“Eddie,” Marilyn said, in that little girl voice, “I’m being watched -- followed.”

I stared at her. Dean had said she was fragile, he didn’t say anything about her being paranoid. “By who?” I asked.

“I – I don’t know.”

“Okay, then why?”

“I don’t know that either.” She shrugged, and her sweater fell lower down one shoulder. I was just glad she wasn’t wearing any of the stuff she’d worn in Some Like It Hot – that white, sparkly dress, the loose-fitting sweater she kept falling out of? That was, in fact, the hottest I’d ever seen her look, and I was having a hard enough time concentrating.

More by Robert J. Randisi: Hey There (You with the Gun in Your Hand)

But, asked to come to the aid of Marilyn Monroe, even Eddie G feels he may be out of his depth. When Eddie meets Marilyn in person for the first time, however, she is so genuine, and so genuinely in need, he finds he cannot say “No.” Unfortunately, it is not immediately clear to Eddie just what he may be able to do to help her. For one thing, the whole business of being followed by persons unknown is very likely nothing more than a figment of Marilyn’s imagination. But Eddie has promised to do something, and Eddie never makes a promise that he does not intend to keep.

He begins by hiring a Las Vegas P.I. of his acquaintance to follow Miss Monroe on her return flight to Los Angeles. The idea is to maintain a discreet distance and watch for anyone else who may possibly be following Marilyn. But soon after his arrival in LA, the P.I. vanishes from the face of the earth. Suddenly this business of unknown stalkers shadowing Marilyn Monroe has become very real, and also very personal. In the company of another friend and sometimes colleague, Brooklyn strong-arm Big Jerry, Eddie climbs into the Caddy and heads for Los Angeles. Before long, Eddie has unwittingly opened a can of worms that will eventually lead him to the highest echelons of power in the U.S. government.

You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Kills You is another fast-paced, fun-to-read entry in Robert Randisi’s Rat Pack Mystery series. A master of his craft, Randisi knows how to hook the reader on page one, and keep the reader hooked until the final scene has played out. The combination of endearing characters, entertaining backdrops, good mystery, and surprising twists of plot make for a big winner. The descriptions of early 1960s Las Vegas have the authentic feel that could only come from someone who was intimately familiar with the time and place. The liberal use of appearances by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra might have been a trap for a lesser author, but Randisi handles the device with the same level of skill and respect that characterizes Stuart Kaminsky’s use of historical figures in his Toby Peters series. The pacing is so up-tempo that at times it feels almost abrupt, but it ably serves the purpose of moving the story forward without allowing the reader’s mind to wander.

Randisi’s sympathetic depiction of Marilyn Monroe is priceless. He draws her character not as a spoiled sex symbol, but as a scared, insecure little girl trapped in a grown-up woman’s body. During the scenes in which Eddie G is subtly manipulated by Marilyn, Eddie is aware of the manipulation, but he is perceptive enough to realize that it is not through conscious guile on her part, but rather through naivete and ingenuousness.

You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Kills You will be great fun for all mystery readers, but especially for the reader who is old enough to remember the early 1960s, Sinatra and Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Joey Bishop, and the other members of the so-called Rat Pack. It is great fun even though the ending may leave the reader with a touch of melancholy, because of course we already know how it all ended for Marilyn just a few months later.