Acquire Today You Might As Well Die (Algonquin Round Table #2) Imagined By J.J. Murphy Disseminated As EReader Version

enjoyed it as much as the first This is the second book in the punny and funny An Algonquin Round Table Mystery series.
Many of the characters and the Algonquin room are real, but the story itself is fiction, Not a page goes by that there isn't a pun or the reader won't chuckle,

Dorothy Parker has the dubious honor of being selected by Ernie MacGuffin, an artist of covers for pulp magazines, to what turns out to be his suicide note.
Parker and and Benchley, shortly before midnight, are leaving their favorite speakeasy when Parker remembers the note, She reads the note, only to find out that Ernie is going to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight, They make a dash for the bridge, but arrive there to find Ernie's shoes and a painting

of the bridge, But a body is never found,

Trying to find out more about the life of Ernie to write a story, Dorothy comes a former stripper who claims to have had contact with Ernie from the other side.
The Great Houdini is in town and he is talked into attending a seance with Dorothy, Of course they find that Ernie is not really dead, but only working a scam to make his paintings valuable, In the meantime, it is also learned that Ernie's widow is seeing someone from her hometown, Then Ernie's body is found, but he has been murdered,

So, Dorothy and Benchley need to learn whether it was the wife, the shady lawyer who was running his own scam with Ernie's paintings after the apparent suicide,or possibly the new boyfriend.


A thoroughly enjoyable story with very interesting characters,

Looking forward to the next punny one, FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review,

This book was released on Decemberth, As I mentioned in the disclosure I received a copy in advance, My goal was to have my review posted on the release day, but life got in the way, My husband and I were involved in a bad car wreck and that combined with the schedule at school totally messed up my blogging schedule.



Summary: When secondrate illustrator Ernie MacGuffin's artistic works triple in value following his apparent suicide off the Brooklyn Bridge, Dorothy Parker smells something fishy.
Enlisting the help of magician and skeptic Harry Houdini, she goes to a séance held by MacGuffin's mistress, where Ernie's ghostly voice seems hauntingly real.
. .
Here's where I gush and go all fangirl: I love this series, About a year ago I had to adjust my book buying habits due to lack of shelf space and a decrease in funds available for buying books.
As a result I had to buy less and check out more from the library got to love libraries, However, I do have certain authors/series that I "collect" these are authors that I MUST have on my shelves, J. J. Murphy is one of those authors,

What I liked about the book: Everything, I love the setting, the characters, the plot! I like that even though it's a mystery, the mystery is not the only essential element of the story.
Dorothy Parker and her interactions with her fellow members of the Algonquin Round Table are also a big part of the story, Murphy has created a story where the reader truly feels as though they have stepped back in time, I love the type of mystery this is though I'm not really sure how to categorize it, It's not a thriller and it's not a cozy, I think I'd call it a Christie Mystery, Rhyming not intentional. Agatha Christie was the author that got me hooked on mysteries when I was a kid, When I read Murphy's mysteries, I get that same good read feeling I always get when I read one of Dame Agatha's books,

Another reason this series appeals to me is that I enjoy fiction that includes real people, I like that Murphy includes famous/infamous people from the past, I always find myself doing a little research on the famous characters in the books, As an educator, any book that inspires the reader to learn more is a gem,

What I didn't like about the book: There wasn't a thing I didn't like about the book, If you like mysteries, you have to add this series to your must read list, As mysteries, these books are a tad predictable, However, they are totally worth reading solely based on the entertaining characters and historical aspects, This book returns us to our old friends at the Algonquin Roundtable, and introduces us to Houdini and Charles Norris, the first real forensic medical examiner.
Because when you meet Chuck Norris, you'd best be dead first, See what I did there

I even enjoyed the fictional characters in this one, which was a slight improvement over the first.
Onto book three! This book was definitely better than the first entry into the series, The writing flowed more smoothly as did the interaction between the characters, One drawback was that the mystery itself was pretty easy to figure out, If you are a big Harry Houdini fan, you might not like the nauseating arrogance of his portrayal, although I have a sneaking suspicion it is rather spot on.


I love the relationship between Dorothy and Benchley in these books, Wouldn't it be nice if this was really the way they felt about each other A nice way to pretend, in any event, Another great read by J, J. Murphy. The story was very interesting, Looking forward to the next book, Another wonderful book by J, J Murphy. The wise cracks that the Algonquin table companions make are just too funny not to share with friends and the historical details are just great.


In this book we learn that Dorothy tried to commit suicide at some point in her life and her friend, Ernie Macguffin asks her about it.
It seems Ernie wants to commit suicide to make his name famous, As Dorothy reads a note from him in a speakeasy where they owe more than, she learns that Ernie planned on committing suicide at midnight.
With the owner's wife andyear old son chasing them they go to the bridge where all they see is a painting and his shoes.
At least his paintings do skyrocket, but the plot thickens when his body can't be found,

With some great new characters like the great Harry Houdini and a little history about the characters at the end of the book Yes, all the characters are real except Ernie this book is a must read for anyone.
If you like history, read it, If you like comedy, read it, This is the second in the Algonquin Roundtable Mystery series featuring poet Dorothy Parker and writer Robert Benchley, Secondrate illustrator Ernie MacGuffin slips a suicide note in Dorothy's purse that leads the amateur sleuth to the scene of his death on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Dorothy is full of remorse that she didn't arrive in time to prevent his death, Along with Benchley, Dorothy agrees to write an article about the deceased for the fledgling New Yorker magazine, When Dorothy begins to doubt that Ernie is dead, hijinks ensue, Dorothy enlists the help of Houdini, and all are pursued by gangster Micky Finn.
Suspend your disbelief and enjoy the chase, Dorothy Parker is confronted at the Algonquin by painter Ernie MacGuffin, It appears he wants to entrust an envelope to Dorothy with the request she not read it until midnight, Now that request was mysterious in itself but that it was the followup to a short discussion on suicide made Dorothy all the more anxious.


Robert Benchley by her side Dorothy opens the envelope a few minutes ahead of schedule and finds it to be what she feared.
. . a suicide note.

While all this is going on Tony Soma , manager at their favorite speakeasy, confronts them with their unpaid bill, They take in the amount they've accrued and try stalling tactics that just don't make it, That's when Mrs. Soma and Tony Jr. begin a madcap chase after our duo,

Dorothy and Robert make a dash to the Brooklyn Bridge in an effort to stop Ernie from jumping, Their worst fears are realized when they find one of Ernie's paintings leaning on the railings just above the water,

This story was nonstop with a smooth weaving between Dorothy's adventure and Robert's, The excitement never seemed to let up and then, . . Harry Houdini enters the picture, The characters were more than colorful and zany doesn't measure up to this standard of comedy, Each character is detailed as well as their part in this mystery, The seance with Dorothy and Harry in attendance, with Harry in disguise as he tries to reveal the work of frauds,

Reading this series proves to be a more than pleasurable experience, It's exciting and it's FUN!

Enjoy
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