The Case of the Duplicate Daughter: A Perry Mason novel

Perry Mason #62

by Erle Stanley Gardner

'For fans of classic hard-boiled whodunits, this is a time machine back to an exuberant era of snappy patter, stakeouts, and double-crosses' LA Times 'Kingpin among the mystery writers' New York TimesMuriell Gilman left her father at the breakfast table while she cooked seconds of sausage and eggs. When she returned, he had disappeared. She searched the house from cellar to attic. Then she went out to the workshop . . . there, scattered on the floor, were hundred-dollar bills, an overturned chair, and a spreading, crimson stain. That's when she telephoned Perry Mason.Perry Mason has so many why did she call him? Why didn't she want her step-sister to talk to him? And why was Gillman's wife being blackmailed - by a female private investigator . . . ?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Detective, Legal, Classics, Novels

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 1960

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

[Melindam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Customary fast-paced Perry Mason mystery, but overweight in the legal-technical-details department and with a rather abrupt ending.

Plus, ESG breaks one of Knox's "Ten Commandments" (or "Decalogue") for the Golden Age Whodunits "Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them." by introducing the threhad for the final solution only at the very end.

Although the crime-investigation-trial thread is there; it is interesting and made me read on, I felt that something was / some things were missing.
Erle Stanley Gardner builds up the story with attention to details and the real culprit gets caught, but all the threads of human lives that were until that point handled well, are suddenly dropped liked hot potatoes without real conclusion/emotional closure. ESG makes us really interested and invested in some characters, but as soon as Perry Mason solves his mystery, the curtain is drawn and we are left in a bit of high and dry, like the author just grew too tired to bother. Somehow this is getting more and more the case with all the late PM books that got published around the 1960s.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 210 (of 250)
When one reads Gardner (especially his later work) amid such greats as Ross MacDonald and Patricia Highsmith, one notices weaknesses.
HOOK=2 stars: A daughter cooks a second breakfast for her father, but upon her return to the dining room, he is gone. Not hungry anymore? Office emergency? Or bored with the plot already? A flat opening for me.
PACE=3: Solid after the first chapter.
PLOT=1: Gardner commits a mystery-writer crime: he introduces information late in the book, so minus 1 star. BUT, minus another star because you've probably already figured out what's going to happen anyway, even without the late clue.
PEOPLE=4: Still, we have Mason, Street, Drake and all the rest. Much of this series does land on the shoulders of the very good cast.
PLACE=2: Cardboardish. Opening scenes in a workshop are interesting, then things turn grayish. Read these opening lines from Ross MacDonald's 'The Chill": 'The heavy red-figured drapes over the courtroom windows were incompletely closed against the sun. Yellow daylight leaked in and dimmed the electric bulbs in the high ceiling. It picked out random details in the room: the glass water cooler standing against the paneled wall opposite the jury box...." I'm there, 100% and I can see and feel the room. Gardner gives us nothing anywhere near that. Maybe it's just me, but when I enter a book, I want to feel what's around me. I want to be wrapped in that world.
SUMMARY: My overall rating is 2.4, held that high only by the very good cast.

[Richa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again we come across a staged murder by pushing a car over a precipise. Gardner very shrewdly shows how both ways can be caught.
This is one of those cases where Mason suddenly gets vital information at the very end of the book. It is almost like he wanted us to believe that, fighting a case in court is more a part of luck, than serious study, legal logic and research work!
I couldn't help but wonder, whether Gardner was recently advised to watch his weight while thinking up a plot for this book. So much harping on the calorie consciousness of the various characters populating this book, jarred a tad bit.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A routine case of murder for Perry Mason becomes complicated when Hamilton Burger tries to indict two suspects for the same murder.

Gardner's fast paced and well written thriller hides a big twist at the end which yet again shows Mason at his finest.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly OK Mason, with a good plot. The best clue to figuring this one out is the title. Hamilton Burger is downright stupid in this one, though. Even the judge warns him throughout that he is being an idiot.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only Perry Mason could surmise that something could not be what it seems when Muriell Gilman’s father Carter wanted an extra sausage and egg for breakfast after already having two of each prior. This kind of detective savvy is enough to make Batman blush. This is pretty much the first clue Perry gathers when Muriell contacts him after her father suddenly disappears from the breakfast table upon asking for more breakfast.

Subsequently finding a red substance on the floor of her father’s workshop, a load of cash, and a broken chair, Muriell is sure something terrible has happened to ol’ man Gilman. Mason, armed with his broad knowledge of the law, PI Paul Drake, and secret weapon secretary Della Street (and most likely bedfellow), contains every seemingly irrelevant detail in a glass case and remains a step ahead of the police the entire way, is damn near clairvoyant with his assessment of the situation. And with a little luck going for him when some things don’t work out as planned, having Perry Mason on your side is sure to always work out as a win-win.

The story unfolds in a peculiar if not somewhat convoluted blackmail mystery that you forget is actually given away by the title. And the mystery is all well and good but you quickly find that Perry Mason and his ways of exacting justice are the reason you show up. Sure, there’s ultimately a culprit for the crime at hand, but the true antagonist for Mason and company is District Attorney Hamilton Burger (Ham Burger, if you will) who, no matter who he subpoenas or what last minute evidence he squirrels into trial, is no match for Perry Mason and his memorized encyclopedic knowledge of every letter of the law.

Reading this inspired me to check out the new HBO series “Perry Mason” which is similar in name only, and I’m hard pressed to see how it can even be cited it as an adaptation of Gardner’s legendary creation. A solid, well-executed show, but its crimes of “tough, gritty, subversive realism” sucks the fun out of Perry Mason.

Likewise, I also investigated the classic TV series starring Raymond Burr, which plays almost exactly as one of Gardner’s novels, though Burr portrays Mason rather humorless and dour, and without the whimsy and passion of the Mason in the novels.

A whip-crack read that’s no pressure fun, “The Case of the Duplicate Daughter” is a perfect introduction to Perry Mason that will swiftly make you a an armchair, gumshoe, legal expert.

Four stars.

[Rachaelbookhunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Perry Mason book I have read. It's a little different from other mystery novels in that Perry Mason is a lawyer and not a detective, amateur sleuth, or other person caught up in a crime. All of the story except for the very beginning takes place from Mason's perspective. A father and daughter call/come to him at different times but for the same thing. At first Mason simply tries to figure out how to help his client, the father, which isn't easy since he isn't revealing everything. So the beginning of the mystery is just uncovering details. A murder comes later although by the time Mason talks to them it has already occurred.

There is a good lesson while Mason is trying to figure things out. A lot of things happen over the phone and as Perry Mason discusses things with his secretary you see how easily the story being told by the family could all be a lie. It's something to keep in mind.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was well written. All of the characters are likeable and I also loved how well the family (second wife and stepdaughter, father and daughter) got along. There was a sweetness to the story as characters tried to protect others and even some minor characters near the end showed good character.

[Kate Picher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a thrift store and started reading. The style is very snappy and in typical Perry Mason manner, quite intellectual. Four stars to me means I would tell others to read it--but with a warning. This book is as sexist as a Madmen episode. Page 72:

Mason said, "Miss Matilda Norman, the secretary in question, had left for the night. She is reported to be somewhere in the fifties and is built along the lines of a string bean."
"These other women, I take it," Della Street said, "were not built along the lines of string beans."
"Definitely not," Mason said. "They were built like a mountain highway in Mexico. In other words, they were full of curves."
"And hard surfaced?" Della Street asked.
"Well," Mason said, "they had an appearance which would indicate that all operations would be close to the maximum speed."

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
You don't get to read conversations like that any more.

The crime isn't solved until the last chapter, so reading this book is fairly suspenseful. So yeah, read it.

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thinking back over the plot of this story now that I've read it, I'm still not sure why Perry's client didn't just level with him in the first place. But that's an almost automatic element of the formula, that the client is hiding something and that mystery has to be solved as part and parcel of the murder case. Anyhow, a fun read with some eagerly turned pages. It's 1960 and we're enough into the modern world that the reader can contemplate the situation of a child born out of wedlock.

[B.R. Stateham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1960 you can't say its one of Gardner's best. But it moves fast and the court scenes are very captivating. It's good to go back and re-read something out of the past. This is a perfect example.

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daddy has gone missing. Everyone's on a diet. Uh oh. I can see Erle Stanley Gardner and his typing pool ALL having to go on a diet if HE did. That's how he rolled. A real Patriarchy and not a lot of room for dissension.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muriell adında bir kız babası olan Carter Gilman'a kahvaltı hazırlar. Babası biraz daha yiyecek ister. Muriell döndüğü zaman babasını bulamaz. Korkar ve Perry Mason'a başvurur. Beraber evlerine giderler ve marangozhanede 10 bin dolar ile kırık bir sandalye bulurlar. Aynı gün bir adam Mason'a başvurur ve Vera Martel adında birinin Gilman ailesine şantaj yaptığını söyler. Bu adamın Carter olduğu çıkar ortaya. Nancy adındaki ikinci karısı ve onun kızı Glamis de evde yaşamaktadır. Parayı saklayan Mason, Della ve Paul ile beraber Vera'nın izini sürerler. Kendilerine Vera diye telefon eden kişinin Carter'ın sekreteri olduğunu bulurlar. Ama ertesi gün her şey değişir. Gerçek Vera'nın cesedi bulunur. Boynu kırılarak öldürülmüştür. Ve delillerden marangozhanede bulunduğu tespit edilir. Nancy meşhur bir yazardan çocuğu olmuştur ve Glamis gerçek babasını bilmez. O gece de Hartley Elliott adında bir arkadaşı da evde kalm��ştır. Carter Tragg tarafından yakalanır. Evdekileri uyaran Mason, Hartley'e gider. O da kaçar ama yakalanır. Mahkemede ön duruşmada ifade vermeyeceğini söyler ve hapse atılır. Carter da bir aile üyesini korumaktadır. Hartley, Glamis'i marangozhaneden çıkarken gördüğünü söylemiştir. Glamis ise hiç gitmediğini söyler. Nancy yalan makinasına sokulur ve Glamis ile ilgili soru hariç hepsinden geçer. Hartley hapiste ıslanır ve her şeyi anlatır. Mahkemeye Hamilton Burger da gelir ve davayı alır. Mason'ın parayı sakladığı da çıkar ortaya. Ama para Vera Martel'e ait çıkar. Ve Vera Redding adında bir yere gitmiştir. Hartley'in iş yeri de oradadır. Kapıdan çıkan kız Glamis midir? Yoksa Nancy bir şey mi gizlemiştir? Neden şantajcı kendi parasını bırakmıştır? Kasabadan gelen fotoğraf neyi değiştirecektim? Mason müvekkilini kurtarabilecek midir? Keyifle okunan bir roman.

[Rupesh Goenka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edward Carter Gilman resides with his daughter Muriell, 2nd wife Nancy and Nancy's daughter Glamis Barlow. One morning he unexpectedly walks out from their home in the middle of eating his breakfast and vanishes. Muriell comes across his napkin, a overturned broken chair, scattered hundred dollar bills and a crimson colour spread on the floor of her father’s workshop. She approaches Perry Mason to help her father. Carter Gilman is prepared to go prison in order to safeguard his family even though being not guilty. The murder case becomes more puzzling when District Attorney Hamilton Burger strives to bring charges against two suspects from the family for the same crime. The interchange between Perry Mason and Della Street regarding secretarial duties and behaviour is amusing and funny. The catchy dialogue between Perry Mason and Lieutenant Tragg and his courtroom histrionics with DA Hamilton Burger is what makes this novel extraordinary. AWESOME/DEIGHTFUL.

[Jim Standridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Perry Mason book. It was better than I expected. Hard to put down as there are not many places to pause. Gardner tells a story at a fast pace, but not to where you can get lost. It's the Mickey Spillane era of who-dunnit detective story telling. Dad disappears from breakfast table. A hundred C-notes found scattered on the floor. A dead private detective. Two good looking daughters and equally good looking mother. Police think dad killed detective. But maybe one of the women did it? Enter Perry Mason, with his trusty sidekick Paul Drake. Minor and major convolutions result in mystery solved at the last minutes in court. Whatever you thought, you were wrong. The only thing left unanswered is what about the money?
A very fast, enjoyable read. Going to look for more.

[John Bunyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Detectives get unbelievable amount of key information. I mean literally not believable.
Overdone references to women’s anatomy just for salacious appeal. Women are either spectacularly sexy and beautiful or completely unattractive.
Key information and evidence doesn’t show up until the last pages, including the tittle character.
Dated and offensive reference to a developmentally disabled child.
Hamilton Burger is again criticized and embarrassed by the judge. Can’t see why he’s still in the job.
I begin to wish these stories could be rewritten with Lieutenant Tragg as the lead character in police procedurals.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A client comes to Mason regarding someone in his family being blackmailed, later to become the prime suspect when the blackmailer turns up murdered. Add to that that the client had been acting suspiciously and dishonestly before becoming a paying client, and the police have a mountain of evidence against him, and Mason's case does not look promising. As a whodunit, the book falls short because crucial information is not revealed to the reader until very late in the book, and its unexpected nature made it look like Mason won the case more on luck than on skill. The pacing and characters kept me engaged, though, even though the first courtroom scene was overly drawn out.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Case of the Duplicate Daughter (PM #62; 1960), a very pissed-off Hamilton Burger DA cannot believe that that damn Mason could possibly wriggle out of this one. In ESG’s world, every fem fatale, important female-witness, or woman defendant is ALWAYS an extremely attractive, leggy & shapely woman in her early to mid-20s. But Dup Daughter is jam packed with them. At one point his secretary, [the attractive, leggy & shapely woman in her late 20s] actually lists them. The plot involves many a good twist, and of course some great court room moments (hence the red-faced Burger). My first visit, on this read-through, of the 1960s Perry Masons, and a great introduction to the decade.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 1 out of 5]

The male characters describe several women, who work in business, completely by physical attributes.
A man disappears from his home, leaving his daughter to phone a private detective. There is money missing, a proposition of blackmail, and gambling in casinos. The case ends up in court.
The title does kind of give away a plot point. There is also a serious social issue which is mentioned near the end, brushed off and never addressed.
Not for me. Other readers may like it better.

[Robert A Keene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of only a few Perry Mason books where his client was a man, but Mr. Gardner is not slipping Carter Gilman, Perry's client has 2 gorgeous daughters that could be guilty as hell. I enjoyed this my very last Perry Mason book, I have now read all 82 Earle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason novels almost every one has been a fun read for me.

[Vidya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly one of the best Mason novels. The identity of the murderer was glaringly obvious after a point but motivation wasn't because unlike in earlier novels, Gardner left no hints till the last few pages. Thoroughly entertaining

[Gary Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Case of the Duplicate Daughter sets up a very good ending. Perry Mason is hired by a a young woman whose father has disappeared. PM easily finds the father, but soon the father is accused of murder. PM is baffled for much of the story. In the end, of course, justice is done.

[John Stotesbury · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting dialogue and antiquated social values, but a run-of-the-mill potboiler. But I had to read one Perry Mason in my lifetime! I can now put it back on a public library swap-shelf, which is where it originated.

[Σταύρος Παυλίδης · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ένας πατέρας εξαφανίζεται και μια ιδιωτική ντετέκτιβ δολοφονείται. Κυριότερος ύποπτος είναι ο εξαφανισμένος πατέρας αλλά τελικά τα πράγματα είναι πιο πολύπλοκα...
Αρκετά καλό βιβλίο το οποίο όμως τελειώνει κάπως απότομα. Όλες οι εξηγήσεις δίνονται μέσα σε δύο σελίδες.

[Liisa Rannaste · Rating 3 out of 5]

jälle väga kiire kulgemisega lugu. mu teine raamat Gardnerilt, esimene (pardilugu) meeldis rohkem. see siin oli väheke vähem huvitava taustalooga ja mulle endale eriti ei meeldi lood, kus alles täitsa lõpus tuleb mingi määrav asjaolu esile ja kõik muutub. huvitav ikkagi, aga lõpp oli väga järsk.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak entry has a rather contrived ending. Someone killed a blackmailing detective. Was it the stepmother, her vivacious daughter, the patriarch, or his child by his first marriage? What did the blackmailer know?

[👀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Muriell Gilman's father abruptly leaves their house during breakfast, she gets worried enough to start her inquiry. After stumbling across Mason's phone number and annotation not to call the police in case anything happens, she decides there is no time to waste. When she informs the lawyer of a large amount of loose cash and red stains in the workshop, he decides to investigate it. Della Street connects the dots and notices similarity of names with a man who made an appointment for the same day. I enjoyed this part where we already know a few things about the case, and then unaware of our advantage, the client goes into the office for the first time and starts his version of the story. We can actually see how he approaches the lawyer and how honest he is.
There is a bit long build-up of the story.Usually Mason goes to court, at 50% of the book but this time we learn about the murder at 45% the book. The preliminary hearing starts at 62% so the usual balance is little different. Della Street and Paul Drake are barely used, but Hamilton Burger and Lt. Tragg have their moments.

[James Vest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Characters line up to double cross Perry Mason in this maze of clues, characters, and details with a domino row of bad news leading to Mason being subpoenaed as Hamilton Burger’s next star witness.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun plotting! Some small parts of the book don't stand up to the test of time in terms of prejudice and stereotyping, but, overall, a good read.

[Dr Hanif Hassan Barbhuiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic!!

[Venkatesh Chetlur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typical Perry Mason fare. Lots of courtroom drama and then a finish with a flourish.