Garson Krebs, Private Eye

By: Larry Weiner

Narrated by: The Radio Repertory Company of America

A tongue-in-cheek private detective with all the answers...and all the problems! This hilarious sleuth show combines the best of old-time radio acting with modern sound effects, music recording and editing. From his search for a lady's husband (whom he thinks is better off lost) to a crook with a sweettooth and a sour personality, Garson Krebs faces each case with a wit that is guaranteed to bring you laughs! A detective comedy adventure with real film noir feel.Produced by Radio Repertory Company of America

silly fun

I've listened to this a couple times now as the stories are 1/2 hour segments and they're nice little time fillers. it's a goofy word play & pun Naked Gun style private eye radio drama with sound effects & voices and at times something strikes me as so silly I laugh out loud. the first stories are the best perhaps, at least for me. some get a little too silly and there are running gags through the stories that maybe went on too long, but I laughed again and the sound effects of the fights are hilarious.

A knight in dull armor!

I found this series of half-hour radio shows quite entertaining! We follow our semi-clever private-eye through a number of misadventures calculated to deliver lots of gags, one-liners, and puns. Many are funny, though most are just "smilers", and a few are (I think) overdone. There's enough of a plot too provide a sense of continuity throughout, but it's not particularly credible. But then again, who cares when you're laughing?

Great for a road trip!

This audiobook has 8 episodes of Detective Garson Krebs being witty and solving cases. Portrait of a Lady, Case of the Missing Husband, The Diva, The Lottery, The Prime Ministers’s Daughter, The Device, Club of Fear, Man with a past.

Oh, my! This such a fun collection of stories. Garson Krebs talks like he just stepped out of Bogart detective movie and yet there are references to modern movies and such sprinkled throughout this audiobook. I loved the noir feel of it while also having contemporary characters, such as ladies who have jobs and commit crime and don’t necessarily want to be called dame or toots. Krebs half the time uses his detective skills and the other half of the time stumbles over clues and nefarious bad guys. I really liked his character.

The humor is very much tongue in cheek. The slightly adult humor that comes up here and there was quite funny and well placed. Short sentences, like ‘love of an equine nature’ pop up and then fade right back into the background as Krebs tries to refocus on the case at hand. There’s some punny humor and some slap stick as well – basically a mix of different jokes to please a wide audience. This is a book I will listen to more than once just so I can catch all of these little jokes. Also, I need to subject my spouse to this book on some road trip.

The Diva was one of my favorites because it was like a corrupted fairy tale. Think of Phantom of the Opera meets a lonely, egotistical knight in questionable armor. Hahaha! Each story had some element that I wasn’t expecting that made the story entertaining. The writing is clever and I was constantly chuckling over this joke or that clever turn of phrase.

The Narration: I have always enjoyed RRCA’s narration and sound effects. However, with this one I did notice that the sound effects were sometimes just a tad loud making it so that I really had to focus on the characters to catch what they were saying. While I couldn’t find a listing of the narrators for this book, I can say that all the characters in the stories were distinct. I expect there were at least 5 different people voicing these characters. Whoever did Garson Krebs has that character down to a T. He was totally believable as a noir detective trapped in the 21st century.

Some Genuine Laughs

I wanted a bit of light humour, so I thought I'd give this book a try. I've been leery of dramatised books, but this title proves that they have merit.

I like this type of humour. I could describe it as "audio slapstick". Some moments are sheer non sequitur, which unbalances my train of thought and causes some sharp laughs. The accents are engaging. I'm reminded of <i>The Maltese Falcon</i> and <i>Who Framed Roger Rabbit?</i> The half-hour format is useful, as I can listen to one on my way to work and when I go home, I'm not picking up in the middle of anything.

Overall, an unexpected pleasure.

Great radio show!

Take Sam Spade and mix in some Kenneth Horne and you get Garson Krebs. This is a great radio show. I highly recommend those fond of old British radio farce shows to get Garson Krebs, Private Eye!

Delightfully flaky

I had no idea what to expect when I purchased this title. I hoped for a good detective story. I got a hardboiled detective with puns galore, terrific casting and more than a few laugh-out-loud moments. If you like both Miss Marple and Monty Python, this one's for you.