جريمة البيت المهجور

Perry Mason #48

by Erle Stanley Gardner, إيرل ستانلي جاردنر

Aware of her husband's dalliance with an alluring business associate involved with him in an important real estate deal, Sybil Harlan asks Perry Mason to help her sour the deal and win back her errant spouse. Reprint.

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

Paperback

First published July 1, 1955

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

[Les Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again, just an excellent story. Perry Mason uses the law to get the guilty person to reveal themselves. Of course, he can't do that without some idea of what happened, although I have no idea how he figured it out.

[Richa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting case. This case was enjoyable also for the competent way the prosecution laid down its side. Usually, it is a one-sided affair with Mason being the amicable, sauve, polished lawyer, out to show the truth and nothing but that, with Burger over reacting and throwing his weight at everybody. Here, Burger is given a much better and believable stand.
Another good thing is the case itself. Plus the bonus of a complete court procedure from prelimenary to the final jury trial.

[Achyut · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Perry Mason novel.This is the book that got me hooked on to the series.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#48 in the Perry Mason series. Gardner's foreword dedicates the book to Joseph Worcester Spelman, M.D., the State Pathologist of Vermont, in recognition of advances he and his colleagues have made in forensic medicine. Determine of time of death through examination of stomach contents and typical patterns of powder residue in gunshot wounds then feature prominently in the story. A lively read and the circumstances surrounding the shooting seem to inescapably make Mason's client the shooter. The courtroom climax is ingenious as Perry once again saves the day.

Perry Mason series - Aware of her husband's dalliance with an alluring business associate involved with him in an important real estate deal, Sybil Harlan asks Perry Mason to help her sour the deal and win back her errant spouse.

[محمد جبر · Rating 3 out of 5]

أحد أساطين الرواية البوليسية الأمريكي إيرل ستانلس جاردنر وبطل قصصه الداهية الأريب بيري ميسون المحامي الشهير .
حبكة جيدة وتصاعد للأحداث مثير .

[Ashwin Dongre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant plan of a wife to keep her husband, and brilliant plan of Mason's to keep her from being identified as fleeing from the scene of crime!

Great courtroom drama, A must read!

[Shilpi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perry Mason. Amazing as always!

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read as it has more information in the episode that makes the already close call bigger, and there is a Perry x Della moment so I enjoyed it even though I knew what was going to happen due to how faithful the episode was.

Recommended 14+ for affairs, murders, language, and dangerous situations.

[Sujani S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perry Mason is a criminal defence lawyer with a penchant for solving murders and proving the innocence of wrongly accused , along with his trusted secretary Della Street and private detective Paul Drake. In this book, when a wealthy woman approaches Mason to buy stock in a company where her husband has interests, to kick a young gold-digging mistress out of the picture and save her marriage, he agrees. But the client ends up with a murder charge instead of her husband and Mason races against time and the District attorney, Hamilton Burger, who has an axe to grind, to save her life. The book, just like the others in the series, proves to be a nail-biting thriller with elements of mystery, psychology and legal tangles that only the heroic lawyer can untwine, in exciting an courtroom drama.


Gardner was a lawyer himself, set up the “Court of Last Resort”, focusing on forensic and ballistic evidence, efficient cross-examination of witnesses to free the innocent. Perry Mason is a manifestation of the author’s real life persona. The books are full of legal points, medical evidence and courtroom procedures. Every page hooks you in and the way Mason defends his clients with his heart and soul, closely toeing the legal line but never crossing it, makes you root for him. The series has 80 novels and numerous short stories that were extremely popular in America in the 1940s and 50s. Perry was adopted into many TV shows (there’s one on Hotstar currently). The books follow a pattern but every case and character is unique. They are some of the best legal detective fictions ever written, Perry is gloriously charismatic and I highly recommend the books!

[Stephen Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry Mason was never above doing some near-shady things to confuse the issue. Here, when the testimony of a cab driver is crucial to the case, he gets his client and a friend to take the same cab later and to make sure the fare is exactly the same as when his client had taken the cab earlier. (Not really a spoiler, this happens early in the book). This slight of hand nearly blows up in the lawyer's face, but it does prove that Mason will do nearly ANYTHING to defend his client. Here we also get not only a preliminary hearing, but the case then goes on to a jury trial. We also get Mason kissing his secretary, Della Street (just as he's doing so, however, he figures out a crucial clue to the case and breaks off the embrace). The resolution to the mystery is far-fetched and convoluted, but with all the legal shenanigans who cares?

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This case is famous because Perry's client gets picked up by a taxi while fleeing the murder scene. In order to confuse the driver's identification of his client, he has her and a friend catch a ride with the same driver later in the day, making sure to take a ride with the same fare as the first. This ploy works, but all it really does it force Burger to call a grand jury to get an indictment since his key eyewitness blows up at the hearing thanks to Mason's hi-jinks. The real turn in the plot is when the title character takes an odd load of junk to the town dump, only to see it disappear a few hours later. Perry is able to figure out what this junk would have been used for, and is able to to trace its disappearance's significance. Voila, case solved. Not really that complicated once you think about it, but it sure is fun along the way.

[👀 · Rating 4 out of 5]

The case of nervous accomplice
Mrs. Harlan calls on Mason to talk about certain domestic difficulties. She is certain that her husband is cheating on her and is about to divorce her, but naturally, Mason doesn't deal with divorce cases. She manages to arouse his and Della Street's interests by presenting a complex intrigue in with she need the lawyer's help. Everything seems to go smooth until someone gets murdered, and it's not someone I'd have guessed. The book has a little different order than usual. I missed the usual part where there has to be something indicating guilt, for the person to be prosecuted. The trial starts at 40% of the book so it's little early. There's a little of romance and business, I wouldn't call it one of Gardner's bests.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Mason tale of half mystery and half courtroom drama. The mystery is a bit contrived and there is lots of shuffling and Mason games all leading to a conclusion that is, also, contrived. This one written for the readers more than making a ton of sense.

The courtroom back and forth is the most fun, nearly giving Ham Burger a heart attack. The written dialogue in that part makes it all worthwhile. The Mason games are too obvious.

Note about the cover of the edition I have: I could scan and add the Pocket Books 1974 cover to Goodreads. Thing is the cover photograph gives away the mystery. Pocket Books did this for a few series in the late '60s and early '70s.

Bottom line: i recommend this book 6 out of ten points.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wife keen to get her husband back from the arms of another woman hires Perry Mason to buy into a company as a front for her, believing that Mason's involvement with company will put pressure on her love rival.

However, when the former owner of the company is discovered murdered, Sybil Harlan finds herself in the frame and Perry must defend her.

Gardner's famous attorney leaps off the page in another vibrant mystery which is coherently written and populated with believable characters.

[Srikkanthan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first Perry Mason book. I took this book because a friend suggested this. I have seen some episodes of Perry mason's cases in TV. For those who like mystery, whodunnit kind of genres and a very light reading fiction, this is the book I would suggest. Good one.

[Gary Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

TCOT Nervous Accomplice is another twisty mystery for Perry Mason. PM is hired to help a woman win her husband back from another woman. Of course, that simple situation goes off the rails and ends up with a murder. PM finally wins in the end, as usual, but it takes a lot of turns and twists.

[Erskine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly entertaining.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a plot that keeps one ooo-ing and ahh-ing over the twist, and an ending that surprises.

💥 Recommended.
🟣
📺

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sybil Harlan adında bir kadın Mason'a gelir ve evliliğini kurtarmak için yardım ister. Kocası Enright, Roxy Chaflin adında bir kadına tutulmuştur. Kocasını geri kazanmak için kadının çirkef yüzünü ortaya çıkarmak ister. Bunun için de ortağı olduğu bir şirketten hisse almasını ve yönetim kurulu toplantısında zorluk çıkarmasını ister. Mason da onun istediği gibi yapar ve George Lutts adlı hissedarın hisselerini oldukça fazla bir paraya satın alır. Bu arada damadı ve sekreteri olan Herbert Doxey ile de tanışır. Sybil kimliği belli olmayacaktır ve toplantıda zıtlık olur. Ancak aynı gün Lutts öldürülür. Sybil olay yerine yakın bir yerden taksiye binmiştir. Mason talimat verir ve aynı taksiye bir arkadaşı ile binip bir yerlere gitmesini ister. Doxey'i arar. Onunla eve gider ve Doxey cesedi bulur. Ön duruşmada Hamilton Burger suçu Sybil'e atmak ister ama taksicinin ifadesini paramparça eden Mason bunu engeller. Ama savcılık ve yardımcıları çok iyi çalışarak davayı yeniden açar. Della ve Paul ile araştırma yapan Mason, Sybil'in yalan söylediğini öğrenir. Olay günü gerçekten de eve gitmiştir. Hatta şirket ortaklarından biri de aynı ifadeyi verir. Ölüm silahı Enright'a aittir. Ama bu silah acaba Sybil'in arabasında bulunan silah mıdır? Barut tozundan yakından vurulduğu düşünülen Lutts gerçekten yakından mı vurulmuştır? Kocası, Roxy davasında Mason'a işi Sybil'in verdiğini kimden öğrenmiştir? Kayıp mermi neden bulunamamıştır? Roxy'nin döktüğü çöpü kim almıştır? Katilin suç ortağı çözülecek midir? Mason müvekkilini kurtarabilecek midir? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Rupesh Goenka · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fiery young woman named Sybil Harlan comes to Perry Mason with a plan to persuade her cheating husband, Enright Harlan to change his ways and return to her. She desires to keep her marriage. Enright is a shrewd real-estate businessman. Enright is completely under the spell of Roxy Claffin, a beautiful divorcee who also is his client. Sybil instructs Perry to purchase some stock in a real estate firm on her behalf with which Roxy and Enright are negotiating a property deal. She wants him to attend the directors meeting that afternoon and ruin the real estate agreement in an effort to win back her straying husband. However, her plan goes astray when one of the firm stockholders from whom Mason had purchased the stock is found dead. Sybil is accused of committing the crime. Perry Mason defends her. This installment of the fabulous series is an awesome suspense thriller. Some smart writing, humor, fast action, and great character interaction makes this novel an outstanding affair. The courtroom confrontation between Perry Mason and the District attorney, Hamilton Burger is high class. TERRIFIC & MIND-BLOWING.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Near perfect plot. A wife wants to short-circuit her husband's extramarital affair by using Perry to disrupt the business deal they're involved in. How could that possibly go wrong? If I were recommending a Perry Mason mystery to try to get someone hooked on the series, I might pick this one. Seldom has the case against a client seemed darker. Seldom has Perry's underhanded attempt to muddy the evidence gone more awry. Every strand and detail gets wrapped up at the end so neatly. There's even some comic and risqué interactions between Della and Perry. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Pure entertainment.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know if real lawyers in the criminal courts have clients that lie to them so thoroughly as this one. It makes for a very interesting story to read, of course. Normally, because the Perry Mason books are set in the past in terms of today’s readers, I usually make a lot of exceptions for what no longer happens compared to in the way things happened back then. I am pretty sure that I would be hard pressed to find a woman who would take the attitude towards her husband that this client does. That’s all I’ll say about that. Lol.

[Ginevra · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a loving wife finds her husband erring towards a divorce, she appeals to Perry Mason and his legal knowledge to help her scotch her rival and save her marriage through the intricacies of a land deal; unfortunately for her, a murderer is also in on the business and a corpse soon changes the game into one of murder.
I loved this one. (I should probably say, I loved this one too…) The plot is convoluted, but tight, the clues are all there, the characters are interesting and diverse, the defendant is infinitely sympathetic and the legal and courtroom dramas fun. A definite pleasure!

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creative mystery, in particular how it was arranged that the defendant's gun was the murder weapon (apparently). But the case-breaking clue came out of nowhere at the last minute, giving a deus-ex-machina feeling to the plot. The courtroom scenes get repetitious as the witnesses repeat what we have heard them say before. And the characters are very much a product of 1955 and don't translate so well to today.

[John Bunyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole premise in chapter one was ridiculous. Mason did not seem intrigued by the woman’s plan - no way he would have taken the job. The stock transaction was not believable either. Some of the investigation and courtroom action was good but the final solution was impossible.
The best part was one page where Perry and Della kiss and arts about to get it on when Perry suddenly has a thought about the case and stops. Della is clearly frustrated.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. Perhaps I've read too many Perry Mason books or perhaps the wife going after her straying husband in this way seems unreal. Maybe I just don't fully get the 50s when this sort of wifely attitude was popular. It was an OK puzzle, but the wrap up came quite abruptly and without the proper foundation (as Hamilton Burger might object).

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judge Hoyt said, "Now, Mr. Mason, I wish to give the defendant every possible right, but I would like to caution you at this time that the Court will brook no extraneous questions. Cross-examination must be confined to the questions asked on direct examination."
"No questions," Mason said.
Judge Hoyt frowned.

[Christopher Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good and satisfying story. However the way the murder was committed, as revealed at the end, seemed just a little far-fetched to me. The murderer would have needed to be quite skilled to pull off such a shot.

A riveting story that goes quickly.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mason’s client comes up with a unique way of saving her marriage. Of course, a murder complicates things. And, whaddya know, both the client and Mason himself seem to be implicated. A classic, and above average, ESG courtroom drama with some interesting twists. Two thumbs up.

[Michael Pronko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always stand amazed at how I'm dragged in and pulled along. The sentences work so well to deliver narrative flow, and you follow the case to its end. In one sense, the plot's details are less important than you're wanting to know what it all means. Always amazing.