Steve Allen has agreed to step into the breach when Terry Cole, king of the late-night talk shows, takes a much-needed vacation. But he gets more than he bargained for when one of his guests drops dead on stage--and suddenly, Steve is in the middle of a sensational murder case.

Her lifelong friend lying in a coffin, Annie O’Neil snatches Cissy Raven’s topaz brooch before the lid is shut. Julia Devlin, another friend, is shocked at Annie’s action. Later, Annie recalls the dream they had in their teens when they planned to become cat burglars. Hesitant at first, Julia finally joins forces in the planned ventures after a hellish ten days of babysitting.Velvel Chavivi is cursed by a personal devil. Disaster has followed him from his earliest years when he accidentally shattered a ten carat diamond he was about to cleave. He follows the women home after their first successful major theft and gains their sympathy after an accident. Both women are drawn to the pitiful man with no friends.The second heist involves Sukie Mae Fremont’s rubies in Dallas, then Claudia Fanchon’s sapphires in New Orleans. They insist on emeralds for their collection and snatch Sam Cunigdorio’s emeralds in New York but Sam is a high ranking Mafia figure. The women learn the hard way that their luck can only last so long.

The success of Steve Allen's How To Be Funny led first to the republication of that book, and now occasioned a companion volume, Make 'Em Laugh. This new how-to book about the art of comedy includes an even richer assortment of examples of the author's unique humor. In Make 'Em Laugh, Allen laces his formal instruction with hilarious ad-libs, written jokes, TV comedy sketches, satires, song parodies, humorous essays, amusing autobiographical reminiscences, one-act plays, witty speeches, and stand-up monologues from his comedy concerts. Noel Coward called Steve Allen the most talented man in America, and he is probably the most borrowed-from comedian of all time. The perceptive reader will recognize many of the comic ideas that Allen originated during the "Golden Age" of television comedy - ideas that are still influential in the 1990's. If there were a college course in creating and performing comedy, Make 'Em Laugh would be the ideal textbook.

An art form comes of age when it is imitated, then parodied and finally repeated in pastiche. Crime and detective fiction is now so well established in different formats that it lends itself easily to these literary forms. After a brief history of the genre is an analysis of a large number of parody books and short stories, with details of correspondence and interviews the writer has had with masters of the craft, like Georges Simenon and Margaret Millar. The next section covers those books written by teams of six or more crime writers. The pastiche section deals with a number of books and short stories in-depth, crime stories for younger readers, and the exploits of literary detectives and criminals. "Do It Yourself Sleuthing" covers dossiers, games and books of solvable short crime stories. This leads naturally to all forms of parody and pastiche in films, theater, television and radio, including stage and film musicals.

A guide to series fiction lists popular series, identifies novels by character, and offers guidance on the order in which to read unnumbered series.

Imaginary homicides on live, prime time television in a battle of wits and lively banter. But a series of murders that were anything but imaginary quickly turned lively banter into deadly threats and recriminations as, one by, one, the stars of "The Murder Game became very real victims of a killer whose motives were as mysterious as the murders themselves. And as the program's ratings soared with the discovery of each new body; Steve and Jayne suddenly found themselves.

A reclusive billionaire has invited Steve and Jayne to join the star-studded party aboard his luxury liner making its maiden voyage. Then a dead body turns up in a life boat. That's only the beginning. As more corpses show up in the most inappropriate places, Steve and Jayne get ready to solve the most baffling mystery of their careers.

Why Did Steve Allen Cross the Road? Steve Allen is a legend among comedians and entertainers. He's been playing to audiences on stage, radio, film, and television for more than fifty years, gaining acclaim for his unique wit and energy. Now for the first time, he shares more than a thousand of his favorite one-liners, anecdotes, limericks, quotes, and other generally funny things. The entries are divided into nearly two hundred categories to make it easy for anyone to find the right laugh for any occasion. If you're faced with the prospect of having to "say a few words," Steve Allen's Private Joke File is the perfect place to look for ideas and inspiration on such topics as awards, drinking, baseball, lawyers, dentists, insurance, marriage, the stock market, and dozens of other subjects. A sampling: * My wife and I had words, but I never got to use mine! * If ignorance is bliss, he should die of joy. * "How are the acoustics here?" "Great, I can hardly hear you!" * I learned to rumba very early in life ... I had a tricycle with a loose seat. * Room for rent, by young lady, freshly plastered. Steve Allen has also included a number of his favorite essays and monologues. Steve Allen's Private Joke File is great to flip through for fun or for function, and for those of us looking for a good laugh -- to give one or to have one -- it's indispensable.

For the first time, here is an annotated bibliography of murder mysteries that is organized by the category of the mystery and lists only contemporary publications, including an extensive listing of titles that are paperback originals. Categories range from Academic, Getting Away with Murder, and Old Crimes and Murders to Writers and Their Conventions. Because an interesting annotation should be available for reading, contemporary publications were chosen. With the exception of a few favorites, each entry was in print in either a paperback or a hardcover edition in 1985, and listings continue through late 1991. Murder... By Category is the companion to take for library and bookstore browsing.