Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice (1944) Simon & Schuster

Marion Carstairs is a mystery writer raising three children with a lot of trust.  They hear a gunshot followed by another and followed by the sound of a couple of cars leaving.  They run to see what happened at their next door neighbor’s house.  There is a young actress screaming and a dead body.  They decide to solve this mystery so their mother can take credit and sell a lot more books.  There is a wide cast of characters and suspects abound.  Ms. Rice mixes humor and the standard mystery outline at work.  The book is entertaining from start to finish.