Strip for Murder by Max Allan Collins, a Mysterious Review.

Review: It's not all fun and laughs for comic strip syndication executives Maggie Starr and her stepson Jack when one of their cartoonists is murdered and another the prime suspect in Strip for Murder, the second mystery in this series by Max Allan Collins.

Sam Fizer, creator of the Starr's most profitable strip, Mug O'Malley, is dead. At first it looks like suicide – but is it? Upon further investigation it appears as though someone may murdered him and then tried to make it look like he had killed himself. The incriminating evidence points to his former partner and now fierce competitor Hal Rapp. But is he being framed?

Jack Starr, vice president and general trouble-shooter for Starr Syndicate, is also a licensed private investigator with just one client, Starr Syndicate. He and Captain Chandler of the local precinct work together to question everyone involved with Sam, from Hal to Misty (the estranged wife, now widow) to the local loan sharks. Hal Rapp is the creator of Tall Paul, currently the most popular strip of the year. He and Sam had once worked together though their partnership ended twenty years ago with them becoming bitter enemies. Over the years, through their comic strips, they had maligned each other as much and as often as they could. Now Hal is involved in a musical based on the Tall Paul strip starring Misty. Sam was furious and blamed Hal for his broken marriage. He had planned on taking Hal to court citing plagiarism. A reason for Hal to kill him? Maybe. But Sam owes over $100,000 in gambling debts. A reason for the mob to kill him? Maybe. And his wife hated him for his threat to leave her and cut her out of his will. A reason for Misty to kill him? Maybe. It's no surprise there are others who would like to see Sam dead. It's up to Jack to put the jumbled frames of this story together in the right order to see what really happened.

Strip for Murder is a breezy mystery to read though it has a lot of dark humor. The seemingly innocent world of comic strips created for the amusement of newspaper readers is juxtaposed against the cutthroat world of competitive creators, syndication deals, even ghost cartoonists. The book starts slow but the pace quickly picks up and becomes a delightful (and in many ways insightful) story. It's also worth noting that Terry Beatty's illustrations throughout add great value to the plot and lift it above the average mystery.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Strip for Murder.

Acknowledgment: Penguin Group provided a copy of Strip for Murder for this review.

What Doesn't Kill Her
Thomas & Mercer (Trade Paperback), September 2013
ISBN-13: 9781612185293; ISBN-10: 1612185290

Strip for Murder

A Jack and Maggie Starr Mystery by Max Allan Collins