G is for Gumshoe, Gangster and...

G is for gumshoe, gangster and Ghost Music of Vaudeville. So where did the term gumshoe come from and what does it mean? G is for gumshoe as a term for detective originated long before I began reading my first mystery. Why gumshoe? Think of a PI running around seedy neighborhoods gathering clues. He is bound to step in some gum on the sidewalk one place or another…well, maybe not. 

The real explanation is offered that during the 1800's the soles of boots and shoes were made from a product called gum rubber and thus soft and quiet walking. Gumshoe meant to sneak around. A gum shoe-man was slang for a thief. But, by 1908 "gum shoe" meant a police detective and it stuck (excuse the pun) 

Gangster, we know, the typical bad guy, crime family mobster, Mafia come immediately to mind, which brings us to The Ghost Music of Vaudeville where our gumshoe is Charlie, a woman investigative reporter. 

The gangsters want the Keith Theatre and Charlie, Tommy and Piano man solicit the help of theater and music icon Bette Midler to help save the day. 

You can follow the path of this accidental gumshoe by reading an excerpt at

 http://wings-press.com/Bookstore/Ghost%20Music%20of%20Vaudeville.htm

Let me know what you think of the term gumshoe and the book.

P.S. Meantime, why not sign up for the free newsletter The Mystery Reader Connectionand stay abreast of all the gumshoes, gangsters, books and news about mysteries with guest columnists that are regular features to entertain and mystify you.

G Is For Gangster, Guns and ...

G is for Gangster, Guns, and Ghost Music of Vaudeville...

I'm reminded of the movies and black and white news reels of Al Capone or Dillinger. Some of the gang wars, though I never knew of them personally, except for living in the area of Little Bohemia where Dillinger finally met his demise, so they say.

The intrigue and mystery of Big City Crime, Crime Families, The Mafia—fill the imagination and fuel the muse of a mystery writer. It would seem only big money, resources only money can buy and the manifest destiny attitude of Crime Family richness can pull off some crimes. 

Ghost Music of Vaudeville

In the same time frame the Keith Theatre had a long and rich heritage of spawning new actors and wonderful memories for generations. Ghost Music of Vaudeville visits this era to explore a mystery writer 'what if?'  And a story was born, the characters, some borrowed from another book, Skull Music, Some brand new. Piano man, a man who first appeared in a wood-grain paneled wall of a double wide trailer we were renting and later was captured by an artist in an ad for a National Artists course being offered. The Keith Theatre needed a music man—a composite of some dear grandfatherly male figures from my childhood offered themselves as the perfect model for the story needs. 

Gangsters, Guns and Ghost Music of Vaudeville, a fitting tribute to G-men, if you will excuse the intended pun.