The Illustrious Corpse

Two corpses are mixed up in a mortuary, and living man is mistaken for a dead one, all combining to creating confusion of epic and criminal murderous proportions that could lead to a lot more dead bodies. To say more would be giving too much away. This outrageously clever mystery classic, was adapted into the inferior, 1932 Zasu Pitts movie Strangers of the Evening.

"A gruesome and intricate yarn which jumps about like a flea from one crazy situation to another. The writing is raw and explosive. He's brilliant. The story is told with tart, sardonic humor which, oddly enough, seems to heighten the gruesomeness. The denouement is extremely clever." Missouri State Journal

Tiffany Thayer (1902-1959) was a colorful and controversial figure. As an author, he was prolific and financially successful, pushing the limits of sexuality in his books, some of which were banned and many of which became movies (and one, long after his death, even became the 1970s TV series The Name of the Game, the most expensive show of its time). His novels, which spanned many genres, were largely reviled by critics (and fellow authors) but beloved by readers, who made them massive bestsellers in the 1930s. Outside of novel-writing, he was leading member of the controversial Fortean Society and edited their magazine, which was skeptical of science and promoted conspiracy theories