THE NOEL COWARD MURDER CASE

Baxt once again on his resurrection mission (The Greta Garbo Murder Case, p. 76, etc.)—attempting to bring to fictional life a celebrity from an earlier era—complete with silly plot; imagined dialogue; friends and relations. This time it's Noel Coward in 1935—in New York to make a movie and to star in the opening of The Cascades, a fancy nightclub owned by gangsters named Beethoven, Bizet, and Vivaldi. On the bill with him is rich, thrice-widowed, would-be cabaret singer Diana Headman and the voodoo act of Dan Parrish and Electra Howard, along with the requisite showgirls. Electra's sister Maxine has been found murdered in Shanghai while sleuthing for authorities trying to stop the white slave trade. Her killing has brought Inspector Wang to New York to confer with police detective Jacob Singer and to home in on the Cascades' partners. They know they're on the right track when showgirl Edna Dore is killed by a poisoned blowdart. There'll be another murder; some productive research into Diana's background; and endless running comment—heavily laced with bons mots—from Noel, before the chaotic jumble comes to a frantic end. Fans of show-biz lore may love it—others, be warned.