A mystery set in the underworld of burlesque theater,The G-String Murderswas penned in 1941 by the legendary queen of the stripteasers-the witty and wisecracking Gypsy Rose Lee. Narrating a twisted tale of a backstage double murder, Lee provides a fascinating look behind the scenes of burlesque, richly populated by the likes of strippers Lolita LaVerne and Gee Gee Graham, comic Biff Brannigan and Siggy the g-string salesman. This is a world where women struggle to earn a living performing bumps and grinds, have gangster boyfriends, sip beer between acts and pay their own way at dinner.The story unfolds in a New York theater modeled on the legendary Minsky s, prone to raids by corrupt city cops and fierce competition among strippers. When one performer is found strangled with a g-string, no one is above suspicion. But when a second murder follows, the trail and the action really heats up. In the police procedural that follows, a host of clueless coppers faces off against the theater s tough-talking guys and dolls, and it s clear that Gypsy and her cohorts will have to crack the case themselves.The basis of the 1943 film Lady of Burlesque starring Barbara Stanwyck,The G-String Murderswas the first of two murder mysteries written by Gypsy Rose Lee. A natural born raconteur, Lee also contributed short pieces to The New Yorker and hosted her own television talk show; even her unparalleled stardom in the burlesque world was attributed more to her witty banter than to her risque moves. It is this fabled wit, along with Gypsy s brassy sociology, that makeThe G-String Murdersa must-read primer of sex, commerce, and urban living.