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Perry Mason #14
The Case of the Perjured Parrot
The only witness to a millionaire’s murder is a parrot that keeps repeating phrases that may identify the killer.
282 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1939
120 people are currently reading
703 people want to read
About the author
Erle Stanley Gardner
1,351 books818 followersErle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories who also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray, and Robert Parr.
Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...
Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
May 15, 2017
The fourteenth Perry Mason novel (published in 1939) opens when a new client comes to Perry's office. The client's father has been murdered, and the client fears that his father's new wife may attempt to cheat him out of his inheritance. (For some reason, there seem to be a number of Perry Mason books in which an older man has remarried to a woman who seemed very loving and terrific before the marriage but who then turns out to be a greedy, unpleasant shrew, usually with greedy, grasping, unpleasant children, immediately after the vows. Then, when the man attempts to get out of the marriage, bad things always happen.)
In this case, the father has arranged to get a divorce. He's written a new will, disinheriting the shrewish wife, but the son fears that the wife will destroy the will, attempting to leave in force an earlier will that gave most everything to her. (A curious reader wonders why, having decided to divorce and disinherit the wife, the guy would leave the new will with her rather than, say, leaving it safely with his son or his lawyer. But in that event, of course, there would be no case, and Perry would be left to sit in his office playing Tetris or whatever.)
Perry agrees to get on the job but, of course, within a few pages it turns out that this will be much more than a simple contest over a will. Before you know it, Perry has a client charged with murder and the most critical witness turns out to be a Parrot. As always in these books, there are a lot of surprising twists and turns and Perry has to skate along the thin edge of the law. (One of the things that's most fun about these earlier books is that legal ethics were much less strict.)
All in all, it's a fun read that will appeal to fans of the series and to other readers who occasionally enjoy a trip down memory lane to the earlier days of crime fiction.
In this case, the father has arranged to get a divorce. He's written a new will, disinheriting the shrewish wife, but the son fears that the wife will destroy the will, attempting to leave in force an earlier will that gave most everything to her. (A curious reader wonders why, having decided to divorce and disinherit the wife, the guy would leave the new will with her rather than, say, leaving it safely with his son or his lawyer. But in that event, of course, there would be no case, and Perry would be left to sit in his office playing Tetris or whatever.)
Perry agrees to get on the job but, of course, within a few pages it turns out that this will be much more than a simple contest over a will. Before you know it, Perry has a client charged with murder and the most critical witness turns out to be a Parrot. As always in these books, there are a lot of surprising twists and turns and Perry has to skate along the thin edge of the law. (One of the things that's most fun about these earlier books is that legal ethics were much less strict.)
All in all, it's a fun read that will appeal to fans of the series and to other readers who occasionally enjoy a trip down memory lane to the earlier days of crime fiction.
July 20, 2025
Many of you are familiar with Perry Mason, the Los Angeles attorney, best known for his ability to find the true miscreant when the police and the district attorney are willing to settle for the most convenient suspect.
This early mystery is a bit different from those with which you may be familiar.
It doesn’t take place in Los Angeles
It doesn’t involve Inspector Tragg of homocide, and
Hamilton Burger is not the D.A. trying to have his victory over Mason in court.
In the early books, Sergeant Holcomb was a Mason tormentor and was always going on about how Mason used underhanded tactics to best the police.
Here the County Sheriff isn’t buying what Holcomb is selling:
“Sergeant Holcomb flushed, stepped forward, and started to say something, but Sheriff Barnes interposed what was apparently an unintentional shoulder. “Now listen, boys,” he said, “there’s nothing to argue about. I’m the sheriff of this county. This thing is just a little bit high-powered for me. I ain’t got the facilities to make an investigation on this the way I’d like to, and I asked the city police to loan me a man who could help out with fingerprint work, and give me some suggestions. As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to be glad of any assistance I can get, and I don’t care who gives it. I’ve read about some of Mason’s cases in the newspapers. To my mind, when a lawyer proves his client innocent of crime by showing that someone else is guilty, he’s done society a darn good turn, and the police have no kick coming.””
When this story begins Mason isn’t expecting to be defending anyone. He is explaining to his secretary, Della Street, about the challenges of his profession: Mason slammed the file shut and said, “You know, Della, I wish people would learn to differentiate between the reputable lawyer who represents persons accused of crime, and the criminal lawyer who becomes a silent partner in the profits of crime.”
“Just how would you explain the difference?” she asked.
Mason said, “Crime is personal. Evidence of crime is impersonal. I never take a case unless I’m convinced my client was incapable of committing the crime charged. Once I’ve reached that conclusion, I figure there must be some discrepancy between the evidence and the conclusions the police have drawn from that evidence. I set out to find them.”
She laughed. “You sound as though you were more of a detective than a lawyer.”
“No,” Mason said, “they are two different professions. A detective gathers evidence. He becomes skilled in knowing what to look for, where to find it, and how to get it. A lawyer interprets the evidence after it’s been collected. He gradually learns …” He was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone at Della’s desk.
That call involves him on behalf of one of the beneficiaries after the murder of his father raises some questions about who should be considered a beneficiary and did the father die before making a will.
What we get is a bombastic case with a host of characters, bombastic events, and plenty of vituperative language. It isn’t the only case, but it may be the first Mason case that involves a coroner’s jury.
3.5* rounded up to 4 because the interplay of the characters was highly entertaining.
This early mystery is a bit different from those with which you may be familiar.
It doesn’t take place in Los Angeles
It doesn’t involve Inspector Tragg of homocide, and
Hamilton Burger is not the D.A. trying to have his victory over Mason in court.
In the early books, Sergeant Holcomb was a Mason tormentor and was always going on about how Mason used underhanded tactics to best the police.
Here the County Sheriff isn’t buying what Holcomb is selling:
“Sergeant Holcomb flushed, stepped forward, and started to say something, but Sheriff Barnes interposed what was apparently an unintentional shoulder. “Now listen, boys,” he said, “there’s nothing to argue about. I’m the sheriff of this county. This thing is just a little bit high-powered for me. I ain’t got the facilities to make an investigation on this the way I’d like to, and I asked the city police to loan me a man who could help out with fingerprint work, and give me some suggestions. As far as I’m concerned, I’m going to be glad of any assistance I can get, and I don’t care who gives it. I’ve read about some of Mason’s cases in the newspapers. To my mind, when a lawyer proves his client innocent of crime by showing that someone else is guilty, he’s done society a darn good turn, and the police have no kick coming.””
When this story begins Mason isn’t expecting to be defending anyone. He is explaining to his secretary, Della Street, about the challenges of his profession: Mason slammed the file shut and said, “You know, Della, I wish people would learn to differentiate between the reputable lawyer who represents persons accused of crime, and the criminal lawyer who becomes a silent partner in the profits of crime.”
“Just how would you explain the difference?” she asked.
Mason said, “Crime is personal. Evidence of crime is impersonal. I never take a case unless I’m convinced my client was incapable of committing the crime charged. Once I’ve reached that conclusion, I figure there must be some discrepancy between the evidence and the conclusions the police have drawn from that evidence. I set out to find them.”
She laughed. “You sound as though you were more of a detective than a lawyer.”
“No,” Mason said, “they are two different professions. A detective gathers evidence. He becomes skilled in knowing what to look for, where to find it, and how to get it. A lawyer interprets the evidence after it’s been collected. He gradually learns …” He was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone at Della’s desk.
That call involves him on behalf of one of the beneficiaries after the murder of his father raises some questions about who should be considered a beneficiary and did the father die before making a will.
What we get is a bombastic case with a host of characters, bombastic events, and plenty of vituperative language. It isn’t the only case, but it may be the first Mason case that involves a coroner’s jury.
3.5* rounded up to 4 because the interplay of the characters was highly entertaining.
May 18, 2017
Ever since I watched every original Perry mason TV episode except, The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe, I have wanted to read the books. When i found that some of them were available via Kindle Unlimited I was thrilled and dove right in.
Truth be told this isn't a 5 * story, but I was so happy to read it I was a 5 * story to me.
Perry Mason in the books is a bit more jocular and less serious than in the show. Della Street is much less formed and a bit of a watering pot. The plot of this story is really fascinating. A man is dead in a cabin, his son is worried that the wife will try to take control of the estate. People were made aware of his death by the squawking of the parrot. But the son insists that it isn't the correct parrot. As the story evolves it appears that the deceased man had not one but 2 wives both named Helen. The story is egged on by bumbling detectives and DAs who are certain they have the murderer and the motive.
Truth be told this isn't a 5 * story, but I was so happy to read it I was a 5 * story to me.
Perry Mason in the books is a bit more jocular and less serious than in the show. Della Street is much less formed and a bit of a watering pot. The plot of this story is really fascinating. A man is dead in a cabin, his son is worried that the wife will try to take control of the estate. People were made aware of his death by the squawking of the parrot. But the son insists that it isn't the correct parrot. As the story evolves it appears that the deceased man had not one but 2 wives both named Helen. The story is egged on by bumbling detectives and DAs who are certain they have the murderer and the motive.
December 13, 2022
The Case of the Perjured Parrot by Erle Stanley Gardner is the 14th book in the Perry Mason Mystery series. Perry Mason investigates the murder of a man whose parrot may have witnessed the murder. A typical Perry Mason with lots of red herrings and misdirection. I love the special relationship that Perry shares with Della Street. It is always fun to revisit this series and I am enjoying it more reading the books in the order they were written.
November 16, 2023
ENGLISH: Interesting case solved by Perry Mason in his typical surprising way. I wonder why the novels starring Perry Mason I have read that I've liked most always have an animal in their title. In this case a parrot, in two other cases a cat or a kitten.
ESPAÑOL: Interesante caso resuelto por Perry Mason con su típico estilo sorprendente. Me pregunto por qué de las novelas protagonizadas por Perry Mason que he leído, las que más me han gustado siempre tienen un animal en el título. En este caso un loro, en otros dos casos un gato o un gatito.
ESPAÑOL: Interesante caso resuelto por Perry Mason con su típico estilo sorprendente. Me pregunto por qué de las novelas protagonizadas por Perry Mason que he leído, las que más me han gustado siempre tienen un animal en el título. En este caso un loro, en otros dos casos un gato o un gatito.
December 3, 2017
Interesting how reader ratings vary on this one. I am unusual in not being burdened with clear memories of the TV show, which I did indeed watch once or twice. And I lack the perspicacity of another reader or two who found the clues transparent. So this one worked pretty well for me, even though it is a considerably more complex plot that the other Perry Masons I have read so far.
There are a few departures from previous volumes. There is only a coroner's inquest rather than a court case, and thus Hamilton Burger does not appear. Sgt. Holcombe does, though, and behaves as usual. He contrasts sharply with the open-minded decency of a county sheriff and the county's coroner.
Mason is a bit more sentimental this time around, but his relationship with Della remains ambiguous, especially as they hold hands looking at the moonlight at the close of the story.
Anyway, I found this fun.
There are a few departures from previous volumes. There is only a coroner's inquest rather than a court case, and thus Hamilton Burger does not appear. Sgt. Holcombe does, though, and behaves as usual. He contrasts sharply with the open-minded decency of a county sheriff and the county's coroner.
Mason is a bit more sentimental this time around, but his relationship with Della remains ambiguous, especially as they hold hands looking at the moonlight at the close of the story.
Anyway, I found this fun.
March 18, 2017
A fight ensues between between the son and the widow of Fremont Sabin after his death. The heart of the question is did he divorce her before his death? Sabin's will has been destroyed leaving Perry Mason in a difficult situation.
August 7, 2021
I enjoyed The Case of the Lame Canary so much that another Perry Mason mystery with a bird as a major character was just irresistible. While it was fun, it’s not a good as the other one. Oh, there are red herrings, and fish of other kinds, enough and murderous motives galore to keep it interesting. Murder in a remote cabin, with only a parrot to witness it, tapped phone lines, rotten fish, rotten marriages, unbreakable alibies, strange behavior, and obnoxious officials. The ending was a little farfetched, okay wildly farfetched, but I suppose it really was the only way to have any sort of slightly morally correct happy ending.
Unfortunately, it was really easy to solve, for me anyway. I like to be fooled a little more than this one managed. The other detraction was the patently absurd behavior of 90% of the people in this story. I’m sorry to say that even Perry acts strange at points.
So it was fun, but not great.
There were quite a few ‘mild’ curse words and some profanity. It would be comparable to some of Christie’s later works that way.
Unfortunately, it was really easy to solve, for me anyway. I like to be fooled a little more than this one managed. The other detraction was the patently absurd behavior of 90% of the people in this story. I’m sorry to say that even Perry acts strange at points.
So it was fun, but not great.
There were quite a few ‘mild’ curse words and some profanity. It would be comparable to some of Christie’s later works that way.
December 20, 2017
A very interesting case! This is one case where it is not exactly a jury or court hearing, but one with minimum technicalities. This is where Mason clears the case at the coroner's inquest itself.
A very interesting thing is, that it has most things in double! I guess Gardner wanted to confuse the case as much as possible.
All in all, interesting read.
A very interesting thing is, that it has most things in double! I guess Gardner wanted to confuse the case as much as possible.
All in all, interesting read.
December 10, 2025
Không phải là quyển tiểu thuyết trinh thám xuất sắc nhưng đủ lôi cuốn để đọc thấy rất hài lòng. Nhịp nhanh, thoại sắc sảo, kết đẹp.
January 14, 2021
Wish I could give 3.5, but as it is I'll round down to three. Just because it wasn't as good as my previous read, which got 4.
January 26, 2018
Perry Mason ❤️ what’s not to love!
November 21, 2020
I gave this one 5 stars because, while I really enjoyed the complex plot and interesting characters, the laugh out loud moments pushed it from 4 to 5 stars for me. Perry and Della, Perry and Paul, and Perry and Holcomb had some memorable dialogue in this one!
February 18, 2022
This is the fourteenth Perry Mason novel, written in 1939. It is one of the absolute best. Indeed, in some ways IT IS THE BEST!
The earliest novels have a distinct "film noir" feel. By 1939, Gardner was transitioning into his mature period, when most of the best ones were written. The mood is different: Mason (and by implication Gardner) is no longer the angry fighter; he is more mature and reflective, with a warmer style. Later on, after the TV series became a hit, the books became more mechanical in tone, with few descriptive phrases. Yet, as always, the books show the amazing ingenious plots that no one else could quite duplicate. They are (almost) all page-turners, and this is one of the best.
To summarize the plot briefly, a wealthy somewhat eccentric older man, Fremont C. Sabin, goes into the mountains to spend a couple days at a cabin for the start of fishing season. (The mountains not too far from LA occur frequently in the Perry Mason novels from this middle period, 1939 - 1950.) He is murdered there. Eventually a woman is arrested for the crime who says they were just married a few days earlier. The woman is a lot younger than the man. No age is given but she seems to be around 35-40, he around 60.
Fremont already has a wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, whom he married a couple years earlier, a marriage he regrets. Apparently he has recently fallen in love with Helen Monteith. According to his secretary, Richard Waid, he was on the verge of divorcing Helen Watkins when he was murdered.
What's a parrot got to do with it? A parrot is found in the cabin with the murdered man. Eventually another identical-looking parrot shows up. One of them keeps repeating, "Helen you've shot me!" Problem is, there are two Helens! What is going on?
Gardner was a genius at devising plots, plot twists, and surprise endings. In the TV series, usually the real guilty party breaks down on the witness stand, less often in the novels. Almost all of Gardner's stories are fair -- the facts are there and the reader has a chance to figure out who did it (though some of them are tough for the modern reader who has to recall a world with no cell phones and different social mores). But this one rises to a high level indeed. No mystery novel I've ever read has a more satisfying and more surprising conclusion. None of Perry Mason's clients was ever more sympathetic than this one. A true masterpiece.
Many people reading this will not be familiar with the now old-fashioned kind of alarm clock that figures in this story. They were strictly mechanical. They worked by winding them up, which tightened a spring that slowly unwound and drove the clock for 24-36 hours. Similarly, the alarm part was powered by a spring that slowly unwound, once the alarm was set off. The alarm would ring for a couple minutes, then come to a slow stop. Of course, ordinarily the person would wake up and switch the ringer off long before that.
There is no formal trial, but there is a coroner's inquest that is just as good. No Hamilton Burger, no Tragg. Excellent use of the pretentious and officious Sgt. Holcomb.
The book is notable for the speeches Gardner makes through Mason and Sabin, his mouthpieces. He puts forward his philosophy of character over money, and makes veiled references to the depression and the previous presidential election.
Characters:
Fremont C. Sabin, wealthy older man who values character over money.
Richard Waid, secretary to Fremont C. Sabin.
Charles Sabin, grown son of Fremont by a much earlier marriage.
Helen Watkins Sabin, relatively recent wife of Fremont C. Sabin.
Steven Watkins, son of Helen Watkins by a previous marriage.
Arthur Sabin, somewhat mysterious but influential brother of Fremont.
Helen Monteith, librarian who finally finds the love of her life.
Sheriff Barnes, honest and competent sheriff.
Raymond Sprague, district attorney of the county where the murder takes place.
Sgt. Holcomb, familiar foil to Perry Mason in the first fifteen or so Perry Mason novels.
Mrs. Winters, busybody neighbor of Helen Monteith.
Randolph Bolding, handwriting expert.
"George Wallman", an alias (?) of Fremont C. Sabin.
Recurring themes: A similar alarm clock appears in The Case of the Buried Clock. Good discussion of the interpretation of circumstantial evidence. Sheriff Barnes represents the down-home common sense honest character that Gardner so obviously admires.
My highest recommendation!
The earliest novels have a distinct "film noir" feel. By 1939, Gardner was transitioning into his mature period, when most of the best ones were written. The mood is different: Mason (and by implication Gardner) is no longer the angry fighter; he is more mature and reflective, with a warmer style. Later on, after the TV series became a hit, the books became more mechanical in tone, with few descriptive phrases. Yet, as always, the books show the amazing ingenious plots that no one else could quite duplicate. They are (almost) all page-turners, and this is one of the best.
To summarize the plot briefly, a wealthy somewhat eccentric older man, Fremont C. Sabin, goes into the mountains to spend a couple days at a cabin for the start of fishing season. (The mountains not too far from LA occur frequently in the Perry Mason novels from this middle period, 1939 - 1950.) He is murdered there. Eventually a woman is arrested for the crime who says they were just married a few days earlier. The woman is a lot younger than the man. No age is given but she seems to be around 35-40, he around 60.
Fremont already has a wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, whom he married a couple years earlier, a marriage he regrets. Apparently he has recently fallen in love with Helen Monteith. According to his secretary, Richard Waid, he was on the verge of divorcing Helen Watkins when he was murdered.
What's a parrot got to do with it? A parrot is found in the cabin with the murdered man. Eventually another identical-looking parrot shows up. One of them keeps repeating, "Helen you've shot me!" Problem is, there are two Helens! What is going on?
Gardner was a genius at devising plots, plot twists, and surprise endings. In the TV series, usually the real guilty party breaks down on the witness stand, less often in the novels. Almost all of Gardner's stories are fair -- the facts are there and the reader has a chance to figure out who did it (though some of them are tough for the modern reader who has to recall a world with no cell phones and different social mores). But this one rises to a high level indeed. No mystery novel I've ever read has a more satisfying and more surprising conclusion. None of Perry Mason's clients was ever more sympathetic than this one. A true masterpiece.
Many people reading this will not be familiar with the now old-fashioned kind of alarm clock that figures in this story. They were strictly mechanical. They worked by winding them up, which tightened a spring that slowly unwound and drove the clock for 24-36 hours. Similarly, the alarm part was powered by a spring that slowly unwound, once the alarm was set off. The alarm would ring for a couple minutes, then come to a slow stop. Of course, ordinarily the person would wake up and switch the ringer off long before that.
There is no formal trial, but there is a coroner's inquest that is just as good. No Hamilton Burger, no Tragg. Excellent use of the pretentious and officious Sgt. Holcomb.
The book is notable for the speeches Gardner makes through Mason and Sabin, his mouthpieces. He puts forward his philosophy of character over money, and makes veiled references to the depression and the previous presidential election.
Characters:
Fremont C. Sabin, wealthy older man who values character over money.
Richard Waid, secretary to Fremont C. Sabin.
Charles Sabin, grown son of Fremont by a much earlier marriage.
Helen Watkins Sabin, relatively recent wife of Fremont C. Sabin.
Steven Watkins, son of Helen Watkins by a previous marriage.
Arthur Sabin, somewhat mysterious but influential brother of Fremont.
Helen Monteith, librarian who finally finds the love of her life.
Sheriff Barnes, honest and competent sheriff.
Raymond Sprague, district attorney of the county where the murder takes place.
Sgt. Holcomb, familiar foil to Perry Mason in the first fifteen or so Perry Mason novels.
Mrs. Winters, busybody neighbor of Helen Monteith.
Randolph Bolding, handwriting expert.
"George Wallman", an alias (?) of Fremont C. Sabin.
Recurring themes: A similar alarm clock appears in The Case of the Buried Clock. Good discussion of the interpretation of circumstantial evidence. Sheriff Barnes represents the down-home common sense honest character that Gardner so obviously admires.
My highest recommendation!
May 13, 2019
My first Perry Mason book, and it was not bad at all, although I wasn't expecting anything bad in the first place. Being a big fan of mysteries of all kinds, this is yet another branch into the world of the genre. Of course, with over eighty books in the series, I don't expect to finish it any time soon.
The plot follows Perry Mason, the now well-known fictional defense attorney, Della Street, his assistant and girl Friday, and Paul Drake, his trusty detective sidekick. The case: the murder of Fremont C. Sabin, a millionaire found dead in his remote fishing cabin with his parrot, Casanova, squawking profane phrases. Soon enough, we learn that he was getting divorced from his wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, was apparently in a bigamous marriage with a young librarian, Helen Monteith, and suspicious that one of his family members was forging checks. Soon enough, Helen Monteith is arrested on suspicion, since Casanova is saying "Put down that gun, Helen... Don't shoot... My God, you've shot me!" along with other evidence seeming to go against her. Mason takes the case, of course revealing what really happened in the end.
Having not read a Mason story before, I was surprised that the court scene (or inquest, in this case) only happened about 7/9 through the book. Only about 20 pages takes place in a courtroom, and the bulk of the story is Mason questioning witnesses, conferring with suspects, and figuring evidence.
Another thing which surprised me was the intricate and advanced vocabulary used in the book. For instance, the word "uncordial" is used in the first paragraph, to describe Perry Mason's eyes. After that, many words such as "avaricious", or "eccentric" are used, to name only a couple. Being a lawyer, Erle Stanley Gardner's immense vocab does not surprise me; its use in a pulp fiction book does, however.
The characters of The Case of the Perjured Parrot are also interesting for such a short book. The victim, Fremont C. Sabin, appears to be a bigamous, rich, eccentric man who was interested in another woman as soon as his divorce process started by meeting a librarian while observing people as "Goerge Wallman", believed money was not the point of life, and didn't even leave anything to Helen Monteith in his will. Of course, this gets cleared up in the end. Monteith herself is a good example of the damsels-in-distress who appear in Gardner's books so often. At first she is defensive when it comes to questioning by Mason, but she soon shows another side as she escaped Della in a hotel after telling her marriage sob story in order to seemingly kill Casanova (who was replaced/stolen by Mason). She then becomes a shy, scared, and conserved defendant, who only wants to be happy after losing her beloved husband. Other characters include Richard Waid, Fremont's secretary who is loyal to his master, Steve Watkins, Helen Watkins Sabin's suspicious son who is embarrassed by his mother, Helen Watkins Sabin herself, who is anxious and mad to prevent Mason from discovering about the divorce, which wouldn't even incriminate her, and Raymond Sprague, the angry, determined, and off-the-rails prosecutor.
(Spoilers ahead)
Finally, the ending to The Case of the Perjured Parrot, although a classic happy ending, still resonates in the heart. After learning that Helen Monteith is not guilty and that the true murderer was Richard Waid, who killed Fremont because he knew Waid was the forger, and who carefully manipulated the crime scene to make it look like Sabin was killed the day after he really was, we are still left with one last mystery: why did Fremont C. Sabin leave nothing to Monteith? Perry Mason thinks he knows, and in the last chapter, we come to the hotel where Helen and "George Wallman" stayed last. It is there we learn that George Wallman is still alive, and his true identity is in fact Fremont's brother Arthur, who first thought of the strange philosophies Fremont held, and who looks exactly like Fremont. Everyone gets what they deserve in the end: Waid an arrest, Helen Watkins Sabin no satisfaction, and Helen Monteith her dear husband.
Overall, The Case of the Perjured Parrot is an entertaining book in the Perry Mason series, and though it has many tropes and convoluted solved mysteries (i.e. the switching between the two, I mean three parrots), it still holds water as a recognizable edition in a recognizable series.
The plot follows Perry Mason, the now well-known fictional defense attorney, Della Street, his assistant and girl Friday, and Paul Drake, his trusty detective sidekick. The case: the murder of Fremont C. Sabin, a millionaire found dead in his remote fishing cabin with his parrot, Casanova, squawking profane phrases. Soon enough, we learn that he was getting divorced from his wife, Helen Watkins Sabin, was apparently in a bigamous marriage with a young librarian, Helen Monteith, and suspicious that one of his family members was forging checks. Soon enough, Helen Monteith is arrested on suspicion, since Casanova is saying "Put down that gun, Helen... Don't shoot... My God, you've shot me!" along with other evidence seeming to go against her. Mason takes the case, of course revealing what really happened in the end.
Having not read a Mason story before, I was surprised that the court scene (or inquest, in this case) only happened about 7/9 through the book. Only about 20 pages takes place in a courtroom, and the bulk of the story is Mason questioning witnesses, conferring with suspects, and figuring evidence.
Another thing which surprised me was the intricate and advanced vocabulary used in the book. For instance, the word "uncordial" is used in the first paragraph, to describe Perry Mason's eyes. After that, many words such as "avaricious", or "eccentric" are used, to name only a couple. Being a lawyer, Erle Stanley Gardner's immense vocab does not surprise me; its use in a pulp fiction book does, however.
The characters of The Case of the Perjured Parrot are also interesting for such a short book. The victim, Fremont C. Sabin, appears to be a bigamous, rich, eccentric man who was interested in another woman as soon as his divorce process started by meeting a librarian while observing people as "Goerge Wallman", believed money was not the point of life, and didn't even leave anything to Helen Monteith in his will. Of course, this gets cleared up in the end. Monteith herself is a good example of the damsels-in-distress who appear in Gardner's books so often. At first she is defensive when it comes to questioning by Mason, but she soon shows another side as she escaped Della in a hotel after telling her marriage sob story in order to seemingly kill Casanova (who was replaced/stolen by Mason). She then becomes a shy, scared, and conserved defendant, who only wants to be happy after losing her beloved husband. Other characters include Richard Waid, Fremont's secretary who is loyal to his master, Steve Watkins, Helen Watkins Sabin's suspicious son who is embarrassed by his mother, Helen Watkins Sabin herself, who is anxious and mad to prevent Mason from discovering about the divorce, which wouldn't even incriminate her, and Raymond Sprague, the angry, determined, and off-the-rails prosecutor.
(Spoilers ahead)
Finally, the ending to The Case of the Perjured Parrot, although a classic happy ending, still resonates in the heart. After learning that Helen Monteith is not guilty and that the true murderer was Richard Waid, who killed Fremont because he knew Waid was the forger, and who carefully manipulated the crime scene to make it look like Sabin was killed the day after he really was, we are still left with one last mystery: why did Fremont C. Sabin leave nothing to Monteith? Perry Mason thinks he knows, and in the last chapter, we come to the hotel where Helen and "George Wallman" stayed last. It is there we learn that George Wallman is still alive, and his true identity is in fact Fremont's brother Arthur, who first thought of the strange philosophies Fremont held, and who looks exactly like Fremont. Everyone gets what they deserve in the end: Waid an arrest, Helen Watkins Sabin no satisfaction, and Helen Monteith her dear husband.
Overall, The Case of the Perjured Parrot is an entertaining book in the Perry Mason series, and though it has many tropes and convoluted solved mysteries (i.e. the switching between the two, I mean three parrots), it still holds water as a recognizable edition in a recognizable series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2021
Another excellent and well done mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner with an absolutely bonkers premise which only Perry Mason can solve. There are so many red herrings in this case, you won't have a clue what really happened until the very end. This is an excellent novel for mystery buffs.
June 22, 2023
I do love a good Perry Mason. This one felt like a solid four star to me. The plot was interesting. I became invested in the mystery of the murdered man and the swapped parrots.
I struggled a little to keep the characters straight, but the cast of characters page helped. There was some evidence introduced towards the end (no spoilers, evidence is always introduced towards the end) which I felt could have cracked the case in the first chapter, and to me it would have been easy to discover.
The mystery itself was fun and enjoyable. I especially liked the character of Helen Monteith and her descriptions of love and how she felt for her husband. Parrot? Yes please.
I love reading the language of the 30s. One of my favorite outdated phrases that is used a few times is "take a powder" (to run off or go on the lam, go into hiding).
Favorite quote: A character discusses how a young man who had been kind and wonderful got caught up with a certain type of male crowd and how it changed him.
"She said the the acid of their pseudo-realism had eaten the gold off his character and left just the base metal behind" p. 86
I also liked this line, which is interesting to look back on and definitely relevant to today:
"As I've mentioned before, when people get fixed beliefs they interpret everything in the light of those beliefs. Take politics for instance. We can look back at past events, and the deadly significance of those events seems so plain that we don't see how people could have possibly overlooked them. Yet millions of voters, at the time, saw those facts and warped their significance so that they supported erroneous political beliefs.
The same is true of what is happening at present. A few years from now we'll look back in wonder that people failed to see the deadly significance of signs on the political horizon. Twenty years from now even the most stupid high school student can appreciate the importance of those signs and the results that have inevitably followed. But right now we have some twenty-five million who think another. And both sides believe they're correctly interpreting the facts." --- Perry Mason P. 122---123
1939 this was published. 1939 spitting facts in multiple ways.
The story is fun, it's a great mystery and courtroom drama, and I'd read it again.
4 stars.
I struggled a little to keep the characters straight, but the cast of characters page helped. There was some evidence introduced towards the end (no spoilers, evidence is always introduced towards the end) which I felt could have cracked the case in the first chapter, and to me it would have been easy to discover.
The mystery itself was fun and enjoyable. I especially liked the character of Helen Monteith and her descriptions of love and how she felt for her husband. Parrot? Yes please.
I love reading the language of the 30s. One of my favorite outdated phrases that is used a few times is "take a powder" (to run off or go on the lam, go into hiding).
Favorite quote: A character discusses how a young man who had been kind and wonderful got caught up with a certain type of male crowd and how it changed him.
"She said the the acid of their pseudo-realism had eaten the gold off his character and left just the base metal behind" p. 86
I also liked this line, which is interesting to look back on and definitely relevant to today:
"As I've mentioned before, when people get fixed beliefs they interpret everything in the light of those beliefs. Take politics for instance. We can look back at past events, and the deadly significance of those events seems so plain that we don't see how people could have possibly overlooked them. Yet millions of voters, at the time, saw those facts and warped their significance so that they supported erroneous political beliefs.
The same is true of what is happening at present. A few years from now we'll look back in wonder that people failed to see the deadly significance of signs on the political horizon. Twenty years from now even the most stupid high school student can appreciate the importance of those signs and the results that have inevitably followed. But right now we have some twenty-five million who think another. And both sides believe they're correctly interpreting the facts." --- Perry Mason P. 122---123
1939 this was published. 1939 spitting facts in multiple ways.
The story is fun, it's a great mystery and courtroom drama, and I'd read it again.
4 stars.
July 30, 2013
Prolific Erle Stanley Gardner wrote this in 1939, so Perry Mason, smooth suave cool collected handsome long-legged lawyer would smoke. Emotional lovely secretary Della Street would be compliant with steak dinners, dancing, and hiding out suspects in her apartment. Resourceful PI Paul Drake would have eyes, ears, Yankee guns, and strong arms everywhere. The series has stock cast, revolves around suspect, details of crime. Like real Gardner, fictional Perry demands the trickiest challenges, mostly murder, preferably pretty clients.
I wanted to know if a childhood experience could stand a reread. Yes, when in the mood for a comfortable puzzle, more human than Sudoku or crosswords. Gardner is compact and readable in large print, with a unique talent for colorful titles, perhaps attributable to newspaper audiences, like Charles Dickens. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Ma...)
Either I read this before, clues were predictable, or both. The phone call had to be a false alibi, the parrot trained by repetition, and the lookalike brother somewhere. But seeing through bits may not yield a single solution. Based on physical evidence, the reader can interpret along with smart Perry in favor of the naive bumbling client, or careless antagonistic opponents.
(Personal aside: I grew up in the age of formulaic intellectual challenge, such as Nancy Drew, my brother's Hardy Boys, and recuperated from pneumonia beside adult Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner, also published in Star city newspaper. Early TV was loud, bombastic, and slapstick, actor Burgess plump, ponderous, and hectoring, but Perry Mason one of few parent-permissible shows. So mysteries are sometimes a reassuring familiar security blanket.)
I wanted to know if a childhood experience could stand a reread. Yes, when in the mood for a comfortable puzzle, more human than Sudoku or crosswords. Gardner is compact and readable in large print, with a unique talent for colorful titles, perhaps attributable to newspaper audiences, like Charles Dickens. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Ma...)
Either I read this before, clues were predictable, or both. The phone call had to be a false alibi, the parrot trained by repetition, and the lookalike brother somewhere. But seeing through bits may not yield a single solution. Based on physical evidence, the reader can interpret along with smart Perry in favor of the naive bumbling client, or careless antagonistic opponents.
(Personal aside: I grew up in the age of formulaic intellectual challenge, such as Nancy Drew, my brother's Hardy Boys, and recuperated from pneumonia beside adult Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner, also published in Star city newspaper. Early TV was loud, bombastic, and slapstick, actor Burgess plump, ponderous, and hectoring, but Perry Mason one of few parent-permissible shows. So mysteries are sometimes a reassuring familiar security blanket.)
February 18, 2016
"Remember this, that most of the wire-tapping these days is done by the police". "Why the police?" Mason asked.
"Oh, I don't know. Of course they figure that laws don't apply to them. You'd be surprised to know how extensively they do tap telephone lines and listen in on conversations. It's almost a matter of investigative routine". - 1939
Erle Stanley Gardner knows people and the result is that his characters, though they would be over a hundred years old today (2015) are types we know and may in fact be. Even his observations about politics and society are universal enough to be relevant today. Living in the era of NSA ubiquitous surveillance, as exposed by Edward Snowden and others, the preceding dialog between the private detective Paul Drake and Mason made me realize how far back the underlying attitude goes,
Perry Mason is an American Hero. The novles hold up so well because of the lead character. In Mason we are presented with a fighter, a guy who whose faith in the system does not rest on a notion that only the guilty are convicted but rather that the American judicial system provides a framework in which a tough, knowledgable fighter has a forum in which he or she can prevail. This novel, published in 1939, is based on human emotions. One of the cool things about a mystery is that the motives for murder: jealousy, greed, revenge, and a very few others besides lunacy are elements of the human condition.
"Oh, I don't know. Of course they figure that laws don't apply to them. You'd be surprised to know how extensively they do tap telephone lines and listen in on conversations. It's almost a matter of investigative routine". - 1939
Erle Stanley Gardner knows people and the result is that his characters, though they would be over a hundred years old today (2015) are types we know and may in fact be. Even his observations about politics and society are universal enough to be relevant today. Living in the era of NSA ubiquitous surveillance, as exposed by Edward Snowden and others, the preceding dialog between the private detective Paul Drake and Mason made me realize how far back the underlying attitude goes,
Perry Mason is an American Hero. The novles hold up so well because of the lead character. In Mason we are presented with a fighter, a guy who whose faith in the system does not rest on a notion that only the guilty are convicted but rather that the American judicial system provides a framework in which a tough, knowledgable fighter has a forum in which he or she can prevail. This novel, published in 1939, is based on human emotions. One of the cool things about a mystery is that the motives for murder: jealousy, greed, revenge, and a very few others besides lunacy are elements of the human condition.
April 13, 2015
Who would have thought that there could be a full length mystery with the central character being a parrot? Erle Stanley Gardener obviously did, for he has produced 'The Case of the Perjured Parrot', which does just that ... and it is a good and relatively convincing storyline throughout.
There's a marriage that doesn't appear to be all it purports to be, a family saga bubbling away, a totally unexplained murder, a somewhat naive librarian, some misguided police officers and to cap it all a parrot, or parrots, one of which seems to have seen the murder and has learned words that could point to the killer. On top of all that there is Perry Mason, his secretary Della Reece and his sidekick Paul Drake. And it is Mason and company who mastermind the defence of the person who initially is thought to have committed the crime, particularly as that person was named by the parrot!
However, unsurprisingly, everything turns out be not quite what the police officers thought and Mason is left to reconstruct the crime, after many hours of tracing various people and trekking around the countryside, and comes up with a scenario which is totally unexpected but does reveal the true culprit.
And when it is all over Perry and Della drive off into the sunset, or should that be moonlight as Perry says, 'Let's think of moonlight instead.' Indeed!
There's a marriage that doesn't appear to be all it purports to be, a family saga bubbling away, a totally unexplained murder, a somewhat naive librarian, some misguided police officers and to cap it all a parrot, or parrots, one of which seems to have seen the murder and has learned words that could point to the killer. On top of all that there is Perry Mason, his secretary Della Reece and his sidekick Paul Drake. And it is Mason and company who mastermind the defence of the person who initially is thought to have committed the crime, particularly as that person was named by the parrot!
However, unsurprisingly, everything turns out be not quite what the police officers thought and Mason is left to reconstruct the crime, after many hours of tracing various people and trekking around the countryside, and comes up with a scenario which is totally unexpected but does reveal the true culprit.
And when it is all over Perry and Della drive off into the sunset, or should that be moonlight as Perry says, 'Let's think of moonlight instead.' Indeed!
January 8, 2016
This is the first Perry Mason novel that I have read. It is impossible not to have Raymond Burr in mind while reading, but the differences between the original Mason and Burr's Mason are interesting. The attorney on the page is more impatient, more driven, more coarse. In other words, more like a '30s potboiler and less like a '50s TV character. Who'd've thought? Not that Gardner's work is mere potboiler. Anyhow, this novel is interesting in that there is no "courtroom scene," although there is a coroner's inquest, at which point I realized that writing good courtroom scenes for a novel is far more difficult than for the screen. But Gardner does it well here (even if it's actually an inquest).
You might remember the TV episode from the testifying parrot, although in the end it is a string of other clues, not the parrot, that leads Perry to the guilty party. And, oh yeah, quite an interesting twist at the end that the TV episode also includes.
You might remember the TV episode from the testifying parrot, although in the end it is a string of other clues, not the parrot, that leads Perry to the guilty party. And, oh yeah, quite an interesting twist at the end that the TV episode also includes.
September 25, 2016
Mystery - Legal
Needing a book published in 1939 to complete a challenge, this title appeared -- Perfect!
My Mom was a big Perry Mason fan, and we watched every episode with her. As an adult, I watched the old black & white reruns, the updated versions of Perry Mason with a different, younger Paul Drake.
I was surprised the author was writing Perry Mason books (85 in all) so far back (1939). This one was very good, multi-layered, intriguing characters, a scheming, nasty woman as the rich deceased man's wife (or ARE they married?). And to top it off, a parrot who chatters one character's name, saying "Don't shoot!".
This 1939 book holds up surprisingly well, despite the few technological advances (cellphones) that are missing.
Needing a book published in 1939 to complete a challenge, this title appeared -- Perfect!
My Mom was a big Perry Mason fan, and we watched every episode with her. As an adult, I watched the old black & white reruns, the updated versions of Perry Mason with a different, younger Paul Drake.
I was surprised the author was writing Perry Mason books (85 in all) so far back (1939). This one was very good, multi-layered, intriguing characters, a scheming, nasty woman as the rich deceased man's wife (or ARE they married?). And to top it off, a parrot who chatters one character's name, saying "Don't shoot!".
This 1939 book holds up surprisingly well, despite the few technological advances (cellphones) that are missing.
August 10, 2016
Perry Mason books are a bit like a box of cookies. You start off thinking you'll just have one (cookie/chapter). But then it's goes down so easy that you decide to have just one more. Pretty soon the whole box/book is done, and you're left lying there confused and delirious from your binge.
This was a pretty interesting case, with a parrot that kept naming the murderer. I can't really go into more detail without spoilers.
There was one particularly interesting twist at the end I didn't see coming, but fit the facts and tied up loose ends. I think I was partially caught off guard because it happened after the case was solved.
This was a pretty interesting case, with a parrot that kept naming the murderer. I can't really go into more detail without spoilers.
There was one particularly interesting twist at the end I didn't see coming, but fit the facts and tied up loose ends. I think I was partially caught off guard because it happened after the case was solved.
September 29, 2021
This brilliant work in the genre of detective fiction stories was published about 82 years ago. I didn’t read it now, but years ago, but still, it was very old by the time that it didn’t feel at all! Well, its old age was not shown in anything, so this is a great classic of the genre!
This particular story stands out not because in the murder case, in which another client of the famous lawyer (very beloved by us, the readers) Perry Mason is accused, but because the witness is a parrot (!) аnd this parrot can even expose the true culprit.
This particular story stands out not because in the murder case, in which another client of the famous lawyer (very beloved by us, the readers) Perry Mason is accused, but because the witness is a parrot (!) аnd this parrot can even expose the true culprit.
April 3, 2024
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOIILERS
I read this book for the Spring Equinox (April 2024) Magical Read-a-thon. The prompt for the Animal Studies Class is a Book with a Yellow Title.
I love Perry Mason Detective stories so I always grab them when I can. And the fact that this story happened to have both a yellow title AND an animal (the parrot) on the cover, made it the perfect book to read. Also at 260 pages and 14 chapters it was a fast and easy read. I read this in no more than 3 hours.
Parrots have to be taught to say things so you have to repeat the same phrase over and over again before they pick it up. They do not just pickup something that is spoken once and never repeated.
There is also the matter of there being 2 parrots, or possibly 3 parrots. That part got a little confusing.
It also didn't help that the man who was killed, was quite wealthy and supposedly had 2 wives, both named Helen. Since the Parrot mentions the name Helen in the statement of who shot its owner, both women came under suspicion of murder.
Turns out that neither of the women killed anyone.
And the police got a number of details wrong pertaining to the time of death. Because of Human bias. Once you get an idea in your head of how things may have happened, you seldom deviate from that idea unless or until you find or are confronted with much stronger evidence that blows the previous idea totally out of the water.
A light hearted read and a rather enjoyable one as well.
I read this book for the Spring Equinox (April 2024) Magical Read-a-thon. The prompt for the Animal Studies Class is a Book with a Yellow Title.
I love Perry Mason Detective stories so I always grab them when I can. And the fact that this story happened to have both a yellow title AND an animal (the parrot) on the cover, made it the perfect book to read. Also at 260 pages and 14 chapters it was a fast and easy read. I read this in no more than 3 hours.
Parrots have to be taught to say things so you have to repeat the same phrase over and over again before they pick it up. They do not just pickup something that is spoken once and never repeated.
There is also the matter of there being 2 parrots, or possibly 3 parrots. That part got a little confusing.
It also didn't help that the man who was killed, was quite wealthy and supposedly had 2 wives, both named Helen. Since the Parrot mentions the name Helen in the statement of who shot its owner, both women came under suspicion of murder.
Turns out that neither of the women killed anyone.
And the police got a number of details wrong pertaining to the time of death. Because of Human bias. Once you get an idea in your head of how things may have happened, you seldom deviate from that idea unless or until you find or are confronted with much stronger evidence that blows the previous idea totally out of the water.
A light hearted read and a rather enjoyable one as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2025
A wealthy man finds love again in his older age, and his new wife seems to be wonderful and sweet before they marry, but once married her persona takes an 180 degree turn. She is awfully self absorbed, greedy and nasty. So the man tries to divorce her and write her out of his will. His son is scared this new stepmother will trash the new will and leave in place a will that will leave most everything to her.
To make matters worse the man is murdered and Perry's client is arrested and charged with the crime. Ridiculously, it seems the loudest and most important witness that draws attention to the murder is a squawking parrot. This parrot is repeating a supposed conversation that is quite bias against "Helen", the man's wife. The prosecutor wants to use the parrot's words as proof of who is the murderer. Then, they let Perry ask questions of the bird, a la a sort of cross-examination. I'm scratching my head!
The more they explore, it seems the man he has 2 wives named Helen. Also, his son swears this squawking parrot is not the correct parrot, as his father's parrot likes to repeat he is a "busy bird". So there are 2 parrots? Two wives named Helen? As usual the story continued on with lots of twists, turns, & seeming coincidences, that Perry has to make sense of to find the true culprit.
This was fun, and forced me more than usual to suspend my disbelief.
To make matters worse the man is murdered and Perry's client is arrested and charged with the crime. Ridiculously, it seems the loudest and most important witness that draws attention to the murder is a squawking parrot. This parrot is repeating a supposed conversation that is quite bias against "Helen", the man's wife. The prosecutor wants to use the parrot's words as proof of who is the murderer. Then, they let Perry ask questions of the bird, a la a sort of cross-examination. I'm scratching my head!
The more they explore, it seems the man he has 2 wives named Helen. Also, his son swears this squawking parrot is not the correct parrot, as his father's parrot likes to repeat he is a "busy bird". So there are 2 parrots? Two wives named Helen? As usual the story continued on with lots of twists, turns, & seeming coincidences, that Perry has to make sense of to find the true culprit.
This was fun, and forced me more than usual to suspend my disbelief.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 13, 2017
Having grown up in the 50's & 60's watching Perry Mason on TV, it is next to impossible to read a Perry Mason book with visualizing Raymond Burr as Perry or Barbara Hale as Della Street, his confidential secretary. Not that it is bad; I, as many of my generation, loved the TV series (and I still do). During the mid-1950s, amazingly the Perry Mason novels were selling at the rate of twenty thousand copies a day. There have also been six motion pictures based on Erle Stanley Gardner's famous lawyer.
First published in 1939, Gardner's "Case of the Perjured Parrot" is one of the earlier Perry Mason novels, #14 in the series. It is as well one of the better ones I have read. "The Case of the Perjured Parrot " is a quick, fun read and an enjoyable trip back to the early days of pulp fiction crime novels. As with the TV series, the books keep you guessing as Gardner keeps supplying the clues. This story kept you thinking right up to the conclusion, and even then the plot still was able to pull the rug on the reader right at the end. The Perry Mason series are well crafted mysteries to which many writers owe a lot today. This is an author you should add to your reading list, and I will soon pick the next one to read!
First published in 1939, Gardner's "Case of the Perjured Parrot" is one of the earlier Perry Mason novels, #14 in the series. It is as well one of the better ones I have read. "The Case of the Perjured Parrot " is a quick, fun read and an enjoyable trip back to the early days of pulp fiction crime novels. As with the TV series, the books keep you guessing as Gardner keeps supplying the clues. This story kept you thinking right up to the conclusion, and even then the plot still was able to pull the rug on the reader right at the end. The Perry Mason series are well crafted mysteries to which many writers owe a lot today. This is an author you should add to your reading list, and I will soon pick the next one to read!
May 10, 2021
As I work my way through the collection, the ones that I can get my hands on, Perry Mason continues to be an engaging read. This particular installment had all the trademarks of something big but ended too soon.
It had all the interesting features, a substituted bird, a possibly duplicitous widow, a very 'good' man taken too soon. Unlike the other capers, this time, things wrapped without any tricks by Mason.
A man walks into Mason's office and asks him to help with the case surrounding his father's death. There are many clues but nothing conclusive, and we have our duo of Perry Mason and Della set out to figure things out. The side cast of characters was entertaining, and many were lingered on. I enjoyed the narration once again; it was a highlight to feel like watching the sequence of events occur. The investigation moved in a linear pattern, with things being laid out for us as it went along. There was also an extra something thrown in towards the end to change the tone of things.
Funnily enough, given the foundation that was laid, I expected more drama than I got. It was a fun story and slightly different from the last few cases I picked up. I have already queued the next in line!
It had all the interesting features, a substituted bird, a possibly duplicitous widow, a very 'good' man taken too soon. Unlike the other capers, this time, things wrapped without any tricks by Mason.
A man walks into Mason's office and asks him to help with the case surrounding his father's death. There are many clues but nothing conclusive, and we have our duo of Perry Mason and Della set out to figure things out. The side cast of characters was entertaining, and many were lingered on. I enjoyed the narration once again; it was a highlight to feel like watching the sequence of events occur. The investigation moved in a linear pattern, with things being laid out for us as it went along. There was also an extra something thrown in towards the end to change the tone of things.
Funnily enough, given the foundation that was laid, I expected more drama than I got. It was a fun story and slightly different from the last few cases I picked up. I have already queued the next in line!
January 28, 2022
Charles Sabin hires Perry Mason to look into his father, Fremont Sabin’s murder. Fremont Sabin was a multi-millionaire recluse who spent much of his retired life alone in an isolated mountain cabin in the Grizzly Creek. Senior Sabin’s pet Parrot, Casanova accompanied him on all his trips to the pine timbered cabin. After the death of his first wife, Fremont married his housekeeper, Helen Watkins Sabin. She had a son, Steve Watkins from her previous marriage. Fremont’s body is discovered by a neighbor, Fred Waner several days after the murder. The killer had left a dish of water on the floor with ample food near the open cage for the Parrot to survive and who is the only witness to the crime. Perry Mason, a lawyer with an exceptional legal mind and devilish deductive skills solves the case.
BEST LINES IN THE BOOK ---
The privilege of struggling for achievement was the privilege of living, and to take away that right to struggle was equivalent to taking away the life itself.
WONDERFUL WHODUNIT.
BEST LINES IN THE BOOK ---
The privilege of struggling for achievement was the privilege of living, and to take away that right to struggle was equivalent to taking away the life itself.
WONDERFUL WHODUNIT.
October 23, 2020
"As I've mentioned before, when people get fixed beliefs, they interpret everything in the light of those beliefs. Take politics, for instance. We can look back at past events, and the deadly significance of those events seems so plain that we don't see how people could possibly have overlooked them. Yet millions of voters, at the time, saw those facts and warped their significance so that they supported erroneous political beliefs.
"The same is true of the things which are happening at present. A few years from now we'll look back in wonder that people failed to see the deadly significance of signs on the political horizon. Twenty years from now even the most stupid high school student can appreciate the importance of those signs and the results which must inevitably have followed. But right now we have some twenty-five million who think another. And both sides believe they're correctly interpreting the facts."
"The same is true of the things which are happening at present. A few years from now we'll look back in wonder that people failed to see the deadly significance of signs on the political horizon. Twenty years from now even the most stupid high school student can appreciate the importance of those signs and the results which must inevitably have followed. But right now we have some twenty-five million who think another. And both sides believe they're correctly interpreting the facts."
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