Adam and Eve on a Raft — Ron Goulart

Ron Goulart's first collection of mystery short stories features two of his most famous characters. Five of the stories are about Scrib Merlin, a would-be comedian and disgruntled advertising copywriter, who seems always to be present whenever someone expires with a cryptic dying message on his lips. When a murder victims gasps "ninety-nine clop clop" or "six tablespoons molasses" or "Adam and Eve on a raft," Scrib becomes a sleuth hoping not only to solve the murder but also (often in vain) to feather his own nest. The Scrib Merlin tales are genuine challenge-to-the-reader mysteries.

The unnamed California Adman, who narrates seven wry (and, some might say, wicked) stories, has an impressively large number of homicidal acquaintances, most of whom find that the table can easily be turned on them. The Adman listens, tries to dissuade them, and then records their often inanely murderous plans for our entertainment.