This particular book was the Hard Case for December of last year -- it's taken that long for me to convince a local library to lend me their copy of it -- and is just as hard-boiled as all of the rest, though in a slightly more va-va-voom direction than usual. Jonny Porkpie is both the hero and the author of this novel, written as if it were true -- and Porkpie is also the self-proclaimed "Burlesque Mayor of New York." (Because, if you're both willing to take your clothes off in public and brag about it, you can call yourself whatever the hell you want.) So this particular murder mystery takes place within New York's downtown burlesque scene, where, in the very first chapter, serial act-plagiarizer Victoria Vice drinks from a bottle of (supposedly) fake rat poison and dies a very real death."

This particular book was the Hard Case for December of last year -- it's taken that long for me to convince a local library to lend me their copy of it -- and is just as hard-boiled as all of the rest, though in a slightly more va-va-voom direction than usual. Jonny Porkpie is both the hero and the author of this novel, written as if it were true -- and Porkpie is also the self-proclaimed "Burlesque Mayor of New York." (Because, if you're both willing to take your clothes off in public and brag about it, you can call yourself whatever the hell you want.) So this particular murder mystery takes place within New York's downtown burlesque scene, where, in the very first chapter, serial act-plagiarizer Victoria Vice drinks from a bottle of (supposedly) fake rat poison and dies a very real death.

"A humorous and entertaining story... Porkpie may be a crappy detective, but he's a funny narrator. The burlesque performers he deals with are a smart-mouthed handful, especially his own wife who relentlessly mocks him for most of the book. Lighthearted, with just enough wink-and-nudge sex jokes to add some naughty flavor without being too over the top, this was a fast read that was good for some offbeat laughs." "A fun way to spend a few hours." "A very fun murder mystery. I'd never heard of the author before, who is also the hero of this story. A humorous look at the raunchier side of NYC without a lot of violence or explicit sex - although lots of the latter are implied & of course someone did get killed. It was hard not to laugh out loud while reading many times." "This one is quite humorous and an enjoyable and quick read. It does have elements of an old fashioned who-dunnit albeit set in a seedier locale. The writer had to have a great deal of fun writing this one and it makes for an exciting little romp." "Jonny Porkpie makes an entertaining narrator, though, making the book easy, enjoyable reading." "I haven't read Gypsy Rose Lee's stripper mystery, so this is clearly the best one I've ever read. Zippy screwball-comedy dialogue, the ins and outs of life in this subculture, plus a decent mystery as well." "Scruffy and fun whodunnit set in the colorful world of pasties and g-strings."

The Corpse Wore Pasties by Johnny Porkpie is a murder mystery set in the world of Burlesque. Porkpie is writing from experience and there's lots of fun to be had with the story in general. The mystery itself--a dancer dies onstage during an act where she drinks "poison" but it's real poison--was so transparent to me that I figured it out within five pages of the death (and I am NEVER that guy who does that). The thing is that I didn't care--it was just plain fun and all of the characters are a blast. It's fast moving and clever and I can't help but think it would make a very entertaining movie.

I love Hard Case Crime. This is a publisher who's committed-heart and soul-to reviving long-lost pulp and crime titles, but at the same time, the brains at Hard Case don't vegetate in the past; many of their titles are new, and this brings me to The Corpse Wore Pasties by Jonny Porkpie. Just in case you don't know, the type of pasties we are talking about are those tiny adhesive nipple patches worn by strippers and burlesque dancers (my favourite pasties are sequins with tassels, but I digress). Now there's a world of difference between strippers and burlesque dancers-just ask the book's author, Jonny Porkpie, "The Burlesque Mayor of New York." Stripping...that's about heavy breathing and dollar bills. Burlesque, well that's a time tested art form.

Porkpie (who takes his last name from the type of hat he wears) must be a very busy man. In his real life (in other words-anything not inside the pages of his first novel), Porkpie also co-produces Pinchbottom Burlesque with his Missus.- Nasty Canasta. I'd hazard a guess that Porkpie is a really interesting character as he unabashedly places himself in his novel with a generous dollop of self-deprecating humour. To take the piss out of oneself takes a strong, confident personality, and Porkpie does just that, and he does it well with The Corpse Wore Pasties-a light-hearted, entertaining, slick, crime-centred romp through the glamorous world of burlesque.

The novel opens in an East Village bar with a Dreamland burlesque show, and Porkpie is the host for the evening's performances, replacing Dreamland's regular producer and host, LuLu LaRue. This should be an easy gig for Porkpie, but things begin to go wrong when Victoria Vice unexpectedly appears to join the line-up of performers. Victoria is the "rare performer that absolutely nobody liked," not only is she a first-rate bitch, but she's a "thief" and a "plagiarist." And in burlesque, this is "the worst kind of thief you can be." Many other burlesque performers have suffered from Victoria's "creative larceny;" she's notorious for visiting shows and ripping off acts. So when Victoria appears to join the evening's line up, the atomsphere in the ad-hoc chaotic, changing room shifts to rage. And before the evening is over, someone ends up dead.

Although there are no lack of suspects, Porkpie manages to top the list, and after a brush with the cops, he decides that as number 1 suspect, he'd better try solving the crime himself. Against the sage advice of his ever-patient wife, Nasty Canasta, Porkpie plunges into the investigation in true noir style. Soon Porkpie is questioning burlesque characters such as: Brioche a Tete, Cherries Jubilee, Eva Desire, Angelina Blood, and Jillian Knockers. Can it be any wonder that he finds himself "running at top speed across the Brooklyn Bridge, half-naked, in the middle of the night, pursued by all five members of a heavy metal band."?

I have a weakness for Hard Case titles that blend crime with a large dose of humour (Somebody Owes Me Money, Fifty-to-One), so for my twisted tastes, The Corpse Wore Pasties was a delightful, funny read. I began the book knowing next to nothing about burlesque, and I learned a few things about the biz-including the meaning of the term "sexual misdirection." This diverting pulp novel, with its lurid elements added to just a hint of camp, is a great deal of tongue-in-cheek fun (my favourite part is when Porkpie is questioned by the cops). I looked forward to this title for months, and it was exactly what I hoped it would be-an entertaining, behind-the-scenes look at the world of burlesque.

I sincerely hope that this won't be a one-shot wonder, and that Porkpie has more novels up his sleeves or perhaps even in his Super Jonny Porkpie outfit....

Not your grandpappy's crime novel, though you can bet he wishes he had something so titillating and funny to hide in the basement. Written by the self-appointed "Burlesque Mayor of New York City," Porkpie comes off so appealing and hilarious that the reader wants to quit their day job and start a career as one of his steamer trunk members. (I assume he has a steamer trunk instead of a cabinet...) Full of colorful and naughty characters, many so good that they have to be true. The official Go-To book for underwear metaphors! This is crime for the Rockabilly Geekcore set, for anyone with tats, piercings, comic books and an Apple computer. For anyone that ever put on a trenchcoat and had to decide between Marlowe and Gibson when it comes time to accessorize. Highly Recommended! 5/5

Porkpie (not his real name?) is by trade an emcee/comic for neo-burlesque shows in NYC, a job where you immediately either stink or swim. Fortunately, the rapport required on stage transfers effortlessly to the page in this debut mystery. At the start our hero, also named Jonny, is seen onstage by an audience guilelessly administering real poison, in a bottle labeled "Poison," to one of the burlesque artistes who straight away flops over onto her pasties. It seems the victim was hated by the other performers on the bill, so Jonny has his work cut out proving his innocence and finding the real murderer while at the same time eluding the cops. Along the way he's subjected to rigorous slapstick workouts in a dominatrix's salon and finds himself, half-naked, dangling from the Brooklyn Bridge. Still he manages to hang onto his trademark porkpie hat--and dignity. Verdict Don't give up your night job, Jonny; it's too good of a backdrop for the sequels that will surely come to nestle comfortably between Gypsy Rose Lee's classic 1941 The G-string Murders and Kinky Friedman's mysteries.--Bob Lunn, Kansas City, MO

The self-styled burlesque mayor of New York City makes himself the hero of his entertaining hard-boiled debut. Suspected of murder after a striptease artist dies dramatically onstage, performer and emcee Porkpie--named for his trademark hat--sets out one kick-step ahead of the cops to find the real killer. It doesn't help that victim Victoria Vice was generally loathed for plagiarizing the distinctive acts of fellow ecdysiasts Cherries Jubilee, Jillian Knockers and Eva Desire. Much of the fun lies in Porkpie's witty and telling observations of life in the raunchy burlesque world, and the tone is more playful than pornographic despite plentiful references to sexual activity. Readers will enjoy the twists and action and hope for future Porkpie investigations. The book will be launched with a live burlesque show in New York City. (Dec.)

Author Porkpie, the self-proclaimed "Burlesque Mayor of New York City," makes himself the star of this winsome first novel. Porkpie is NYPD's prime suspect in the murder of Victoria Vice, a burlesque dancer known for "plagiarizing" other dancers' acts. Jonny assumes that one of the other dancers on the program is the murderer, and he decides he must uncover the truth to avoid 25 years in prison. In the course of his investigation, he is chased, half-naked, across the Brooklyn Bridge by a heavy-metal band and finds himself hanging from chains, completely naked, in the dungeon of a dominatrix. He also offers knowing insights into the craft of burlesque, for example, to properly apply pasties, heat the adhesive--it makes them stick better. Porkpie's style is diligently tongue in cheek, and it works. Fans of hard-boiled crime will enjoy this romp, and in an increasingly coarse popular culture, the inside look at burlesque seems, well, almost wholesome.