The Sepia Siren Killer

Prior to World War II, black actors were restricted to mainstream film roles as chauffeurs, maids, night club entertainers, and comic buffoons. But there was a second Hollywood, a BLACK Hollywood, where great producers and directors like Oscar Michaud created films with all-black casts for exhibition to black audiences. Some of the actors worked only in black productions. Others, like the talented Eddie Anderson, could play comic roles in white productions and serious roles in all-black films. When a cache of long-lost African-American films is discovered by cinema researchers, the aged director Edward "Speedy" MacReedy appears to reclaim his place in film history. But insurance investigator Hobart Lindsey and homicide officer Marvia Plum soon find themselves enmeshed in a mystery with its roots deep in the tragic events of a past era, as they seek out...THE SEPIA SIREN KILLER! The fourth entry in this compelling mystery series.

Prior to World War II, black actors were restricted to minor roles in mainstream films - though there was a 'black' Hollywood that created films with all-black casts for exhibition to black audiences. When a cache of long-lost films is discovered by cinema researchers, the aged director Edward 'Speedy' MacReedy appears to reclaim his place in film history. But insurance investigator Hobart Lindsey and homicide officer Marvia Plum soon find themselves enmeshed in a frightening web of arson and murder with its roots deep in the tragic events of a past era...

He was a white, suburban bachelor. A total square. Lived with his mother. Worked for an insurance company. She was a black, tough, streetwise cop. Then somebody stole a quarter million dollars worth of rare comic books. And then people started getting murdered. Lindsey and Plum were like oil and water, but they had to work together, like it or not! Joe Gores, author of Hammett and other novels, said: "Lupoff writes with intelligence, humor, wisdom, and a zest for life. He had a lot of fun writing this book, and it shows; because of it, we have a lot of fun reading it." The Comic Book Killer is the first volume in Richard A. Lupoff's hugely popular Lindsey-and-Plum series. Readers will cheer the return of these grand characters and their exciting investigations.

Bob Bjorner is the last of the "red hot lefties" at radio station KRED in Berkeley, Calif. His paranoia makes him bring his personal lock to keep intruders out of the studio while he's on the air--but they get to him anyway! He opens his lunch, takes his first mouthful of sashimi, and falls over dead. Homicide detective Marvia Plum scrambles to the station in time to see broadcasters, engineers, and administrators trying to figure out what to do next. Bob Bjorner, Radio Red himself, is clearly visible through the window between the on-air studio and the control room--and nobody can get to him! THE RADIO RED KILLER is the most baffling--and fascinating!--case yet in Richard A. Lupoff's irresistable "Killer" mystery series.

During World War II, due to a shortage of qualified pilots, Uncle Sam began a program of training thousands of military pilots. Among these were the Tuskegee Airmen, a unit of African-Americans eager to fly in combat. Fifty years later a Hollywood studio sets out to create a documentary about these brave airmen, featuring grizzled survivors of that long-ago era flying lovingly maintained vintage aircraft. And then...murder strikes on the movie set, and Hobart Lindsey, insurance investigator-turned-detective, enters the scene. Along with his sometime rival (and sometime love!), Marvia Plum, Lindsey plunges into a mystery with roots stretching half a century into the past. The third riveting entry in the Lindsay & Plum Detective Series!

Who WAS that gorgeous model? When a helicopter loses power and plunges into the icy waters of scenic Lake Tahoe, killing its only passenger, millionaire Albert Crocker Vansittart, what looks like a routine claim against a life insurance policy turns into a mystery for investigator Hobart Lindsey and his sometime collaborator Marvia Plum. The reason: half a century ago, the youthful Vansittart had come across a hardboiled mystery novel and become obsessed with the glamorous model who'd posed for the cover painting. Now, Vansittart's multimillion dollar policy is to go to "the girl on the cover of Death in the Ditch." Lindsey's pursuit of the now-aged model (if she's even still alive!) leads him into a maze of violence and deception with its roots in the politics and wars of past decades. Another first-rate combination of crime, collectibles, and American history--and the fifth book in this bestselling series!

A 1928 DUESENBERG! Most of them were rich, most of them were beautiful, and now one of them was dead in an unexpected and particularly nasty way. Oh, and a perfectly maintained, priceless 1928 Duesenberg Phaeton, the royalty of collectible, classic automobiles, had disappeared. Where do you hide a totally recognizable Dusie? Insurance man Hobart Lindsey is back on the case...along with his sometime sparring partner and lover, homicide investigator Marvia Plum, Lindsey’s troubled mother, and a cast of unforgettable characters. Introduced in The Comic Book Killer, Hobart Lindsey and the rest of those memorable characters return in a baffling, complex mystery with roots stretching back to the violent era of World War Two and the dark despair of the American Depression. Introduction by Donald E. Westlake.

Hobart Lindsey and Marva Plum return in their final case! Hobart Lindsey is called back to the San Francisco Bay Area for one last case. A local book publisher is being sued over a novel that might actually be the last, lost work of a novelist killed over a year ago. "This is the eighth and final book in the series featuring Lindsey and Plum and provides series fans with a satisfying ending. There’s enough background in the book for newcomers to thoroughly enjoy the novel as a stand-alone." - Booklist