The Lucky Stiff

John J. Malone #8

by Craig Rice

“Anna Marie St. Claire died in the electric chair at one minute after midnight this morning, with smile on her lips … “ Brooding over his gin in Joe the Angel’s City Hall Bar, John J. Malone read those headlines, and the story of how, half an hour too late, a dying gangster’s confession had proved Anna Marie innocent. She had been too beautiful to die. Malone knew if he had defended her she wouldn’t have had to die.
Suddenly he turned white. For there, floating through the swinging doors, came a lovely apparition, curves outlined by a chic gray suit—Anna Marie, dressed just as she had been the day her gangster lover was bumped off. Malone muttered a prayer and fled. Anna Marie followed him … So begins a giddy Craig Rice manhunt, combining mirth, mixed drinks, murder, and that talented trio, John J. Malone and Helene and Jake Justus.
BIO:
Craig Rice (pseudonym of Georgiana Ann Craig; 1908–1957) was an American author of mystery novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time Magazine, on January 28, 1946.
Gritty but humorous, Rice's stories uniquely combine the hardboiled detective tradition with no-holds-barred, screwball comedy. Most of her output features a memorable trio of protagonists: Jake Justus, a handsome but none too bright press agent with his heart in the right place; Helene Brand, a rich heiress and hard-drinking party animal par excellence (to become Mrs. Justus in the later novels); and John Joseph Malone, a hard-drinking, small-time lawyer (though both his cryptic conversation and sartorial habits are more reminiscent of such official or private gumshoes as Lieutenant Columbo). ¬— via: Wikipedia

Genres: Mystery, Noir, Crime, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Pseudonym for Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig aka Daphne Sanders and Michael Venning.

Known for her hard-boiled mystery plots combined with screwball comedy, Georgiana 'Craig' Rice was the author of twenty-three novels, six of them posthumous, numerous short stories, and some true crime pieces. In the 1940s she rivaled Agatha Christie in sales and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. However, over the past sixty years she has fallen into relative obscurity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ri...

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Anna Marie St. Claire died in the electric chair at one minute after midnight this morning, with a smile on her lips..."

In The Lucky Stiff (1945) by Craig Rice (aka Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig), Anna Marie St. Claire is destined for a date with the electric chair for a crime she didn't do. Her lawyer has gone through the appeals process to no avail and the governor has turned a deaf ear to a plea for a reprieve. At the eleventh hour, she's saved from a shocking death (sorry, I couldn't resist...) by a dying gangster's confession. St. Claire, her lawyer, and the warden are the only ones who know she didn't keep her date with the executioner...so Anna Marie insists that they play it like she died and have the newspapers report her death. Because Anna Marie has a plan to haunt a few characters who didn't feel like saving her skin during the trial.

She smiled at him, "Me? I'm dead. So what am I going to do? Guess. I'm going to haunt houses.

Along the way, Anna Marie meets up with some of Rice's favorite characters: John J. Malone, the slightly bent Chicago lawyer; his friend Jake Justus and Justus's beautiful and strong-willed wife, Helene; and Captain Daniel von Flanagan who regrets being a cop every time he gets mixed up in one of these wacky crimes. The five of them spend their time (both separately and together) trying to get to the bottom of the murder of Anna Marie's boyfriend--i.e., who masterminded the gangster's shooting and the frame-up up Anna Marie. Our friendly "ghost" pops in and out of bars, restaurants, and hotels...scaring her targets into indiscreet action. And there are numerous extra bodies piling up--but don't take them to the local funeral parlor. They're liable to get blown up. Really. Buckle up and get ready for a wild and bumpy ride that leads to an interesting denouement....

This was another fun read from Rice (like my first encounter with her in The April Robin Murders). Plenty of screwball comedy with a slightly noirish twist. Malone tries at times to sound like a hard-boiled private eye, but he's got a much softer spot for the ladies and Yogi Berra way with words. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip through the surreal gangster land concocted by Rice's fertile imagination. The mystery is interesting with a nice hook and deft flick of the wrist to land us with a surprise ending.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5* for the mystery but 3* for the book overall. This entry in the John J. Malone series was a bit more noir than I had expected and I didn't like Malone letting Anna Marie go at the end - I like those guilty to be caught.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in 1945 and is a perfect example of the noir genre, which was all the rage at the time. A tale of a faked death, set ups, love, and loss. Maybe Tarantino isn't all that original, this plot has been recycled in his movies repeatedly (though they are all mostly excellent). Craig Rice is a pseudonym for Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig. A fun book with a nice twist at the end.

[Les · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light, entertaining who done it. Lots of quirky characters and plot twists.

[Randy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

John J. Malone Falls In Love

It’s hard to write a synopsis of this novel without giving away some key plot points, so I’ll just say that The Lucky Stiff is another clever and entertaining entry in the series of mysteries featuring lawyer John J. Malone and his partners-in-crime-solving Jake and Helene Justus. There are murders aplenty, some extortion, some deception, lots of drinking and smoking, a ghost who isn’t really a ghost, and a rather unexpected ending. The big news here is that Malone falls in love with his client, but you’ll have to read the book to see how that turns out. All in all, a fun read for the mystery fan who likes a little comedy mixed in with the mayhem.

[Sally Kilpatrick]

I accidentally read this one out of order. *sigh* Oh, well. It happens. The story here focuses more on Malone than Jake and Helene, although they are in the story. It's shenanigans and plot lines that manage to intersect. For some reason, Rice thinks the Irish are supersitious. Her dialogue from the Italian characters is...not good.

BUT lots of interesting women in this book, and Rice has a simple yet compelling way of writing that kept me turning pages. Not as much alcohol in this one.

this particular edition has lots of interesting typos, so if that's a pet peeve, you might want to look for a different edition.

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

She was a side piece but Anna Marie St. Clair claimed to love Big Joe. Yes, she was found standing over him holding a gun, but she is going to the electric chair claiming her innocence. There's a last minute phone call and Anna Marie is saved. But she doesn't want anyone to know. Instead, she decides that Anna Marie St. Clair will die. Her "ghost" will rise to haunt the living. Her first stop? The bar John J. Malone is known to haunt. Her own lawyer had recommended him as a crooked lawyer but one who is only crooked in certain ways.
When John J. Malone sees Anna Marie in a dingy bar, he falls in instant love. And he makes it his mission to ensure that her life is going to be the best it can possibly be. Including getting her exonerated from murder. John's friends Helene and Jake Justus are worked but they are going to help their friend as much a possible. Even while Jake is dealing with problems relating to his casino.
If you like the Malone series, you will like this book.
I picked this book up because of the Classic Mysteries podcast.

[Mikael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läsutmaning 2019 och framåt: Nummer 27, En bok som du valt enbart på omslaget.
Ett grönmurrigt omslag. En elegant kvinna klädd i dräkt med handskar flor och handväska i knallrosa. Omgiven av fyra förskräckta män. Varför är de rädda för henne? Har de sett ett spöke?
Jag blev glad, när jag läste boken, över att "kvinnan" faktiskt var klädd som på omslaget och att hon på sätt och vis också var ett spöke!

[Barbararose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Marie thought about her upcoming death

She was only an hour away from the electric chair for a murder she didn’t commit. Then 45 minutes, then 30.
Then the warden got the call, the man who murdered her lover confessed.
She had a plan, bury an empty coffin, and haunt people. Her lawyer said no, so did the warden, but she got her wish...
Great twist at the end..

[Danny Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malone's extreme horniness and the continual fallback on sexist cliches are a bummer. The solution is both unsurprising and dumber than I'd guessed. It's interesting trying to dissect Rice's own worldview from the book, but otherwise this one is a tad too mirthless.

[John Wiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated is some ways, not in others. A good romp, like some of the old black and white movies, everyone caravaning along for the adventure, the booze, the nightclubs and cigarettes... But ultimately it boils down to a contrivance or two that wouldn't serve well today.

[Earl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am pleased to have discovered Craig Rice, nee Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Real noir, with wisecracking hero, gutsy dames, good joes, and a female fatale.

[Shelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m thrilled to have found a golden ager that I hadn’t read before. I found it funny and well-paced (love the mixed metaphors.) looking forward to reading more Craig Rice.

[Cindy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, engaging plot with lotsa twists. Characters are well developed, even some bad guys are likable which becomes part of the fun and surprise. Entertainingly narrated.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Craig Rice’s Chicago, people are tough as nails and violence is a given. 1940's socialites rub elbows with gangsters while off-duty cops drink with suspected murderers. Not everyone is directly involved in the dirty work, but no one is very far removed from it, either. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t just as spooked by spooks as the rest of us.

Big Joe Childers loved women with tiny feet. Both his mistress and his wife are described as having “tiny feet.” But it wasn’t a foot fetish that killed the popular gangster. It was a bullet. And the gun that bullet came from was found in the hands of Big Joe’s lady-love Anna Marie St. Clair.

Anna Marie was a tall, shapely farm girl who parlayed looks and heat into a career as a showgirl. Then Big Joe set her up in a secluded love nest. Big Joe and Big Anna Marie were well-matched - tough, smart straight-shooters. So why did Anna Marie go to a run-down bar and kill her lover?

She swears she’s innocent, but the jury convicts her and sentences her to death. She’s calm throughout the trial, but seven weeks on death row shake her belief that something or someone will free her. Then a dying gangster admits to killing Big Joe and shoving the gun into Anna Marie’s hand. Too bad she’s already been executed. Especially since she decides to haunt Chicago and get revenge on those who double-crossed her. Dead or alive, Anna Marie is a determined broad.

Helene and Jake Justus are both convinced that Anna Marie was innocent, but Jake has other problems and Helene can’t seem to put her finger on the one fact that would prove that Anna Marie couldn't POSSIBLY have killed Big Joe. Lawyer John J. Malone is convinced he could have gotten her off, innocent or guilty. The night of the execution he’s in Joe the Angel’s Bar drowning his sorrows. Malone hates waste and what could be more wasteful than the execution of a young, beautiful, sexy woman? Then Anna Marie’s ghost walks into the bar looking for a good defense lawyer.

Meanwhile, business owners (including Jake Justus and Joe the Angel) have even bigger problems than ghosts. Someone’s running a profitable protection racket that’s eating up all their profits. The police and Malone investigate, but every time they think they’ve fingered the guilty party, the suspect is rubbed out and the shake-downs go right on. The bodies are piling up and the master-mind is still in business. What to do?

I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but it’s a corker of a story with a wonderful (and totally unbelievable) ending. Some people think it’s Craig Rice’s best book. Not sure I agree with that, but if you love Rice’s quirky humor, hard-living characters, and go-for-broke plotting, you shouldn’t miss it.

[Jim Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was OK but read better things by Rice like The Corpse Steps Out. Author obviously inspired by the Hammett Thin Man style. Funny but unlike The Thin Man, really dated which had a certain attraction for me observing all the characters drinking heavily and lighting cigarettes in virtually every scene. Probably would give 2 1/2 stars if I could do half stars. I read some Rice as a young teen so I liked the memories it brought back but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.

[Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too silly. It reads like a scenario for a 40s flick. The film might be interesting, but there's not enough to hold my interest as a reader: unremarkable style, not remarkably funny. I didn't bother to finish it.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.com/2025/...