The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink

Perry Mason #39

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Steak restaurant owner Marty Alburg asks California lawyer Perry Mason and secretary Della Street to hide moth-eaten mink coat left by new waitress Dixie Dayton. Dixie flees customer Fayette, later found dead, into oncoming car, then from hospital, injured. Lt Tragg, Homicide, and Sgt Jaffrey, Vice, follow gun she pawned that killed fine rookie cop Bob Claremont.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Classics, The United States Of America, Legal, Detective

358 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1952

About the author

Erle 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...

Reviews

[Kuszma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alapvetően kétfajta ügyvédkép létezik a populáris kultúrában, szerintem. Az egyik a gátlástalan mocsadék, aki sok pénzért gazdag gyermekmolesztálókat helyeztett szabadlábra, általában piszlicsáré formai hibákra hivatkozva. Az ilyen ügyvédet addig kell főzni egy pokolbéli üstben sóval, borssal, majorannával, amíg fogyasztható nem lesz. Aztán van ugye Perry Mason. (Vagy épp Pertocelli, ha emlékszünk még rá.) Akinél nem a pénz számít, hanem az igazságérzet. Ő azokra az ügyekre mozdul rá, ahol az ún. "kisember" a hatalmasok hálójába kerül, korrupt zsaruk, ügyészek, egyéb leviatánok fenekednek rá - ilyenkor Mason összeszedi a bandát, és szembeszáll rosszal. Mason hangsúlyosan nem a rendszer része - technikailag olyan magánnyomozó, akinek jogi végzettsége van, ami alkalmat ad az írónak arra, hogy ne csak a detektívmunka leírásából táplálkozzon a szöveg, hanem bele lehessen építeni a tárgyalótermi drámák feszültségét is. Mert a tárgyalótermi dráma nagyszerű dolog, ha jó író keze alá kerül: lehetőséget ad arra, hogy feszes dialógusokra csupaszítson le egy intellektuális összecsapást igazság és hamisság, egyén és hatalom között.

E. S. Gardner rutinosan kezeli ezt a szituációt, összességében tehát kifejezetten szórakoztató, szépen felépített és profi krimit alkot. A tárgyalótermek hangulata jól áll neki, ugyanakkor megőrzi a noirok értékeit - van benne elhivatott Grál-lovag, társadalmi igazságtalanság, korrupció-mocsár, amit akarunk. És hát ott van a noir jellegzetesen baloldali alapvetése - hogy a nagyokkal szemben a kicsik pártját kell fogni, ez az alap. Egy olyan világban, ahol milliárdosokat emelnek a hatalomba a csóró szavazók, mert valamiért azt hiszik, ők a nép barátai, ez nem elvetendő üzenet.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Perry Mason books even though they take on the same formula more or less.

Its still an intriguing read and I am still impressed every time that Perry gets to court and the show begins.

These books are an indulgent dip into the past alongside a fascinating mystery - always entertaining and awesome.

I will continue to make my way through these books with relish.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most attorneys sit in their offices and wait for business to come to them. That’s not the case with Perry Mason who runs into folks needing legal assistance wherever he goes. In the “Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink,” Mason sort of stumbles into a case while out to dinner with confidential secretary Della Street, who seems to have no life except with Mason.

In the middle of dinner rush, a waitress disappears out the back alley in the middle of dinner rush, only to have a man with a gun attempt to kidnap her and be hit by another car. She left behind in the restaurant closet a moth-eaten mink, thus the title of the book. When Mason fears Dixie Dayton might be snuffed out, he arranges through Lieutenant Tragg to have Dixie moved to a private hospital from which she again disappears.

Dixie leaves behind two claim checks for a Seattle pawn shop, one for a ring and one sewn into the mink for a gun that turns out to have been used to execute a Los Angeles Police Officer. Mason still has no client, but things are starting to look connected to crimes and that’s his department.

Still not sure who is representing, Mason allows himself to be lured to a hotel room where he is to allegedly meet the restaurant owner, Morris Alburg, but instead finds secret messages scrawled in lipstick and is puzzling it out when Lieutenant Tragg and the whole murder squad show up and want to know his connection to another room in the hotel containing a fresh corpse.

The courtroom scenes start quite late in this one and the whole plot is quite convoluted even for a Perry Mason mystery.

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rock Solid Mystery

Many Perry Mason fans rate this book as the best Mason mystery. I won't go that far but the characters are the most memorable I've encountered while reading this series over the past many years. The plot is very intricate and logical once Perry allows we the reader in on it. First rate mystery that kept me guessing until the very end.

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best Perry Mason novels I've read, and also one of the weirdest. Most of it takes place outside of the courtroom, and it has a real hard boiled, almost "film noire" style to it. The ending is particularly dark with a grim and surprising side to Lt. Tragg that took me aback and left me wondering WTH?? Mason, Della Street, and Paul Drake are their usual selves, but the whole story is like they've been dropped into a gangster movie. I was riveted and couldn't put it down until I'd finished it, but this one was weird...and dark...very dark. If you're a fan of the Perry Mason novels, check out this atypical entry in the series. It's a trip.

[Milt Jacobs · Rating 1 out of 5]

First time I have ever read this author. I finished it in one day it was so good. Perry Mason, just like on TV.

[Richa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting case. Completely surprising end. I didn't see this coming. But, Tragg is the hero of this case. Mason is more of a slueth than a lawyer here. Very thoughtful and shrewd. Very unlike his usual dashing, dare devil, running around self! He is extremely cautious and serious, almost like he anticipates that this is no usual, black and white case, but is more grey.

As I read more and more Perry Masons, I find myself liking Tragg more than Mason or Della or Drake. He is really someone who is sane and fair. A good cop all the way.

[Stven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a bit grimmer than the usual Perry Mason story. Lieutenant Tragg usually comes in and lightens the mood, but this time he's all about the murder of a cop and he's not cheery. Interestingly (to me) I had just watched the adaptation of this story from late in the run of the original TV series. Instead of Tragg we have Lt. Steve Anderson glowering through the motions. Perry keeps saying, "Steve, this isn't like you!" Which, it isn't. It wasn't like Tragg, either. A bunch of other details are changed for TV. Perry's client is an art dealer rather than a restaurant owner. Paul Drake somehow winds up undercover as a truck driver. Etc.

The book, though, mood excepted, has plenty of the typical stuff that makes ESG so much fun to read. All-night witness and evidence chases. Skating on thin ice in the courtroom. Etc.

P.S. Checking in imdb, I learned that The Moth-Eaten Mink was actually made twice for the TV series. In 1966 (the episode I saw last week) it was "The Case of the Sausalito Sunset based on Erle Stanley Gardner's The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink." But their first "Moth-Eaten Mink" was the actual pilot for the TV series, and it was broadcast as episode 13 of the first season, 1957.

[Bryan Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story starts right off , as Perry Mason ad Della Street enter Morris Alburg's restaurant for a nice relaxing dinner after the successful completion of a tough case. Here they find a mystery , as a waitress , who owns a moth - eaten mink, has just ran out of the restaurant in a blind panic !! Why did the waitress run off ?? Who was she running from ?? And ,how does a moth - eaten mink figure in to all of this ?? Thus begins one of Perry Mason's toughest cases . Mason uses his wits to solve " The Case Of The Moth - Eaten Mink !!

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It all begins with a favor, when Perry Mason and his secretary Della Street are asked to hide an old mink coat. As usual, Perry is headed into a murder, mystery and it is up to readers to figure out who dunnit before Perry. Love the Perry Mason stories.

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel was turned into one of the best-loved TV episodes of Perry Mason, and the adaptation is probably better than the novel. Practically the whole novel centers around what happens for a few minutes prior to a murder in a third-rate hotel. Mason was there and ends up being called by the prosecutor as a witness for the state. There are a few issues hovering in the background, and although they affect the turnout of the plot, they are not pregnant enough throughout the book to lend much weight to the proceedings. And the title object has little to do with the plot either. Yet Mason is as entertaining as usual, and Tragg shows himself to be yet again a standup guy, despite his antagonism toward Mason. Worth reading because of the excellent TV episode, but only a so-so murder mystery.

[Ekin Açıkgöz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erle Stanley Gardner'dan bir Perry Mason macerası. Lokantada yemek yerken kaçan garson kızdan kendine macera çıkarıyor Mason. Dixie Dayton kaçarken kürkü geride bırakmış. Maceraya kendisi de dahil olunca - elbette bu macerada bir mahkeme sahnesi var - bir yandan müvekkilini savunurken bir yandan da savcılığın şahidi olduğu tuhaf bir durumda kalıyor. Bu durumdan alnının akıyla çıkarak bizi şaşırtmıyor. Elbette olay güve yenmiş kürkten daha büyük, öldürülmüş bir polise ilişkin eski bir olayın devamı. Nitekim kürk ilk iki bölümden itibaren görevini tamamladı, kitaba ismini verecek kadar mühim olamadı. Daha ötesi, otelde Dixie Dayton yerine geçen kadın kimmiş, onu öğrenemedik. Mühim değildi belki ama ben merak etmiştim.
Keyifli bir klasik. Tam yaz geceleri balkonda okumalık.

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story and narration (as always on series narrator) This one has some unusual elements

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for many years. Many years ago, I was an intense fan of the series, and read them all, at least once. Now, after a lot of water over the dam, I'm looking at them again.

Those who are used to really fine mystery writers (with the emphasis on "writer"), such as Ross Macdonald, may find the writing style here off-putting. It can be stiff and repititious. Nonetheless, I still love the general setting: the characters of Perry, Della, Paul, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Berger. That, and the ingenious plots, are why I read Perry Mason.

On the whole, the ones written by 1950 are the best. This one was written in 1952, and I would call it good but flawed. It begins like several others do from this era, with Perry and Della at a restaurant. A waitress suddenly runs out, abandoning her tables and orders. Someone tries to run her down in a back alley, and a gun is fired. She has left behind her paycheck and a very good quality mink coat, which had nonetheless been neglected and become moth eaten. The owner of the restaurant, Morris Alburg, thinks she is wanted by the police. Sure enough, some policemen come in soon to investigate. Della pretends that the mink coat is hers, and later they realize it contains a pawn ticket. Before long they are hot on the trail of an unsolved murder of a policeman that happened about a year earlier. Morris Alburg and the fleeing waitress seem to be in the middle of it.

A lot of action takes place late one night in a seedy hotel, a recurring setting in the Perry Mason novels, epecially in the early 1950s. Several rooms and several people are involved, including Perry and a young woman who may be the vanished waitress. A murder occurs in one of the rooms. Not one but two strange messages are hidden in a hotel room. Since the police realize that this ties in with the murder of the policeman, they are very interested indeed in all of this. Making it even more complicated, at Perry's request, Paul Drake hurridley sent his night operator to the hotel to tail the young woman, and soon this operator comes under our suspicion too.

This book is unusual in that organized crime figures prominently in the plot, though how exactly Morris Alburg is connected is not clear. Organized crime is also part of the Hesitant Hostess, written in 1953. Eventually Perry has two clients, Alburg and the waitress who had fled.

There are some excellent courtroom scenes with Hamilton Burger. Very unusual, Burger calls Perry to the stand as a witness! There is some "high tech" recording equipment involved, reminiscent of "the green-eyed sister." In fact this book is similar in many ways to "the green-eyed sister", though that one is better overall.

While quite interesting, this one has several loose threads at the end. Some of the people at the hotel are never identified. The title "moth eaten mink" is not really appropriate as the coat is not really a major part of the story after all. Parts of the plot seem to be just too complicated to be real. One might say, "that is true of all detective stories." No, not the best ones. Also, in this story there are two, count 'em two, people with phenomenal memories.

With a few chapters to go I was zeroing in on the main culprit, and I was not mistaken. The overall tone of the story reminds me more of a Mickey Spillane book, not the least because of the rather violent and unusual ending. I would say that anyone interested in the Perry Mason canon has to read this one, if only to see how much the tone of the stories changes over the many years Gardner was active.

[Historygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent entry in the Perry Mason series. It has plenty of twists and turns. Mason deals with the value of eye-witness testimony, a topic in criminal justice that is being debated today, sixty years later. He is also asked to evaluate a situation in which all of his clients have the same damning, but improbable, story to tell. The author, Earle Stanley Gardner, is delving into some deeper issues than usual. Gardner was not a writer in the Chandler or Hammett noir mode, but this book has a darker view andmore tragic ending than most.

[Ezgi]

Gardner okurken çok eğleniyorum. Yazın hızlı hızlı okunacak polisiyelerden biri. Basit kurgusu olmasına karşın bu polisiyeleri çok seviyorum. Ünlü dedektif Perry Mason restorana gidince yemekten önce vaka çözmeye kalkışır. Kürkle başlayan gizem, polis memurları ve şantaja uzanır. Dönemi nedeniyle girift bir yapısı yok. Bunu bilerek okunduğunda çok keyifli bir okuma olur.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a good read. There is always a twist or turn in the plot, knowing that Mason will solve the crime and save the day for his defendant. Gardner sometimes keep you guessing, but no many of his books you read, he never lets you down.

[Aravena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kembali lagi, Perry Mason harus menghadapi kasus yang banyak ‘lubang’nya… mulai dari mantel bulu mahal tapi berlubang yang ditinggalkan begitu saja oleh seorang wanita misterius di restoran, hingga berbagai aksi ‘gali lubang tutup lubang’ yang harus dilakukan pengacara cerdik tapi sableng ini dalam upaya menemukan kebenaran yang terkubur dalam-dalam…

Kasus yang ini tergolong lumayan kompleks, dengan atmosfer yang mengingatkan pada film gangster/drama kriminal klasik khas Amerika. Menariknya, walau biasanya keseruan buku-buku Perry Mason ada di adegan pengadilan/aspek hukumnya, di sini saya malah merasa bukan itu daya tarik utamanya. Justru adegan-adegan di luar pengadilan yang paling berkesan; dibuka dengan makan malam yang awalnya terkesan damai antara Perry dan Della, yang entah bagaimana berujung pada adegan kucing-kucingan dengan taksi yang seru sekaligus menggelikan. Tensi mulai terasa saat kasus melebar melibatkan kasus kematian seorang polisi di masa lalu, dan bagian di tengah buku saat Perry harus keluar masuk kamar hotel untuk sebuah pertemuan berbahaya mungkin merupakan salah satu momen paling menegangkan yang pernah saya baca di seri ini.

Ada romansa, nafsu membalas dendam, dan pengkhianatan, dengan karakter-karakter berkepribadian kuat yang meliputi seorang pemilik restoran yang penuh keresahan, wanita beridentitas tidak jelas yang datang dan kabur begitu saja, operator switchboard yang luarnya tampak kompeten, dan para polisi yang membawa kepentingan pribadi saat berkonfrontasi dengan Perry. Letnan Tragg, sosok polisi yang langganan tampil di serial ini, kini pun menunjukkan sisi lain yang simpatik sekaligus menakutkan.

Akhir buku ini cukup mengejutkan, dan walau tidak banyak memiliki ciri khas serial Perry Mason yang paling saya suka, keseluruhan kasusnya punya nuansa tersendiri untuk bisa berdiri sendiri sebagai kisah drama kriminal yang penuh haru biru… tragis sekaligus romantis.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yorucu bir günden sonra Perry Mason ve Della Street, Morris Alburg'un lokantasına giderler. Burada yemek yerken Morris birden bir garson kızın maaşını almadan gittiğini söyler. Kızı bir arabaya bindirme istemişler, sonra kız kaçarken bir motor çarpmıştır. Kızın kürkü de Morris'de kalmıştır. Ve kürkü güve yemiştir. Durum Perry'nin ilgisini çeker. Dixie Dayton adındaki bu kıza sahip çıkılmalıdır. Ancak olaya Tragg, ahlak masasından Jaffrey ile dahil olur. O gün lokantada biri Mason ve ekibini iki kere atlatır. George Fayette adındaki bu kişinin bulunması gerekir. Ayrıca Dixie'nin rehin bıraktığı silah, Thomas Sedgewick tarafından öldürüldüğü iddia edilen Robert Clearmont adlı bir polise aittir. Jaffrey'in yardımcısı olan bu kişi 1 sene önce öldürülür. Morris kayıptır ve Mason'a Keymont oteline gelmesini söyler. Burada bir kadın Dixie olduğunu iddia eder ve Mason ile görüşür. Ama sonrasında aynı otelde bir üst katta Fayette'nim cesedi bulunur. Morris ve Dixie şüphelidir ve Mason da otelde Drake ile olduğu için Hamilton Burger'ın eline büyük koz geçmiştir. Jaffrey odada dinleme cihazı olduğunu fark etmiştir. Leroy Fulda adındaki özel dedektif zamanında yerleştirir. Burger bu sefer davayı kazanacağından çok emindir. Hatta Mason'a iddia makamının tanığı olarak kürsüye çıkarır. Ama Tragg Robert'ın fotoğrafını otel katibine gösterince işler değişir. Mason Dixie ve Morris'i kurtarabilecek midir? Gerçek katil kimdir? Otel kime aittir? Katip neden 1 sene önce 1 aylığına Meksika'ya gönderilmiştir? Sedgewick Robert'ın katili midir? Morris Sedgewick'in üvey kardeşi olduğu için mi onu bu kadar savunmaktır? Tragg gerçeği öğrenince ne yapacaktır? Soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading these mysteries first of the books I’ve recently picked up, so that I can leave them with my dad to also read. But they’re such page-turners that it looks like we’ll both finish them in the few days before I leave.

In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Douglas Adams writes about the literature of a faraway planet whose inhabitants don’t care for story, plot, or narratives. The “real” story is often hidden in a passing reference never returned to, such as the novel Arthur Dent read that ended abruptly when the protagonist died of dehydration: at one point toward the middle of the giant novel, he’d asked for a drink of water. Neither the drink nor the request were ever addressed, and so the protagonist died. He was, I suspect, making fun of a certain type of literary masturbation but there is one genre where such passing clues are perfectly legitimate: the mystery.

In The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink, the clue to solve the case is in plain sight, divided into two parts that are referenced in passing toward the middle of the book and are only brought together by Perry Mason at the end.

The ending is also a bit more dark and noirish than most Perry Mason stories I can remember, in this case involving the often-antagonistic Lieutenant Tragg. Unlike many of these stories, Lieutenant Tragg is generally on top of things here. Someone like Raymond Chandler or Dashiel Hammett could have written a very good story of the same events from Tragg’s perspective, ending with Tragg delivering the final noir comeuppance that we here read only secondhand.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid growing up, I watched the Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale and William Hopper. Just recently, I watched an arc of the old series on MeTV. It's a different to read the popular series of Earle Stanley Gardner, and when I found a hardcopy (sans dust jacket) of The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink, I grabbed it up. It's no collectible - I see a mint signed copy available for $750 - but it's also not the pulp paper copies that you sometimes see at thrift stores.
Most of this story happens in a couple days as Perry gets dragged into a developing murder by a some-time client. In the books, Perry bosses around Paul Drake, and has him jumping through hoops here for information and surveillance.
We then get to the courtroom, where Hamilton Burger thinks he has a cinch of a case. Anyone remotely familiar with the Perry Mason series will know how this comes out - getting there is the real treat with fast-moving dialog, and Perry getting in his occasional zingers.
My reading got sidetracked when Craig Johnson launched his new Longmire book, but there's pleasure enough to go around.

[John Bunyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of this plot was better than 3 stars but there were problems along the way.
At the beginning of the book police are questioning a table of customers at a C restaurant. Mason spots the man sitting alone that he thinks they really should be questioning. But Main does nothing to help the police even though he has no client to protect or any reason not to help.
Then Della walks out with the waitresses mink coat because Perry THINKS the owner wants them to hide it. Even if he does, why should they?
Later, Paul and Perry are very misogynistic in their attitude toward Paul’s receptionist, Minerva.
Ham Burger bribes a witness - he often plays tricks but this is out and out criminal.
The case is wrapped up when Mason suddenly reveals a bunch of information that is totally new in a seemingly inadmissible way.

The high point was at the beginning when Perry and Della are dining together. The restaurant owner comments on the way they were gazing at each other and they are embarrassed because he has seen what they were going to get up to after dinner. It was a brief moment but it was good to see that aspect of their relationship back in the books.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am limited by the 5-star ceiling. I like Gardner’s law-based mysteries a lot, so most if not all of them I end up granting 4 or 5 stars. As I have hinted before, I think a few of them may even deserve the elusive 6th star. However, even 6 might not suffice here, as this one is so good that I am not going to say much at all except, if you like Gardner’s stories, READ THIS ONE, GODDAM IT! 😊 There are more than two dozen more I have yet to read, but at this point I am tempted to say, BEST-PERRY-MASON-EVER!! Heck, it even has TWO court room battles – not two scenes, but two different (if related) cases!
Moth-Eaten Mink also served as the basis of the pilot episode for the Raymond Burr TV series.

[Vidya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally adore Perry Mason. Gardner is one of my favorite writers but... I realize he wrote his books so long ago but women don't... except for Della - and even she is shown as something of a sycophant - do well in his stories do they

I don't mind if Gardner has Mason shake a witness on the stand, I don't mind if he shows Burger trying to bribe a witness. But where I draw the line is insulting a woman's character just because she is obstinate on something. It's as if Gardner has Drake she's incompetent because she's testifying against them. Or at least that's how it comes across

One of those rare books I enjoyed for the case but hated as a woman myself

[Roger McCort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Perry

Look, this isn't a life-changing novel. It's a noir detective story. But it's a darn good noir detective story. And a near-perfect Perry Mason tale too. All the characters appear and showcase their skills. Paul is smart and capable and asks the right questions to get Perry onto the path to solving the case. Tragg is helpful and sharp, even while blocking Perry, and, like the lawyer, is more interested in finding the truth than anything else. Della is practically perfect in every way. And the case is a tangled knot that seems impossible before Mason tugs on just the right strings to unravel it.

Five stars for this fabulous Perry Mason!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perry Mason and Della Street are dining in a restaurant when a waitress drops everything and runs out the back door, leaving a mink coat behind. The ensuing investigation leads to the death of a police officer and puts Mason in the last place he wants: the witness box.

Gardner may follow a formula, but his writing is clear and well thought out and his characters feel alive and in possession of a real personality.

[Nancy H · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a while since I have read a classic Perry Mason whodunit. This one is a typical classic hard-boiled detective story with the typical characters of detectives, victims, police, criminals, and of course, Perry Mason and his secretary, do-it-all girl Friday, Della Street. This is a book for those who like these classic mysteries.

[Danny Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes I suspect that Gardner doesn't actually work out the full plots of these books until he's around the halfway mark; it certainly adds a sense of surprise to the proceedings! This one is a pretty smooth read, the highlight being the few pages where Hamilton Burger gets Mason on the stand as a witness for the prosecution. It goes about as well as could be expected.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little different from the TV so it was nice to have a new experience with it. Also, we get a nice story from Tragg about the nuances/difficulty of police work, giving him more depth (and credit that is normally given to Burger) than the show does.

Recommended 11+ for violence, language, and other things I may have missed.

[Charles R · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Creative Talent of a Great Mystery Writer

Perry Mason and Paul Drake find themselves in a sleazy hotel connected with the underworld. And it becomes the site of a murder.
A conversation between Perry Mason and Lieutenant Tragg early in the story provides the key clue to the surprise ending. Will you catch it?