A CAST OF KILLERS
by Gallagher Gray
The second case (Hubbert & Lil, 1991) for the contrived pairing of stodgy Theodore Hubbert and his octogenarian auntie, the zany Lil, finds the amateur sleuths ladling out overspiced chili at an N.Y.C. soup kitchen when an aged ex-chorus girl (stagename: Emily Toujours) keels over—dead from cyanide poisoning. While one derelict luncher mumbles about ``the Eagle'' taking Emily's purse, and a pack of other geriatric showgirls snipe at one another and at poor Emily's theatrical credits, Theodore and Lil—abetted by the glamorous, well-connected Lilah and the nattily attired Mr. Wong- -stake out the deceased's apartment and run afoul of: Rodney/Leteisha, a rambunctious transvestite; two street-smart boys whom Emily befriended; and Worthington, a swarmy theatrical producer/blackmailer and his gal-pal Sally St. Claire. Lil is kidnapped; Theodore is almost poisoned; and one more dies before the police sort through all the eccentrics bounding through the plot holes. Gallagher's unappealing pivotal characters are, once again, the main problem. Best suited for those with a high tolerance for camp—and a need to render the bizarre as cute.