Gone With the Wind approaches release, all the stars but Clark Gable prepare to head for Atlanta for the big premiere. Clark and his wife, Carole Lombard, are too distressed to celebrate the opening of the biggest movie of his career because Lydia Austin, a young actress and a protege of Carole's, is missing. In fact, kidnapping paranoia is sweeping through Hollywood, and even with body-building bodyguards like the two Clark has hired to protect Carole, no one feels safe. But Carole is not a dame to take such threats lying down. Convinced that they can help, she and Clark set themselves up as amateur sleuths. Of course, there are plenty of other celebrities in the mix: W.C. Fields alternates between anxiety over the kidnappings and trying to convince David O. Selznick that he should play Rhett Butler, and Groucho Marx also gets serious (just barely) long...

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Published: 1997