The G-string Murders

The story unfolds in a New York theater modeled on the legendary Minsky s, prone to raids by corrupt city cops and fierce competition among strippers. When one performer is found strangled with a g-string, no one is above suspicion. But when a second murder follows, the trail and the action really heats up. In the police procedural that follows, a host of clueless coppers faces off against the theater s tough-talking guys and dolls, and it s clear that Gypsy and her cohorts will have to crack the case themselves.

The basis of the 1943 film Lady of Burlesque starring Barbara Stanwyck, The G-String Murders was the first of two murder mysteries written by Gypsy Rose Lee. A natural born raconteur, Lee also contributed short pieces to The New Yorker and hosted her own television talk show; even her unparalleled stardom in the burlesque world was attributed more to her witty banter than to her risque moves. It is this fabled wit, along with Gypsy s brassy sociology, that make The G-String Murders a must-read primer of sex, commerce, and urban living.