Books: Groucho Marx, King of the Jungle By Ron Goulart (2005)

 

“Frank Denby and Groucho Marx arrive on the set of the new Ty-Gor film, a Tarzan knockoff, expecting to have Groucho do his humorous walk-on. What they find is that Randy Spellman, the star of the picture, has been murdered. Frank’s wife, Jane, is only a few weeks away from having their baby and the amateur detective team has promised to lay off on the sleuthing. But when a stuntwoman who has gone missing is suspected of the murder, Jane insists they take up the case to clear the young woman’s name. In addition to being a horrible actor, Spellman was a womanizer and a blackmailer. Many people had reason to dislike him, or even kill him, and the investigation leads Frank and Groucho through the glamour and seediness of 1940s Hollywood, Groucho signing autographs all the while.”

Groucho Marx, King of Jungle is the sixth and final book Ron Goulart wrote featuring the legendary comedian who solves murders in Old Hollywood with his screenwriter pal Frank Denby and his wife Jane. It’s also probably weakest of the six, as it shows that premise does have it limitations. It’s interesting to note for me, as I read this book, how much Goulart paints Hollywood of the period as one full of pretty blonde women willing to do anything to be a star, how everyone sort of used any means possible, like blackmail, against one another and how devious and seedy people can be. Set in April of 1940, the Hollywood Hills and the Valley are always fog strewn, with misty rain and dark alley’s beckoning the gullible. April can be a cool month here and generally suffers from the marine layer, but not so much as presented here.

Anyways, the plot of this book does get a bit more complex here, and maybe even a bit dark and certainly unsavory, but at the cost of the humor that made the other five a fun read, with a lot of that Groucho’s non-sequitur monologues never really hit the mark. There was also a subplot I wished Goulart would have taken up, that of a black man and a white women in a relationship in 1940. It seems while everything else got more serious, this one plot point was left behind –which made it a lost opportunity.

A fine, bittersweet ending, but probably for the best Goulart never went on to write more.

Books: Under the Whispering Door By TJ Klune (2021)

"When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead. Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over. But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life. When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days."

This is a novel about grief, even with Klune’s somewhat cock-eyed, sometime very funny view of the world. Wallace Price is an uptight lawyer who looks only out for himself and the goals of his clients and bosses. He has money, named success, and everything that comes with being a white man in the 21^st Century –always failing up. But a heart attack ends his life, and to his shock and surprise, this pisses him off. But his Reaper, Mei, brings him to Charron Crossings in the middle of nowhere; Wallace meets Hugo the ferryman, a man of high empathic abilities and where with Mei, Hugo, the ghosts of Hugo’s granddad Nelson and Dug like dog named Apollo, they show Wallace that the river of life goes only one way and on the fourth floor of the teas shop is a door that will usher the ghosts onto their next adventure.

In his afterword, Klune makes mention that Under the Whispering Door was a personal book about death, about losing someone close to you, and maybe about missed opportunities. For those who watched the NBC sitcom The Good Place, will get a lot of what Klune is saying here. Much like that beloved series, the road to understanding is filled with some dark humor and weirdness. He tries, rather successfully, to not be treacle here, not to pound you over the head with the idea that most people don’t start to live until something horrible happens. Wallace does go through this, regretting his actions as a corporate lawyer, the break-up of his marriage, the fact that he was bisexual (which is great, because Hugo is gay). These themes are there, even if I don’t think the book achieved any profound meaning that I'm assuming Klune was trying to do.

It has many strengths, it's charming and warm, but it remains a somewhat familiar story with familiar tropes. Still, I enjoyed the book, and like the problematical The House on the Cerulean Sea, it's still a worthy read.

Books: Doctor Who: The Secret in Vault 13 By David Solomons (2018)

"A sinister school where graduation means death . . .A monstrous mystery lurking below a quiet London street . . .A desperate plea for help delivered by . . . hang on. A potted plant? The Doctor has been summoned. The galaxy is in terrible danger, and only a Time Lord can save it. But to do so, she must break in to an ancient vault on a remote and frozen world - from which nobody has ever returned alive . Can the Doctor and her friends Yaz, Ryan and Graham uncover the shocking secret in Vault 13?"

This was the first original novel to be released with the broadcast premier of Jodie Whittaker’s version of the Doctor. Much like what we’ve seen in the last two seasons of her playing the Time Lord, The Secret in Vault 13 plays out like original serials form the 1960s, but instead of a historical tale that gives us encounters with Marco Polo or adventure set during the Crusades, this book is a modern science fiction tale with many passages designed to teach kids about things, here about plants and how important a role they play in every society in the universe, not just Earth. Solomons does capture the voice, somewhat of Whittaker –that combination of both the tenth and eleventh Doctor, with tinges of the first. Same goes for Ryan, Graham, and Yaz –at least they actually do something, unlike their TV counterparts.

The book also reminds the readers of what happened during the first season of Whittaker’s reign, and features a ton of continuity references (which I find odd, if only because the 13^th Doctor and this book seemed aimed at new viewers and readers). What it does better than the recent TV seasons is its whirlwind plot and frenetic pacing. It’s a bit bonkers, as it features a giant mole living under a Kensington estate being fed sacrifices by rich partygoers. There seems no reason for it. It just is. I’m also unsure why it ends on a cliffhanger, but okay.

So unlike a lot of original Doctor Who novels released in the 90’s and the ones that have come out since its TV return, this book is definitely geared to the younger set. It can easily be skipped over buy the adults, even though there are some clever jokes. But if you’re not a fan of Whittaker, this book won’t make you one.

Books: Julia By Peter Straub (1975)

 

“In a house in London a woman starts a new life, trying to put tragedy behind her. Then a pretty blonde child runs into view, bringing with her an inexplicable suggestion of evil. Once Julia Lofting had a husband and a daughter, but everything has changed since she bolted from her marriage, in flight from the unbearable truth of her daughter's death. For Julia, there is no escape. Another child awaits, another mother suffers, and a circle of the damned gathers around her. The haunting has begun.” 

Julia was Peter Straub’s third book, but the first that that touched on supernatural elements. I have generally enjoyed his work, including Ghost Story, Floating Dragon, and many others. I have never read his first two books, which were attempts at mainstream fiction. But what starts out as creepy ride into ghosts and haunted houses soon became an exercise in tedium. This book became a chore to finish, because there is no way a 290 page mass market should’ve taken me this long to finish. I think part of the problem lies in Straub basically answering everything about half-way through the book, forcing me to read on despite my misgivings for as this. Plus all the main characters are unlikable, including Julia (who really comes off as unreliable narrator). So, Julia lost a child, but you never get the sense she is mourning for that loss, which I found distracting. Her husband, Magnus, and sister-in-law Lily are stereotypical English folks, put off by modern things, and speak as if they’re stuck in Masterpiece Theater episode set around 1922. The book is also very dated, with women being portrayed as submissive and as objects, with random killings of animals (for really no reason, other than to show kids can be evil).

It just reminded me why it took all these decades to read Straub’s first foray into the horror genre. It’s gothic to the core, but dull as dishwater.