What's this humorous SF mystery?

December 2, 2012 1:30 PM

What's this humorous SF mystery?

A library patron is looking for a novel she read a few years ago. She says it was a darkly humorous murder mystery about a detective in space, possibly a mining colony. The victim was a very tall, very ugly woman (possibly a prostitute?), and the killers kept having to move the body to different places outside the space station, hilarity ensuing.

Ring any bells? She thinks it was probably a male author.

posted by exceptinsects to writing & language (3 answers total)

I'm pretty sure you're describing Allen Steele's short story "The Return of Weird Frank." It's not quite as you describe, but it does involve moving the corpse of a dead astronaut from place to place around a space station as a practical joke before it's taken one step too far and a very large woman throws the frozen corpse out the airlock.

Yeah. Pretty sure that's it.
posted by LinnTate at 8:10 PM on December 2, 2012

Wow, that does sound like it! I'll request it and see if it's the one she remembers. Thanks so much!
posted by exceptinsects at 2:16 PM on December 3, 2012

Yes, she says that is it!
posted by exceptinsects at 2:34 PM on December 3, 2012 [1 favorite]