Rastus Reilly
A rich old lady believes there's a secret of eternal youth to be found. She hires a Sam Spade clone to find it for her (this takes place in the thirties) and he discovers there really is such a secret. The story and characters are delightfully ridiculous. I don't think there was a page that didn't make me laugh. There's parody here of Dashiell Hammett, Charles Dickens, and several literary genres in general. Even the title is part of the grand joke this...
