The Right Murder — Craig Rice

A dozen murders and counting -- and any one of them could lead a Chicago attorney to a hotheaded female tycoon.
 
It's 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve and criminal lawyer John J. Malone is nursing his blues in a Chicago dive bar. He's been two-timed by his inamorata and abandoned by his favorite gumshoe partners, crime reporter Jake Justus and socialite Helene Brand, for their Bermuda honeymoon. But Malone's not lonely for long. Suddenly, a stranger staggers into the bar, calls out the attorney's name, and drops dead -- stabbed in the back. In his possession is a key that could unlock the cold heart of Mona McClane, a wealthy and beautiful thrill-seeker who once challenged Jake in a high-stakes gamble: She'd bet him she could get away with murder.
 
Is this dead man a pawn in Mona's game? If so, thank goodness Jake and Helene's honeymoon turned as a sour as a margarita. They're already back in town, at odds, yet ready to play. With a crazy wager like Mona's, Malone fears they'll be ringing in the New Year with a countdown of corpses.
 
The first mystery writer to ever make the cover of Time magazine, Craig Rice is “the Queen of the Surrealistic Crime Story” (Thrilling Detective).
 
The Right Murder is the 2nd book in the John J. Malone Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.