A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #18 - You'll Die Yesterday

It has been nine books since Marjorie J. Grove's last Zebra Mystery Puzzler, so it was high time we had another mystery for everyone's favorite Hollywood gossip columnist Maxine Reynolds to solve.  Nurse Tory Baxter (by Marcia Blair) has had THREE BOOKS in the time between Grove's last mystery and this one, and country singer Darby Castle (by Jan Michaels) has had TWO BOOKS in between.  As far as I'm concerned, Grove deserves to have some more books in this series to catch up with these other recurring characters (although, to be fair, this is Max Reynold's fourth appearance in the series, and poor Darby Castle's two appearances were here only two to be had!).  I was more than happy to re-enter the world of Maxine Reynolds, her sassy assistant Toothie, and her devoted boyfriend, Rob Allan, as they set about to solve their latest murder mystery!

 

You'll Die Yesterday takes our main character to Paris, where she has been sent by her employers to oversee the French office of their magazine (as the previous woman in charge had married and taken off, leaving the office without any leadership!).  Max jumps at the chance, having just been wondering if her life needed a change, and she manages to convince her boss that she will need Toothie to assist her while she is there.  They arrive in the City of Love to be greeted by the nephew of the famous French film producer, Philippe Gustave-Grenier (since, as it happens, Max's employer is friends with Monsieur Gustave-Grenier).  She joins the producer and his nephew on an afternoon walk down the Champs-Elysees, despite the drizzling rain - but as they are out, a motorcycle speeds past, spraying water on the three, following which, a stranger in an overcoat bumps into Monsieur Gustave-Grenier, causing injury to his lower leg.  It all seems innocent enough; but, when the producer turns up dead the next day, Max suspects foul play.

 

Now, either I am getting extremely good at spotting the killer in these books, or the mystery was just not very complicated at all - but I was able to not only identify the killer from the moment it happened, as well as guess at the motive.  Honestly, it was not very difficult at all (it were almost as if the killer was carrying around a neon sign, saying "I'm the one! I'm the one!").  Nevertheless, the story was still a very enjoyable read, and this one offered up some really great banter between Max and Toothie.  And one aspect of the story I found rather amusing is how readily the French detective investigating the case allowed Max to be involved, sharing information with her as she provided what information she gleaned from the suspects she interrogated.  And Grove does manage to provide a variety of suspects - a disgrunted actor, a bitter musician, and an elusive businessman who is determined to buy our Monsieur Gustave-Grenier's production company.  The actor is only too willing to talk with Max, but the musician is brusque and refuses to even meet with her (and he becomes very irate when she sneaks into his apartment and interviews his wife under false pretenses!).  Max puts off trying to meet with the businessman and his two representatives, but when she does, she manages to uncover a rather interesting bit of information (that has nothing to do with the murder, but is rather clever in its execution!). 

 

The Paris setting of this story allows the author to highlight a number of French sites, such as the Eiffel Tower, the museums, the restaurants, the shopping districts.  Grove has a tendency to spend a lot of details on the surroundings, whether in Hollywood, London, or even here in Paris, which grounds the story in reality a bit more than if the reference were vague and entirely fictional.  There are times where, as I am reading, I am tempted to pull up a map and follow along to see exactly how accurate the details are!

 

While the clues that lead to the identity of the killer are fairly simple to spot if you pay attention, there are two illustrations - one near the beginning and one in the next to the last chapter (before you open the sealed final chapter) - that pretty much cinch it for Max, as well as the reader.  Honestly, it took me a moment when I looked at that final internal illustration before I realized the importance of the scene; but once it clicked, there was no more doubt about who the killer was.  Once again, there is no credit given to the internal illustrator; but the cover art is signed by "Iskowitz,"  I was able to locate a couple of artists with that last name, but while no credit is specifically given to him, I believe the artist is Joel Iskowitz, who is said to have provided a number of book and cover illustrations for books in the late '70s and early '80s, which would fit the time period when this book was published (and the signature on this cover matches the signature on other paintings by Joel Iskowitz).  And the cover scene, which is the moment before the motorcycle splash and the "accidental" bump, provides a very obvious clue as to the choice of murder weapon.

 

Readers are treated to a bit more insight into Max's growing relationship with Rob, as she debates whether she wants to stay in Paris if her employer asks her to make the job permanent, since it would mean leaving behind the man she keeps hoping will ask her to marry him.  One good thing about these recurring main characters in this series is you get to watch them grow as the series progresses.  I know there are still several more Max Reynolds' stories in the series, so it will be interesting to see where these two finally end up!

 

RATING:   9 warning messages written in lipstick out of 10 for a rainy, Parisian murder mystery whose enjoyment is not figuring out whoddunnit, but in following along with Max as she tries to figure it out!