Too often we forget Lucille Ball’s other hit sitcom. From 1963-1968, The Lucy Show was must-watch TV, with an average viewership of around fifteen million households. That’s about the same, if not more, than I Love Lucy. Of course, fifteen million was more impressive back in the 1950s when fewer households owned a television set.
Still, by any standard, The Lucy Show was an instant success. And it didn’t take long for supplemental merch to appear, like this tie-in novel. The book is not based on any particular episode but places the show’s cast of zany characters in a brand-new adventure.
With no budget restrictions and no stunt-doubles needed, the story is free to throw Lucy into all manner of dangerous hijinks. From the first sentence, you know it’s going to be good. There’s the promise that, in the weekend about to be described, Lucy will turn “the entire United States Air Force upside down.” That may sound overdramatic, but once the shenanigans have reached their conclusion, you’ll realize it’s an understatement.
The mannerisms and tone of the television stars are excellently captured in text. This makes it easy to picture the iconic redhead racing through stretches of forest, outmaneuvering our finest members of the military, and even engaging in a number of high-speed car chases in her clunker station wagon. These examples are only a fraction of the unfortunate, but also delightful, cases of mischief the accident-prone Lucy finds herself in. I don’t dare go into any further detail, not wanting to spoil any of the fun. The less you know going in the better.
I attempted to learn more about the author, Cole Fannin, but the results made me wonder if he’s actually a real person. All the books credited to this author are movie or TV show tie-ins. Possibly Fannin is a single person whose talents are exclusively of the fan fiction or novelization variety, but I think it’s more likely the name is a publisher’s pseudonym utilized by a variety of authors.
But whoever penned Lucy and the Madcap Mystery, they deserve praise for their efficient use of language and storytelling. Every page enhances the plot, keeps the reader guessing, or is generally amusing in one way or another. The target audience is perhaps middle grade, but there’s enough cross-generational humor to guarantee everyone will have a good time. It’s too bad they didn’t decide to adapt this into a movie, because if it came out even half as good as the book it would be a riot.
Now over sixty-years-old, the book is long out-of-print, of course. Fortunately, because The Lucy Show was so popular, this book also apparently sold well. Plenty of used copies still exist and at reasonable prices. I would consider it a must-read for even a casual Lucy fan, or anybody who appreciates a good screwball comedy novel.