THE GRACIE ALLEN MURDER CASE

Another Phil Vance story -- second rate. Van Dine has deliberately put Gracie Allen and George Burns, radio and screen stars, into a story, in which nitwit Gracie helps solve a crime involving a corpse, presumably her brother. Burns is a perfume expert -- first suspect, then first aid in solving the crime (after the inimitable Gracie, whose absurd clues turn the tables). Pretty thinly spun, but the tie-up will sell it.