What do you think?
Rate this book
Cool and Lam #1
Lam to the Slaughter
They are an unlikely pairing of detectives: Bertha Cool, in her sixties, is rolling in pounds and profanity. Her new hire is Donald Lam, young man, insignificant runt, without a tie on earth. A.A. Fair is an alias of Erle Stanley Gardner, of Perry Mason fame, and this delightful series gives a lighter side of the mystery master.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
49 people are currently reading
789 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
March 21, 2023
Erle Stanley Gardner is best known for his series of eighty-two novels featuring Los Angeles attorney, Perry Mason. But beginning with The Bigger They Come in 1939, he wrote a second series under the pen name A. A. Fair, featuring a mismatched pair of detectives named Donald Lam and Bertha Cool. The series, which was lighter in tone than the Mason series, ultimately ran to thirty books, the last of which, All Grass Isn't Green, was published in 1970.
As the series opens, the Great Depression was still under way in the United States and Donald Lam was twenty-nine years old and out of work. A lawyer with a quick mind, he had been suspended from practice for suggesting that he knew a full-proof way of committing a murder and getting away with it. Down to his last dime, he answers an ad placed by the Cool Detective Agency in Los Angeles. The agency is owned by Mrs. Bertha Cool who inherited the firm from her philandering husband.
While Donald Lam is a slight young man who barely weighs 130 pounds, Bertha is in her midle-sixties and somewhere north of 275 pounds. Describing herself to a client, she says, "I like profanity, loose clothes, and loose talk. I want to be comfortable. Nature intended me to be fat. I put in ten years eating salads, drinking skimmed milk, and toying with dry toast. I wore girdles that pinched my waist, form-building brassieres, and spent half my time standing on bathroom scales. And what the hell did I do it for?"
Bertha is notoriously cheap and demanding. She's constantly ragging at Donald for something or other that displeases her, but nonetheless, she will ultimately take him into the firm as a partner. She largely confines herself to the office, trying to drum up business and attempting to wring the maximum amount of money out of any potential client, while Donald is the brains of the outfit, doing all of the investigations and usually skating along the thin line that separates him from trouble with the law.
We meet the characters here for the first time. Bertha hires Donald and immediately assigns him to what appears to be a fairly straightforward case. A woman is seeking a divorce and wants the firm to serve her husband with the appropriate papers. But as always happens in these books, what seems to be a fairly simple case turns into something much more complex and deadly.
The soon-to-be ex-husband is on the run from the law and the mob, and finding him will be no easy task, especially when the cops and the mobsters can't find him either. But Donald has an advantage that the police do not and before long there will be action galore; people will be getting hoodwinked, beat up and murdered, and poor Donald Lam will be in the toughest spot of his life.
This is a fairly classic, soft-boiled pulp novel and it's a great introduction to the series. Crime fiction fans who enjoy books of this sort (and who can lay their hands on a copy at this late date) are sure to enjoy it.
As the series opens, the Great Depression was still under way in the United States and Donald Lam was twenty-nine years old and out of work. A lawyer with a quick mind, he had been suspended from practice for suggesting that he knew a full-proof way of committing a murder and getting away with it. Down to his last dime, he answers an ad placed by the Cool Detective Agency in Los Angeles. The agency is owned by Mrs. Bertha Cool who inherited the firm from her philandering husband.
While Donald Lam is a slight young man who barely weighs 130 pounds, Bertha is in her midle-sixties and somewhere north of 275 pounds. Describing herself to a client, she says, "I like profanity, loose clothes, and loose talk. I want to be comfortable. Nature intended me to be fat. I put in ten years eating salads, drinking skimmed milk, and toying with dry toast. I wore girdles that pinched my waist, form-building brassieres, and spent half my time standing on bathroom scales. And what the hell did I do it for?"
Bertha is notoriously cheap and demanding. She's constantly ragging at Donald for something or other that displeases her, but nonetheless, she will ultimately take him into the firm as a partner. She largely confines herself to the office, trying to drum up business and attempting to wring the maximum amount of money out of any potential client, while Donald is the brains of the outfit, doing all of the investigations and usually skating along the thin line that separates him from trouble with the law.
We meet the characters here for the first time. Bertha hires Donald and immediately assigns him to what appears to be a fairly straightforward case. A woman is seeking a divorce and wants the firm to serve her husband with the appropriate papers. But as always happens in these books, what seems to be a fairly simple case turns into something much more complex and deadly.
The soon-to-be ex-husband is on the run from the law and the mob, and finding him will be no easy task, especially when the cops and the mobsters can't find him either. But Donald has an advantage that the police do not and before long there will be action galore; people will be getting hoodwinked, beat up and murdered, and poor Donald Lam will be in the toughest spot of his life.
This is a fairly classic, soft-boiled pulp novel and it's a great introduction to the series. Crime fiction fans who enjoy books of this sort (and who can lay their hands on a copy at this late date) are sure to enjoy it.
April 12, 2020
A bit of classic noir from 1939.
This novel was the first in the “Cool and Lam” series based around a private detective agency. The gimmick with this novel is that the owner of the agency, Bertha Cool, is definitely a Big Bertha whilst her employee, Donald Lam, is “pint-sized”. In the book Lam says he weighs 127 pounds, whereas Lam estimates Bertha at 220 pounds. In the first chapter Lam has a job interview with Cool, who challenges him on his diminutive size, saying that he will get pushed around. Lam replies:
“Everyone has to protect himself in life. When he’s weak somewhere, nature makes him strong elsewhere. I figure things out. I always have. If a man starts pushing me around, I find a way to make him stop, and before I’m through he’s sorry he ever started pushing. I don’t mind hitting below the belt if I have to. I guess I even get a kick out of it. That’s because of the way I’m made. A little runt is apt to be mean.”
Lam is a disbarred lawyer – the author also wrote the Perry Mason series, so lawyers seem to have been his thing. When the book opens Lam is jobless, literally penniless, hungry, and a hair’s breadth from being homeless, as he hasn’t paid his rent in 5 weeks. Getting a job is a big break for him. One thing I love about novels like this is the way they transport the reader back in time, to when they were written. I had to smile at the way Bertha treats Donald. I believe that even now employees in the US have a lot less rights than those in the UK or the EU, but if Bertha was an employer in the UK today she would find herself in front of an employment tribunal quicker than you could say “workplace bullying.”
This is great escapism, with all the classic elements of noir. There’s even a character, called Cunweather, who reminded me a lot of the character of Kaspar Gutman in the film of “The Maltese Falcon” (I’ve not read that novel). I understand the Cool and Lam series eventually stretched to 29 novels. I won’t be reading them all, but I think I’ll try a few more. The rating I’ve given is within the genre.
This novel was the first in the “Cool and Lam” series based around a private detective agency. The gimmick with this novel is that the owner of the agency, Bertha Cool, is definitely a Big Bertha whilst her employee, Donald Lam, is “pint-sized”. In the book Lam says he weighs 127 pounds, whereas Lam estimates Bertha at 220 pounds. In the first chapter Lam has a job interview with Cool, who challenges him on his diminutive size, saying that he will get pushed around. Lam replies:
“Everyone has to protect himself in life. When he’s weak somewhere, nature makes him strong elsewhere. I figure things out. I always have. If a man starts pushing me around, I find a way to make him stop, and before I’m through he’s sorry he ever started pushing. I don’t mind hitting below the belt if I have to. I guess I even get a kick out of it. That’s because of the way I’m made. A little runt is apt to be mean.”
Lam is a disbarred lawyer – the author also wrote the Perry Mason series, so lawyers seem to have been his thing. When the book opens Lam is jobless, literally penniless, hungry, and a hair’s breadth from being homeless, as he hasn’t paid his rent in 5 weeks. Getting a job is a big break for him. One thing I love about novels like this is the way they transport the reader back in time, to when they were written. I had to smile at the way Bertha treats Donald. I believe that even now employees in the US have a lot less rights than those in the UK or the EU, but if Bertha was an employer in the UK today she would find herself in front of an employment tribunal quicker than you could say “workplace bullying.”
This is great escapism, with all the classic elements of noir. There’s even a character, called Cunweather, who reminded me a lot of the character of Kaspar Gutman in the film of “The Maltese Falcon” (I’ve not read that novel). I understand the Cool and Lam series eventually stretched to 29 novels. I won’t be reading them all, but I think I’ll try a few more. The rating I’ve given is within the genre.
April 28, 2025
"Those men are poison," I said. "They'll pay any price for the opportunity to assert themselves."When I recently began exploring the work of both Erle Stanley Gardner and Agatha Christie, I barely glanced at their second-tier titles. But now I've taken a slightly closer look - and I have already seen a significant difference between the two authors.
In Lady Agatha's case, whether she's writing for Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple - or even in stand-alone mode - you can still more or less notice the author's clear presence. Christie can, of course, delightfully diversify in her 'details' (i.e., her adventurous, black magic sidebar with 'The Pale Horse') - but essentially she is who she is.
Not so with Gardner - at least if this first entry in his popular 'Cool and Lam' series is any indication. 'The Bigger They Come' is not only both brilliant and (often) hilarious - it's also the work of someone who can (almost) not be at all recognizable as Erle Stanley Gardner.
As accomplished and smart as the Perry Mason novels can be, it's hard to imagine that the same writer brought us both 'PM' and 'Cool and Lam'. The former series, by comparison, can come off as staid. But perhaps that's because of its main focus: the courtroom. The 'C&L' series has license to be down and dirty since it's set in the world of a detective agency. (Of course, 'PM' could also occasionally be down and dirty, just not nearly to the same, sullied degree.)
Agency owner Bertha Cool (She had the majesty of a snow-capped mountain, the assurance of a steam roller.) and her new assistant Donald Lam - who lost his previous job due to questionable tactics ("I told this man it would be possible to commit a murder so there was nothing anyone could do about it.") are soon seen as a very unlikely duo; even unlikelier as a good (even congenial) fit together.
Bertha is both tough and blasé ("Yes," Mrs. Cool said in the voice of a perfect lady discussing the latest novel, "it *is* regrettable, isn't it, dearie?"). On his part, Lam - perhaps first seen as incompetent - slowly reveals himself to be a deep reserve of possibilities. ("Look here," I said. "Let's figure this from a different angle.") One of those 'angles' - late in the book - is so suddenly WTF that it takes a whole, long chapter before you realize the genius of it.
To be honest, I had anticipated beforehand that this would be a novel running along lines that were more routine. I wasn't, for example, expecting sequences which - in their humor - could out-Chandler Raymond Chandler:
"I'm a detective," I told her.That's just one of a number of unexpectedly funny sections. Another comes after Lam has the shit beat out of him, only to have his assailant later instruct him on how to take better care of himself in a fight... while he's delicately dealing out first-aid.
Her eyes flashed up at mine then. For a moment there was a startled look on her face. Then she started to laugh. She quit laughing at the look on my face, and said, "*You* are?"
I nodded.
"Well, you don't look it," she observed, trying to soften the blow of her laughter. "You look like a darn nice kid with ideals and a mother."
~ which is not to say this book is primarily a comedy; it's not. It's primarily a brain-teaser, and a very efficient one. It progressively ups the ante, without running out of tricks, right up to the finale.
A deliciously satisfying series debut. Now I'll need to know what else Cool and Lam get themselves up to!
June 10, 2017
The Bigger They Come is the first book in what would eventually become a thirty book series over a thirty year span from 1939 to 1970 (not counting Hard Case's lost novel The Knife Slipped published in 2016). The essence of the Cool and Lam series is a mismatched pair of detectives, which includes big Bertha Cool (originally 300 pounds but later a svelte 165 pounds) and brainy but scrawny Donald Lam. This novel introduces the two characters and brings them together.
This one is perhaps a bit lighter in tone than later books in the series and, for those of us who didn't start reading at the beginning of the series, it's real interesting to see how the characters started out and what they later became.
Here, Lam is very young, green, wet behind the ears, and not at all sure of himself either as a detective or with women. His background as a disbarred lawyer is emphasized and this one is resolved in a Perry Mason like legal way which makes you wonder if Gardner's original intent was to sort of repeat the success he had with the Perry Mason series just in a different setting. Perhaps the fact Gardner published this under the pseudonym AA Fair is a hint as to what his intentions were.
In later books in the series, Lam has a real confidence about him and his abilities and even Bertha realizes that he's the real detective of the two. This is not the best of the series, but it's an enjoyable read. It's unfortunate that most of this series is not available in e-book format yet as a little effort and perhaps a library Card is needed to find some of the volumes in this series.
This one is perhaps a bit lighter in tone than later books in the series and, for those of us who didn't start reading at the beginning of the series, it's real interesting to see how the characters started out and what they later became.
Here, Lam is very young, green, wet behind the ears, and not at all sure of himself either as a detective or with women. His background as a disbarred lawyer is emphasized and this one is resolved in a Perry Mason like legal way which makes you wonder if Gardner's original intent was to sort of repeat the success he had with the Perry Mason series just in a different setting. Perhaps the fact Gardner published this under the pseudonym AA Fair is a hint as to what his intentions were.
In later books in the series, Lam has a real confidence about him and his abilities and even Bertha realizes that he's the real detective of the two. This is not the best of the series, but it's an enjoyable read. It's unfortunate that most of this series is not available in e-book format yet as a little effort and perhaps a library Card is needed to find some of the volumes in this series.
June 16, 2018
Repost 2013 review:
It's a very sad state of affairs that most of the Cool and Lam books are out of print. This is the first, and my second read. I'd previously read Top of The Heap, which is number thirteen, because it was available from Hard Case Crime, but the kindle edition I read suffered from a really bad scan job which clearly nobody had proofread. Plus it was not at all clear what Bertha Cool did to receive top billing in a story which was narrated by Lam and in which she played little part. But I liked it enough to try another, and now I've got me a new favorite P.I.
The Cool and Lam books don't have the rich prose of Chandler's Marlowe novels, or psychological layers of Macdonald's better Archer novels. But as a character, Lam beats either. I'd hesitate to say this volume is required reading for taking up the series, but it definitely sets out who the characters are in a way that wasn't clear to me from the other book.
What's so special about Lam? Let's start with Bertha Cool sizing him up:
She said, "You're just a little shrimp. I don't s'pose you weigh over a hundred and twenty, do you?"
"A hundred and twenty-seven."
"Can you fight?"
"No--I do sometimes, but I get licked."
"This is a man's job."
"And I'm a man," I retorted hotly.
"But you're too small. People would push you around."
"When I was in college," I said, "some of the boys used to try it. They gave it up after a while. I don't like to be pushed around. There are lots of ways of fighting. I have my way, and I'm good at it."
I absolutely love that he's a little guy, and has to get by on his brains. He's up against similar types of thugs and lowlifes you'd find in Chandler or Macdonald, but he can't rely on muscles to get out of a scrape. He's a young, and trained as a lawyer, but lost his shot at a legal career through as a result of a situation I'll let you discover for yourselves. He's clever, nervy, and laid back in a way that's just right. They actually made a TV pilot featuring former jockey Billy Pearson as Lam in 1958, but it didn't get picked up.
In this book (1939), he's broke and answers a job ad for the Cool detective agency. He gets the job and his first assignment is to serve divorce papers on a man involved in a slots racket. As usual, things are not quite so simple as they seem.
Bertha won some affection in this one too. I'd found her kind of annoying in Top of the Heap, but here, learning her backstory, and seeing her involve herself in the case, she comes off to me as a complex, forceful, pragmatic woman, though I can see how some readers might reduce her to fat and greedy. According to wikipedia she's the lead in books 7 & 8 while Lam is away in the Navy. I'm looking forward to them.
I'm both sad and glad this series didn't make it as a TV show, I'd have liked to see what they did with it. But the fact that they didn't means I can read these without knowing whodunit before I even start. I've never been a "beat the detective" type of mystery reader. I don't spend any time wondering about who did it, or analyzing the clues, I just enjoy the ride. But so far in each Perry Mason novel I've read, there's invariably a moment early on when I recognize the story from the TV adaptation and know who the killer is.
Like I said, I can't believe only three of these are currently available. Open Road, or one of Amazon's imprints ought to snap these things up and reissue the series. I'll be reading all the ones I can get my hands on.
It's a very sad state of affairs that most of the Cool and Lam books are out of print. This is the first, and my second read. I'd previously read Top of The Heap, which is number thirteen, because it was available from Hard Case Crime, but the kindle edition I read suffered from a really bad scan job which clearly nobody had proofread. Plus it was not at all clear what Bertha Cool did to receive top billing in a story which was narrated by Lam and in which she played little part. But I liked it enough to try another, and now I've got me a new favorite P.I.
The Cool and Lam books don't have the rich prose of Chandler's Marlowe novels, or psychological layers of Macdonald's better Archer novels. But as a character, Lam beats either. I'd hesitate to say this volume is required reading for taking up the series, but it definitely sets out who the characters are in a way that wasn't clear to me from the other book.
What's so special about Lam? Let's start with Bertha Cool sizing him up:
She said, "You're just a little shrimp. I don't s'pose you weigh over a hundred and twenty, do you?"
"A hundred and twenty-seven."
"Can you fight?"
"No--I do sometimes, but I get licked."
"This is a man's job."
"And I'm a man," I retorted hotly.
"But you're too small. People would push you around."
"When I was in college," I said, "some of the boys used to try it. They gave it up after a while. I don't like to be pushed around. There are lots of ways of fighting. I have my way, and I'm good at it."
I absolutely love that he's a little guy, and has to get by on his brains. He's up against similar types of thugs and lowlifes you'd find in Chandler or Macdonald, but he can't rely on muscles to get out of a scrape. He's a young, and trained as a lawyer, but lost his shot at a legal career through as a result of a situation I'll let you discover for yourselves. He's clever, nervy, and laid back in a way that's just right. They actually made a TV pilot featuring former jockey Billy Pearson as Lam in 1958, but it didn't get picked up.
In this book (1939), he's broke and answers a job ad for the Cool detective agency. He gets the job and his first assignment is to serve divorce papers on a man involved in a slots racket. As usual, things are not quite so simple as they seem.
Bertha won some affection in this one too. I'd found her kind of annoying in Top of the Heap, but here, learning her backstory, and seeing her involve herself in the case, she comes off to me as a complex, forceful, pragmatic woman, though I can see how some readers might reduce her to fat and greedy. According to wikipedia she's the lead in books 7 & 8 while Lam is away in the Navy. I'm looking forward to them.
I'm both sad and glad this series didn't make it as a TV show, I'd have liked to see what they did with it. But the fact that they didn't means I can read these without knowing whodunit before I even start. I've never been a "beat the detective" type of mystery reader. I don't spend any time wondering about who did it, or analyzing the clues, I just enjoy the ride. But so far in each Perry Mason novel I've read, there's invariably a moment early on when I recognize the story from the TV adaptation and know who the killer is.
Like I said, I can't believe only three of these are currently available. Open Road, or one of Amazon's imprints ought to snap these things up and reissue the series. I'll be reading all the ones I can get my hands on.
November 24, 2017
This is one of those wonderful private eye's,sexy women and murder. This is the first of Erle Stanley Gardner's Cool and Lam novels first published in 1939. The story starts with Donald Lam, a struck of lawyer, applying for work with with Cool Detective Agency run by Bertha Cool. It follows the pairs history and Lam's first case which leads to his theory of a perfect crime.
I do enjoy this type of story and ranks alongside the 87th Precinct stories.
I do enjoy this type of story and ranks alongside the 87th Precinct stories.
December 25, 2014
While every one knows Mr. Perry Mason, let me introduce to you Donald Lam and Bertha Cool...two of my favorite noir detectives. Bertha Cool is Big, Bold and Larger than Life itself. Donald Lam is more slippery than any weasel out there. The two of them together make one of the best Detective Teams ever. So sit back enjoy and indulge in some classic '30's Detective Stories....
May 31, 2018
ENGLISH: The English title of this book is "The bigger they come". The protagonist and narrator, Donald Lam, is an unsuccessful lawyer who knows many legal tricks, such as how to commit a murder without being punished. He does not commit it, but he shows how it could be done, because he wants to save an innocent girl he is half in love with. Well, perhaps two thirds (:-)
ESPAÑOL: El protagonista y narrador, Donald Lam, es un abogado fracasado que sabe muchas triquiñuelas legales, como cómo cometer un asesinato sin que puedan castigarle. Él no lo comete, pero demuestra cómo podría hacerse, porque quiere salvar a una chica inocente de la que está medio enamorado. Bueno, quizá dos tercios (:-)
ESPAÑOL: El protagonista y narrador, Donald Lam, es un abogado fracasado que sabe muchas triquiñuelas legales, como cómo cometer un asesinato sin que puedan castigarle. Él no lo comete, pero demuestra cómo podría hacerse, porque quiere salvar a una chica inocente de la que está medio enamorado. Bueno, quizá dos tercios (:-)
December 7, 2016
The first novel in the Cool and Lam Mysteries. Erle Stanley Gardner writing under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair.
Donald Lam is a disbarred lawyer hired to work as a private operator by Bertha Cool. His first job... to serve a divorce subpoena on Martin Birks.
This is one of those rare novels that teaches the reader while entertaining them. The plaintiff in a California divorce proceeding can not collect any alimony if served by publication in the newspaper or other media outlets. The state legislature of Arizona was forced to close an obscure loophole that would allow a person to commit a murder with public witnesses and not be prosecuted. This is the bet that cost Donald Lam his law license for approximately one year as punishment by the American Bar Association who felt that he should not have made a bet involving a lesson on how to get away with murder.
Bertha Cool along with Irene Adler and Miss Marple is one of the women proving that you don't need balls to make a great detective.
Donald Lam is a disbarred lawyer hired to work as a private operator by Bertha Cool. His first job... to serve a divorce subpoena on Martin Birks.
This is one of those rare novels that teaches the reader while entertaining them. The plaintiff in a California divorce proceeding can not collect any alimony if served by publication in the newspaper or other media outlets. The state legislature of Arizona was forced to close an obscure loophole that would allow a person to commit a murder with public witnesses and not be prosecuted. This is the bet that cost Donald Lam his law license for approximately one year as punishment by the American Bar Association who felt that he should not have made a bet involving a lesson on how to get away with murder.
Bertha Cool along with Irene Adler and Miss Marple is one of the women proving that you don't need balls to make a great detective.
August 28, 2014
The Bigger They Come by A. A. Fair (aka Erle Stanley Gardner of Perry Mason fame) is the first book of the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series and it is their first case working together as well. Lam is a down-on-his luck former lawyer who lost his license to practice for a year because he unwisely bragged to a client that he knew a foolproof way to commit murder. No locked doors; no mysterious poisons; just a little loophole in the law that would allow a guilty man to walk free. Cool is a woman who set up her own detective agency as a means of support after her philandering husband passed away. She's greedy, vulgar, and not opposed to dealing with both sides of the law if it means she'll make a fast (untraceable) buck.
We meet them as Lam arrives at the office in answer to a personal ad. He and every out-of-work Johnny in California have lined up to try and convince B. Cool of "B. Cool Confidential Investigations" that he is the man for the job. None of the applicants who go into B. Cool's private office last longer than 15 minutes and they all come out looking dazed, confused, or like they're running from a fire. Lam goes in and despite no experience whatsoever as a detective and his scrawny appearance manages to land the job. His ability to string a story and his former life as a lawyer will serve him well. Here is his take on his employer:
I sized up my new boss as she walked across the office and revised my first estimate of her weight by adding twenty pounds. She evidently didn't believe in confining herself to tight clothes. She wiggled and jiggled around inside her loose apparel like a cylinder of currant jelly on a plate. She walked with a smooth, easy rhythm. It wasn't a stride. You weren't conscious of her legs at all. She flowed past like a river. (p. 9)
Lam's first assignment is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks a man rumored to have wealth from a slot-machine scandal. There's just one problem. Birks has apparently disappeared. So, Lam has to learn the ropes quickly and find ways to hunt down a man who has managed to elude both the police and the mob. He's also caught up in a web that involves a lot of moolah, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs who kidnap him and beat him up in an effort to get him to reveal Birks's hiding place. When Birks winds up dead and the cops try to pin the murder on Lam's love interest (oh, yeah, we've got one of those too), he gets to try out his theory on committing a murder, confessing to it, and walking away scot-free.
This is a fairly amusing introduction to the Cool and Lam combo. The characters aren't quite settled, so the entertainment value wasn't quite up to the standard of You Can Die Laughing (my own introduction to this series). The private eye/hard boiled genre isn't my usual fare, but Cool and Lam are a combination that I can enjoy. Because of his size Lam has had to depend on his wits rather than his brawn and I really appreciate his interactions with Bertha Cool. I have a few more of these sitting on my shelves and look forward to reading them. ★★ and 1/2 rounded up to three here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
We meet them as Lam arrives at the office in answer to a personal ad. He and every out-of-work Johnny in California have lined up to try and convince B. Cool of "B. Cool Confidential Investigations" that he is the man for the job. None of the applicants who go into B. Cool's private office last longer than 15 minutes and they all come out looking dazed, confused, or like they're running from a fire. Lam goes in and despite no experience whatsoever as a detective and his scrawny appearance manages to land the job. His ability to string a story and his former life as a lawyer will serve him well. Here is his take on his employer:
I sized up my new boss as she walked across the office and revised my first estimate of her weight by adding twenty pounds. She evidently didn't believe in confining herself to tight clothes. She wiggled and jiggled around inside her loose apparel like a cylinder of currant jelly on a plate. She walked with a smooth, easy rhythm. It wasn't a stride. You weren't conscious of her legs at all. She flowed past like a river. (p. 9)
Lam's first assignment is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks a man rumored to have wealth from a slot-machine scandal. There's just one problem. Birks has apparently disappeared. So, Lam has to learn the ropes quickly and find ways to hunt down a man who has managed to elude both the police and the mob. He's also caught up in a web that involves a lot of moolah, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs who kidnap him and beat him up in an effort to get him to reveal Birks's hiding place. When Birks winds up dead and the cops try to pin the murder on Lam's love interest (oh, yeah, we've got one of those too), he gets to try out his theory on committing a murder, confessing to it, and walking away scot-free.
This is a fairly amusing introduction to the Cool and Lam combo. The characters aren't quite settled, so the entertainment value wasn't quite up to the standard of You Can Die Laughing (my own introduction to this series). The private eye/hard boiled genre isn't my usual fare, but Cool and Lam are a combination that I can enjoy. Because of his size Lam has had to depend on his wits rather than his brawn and I really appreciate his interactions with Bertha Cool. I have a few more of these sitting on my shelves and look forward to reading them. ★★ and 1/2 rounded up to three here.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
July 10, 2013
This is the first novel in the series about Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written by Erle Stanley Gardner under the pseudonym A. A. Fair. It’s a very enjoyable novel; an easy, fast read. The dialogue is superb. It’s snappy and sharp, but also very real, how people really speak to each other. There is a surprising amount of very “modern” language in this book. It was written and set in 1939, during the Depression, but is written in a style much different than that of the Perry Mason novels. The time elements are non-specific, and it could be any year from the 1930’s through the 1950’s; much like the A&E Nero Wolfe television series where they took Rex Stout stories from different eras and placed them all in the same fictional 1950’s setting.
Speaking of which, some readers might feel the characters also follow the Nero Wolfe template. Mrs. Bertha Cool is a very large woman, with gravitas, brains, and money to match. She’s the head of the detective agency. She hires Donald Lam to do the legwork, deal with violence, and take the risks; all the hard-boiled stuff. He is slight in stature, very intelligent and educated as a lawyer. He also has tremendous nerve, and is not afraid to scrap, but does not always physically triumph over his adversary.
Sandra Birks wants to serve divorce papers on her husband, Morgan Birks, but he’s a gangster hiding from the police and carrying on an affair with a mistress, so no one can find him. She hires Cool and Lam to find him and make the service. Lam comes up with a brilliant plan and serves the papers. Or does he? Lam is subsequently kidnapped and beaten up. After that, nothing is quite what it seems. Then, of course, someone gets killed…
This is only the third novel in the series that I’ve read, and it’s probably the best place to start, as it provides broad context for the other novels. It tells the story of how Donald Lam came to be hired by Mrs. Cool. It is the first chronologically, and introduces us to the characters, including Elsie Brand. The other books can be read in any order. I’ve also enjoyed Widows Wear Weeds (in the 1970’s Pocket Books published the books, and numbered this novel as #1 in the series) and Top of The Heap (published by Hard Case Crime). There was a pilot made for television back in 1958 starring former jockey and $64,000 Dollar Question winner Billy Pearson as Donald Lam, and Benay Venuta as Bertha Cool. The series was not picked up, and the pilot remains the only episode made. The entire pilot is available on YouTube. The opening shot, under the title “Cool and Lam”, is a pile of novels in the series with the great old cover art visible. On YouTube, the opening credits are one video and the rest of the pilot is a separate second video. Check them both out.
This is a breezy, entertaining novel. It combines comedy and hard-boiled detective action. There's even a little courtroom drama thrown in; and, of course, the "perfect murder". It has some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a long time; and the characters, particularly Lam, are very street wise. Reading it, it’s hard to believe it was written so long ago. It’s fun, and will completely take your mind off of this world.
Speaking of which, some readers might feel the characters also follow the Nero Wolfe template. Mrs. Bertha Cool is a very large woman, with gravitas, brains, and money to match. She’s the head of the detective agency. She hires Donald Lam to do the legwork, deal with violence, and take the risks; all the hard-boiled stuff. He is slight in stature, very intelligent and educated as a lawyer. He also has tremendous nerve, and is not afraid to scrap, but does not always physically triumph over his adversary.
Sandra Birks wants to serve divorce papers on her husband, Morgan Birks, but he’s a gangster hiding from the police and carrying on an affair with a mistress, so no one can find him. She hires Cool and Lam to find him and make the service. Lam comes up with a brilliant plan and serves the papers. Or does he? Lam is subsequently kidnapped and beaten up. After that, nothing is quite what it seems. Then, of course, someone gets killed…
This is only the third novel in the series that I’ve read, and it’s probably the best place to start, as it provides broad context for the other novels. It tells the story of how Donald Lam came to be hired by Mrs. Cool. It is the first chronologically, and introduces us to the characters, including Elsie Brand. The other books can be read in any order. I’ve also enjoyed Widows Wear Weeds (in the 1970’s Pocket Books published the books, and numbered this novel as #1 in the series) and Top of The Heap (published by Hard Case Crime). There was a pilot made for television back in 1958 starring former jockey and $64,000 Dollar Question winner Billy Pearson as Donald Lam, and Benay Venuta as Bertha Cool. The series was not picked up, and the pilot remains the only episode made. The entire pilot is available on YouTube. The opening shot, under the title “Cool and Lam”, is a pile of novels in the series with the great old cover art visible. On YouTube, the opening credits are one video and the rest of the pilot is a separate second video. Check them both out.
This is a breezy, entertaining novel. It combines comedy and hard-boiled detective action. There's even a little courtroom drama thrown in; and, of course, the "perfect murder". It has some of the best dialogue I’ve read in a long time; and the characters, particularly Lam, are very street wise. Reading it, it’s hard to believe it was written so long ago. It’s fun, and will completely take your mind off of this world.
April 2, 2025
Funny, intricately plotted, and about the most dialogue-driven thing you'll read that isn't a play. The interaction between Lam and the criminal heavy and his enforcer is about the funniest scene of its kind that I've read. Cool is a memorable character. Lawyerly Perry Mason-ish denouement. Looking forward to reading more.
March 5, 2023
“And don’t mind me when I cuss,” Mrs. Cool went on, “because I like profanity, loose clothes, and loose talk.”
The first Cool and Lam mystery! The strength of this story is the relationship and chemistry between the two characters! Cool is the boss, a large lady with a sharp tongue and brusk personality. Lam is "a little too small to be a detective" with somewhat of a mysterious, and possibly shady background. They actually make a pretty good, and readable team!
And this story was just that, for a time. But from page 179 on, the story was confusing. Lam goes to AZ, for reasons to be explained later, but in the course of the story, it was just a bunch of nonsense. I actually began to wonder if I had missed that an entirely different story had been added to this book. Like I said, it does become connected to the whole plotline, but I felt like it was totally unnecessary. And yes, I now understand why Lam did all of that nonsense, I just didn't enjoy reading about it. However, I will give this duo another try, as I think their relationship has a good deal of potential for further stories.
The first Cool and Lam mystery! The strength of this story is the relationship and chemistry between the two characters! Cool is the boss, a large lady with a sharp tongue and brusk personality. Lam is "a little too small to be a detective" with somewhat of a mysterious, and possibly shady background. They actually make a pretty good, and readable team!
And this story was just that, for a time. But from page 179 on, the story was confusing. Lam goes to AZ, for reasons to be explained later, but in the course of the story, it was just a bunch of nonsense. I actually began to wonder if I had missed that an entirely different story had been added to this book. Like I said, it does become connected to the whole plotline, but I felt like it was totally unnecessary. And yes, I now understand why Lam did all of that nonsense, I just didn't enjoy reading about it. However, I will give this duo another try, as I think their relationship has a good deal of potential for further stories.
December 12, 2013
When Donald Lam walked into the offices of Mrs. Bertha Cool to answer the help wanted ad he'd seen in the paper, he had no idea what he was truly in store for. But when you're down on your luck, you aren't too picky with what comes your way. So, when he is hired on as an agent of the Cool Detective Agency, he soon discovers that his first assignment isn't as cut-and-dry as he is led to believe. With a educated, calculating mind and the backing of his no beating-around-the-bush boss, Lam will spare no expense to get to the bottom of the case. And though things may seem to take a turn for the worse, appearances can be deceiving; For you see, Lam, trained at a school of law, knows the perfect ploy that can make everything turn out right.
March 5, 2023
After having read a number of Cool and Lam mysteries, it was great to see how it all started. A great mystery and a great start to the series.
May 6, 2024
This book is fun because of the time period. Bertha Cool is ahead of her time, and Lam’s first-person narration is fun and lively. The twist was pretty good, and I wanted to read the end quickly to find out what happens. There’s a brief courtroom scene where Lam gets to Perry Mason a bit, but overall, this was just okay to me. The best parts are the details of the 30’s, the language, the women, the culture, the cigarettes… I love books and movies from this time, and for that angle, this didn’t disappoint. As of now, I’m not interested in reading another Cool and Lam book, but that could definitely change as I am a Perry Mason fan, and I might just be in the mood at some point to read the private detective version of one of my favorite fictional lawyers.
September 29, 2025
The characters of Bertha Cool & Lam were enjoyable and interesting. I laughed out loud at Bertha's comments a few times. Their personalities and actions were also quite different from what I've generally read, so it was interesting to see their approaches to their jobs.
November 3, 2025
It was interesting that the copy of the book was 50 years old, just such a vintage 'feel' was kind of cool.
June 22, 2019
Took longer to get access to the book than to actually read it.
The legal loophole was mind-blowing!
A A Fair’s real name is Gardner, Erle Stanley, so I’d check both names at the library/amazon.
The legal loophole was mind-blowing!
A A Fair’s real name is Gardner, Erle Stanley, so I’d check both names at the library/amazon.
September 28, 2023
The Bigger They Come: A Cool and Lam Mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-PRINT: COPYRIGHT: (January 1, 1939) 10/4/2022; ISBN: 9781613163566; PUBLISHER: Penzler Publishers; PAGES: 227; UNABRIDGED (Paperback info from Goodreads)
-*DIGITAL: COPYRIGHT: (1/1/1939) 10/4/2022; ISBN: 9781613163573; PUBLISHER: American Mystery Classics / Simon & Schuster; PAGES: 251; UNABRIDGED
-AUDIO: COPYRIGHT: Not found
Feature Film or tv: Not found
SERIES: Cool and Lam #1
MAIN CHARACTERS: (list not comprehensive)
Bertha Cool - Owner of detective agency
Donald Lam – hired by Bertha
Alma Hunter – Friend of client of the Cool detective agency
Sandra Birks – Client of the detective agency
Morgan Birks – husband of the client of the detective agency
The Chief – a criminal
Fred – an employee of the Chief’s
Bleatie – Sandra’s brother (sort of)
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTED: It came to my attention that a television show that I enjoyed as a child, Perry Mason, was based on a series of books by Erle Stanley Gardner, and that a precursor series was Lam & Cool, so I wanted to read the first one of that series.
-ABOUT: Donald Lam competes for employment at a detective agency, and although he doesn’t look the part, Bertha Cool appreciates his imagination and hires him on the spot. He is assigned to a missing person case of sorts—to find a spouse for the purpose of serving divorce papers, but there turns out to be much more to the job.
-LIKED: It was clever and entertaining.
-DISLIKED: NA.
-OVERALL: This has the flavor of mysteries from the decade that it was written, 193o’s.
AUTHOR:
Erle Stanley Gardner
From Wikipedia:
“Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was a prolific American author. A former lawyer, he is best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico.
The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous pseudonyms, including A. A. Fair, Carl Franklin Ruth, Carleton Kendrake, Charles M. Green, Charles J. Kenny, Edward Leaming, Grant Holiday, Kyle Corning, Les Tillray, Robert Parr, Stephen Caldwell, and once as Perry Mason character Della Street (The Case of the Suspect Sweethearts). Three stories were published as Anonymous (A Fair Trial, Part Music and Part Tears, and You Can't Run Away from Yourself aka The Jazz Baby).”
NARRATOR:
N/A
LOCATION(S)
California; Arizona
TIME(S)
1930’s
GENRE
Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective
SUBJECTS:
Process Serving; Law; Detectives; Divorce; Crime
DEDICATION:
Not found.
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From “Chapter One”
“Pushing my way into the office, I stood just inside the door, my hat in my hand.
There were six men ahead of me. The ad had said between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. If appearances were any indication, some of them were optimistic liars. For the most part, we were a seedy-looking outfit.
A straw-haired secretary behind a typewriting desk banged away at a typewriter. She looked up at me. Her face as cold as a clean bedsheet.
‘What do you want?’ She asked.
‘I want to see Mr. Cool.’
‘What about?’
I moved my head in a comprehensive gesture to include the half-dozen men who were looking up at me in casually hostile appraisal. ‘I’m answering the ad.’
‘I thought so. Sit down,’ she said.
‘There seems,’ I observed, ‘to be no chair available.’
‘There will be in a minute. You may stand and wait, or come back.’
‘I’ll stand.’
She turned back to her typewriter. A buzzer sounded. She picked up a telephone, listened a moment, said, ‘Very well,’ and looked expectantly at the door which said ‘B. L. Cool, Private.’ The door opened. A man, who looked as though he was trying to get to the open air in a hurry, streaked through the office. The blonde said, ‘You may go in Mr. Smith.’
A young chap with stooped shoulders and slim waist got to his feet, jerked down his vest, adjusted his tie, pinned a smirk on his face, opened the door to the private office, and went in.
The blonde said to me, ‘What’s your name?’
‘Donald Lam.’
‘L-a-m-b?’ she asked.
‘L-a-m,’ I said.
She jotted it down, and then, with her eyes on me, started making shorthand notes under the name. I could see she was cataloguing my personal appearance.
‘That all?’ I asked when she covered me from head to foot with her eyes and finished making pothooks with her fingers.
‘Yes. Sit down in that chair and wait.’
I sat and waited. Smith didn’t last long. He was out in less than two minutes. The second man made the round trip so fast it looked as though he’d come out on the bounce. The third man lasted ten minutes and came out looking dazed. The door of the outer office opened. Three more applicants came in. The blonde took their names, sized them up, and made notes. After they were seated, she picked up the telephone and said laconically, ‘Four more,’ listened a moment, and hung up.
When the next man came out, the blonde went in. She was in there about five minutes. When she came out, she gave me the nod: ‘You may go in next, Mr. Lam,’ she said.
The men who were ahead of me frowned at her and then at me. They didn’t say anything.
Apparently she didn’t mind their frowns any more than I did.
I opened the door, entered a huge room with several filing cabinets, two comfortable chairs, a table, and a big desk.
I put on my best smile, said, ‘Mr. Cool, I—’ and then stopped, because the person seated behind the desk wasn’t a Mister.
She was somewhere in her sixties, with gray hair, twinkling gray eyes, and a benign, grandmotherly expression on her face. She must have weighed over two-hundred. She said, ‘Sit down, Mr. Lam—no, not in that chair. Come over here where I can look at you. There, that’s better. Now, for Christ’s sake, don’t lie to me.’
RATING:.
4
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
8/23/23 – 9/16/23
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-PRINT: COPYRIGHT: (January 1, 1939) 10/4/2022; ISBN: 9781613163566; PUBLISHER: Penzler Publishers; PAGES: 227; UNABRIDGED (Paperback info from Goodreads)
-*DIGITAL: COPYRIGHT: (1/1/1939) 10/4/2022; ISBN: 9781613163573; PUBLISHER: American Mystery Classics / Simon & Schuster; PAGES: 251; UNABRIDGED
-AUDIO: COPYRIGHT: Not found
Feature Film or tv: Not found
SERIES: Cool and Lam #1
MAIN CHARACTERS: (list not comprehensive)
Bertha Cool - Owner of detective agency
Donald Lam – hired by Bertha
Alma Hunter – Friend of client of the Cool detective agency
Sandra Birks – Client of the detective agency
Morgan Birks – husband of the client of the detective agency
The Chief – a criminal
Fred – an employee of the Chief’s
Bleatie – Sandra’s brother (sort of)
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTED: It came to my attention that a television show that I enjoyed as a child, Perry Mason, was based on a series of books by Erle Stanley Gardner, and that a precursor series was Lam & Cool, so I wanted to read the first one of that series.
-ABOUT: Donald Lam competes for employment at a detective agency, and although he doesn’t look the part, Bertha Cool appreciates his imagination and hires him on the spot. He is assigned to a missing person case of sorts—to find a spouse for the purpose of serving divorce papers, but there turns out to be much more to the job.
-LIKED: It was clever and entertaining.
-DISLIKED: NA.
-OVERALL: This has the flavor of mysteries from the decade that it was written, 193o’s.
AUTHOR:
Erle Stanley Gardner
From Wikipedia:
“Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was a prolific American author. A former lawyer, he is best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico.
The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous pseudonyms, including A. A. Fair, Carl Franklin Ruth, Carleton Kendrake, Charles M. Green, Charles J. Kenny, Edward Leaming, Grant Holiday, Kyle Corning, Les Tillray, Robert Parr, Stephen Caldwell, and once as Perry Mason character Della Street (The Case of the Suspect Sweethearts). Three stories were published as Anonymous (A Fair Trial, Part Music and Part Tears, and You Can't Run Away from Yourself aka The Jazz Baby).”
NARRATOR:
N/A
LOCATION(S)
California; Arizona
TIME(S)
1930’s
GENRE
Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective
SUBJECTS:
Process Serving; Law; Detectives; Divorce; Crime
DEDICATION:
Not found.
SAMPLE QUOTATION:
From “Chapter One”
“Pushing my way into the office, I stood just inside the door, my hat in my hand.
There were six men ahead of me. The ad had said between the ages of twenty-five and thirty. If appearances were any indication, some of them were optimistic liars. For the most part, we were a seedy-looking outfit.
A straw-haired secretary behind a typewriting desk banged away at a typewriter. She looked up at me. Her face as cold as a clean bedsheet.
‘What do you want?’ She asked.
‘I want to see Mr. Cool.’
‘What about?’
I moved my head in a comprehensive gesture to include the half-dozen men who were looking up at me in casually hostile appraisal. ‘I’m answering the ad.’
‘I thought so. Sit down,’ she said.
‘There seems,’ I observed, ‘to be no chair available.’
‘There will be in a minute. You may stand and wait, or come back.’
‘I’ll stand.’
She turned back to her typewriter. A buzzer sounded. She picked up a telephone, listened a moment, said, ‘Very well,’ and looked expectantly at the door which said ‘B. L. Cool, Private.’ The door opened. A man, who looked as though he was trying to get to the open air in a hurry, streaked through the office. The blonde said, ‘You may go in Mr. Smith.’
A young chap with stooped shoulders and slim waist got to his feet, jerked down his vest, adjusted his tie, pinned a smirk on his face, opened the door to the private office, and went in.
The blonde said to me, ‘What’s your name?’
‘Donald Lam.’
‘L-a-m-b?’ she asked.
‘L-a-m,’ I said.
She jotted it down, and then, with her eyes on me, started making shorthand notes under the name. I could see she was cataloguing my personal appearance.
‘That all?’ I asked when she covered me from head to foot with her eyes and finished making pothooks with her fingers.
‘Yes. Sit down in that chair and wait.’
I sat and waited. Smith didn’t last long. He was out in less than two minutes. The second man made the round trip so fast it looked as though he’d come out on the bounce. The third man lasted ten minutes and came out looking dazed. The door of the outer office opened. Three more applicants came in. The blonde took their names, sized them up, and made notes. After they were seated, she picked up the telephone and said laconically, ‘Four more,’ listened a moment, and hung up.
When the next man came out, the blonde went in. She was in there about five minutes. When she came out, she gave me the nod: ‘You may go in next, Mr. Lam,’ she said.
The men who were ahead of me frowned at her and then at me. They didn’t say anything.
Apparently she didn’t mind their frowns any more than I did.
I opened the door, entered a huge room with several filing cabinets, two comfortable chairs, a table, and a big desk.
I put on my best smile, said, ‘Mr. Cool, I—’ and then stopped, because the person seated behind the desk wasn’t a Mister.
She was somewhere in her sixties, with gray hair, twinkling gray eyes, and a benign, grandmotherly expression on her face. She must have weighed over two-hundred. She said, ‘Sit down, Mr. Lam—no, not in that chair. Come over here where I can look at you. There, that’s better. Now, for Christ’s sake, don’t lie to me.’
RATING:.
4
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
8/23/23 – 9/16/23
April 15, 2016
#1 in the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series. APA: Lam to the Slaughter. Debut novel of an unusual PI series written by Gardner, Erle Stanley as Fair, A.A. Ingenious plot in the debut with a pair of oddball, but likeable, protagonists.
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series - Donald Lam is a private detective, 5 and a half feet tall and 127 pounds. But what he lacks in brawn he more than makes up for in brains. His new employer, Bertha Cool, is sixty-something with grey hair, weighing in at over 300 pounds. When Lam gets the job he is put to work immediately because if there's one thing Bertha Cool believes in it's getting her money's worth. His first job is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks, husband of Sandra Birks who claims he has been abusing her. It seems a straightforward enough job, and it is. But it's only after the papers have been served that the real fireworks begin. It's following a seemingly successful job that Lam's genius is uncovered as he works his way through deductions and comes up with a brilliant solution that is as impressive in it's cunning as it is in it's simplicity.
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series - Donald Lam is a private detective, 5 and a half feet tall and 127 pounds. But what he lacks in brawn he more than makes up for in brains. His new employer, Bertha Cool, is sixty-something with grey hair, weighing in at over 300 pounds. When Lam gets the job he is put to work immediately because if there's one thing Bertha Cool believes in it's getting her money's worth. His first job is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks, husband of Sandra Birks who claims he has been abusing her. It seems a straightforward enough job, and it is. But it's only after the papers have been served that the real fireworks begin. It's following a seemingly successful job that Lam's genius is uncovered as he works his way through deductions and comes up with a brilliant solution that is as impressive in it's cunning as it is in it's simplicity.
October 1, 2022
It's always a good time reading a Cool and Lam mystery and I must say it's unexpected this isn't a Hard Case Crime reissue. Instead Otto Penzler and Mysterious Press bring the fun beginning to their American Mystery Classics series.
From Donald Lam's initial interview with Bertha Cool to the end, it was a great end of summer read. If this is your first Cool and Lam, you need to seek out the HCC reissues pronto.
From Donald Lam's initial interview with Bertha Cool to the end, it was a great end of summer read. If this is your first Cool and Lam, you need to seek out the HCC reissues pronto.
November 23, 2016
My favorite series as a teenager. Done by a master writer who has sold as many mysteries as anyone. If you like clean reading and mysteries this is a great series.
Want to read
October 26, 2019Synopsis: a unlikely pair of detectives: Bertha Cool is in her sixties with rolls of pounds and profanity, and Donald Lam is young and insignificant.
February 12, 2023
Excellent!
March 15, 2021
Major characters:
Morgan Birks, about to be served divorce papers
Sandra Birks, his wife
B. Lee Thoms, "Bleatie", Sandra's brother
Alma Hunter, Sandra's friend
Sally Durke, Morgan's girlfriend
Dr. Archie Holomon, one of Sandra's men
William Cunweather, "The Chief", gang leader
Bertha Cool, private investigator
Donald Lam, private investigator
Elsie Briand, their secretary
Locale: California and Arizona
Synopsis: In this first Cool & Lam story, pint-size Donald Lam is hired by oversize Bertha Cool as her operative. Alma Hunter hires Cool to find Morgan Birks, on behalf of his wife Sandra Birks, and serve divorce papers on him. Birks has been involved in running a slot-machine racket, and is rumored to have skimmed off some of the profits.
Sandra is driving her brother, B. Lee Thoms, and is involved in a car accident. B. Lee, a.k.a. "Bleatie", suffers a broken nose. He claims he can lead Lam to Morgan. Lam meets with him. Morgan reveals the name of Morgan's girlfriend: Sally Durke. Lam tracks down Sally in hopes of flushing out Morgan.
Lam has several adventures including freqeuent make-out sessions with Alma Hunter, and being kidnapped and roughed up by a gang of thugs, led by "The Chief", William Cunweather, whose unnamed wife ishis chief.
Alma has bruises on her neck from an unknown assailant, so Lam provides her a gun for her protection. He teaches her to shoot by having her point the empty gun at him and pull the trigger(!). The assailant returns, and Alma shoots him - in the back.
Lam goes to Arizona and confesses to the shooting himself, setting himself up for an extradition fight and a court appearance. Lam uses his legal training to take advantage of a loophole in the law which may allow a man to murder someone and walk away free.
Review: This story of constant conflict and love interest action shows the genesis of Gardner's career writing for the serialized pulps - a variety of things is always happening in each chapter. The Cool-Lam books are more free-wheeling and fun than the Perry Masons, and Lam's legal background gives him the ability to toss in a court appearance that Gardner always does so well. The legal loophole is interesting, and one wonders whether it existed in reality, and whether Gardner's exposé of it resulted in its being patched up.
Don't learn gun shooting by following Lam's training method.
Morgan Birks, about to be served divorce papers
Sandra Birks, his wife
B. Lee Thoms, "Bleatie", Sandra's brother
Alma Hunter, Sandra's friend
Sally Durke, Morgan's girlfriend
Dr. Archie Holomon, one of Sandra's men
William Cunweather, "The Chief", gang leader
Bertha Cool, private investigator
Donald Lam, private investigator
Elsie Briand, their secretary
Locale: California and Arizona
Synopsis: In this first Cool & Lam story, pint-size Donald Lam is hired by oversize Bertha Cool as her operative. Alma Hunter hires Cool to find Morgan Birks, on behalf of his wife Sandra Birks, and serve divorce papers on him. Birks has been involved in running a slot-machine racket, and is rumored to have skimmed off some of the profits.
Sandra is driving her brother, B. Lee Thoms, and is involved in a car accident. B. Lee, a.k.a. "Bleatie", suffers a broken nose. He claims he can lead Lam to Morgan. Lam meets with him. Morgan reveals the name of Morgan's girlfriend: Sally Durke. Lam tracks down Sally in hopes of flushing out Morgan.
Lam has several adventures including freqeuent make-out sessions with Alma Hunter, and being kidnapped and roughed up by a gang of thugs, led by "The Chief", William Cunweather, whose unnamed wife ishis chief.
Alma has bruises on her neck from an unknown assailant, so Lam provides her a gun for her protection. He teaches her to shoot by having her point the empty gun at him and pull the trigger(!). The assailant returns, and Alma shoots him - in the back.
Lam goes to Arizona and confesses to the shooting himself, setting himself up for an extradition fight and a court appearance. Lam uses his legal training to take advantage of a loophole in the law which may allow a man to murder someone and walk away free.
Review: This story of constant conflict and love interest action shows the genesis of Gardner's career writing for the serialized pulps - a variety of things is always happening in each chapter. The Cool-Lam books are more free-wheeling and fun than the Perry Masons, and Lam's legal background gives him the ability to toss in a court appearance that Gardner always does so well. The legal loophole is interesting, and one wonders whether it existed in reality, and whether Gardner's exposé of it resulted in its being patched up.
Don't learn gun shooting by following Lam's training method.
September 16, 2025
I was pleasantly surprised to find this reprint of the first Bertha Cool and Donald Lam mystery, The Bigger They Come, in my local library. Although Erle Stanley Gardner, wrote these under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair, the Otto Prenzler Presents American Mystery Classics edition that I read uses the Erle Stanley Gardner byline. Ironically, I had actually looked under A. A. Fair on a previous visit.
Nonetheless, my discovery was well worth it. This first case from the classic mismatched sleuths sets up a lot of the character, humor, and methodologies to be used in future books. And, maybe it’s just me (since I made a similar observation about the last novel I read) but it seems like Bertha as an employer is a lot like a female Nero Wolfe (overweight, obsessed with eating, gives orders without fully explaining herself) while Donald is a more educated version of Archie Goodwin as the “legs” and, at times, the resentful employee. To be sure, Bertha is more mobile than Wolfe and Donald comes up with more devious ploys than Goodwin, but many of the elements are there (even if only in my imagination).
The Bigger They Come is a play off Donald Lam’s diminutive size for a private investigator and an overweight mobster as a call-back to the old axiom that concludes: “…the harder they fall.” Even that reference could apply both to Lam’s penchant for falling for attractive women (in certain role-playing games, characters take on this attribute or aspect as “Sucker for a pretty face.”) and the way the mystery is inevitably wrapped up. The story begins with the improbable way Donald was hired by the Cool Detective Agency and his first assignment to serve divorce papers to a fugitive from justice. This is complicated by the fact that it doesn’t seem (does it ever) that his clients are being transparent in preparing him for the job.
Now, even though this is the reader’s first (well, not since I read them out of order, not exactly) introduction to Lam, the foreshadowing is significant. There is something in Donald’s past, a weakness or stain that proves to be a strength. Here is where Gardner’s knowledge of the law (as one expect from the creator of Perry Mason) and curiosity about quirks of the justice system comes into play. In this novel and in later ones, Donald draws from that legal knowledge and makes it work for him. And, for my taste, it works even better than the Perry Mason mysteries.
Nonetheless, my discovery was well worth it. This first case from the classic mismatched sleuths sets up a lot of the character, humor, and methodologies to be used in future books. And, maybe it’s just me (since I made a similar observation about the last novel I read) but it seems like Bertha as an employer is a lot like a female Nero Wolfe (overweight, obsessed with eating, gives orders without fully explaining herself) while Donald is a more educated version of Archie Goodwin as the “legs” and, at times, the resentful employee. To be sure, Bertha is more mobile than Wolfe and Donald comes up with more devious ploys than Goodwin, but many of the elements are there (even if only in my imagination).
The Bigger They Come is a play off Donald Lam’s diminutive size for a private investigator and an overweight mobster as a call-back to the old axiom that concludes: “…the harder they fall.” Even that reference could apply both to Lam’s penchant for falling for attractive women (in certain role-playing games, characters take on this attribute or aspect as “Sucker for a pretty face.”) and the way the mystery is inevitably wrapped up. The story begins with the improbable way Donald was hired by the Cool Detective Agency and his first assignment to serve divorce papers to a fugitive from justice. This is complicated by the fact that it doesn’t seem (does it ever) that his clients are being transparent in preparing him for the job.
Now, even though this is the reader’s first (well, not since I read them out of order, not exactly) introduction to Lam, the foreshadowing is significant. There is something in Donald’s past, a weakness or stain that proves to be a strength. Here is where Gardner’s knowledge of the law (as one expect from the creator of Perry Mason) and curiosity about quirks of the justice system comes into play. In this novel and in later ones, Donald draws from that legal knowledge and makes it work for him. And, for my taste, it works even better than the Perry Mason mysteries.
September 16, 2025
Eh. I mean, it was readable I guess, and it was written passably enough to keep me at least somewhat interested, but it's not something I would've read if my mystery genre class didn't require it.
I think Lam is quickly hired by Cool, despite not showing much competence/capability in anything. Later, in the case, a lot is just handed to him. For example, the client who hires him brings him to Sandra's brother, who tells him the info on the mistress as well as the plan to trick the mistress and follow her to the guy she was hiding. Lam didn't have to come up with a damn thing himself.
Later, he just goes along freely with Cunweather's men and gets pummeled by them, then is luckily fixed up and let go. I feel like a more realistic book would just dump his ass in an alleyway or just murder him and dispose of the body too. It felt like the author just handing him convenient passes.
I was a bit confused by one thing. There's a moment when the fake brother calls out to Morgan next door and gets a response. How did this happen if Morgan was masquerading as the brother?
Anyway, there are minor moments I appreciate, like him asking his landlord Mrs. Smith to get the license plate, by telling her the guy goes him money with which he could pay rent. And obviously, remembering a whole legal case and the ruling by heart is impressive (though I do wonder if a judge would easily cave so easily). It reminds me of the Zone of Death thing in real life, where it was eventually given a special ruling or something to nullify its legal loophole, I believe.
The mystery itself...was...fine? I'm not sure there's much evidence or cluing to truly and fairly deduce that the brother was truly Morgan in disguise (yes, the car accident disfigurement *could* be Morgan, but it could also just honestly be the brother, nevermind his weird aesthetic choices), nor the thing with Cunweather shooting Morgan in the room. MC says he noticed Cunweather has short, slender hands that match the strangle marks, but didn't he/wouldn't he just have Fred do all the muscle work instead of himself, if he's gonna go murder someone?
And I don't care for fast romances like this with her quickly kissing and sleeping with MC, and him being over the moon for her. They barely know each other and have spent all of 2 or so days together really.
I think Lam is quickly hired by Cool, despite not showing much competence/capability in anything. Later, in the case, a lot is just handed to him. For example, the client who hires him brings him to Sandra's brother, who tells him the info on the mistress as well as the plan to trick the mistress and follow her to the guy she was hiding. Lam didn't have to come up with a damn thing himself.
Later, he just goes along freely with Cunweather's men and gets pummeled by them, then is luckily fixed up and let go. I feel like a more realistic book would just dump his ass in an alleyway or just murder him and dispose of the body too. It felt like the author just handing him convenient passes.
I was a bit confused by one thing. There's a moment when the fake brother calls out to Morgan next door and gets a response. How did this happen if Morgan was masquerading as the brother?
Anyway, there are minor moments I appreciate, like him asking his landlord Mrs. Smith to get the license plate, by telling her the guy goes him money with which he could pay rent. And obviously, remembering a whole legal case and the ruling by heart is impressive (though I do wonder if a judge would easily cave so easily). It reminds me of the Zone of Death thing in real life, where it was eventually given a special ruling or something to nullify its legal loophole, I believe.
The mystery itself...was...fine? I'm not sure there's much evidence or cluing to truly and fairly deduce that the brother was truly Morgan in disguise (yes, the car accident disfigurement *could* be Morgan, but it could also just honestly be the brother, nevermind his weird aesthetic choices), nor the thing with Cunweather shooting Morgan in the room. MC says he noticed Cunweather has short, slender hands that match the strangle marks, but didn't he/wouldn't he just have Fred do all the muscle work instead of himself, if he's gonna go murder someone?
And I don't care for fast romances like this with her quickly kissing and sleeping with MC, and him being over the moon for her. They barely know each other and have spent all of 2 or so days together really.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2024
I had not heard of this series until someone had recommended the 18th book in the series (The Count of 9). I like to start from the beginning of things, so that one will have to wait.
In the meantime, I was quite impressed with this story. It has the same clipped and rapid-fire dialog that Gardner uses for his Perry Mason books; also, there's plenty of lingo from 1939 scattered throughout the novel (at least, I guess that's how folks in these situations and occupations would talk back then). The set up, with Donald Lam going to work for Bertha Cool and her detective agency, reminded me of the set up for Jake & the Fat Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_an...), from the late 80's and early 90's, at least in the physical descriptions and that Lam seems to be doing a majority of the legwork on the case.
While the first part seemed rather pedestrian, the secret character reveal was unexpected. It's something that you likely wouldn't see in modern mystery/crime fiction and seems to really fit in that era where you needed to go to a drugstore to find a phone or a directory. The latter part was, at first, confusing. Most of the "crime" had been resolved when Lam goes off and starts acting oddly. The resolution to this was surprising and was a callback to some of his earlier claims about his suspended law license. It makes me think that Gardner had a firm grasp on California law back then (or a fine imagination about interpretations of the prevailing statues of the day).
Very enjoyable. Will definitely read more as I'm curious about the building relationship between Lam & Cool and Gardner's "freedom" to write about crime when his characters are not wholly shackled by bar association ethics.
In the meantime, I was quite impressed with this story. It has the same clipped and rapid-fire dialog that Gardner uses for his Perry Mason books; also, there's plenty of lingo from 1939 scattered throughout the novel (at least, I guess that's how folks in these situations and occupations would talk back then). The set up, with Donald Lam going to work for Bertha Cool and her detective agency, reminded me of the set up for Jake & the Fat Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_an...), from the late 80's and early 90's, at least in the physical descriptions and that Lam seems to be doing a majority of the legwork on the case.
While the first part seemed rather pedestrian, the secret character reveal was unexpected. It's something that you likely wouldn't see in modern mystery/crime fiction and seems to really fit in that era where you needed to go to a drugstore to find a phone or a directory. The latter part was, at first, confusing. Most of the "crime" had been resolved when Lam goes off and starts acting oddly. The resolution to this was surprising and was a callback to some of his earlier claims about his suspended law license. It makes me think that Gardner had a firm grasp on California law back then (or a fine imagination about interpretations of the prevailing statues of the day).
Very enjoyable. Will definitely read more as I'm curious about the building relationship between Lam & Cool and Gardner's "freedom" to write about crime when his characters are not wholly shackled by bar association ethics.
February 27, 2023
Erle Stanley Gardner is, hands down, one of my favorite authors. Whenever I come across a Perry Mason book, I snap it up. His other series don't seem to be as readily available, which is why I was excited when American Mystery Classics reprinted one of them.
The Cool/Lam series was written under the pseudonym A.A. Fair, but it has the same panache as the Mason books. The Bigger They Come introduces readers to private investigator Bertha Cool, who is advertising for someone to assist her agency. That's when we meet down-on-his-luck Donald Lam, who answers her ad. Though he is scrawny and not what one looks for in in P.I., his smart talk and confidence convince Bertha to hire him over all the other applicants, and he is soon plotting how to serve divorce papers on the behalf of Bertha's client; the problem is, the husband has vanished.
Donald's smarts pay off, and he figures out how to accomplish the task. However, he finds himself embroiled in a situation above his pay grade when other people are looking for the same man, and then a dead body further complicates Donald's life. The plot of getting away with the perfect murder is just astonishing, and it was apparently actually possible from a legal standpoint. This book helped change laws to prevent it from happening in real life!
Bertha is a larger-than-life character in body and spirit, and she is a wonderful, experienced and savvy counterpoint to Donald. The way they are portrayed, you want to read more about them -- and I have (one book), which is why I was happy the first book in the series was reprinted, as it sets a solid foundation for the rest, explaining some things I didn’t know. The DC library system has the second book in the series, so I'll be picking that one up soon.
The Cool/Lam series was written under the pseudonym A.A. Fair, but it has the same panache as the Mason books. The Bigger They Come introduces readers to private investigator Bertha Cool, who is advertising for someone to assist her agency. That's when we meet down-on-his-luck Donald Lam, who answers her ad. Though he is scrawny and not what one looks for in in P.I., his smart talk and confidence convince Bertha to hire him over all the other applicants, and he is soon plotting how to serve divorce papers on the behalf of Bertha's client; the problem is, the husband has vanished.
Donald's smarts pay off, and he figures out how to accomplish the task. However, he finds himself embroiled in a situation above his pay grade when other people are looking for the same man, and then a dead body further complicates Donald's life. The plot of getting away with the perfect murder is just astonishing, and it was apparently actually possible from a legal standpoint. This book helped change laws to prevent it from happening in real life!
Bertha is a larger-than-life character in body and spirit, and she is a wonderful, experienced and savvy counterpoint to Donald. The way they are portrayed, you want to read more about them -- and I have (one book), which is why I was happy the first book in the series was reprinted, as it sets a solid foundation for the rest, explaining some things I didn’t know. The DC library system has the second book in the series, so I'll be picking that one up soon.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews