Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
New York: Carroll & Graf, 1989
Description
This beloved, larger-than-life thriller from Edgar Award-winning author Fredric Brown stars Bill Sweeney, an ace reporter with an otherworldly drinking problem who gets mixed up with a naked woman as the latter is trying to avoid becoming the fourth victim of a local serial killer-"the Ripper." Rousing himself from his drunken stupor in order to aid the woman, Bill sets out on the killer's trail. As he puts questions and answers together, he finds himself face-to-face with madness and death. In this wild ride from a renowned author, you'll visit an insane asylum, meet a bum named "God," and discover the little statue that ties everything together.
User reviews
LibraryThing member lsh63
Bill Sweeney is an alcoholic news reporter who stumble upon a grisly crime while he is on a bender. The victim is the serial killer known as the Ripper's latest victim, who is still alive.
Fascinated by what he has witnessed, and hoping that breaking the story will help smooth things over with his
Just when Sweeney thought that the case was solved, he encounters the shocking truth.
This was a very good read, and I wish that more of the author's mysteries were in print.
Fascinated by what he has witnessed, and hoping that breaking the story will help smooth things over with his
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boss, Sweeney sobers up and starts to track the killer. The term "screaming mimi" refers to a hideous statue of a screaming woman which appears to be the trigger for the killer's crime spree.Just when Sweeney thought that the case was solved, he encounters the shocking truth.
This was a very good read, and I wish that more of the author's mysteries were in print.
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LibraryThing member datrappert
Much more serious and darker than the other Brown mysteries I have read, but not lacking his typical sense of humor and frequent digressions - mostly into classical music. Just when you think you know what's going on with this one - it hits you - the same way it hits the hero, a newspaper reporter,
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what the truth is. A spectacular ending! Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
The description is accurate, if maybe a bit of an understatement. The thing is, I don't like thrillers, mysteries, shady characters who drink and smoke too much... but I am utterly charmed by just about everything Fredric Brown writes. Really, this is good. I'm giving it too my husband who
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does read contemporary mystery-thrillers; we'll see what he thinks. Show Less
LibraryThing member yarb
Picked this up when I heard it was the inspiration for The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. It's not quite on the level of Argento's incredible debut feature, but it's a heck of a hard boiled murder story in its own right. Alcoholic journalist Sweeney makes a great protagonist and he barely sleeps
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trying to unravel the mystery of the Chicago ripper. Satisfyingly sleazy stuff. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1949
Physical description
166 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0881844497 / 9780881844498