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Perry Mason #72
The Case Of The Phantom Fortune
Horace Warren pays five hundred dollars to have Perry Mason attend a buffet dinner to observe his guests. He also wants Mason to investigate a fingerprint and suspects his wife is being blackmailed. Mrs Warren's mysterious past may hold the clues
224 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 1964
18 people are currently reading
399 people want to read
About the author
Erle Stanley Gardner
1,353 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 46 reviews
February 10, 2018
Another excellent Perry Mason mystery...read in one engrossed and happy sitting.
I really enjoy the style of these stories - the cases are mostly communicated through dialogue which lends a certain insight into the characters.
Although Perry appears to act in a morally ambiguous manner at times his total respect,adherence to and knowledge of the law is profound.
I am always reminded that in order to truly follow the law you need to remove all emotion and opinion for justice to prevail.
This does not mean that Perry is devoid of emotion, it just means that he keeps all of that stuff out of the court room! And his number one responsibility is to his clients no matter what.
Love these stories.
I really enjoy the style of these stories - the cases are mostly communicated through dialogue which lends a certain insight into the characters.
Although Perry appears to act in a morally ambiguous manner at times his total respect,adherence to and knowledge of the law is profound.
I am always reminded that in order to truly follow the law you need to remove all emotion and opinion for justice to prevail.
This does not mean that Perry is devoid of emotion, it just means that he keeps all of that stuff out of the court room! And his number one responsibility is to his clients no matter what.
Love these stories.
October 13, 2021
I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for a long time. Those who are used to really fine mystery writers may find Gardner's writing style a bit stiff and mechanical. Nonetheless, I still love the general setting: the characters of Perry, Della, Paul, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Burger. That, and the ingenious plots, are why I read Perry Mason.
On the whole, the ones written by around 1953 are the best. This one was written in 1964, in the latter part of the long run of the TV series. It is good and very clever. The writing is not so dry and repetitious as is often the case in the late books.
Wealthy businessman Horace Warren comes to see Perry Mason with an odd story. He thinks that someone is blackmailing his wife, and he has a fingerprint of the suspected person. He wants Perry to find out who it is, and to protect his wife from that person at all costs. Furthermore, he thinks the person is an acquaintance who will be at a party he is giving that night. He wants Perry to come with a feminine partner. He sends his right-hand-man, Judson Olney, to come see to Perry to hatch a reasonable story to explain Mason's presence. Olney makes up the tale that he once met Della Street on a cruise, ran into her recently by chance, and so invited her and a date.
To solve the fingerprint question, Mason hires Paul Drake to get a catering service that fronts for a group of fingerprint technicians. They will gather up the used plates and glasses and lift fingerprints of the guests. Fortunately there is in LA a dummy catering truck that is really a fingerprint lab(!) What?? How likely is that in real life?
Real or not, that's the setup. Perry and Della attend the party and meet various acquaintances of Warren. Paul Drake does indeed find out who made the fingerprint Warren had. I won't reveal the name here.
Who would be blackmailing Warren's wife, Lorna? Turns out that years earlier she had been arrested and tried for a crime in New York. She was acquitted, but a man she worked with named Collister Gideon was also tried, and he was convicted. Gideon has just been released from prison. Is Gideon the blackmailer? Before long Warren meets him in a deserted warehouse where Gideon is murdered. Warren is arrested for the murder.
There are several interesting plot twists, including a suitcase containing $47000 (the "phantom fortune") and a clever plot by Perry to put pressure on the blackmailer.
Good Lt. Tragg, very good Hamilton Burger. Good use of Della, good use of Paul Drake. Mason doesn't play any clever tricks to confuse guns or switch fingerprints, but he does hatch a clever plan to thwart a blackmailer. Hamilton Burger thinks it was too clever. He's determined to get Perry disbarred this time for sure!
There aren't really too many suspects. The cross-examinations are very good. I had no trouble guessing the culprit.
Unlike many of the later Mason stories, this one does not seem to be too unlikely to actually happen to real people. However, it is marred by some coincidences. I can't go into details without revealing spoilers.
Some of the later Mason stories introduce characters very late in the book, well past the 50% point. This one is the opposite. Several of the characters listed here appear early in the book but are never mentioned again after the 40% point. Also, the original impetus, the fingerprint Warren brings to Perry at the start, is never explained.
I can't recommend it. If you love seeing Hamilton Burger get defeated, you'll love this one.
The cast:
Horace Warren, wealthy businessman concerned that someone is blackmailing his beloved wife.
Judson Olney, right-hand man of Horace Warren.
Lorna Warren (Neely), wife of Horace, woman with a past.
George Barrington, young, wealthy man who meets Della Street at the party.
Adelle Chester, the young woman George Barrington took to the party.
Rosalie Harvey, Justin Olney's secretary.
Collister Gideon, recently released from prison, who once knew Lorna Neely quite well.
Drew Kearny, eyewitness to a robbery.
On the whole, the ones written by around 1953 are the best. This one was written in 1964, in the latter part of the long run of the TV series. It is good and very clever. The writing is not so dry and repetitious as is often the case in the late books.
Wealthy businessman Horace Warren comes to see Perry Mason with an odd story. He thinks that someone is blackmailing his wife, and he has a fingerprint of the suspected person. He wants Perry to find out who it is, and to protect his wife from that person at all costs. Furthermore, he thinks the person is an acquaintance who will be at a party he is giving that night. He wants Perry to come with a feminine partner. He sends his right-hand-man, Judson Olney, to come see to Perry to hatch a reasonable story to explain Mason's presence. Olney makes up the tale that he once met Della Street on a cruise, ran into her recently by chance, and so invited her and a date.
To solve the fingerprint question, Mason hires Paul Drake to get a catering service that fronts for a group of fingerprint technicians. They will gather up the used plates and glasses and lift fingerprints of the guests. Fortunately there is in LA a dummy catering truck that is really a fingerprint lab(!) What?? How likely is that in real life?
Real or not, that's the setup. Perry and Della attend the party and meet various acquaintances of Warren. Paul Drake does indeed find out who made the fingerprint Warren had. I won't reveal the name here.
Who would be blackmailing Warren's wife, Lorna? Turns out that years earlier she had been arrested and tried for a crime in New York. She was acquitted, but a man she worked with named Collister Gideon was also tried, and he was convicted. Gideon has just been released from prison. Is Gideon the blackmailer? Before long Warren meets him in a deserted warehouse where Gideon is murdered. Warren is arrested for the murder.
There are several interesting plot twists, including a suitcase containing $47000 (the "phantom fortune") and a clever plot by Perry to put pressure on the blackmailer.
Good Lt. Tragg, very good Hamilton Burger. Good use of Della, good use of Paul Drake. Mason doesn't play any clever tricks to confuse guns or switch fingerprints, but he does hatch a clever plan to thwart a blackmailer. Hamilton Burger thinks it was too clever. He's determined to get Perry disbarred this time for sure!
There aren't really too many suspects. The cross-examinations are very good. I had no trouble guessing the culprit.
Unlike many of the later Mason stories, this one does not seem to be too unlikely to actually happen to real people. However, it is marred by some coincidences. I can't go into details without revealing spoilers.
Some of the later Mason stories introduce characters very late in the book, well past the 50% point. This one is the opposite. Several of the characters listed here appear early in the book but are never mentioned again after the 40% point. Also, the original impetus, the fingerprint Warren brings to Perry at the start, is never explained.
I can't recommend it. If you love seeing Hamilton Burger get defeated, you'll love this one.
The cast:
Horace Warren, wealthy businessman concerned that someone is blackmailing his beloved wife.
Judson Olney, right-hand man of Horace Warren.
Lorna Warren (Neely), wife of Horace, woman with a past.
George Barrington, young, wealthy man who meets Della Street at the party.
Adelle Chester, the young woman George Barrington took to the party.
Rosalie Harvey, Justin Olney's secretary.
Collister Gideon, recently released from prison, who once knew Lorna Neely quite well.
Drew Kearny, eyewitness to a robbery.
Read
September 5, 2024Perry Mason #72 !!! My god, I didn't realise the author had written so many of these. This was published in 1964. I suppose there would be no hope of finding any of the earlier ones in the library.
I read a few of these as a teenager, and I recall not liking them much, so I've never become hooked.
I didn't get very far with this before losing interest. I'm trying to be a better library citizen by making the DNF decision sooner and returning the books for others to read. I guess I was just never a fan of American fiction, having been spoiled by the British variety of Agatha Christie.
I read a few of these as a teenager, and I recall not liking them much, so I've never become hooked.
I didn't get very far with this before losing interest. I'm trying to be a better library citizen by making the DNF decision sooner and returning the books for others to read. I guess I was just never a fan of American fiction, having been spoiled by the British variety of Agatha Christie.
June 19, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 188 (of 250)
Seldom has such a great cast appeared in a series.
HOOK= 2 stars: A businessman visits Perry Mason's office for help: he wants everyone at a dinner party to be fingerprinted. The reader isn't told why and neither is Mason. A slight variation from standard openers, but still a standard for the genre.
PACE=2: Typical Gardner: the novel leads, natch, up to the mandatory courtroom scene.
PLOT=3: I thought this plot one of the better ones from Gardner. Horace Warren believes his wife has withdrawn $47,000 from their bank account and has hidden the money in a suitcase. Horace opens the suitcase to show Mason, but the suitcase is filled only with newspapers. Did his wife ever really have the money, or is Horace lying to Mason, or does someone else have the money? Then, someone tries to blackmail Mason for an undisclosed reason. Mason decides he'll play along but at the same time try to frame the blackmailer for a fake crime just to get rid of said blackmailer. Suspend belief and just go with it on an entertainment level: it's a fun read.
CHARACTERS=4: Della, Perry, Paul, and Hamilton make up one of the best cast in crime literature, in my opinion. Horace and his wife spice things up for a fourth star.
ATMOSPHERE/PLACE=2: This story could happen anywhere and when we get to the courtroom scene, there are no court reactions, no buzzing from the attendees, nothing. A miss.
SUMMARY: My overall rating is 2.6. The cast rules.
BOOK 188 (of 250)
Seldom has such a great cast appeared in a series.
HOOK= 2 stars: A businessman visits Perry Mason's office for help: he wants everyone at a dinner party to be fingerprinted. The reader isn't told why and neither is Mason. A slight variation from standard openers, but still a standard for the genre.
PACE=2: Typical Gardner: the novel leads, natch, up to the mandatory courtroom scene.
PLOT=3: I thought this plot one of the better ones from Gardner. Horace Warren believes his wife has withdrawn $47,000 from their bank account and has hidden the money in a suitcase. Horace opens the suitcase to show Mason, but the suitcase is filled only with newspapers. Did his wife ever really have the money, or is Horace lying to Mason, or does someone else have the money? Then, someone tries to blackmail Mason for an undisclosed reason. Mason decides he'll play along but at the same time try to frame the blackmailer for a fake crime just to get rid of said blackmailer. Suspend belief and just go with it on an entertainment level: it's a fun read.
CHARACTERS=4: Della, Perry, Paul, and Hamilton make up one of the best cast in crime literature, in my opinion. Horace and his wife spice things up for a fourth star.
ATMOSPHERE/PLACE=2: This story could happen anywhere and when we get to the courtroom scene, there are no court reactions, no buzzing from the attendees, nothing. A miss.
SUMMARY: My overall rating is 2.6. The cast rules.
September 17, 2016
The reason I like Perry Mason stories is it all takes place before the DNA and forensic evidence dominates the solution of a crime. Perry Mason does explore how the examiner determines time of death and uses fingerprints, but for the most part he tries to establish a logical sequence of events that explains the murder. This story is about a successful businessman whose wife has a secret past and could be blackmailed. When a man out of her past is released from prison then found murdered, her husband is charged with the murder. Perry has to reveal all the secrets and solve an old series of robberies as well as the murder. It's a good fast read with a good pace that keeps you turning the pages. And it'll keep you guessing to the final solution.
October 3, 2020
This was my first time reading any Perry Mason story and it proved to be perfect for the purpose for which I selected it. I had some doctor and dentist appointments and I needed a small paperback that could fit in my cargo pants for time in waiting rooms, this being a 1965 Pocket edition, it fit the bill. “The Case of the Phantom Fortune” is a page-turning little potboiler, slowed down by nothing.
Perry is hired to come to a dinner party with Della Street by a rich guy who thinks one of the guests in blackmailing his wife. There's a fingerprint on a note, so detective Paul Drake has got to have his people run the catering so they can get the fingerprints of all the guests off the glasses and such. The wife was once involved with a crook named Gideon, who the feds have been after for his $47,000 in loot. Gideon resurfaces, and trouble ensues!
Beyond the odd expression of frustration, everything in the book is to dedicated solely to the plot. The plot, in turn, unfolds almost entirely through the dialogue and the description outside the quotation marks is very scant. This makes it no surprise the character was adapted to films, radio, and the long-running show, it's almost in script format to start with.
There is nothing profound in this legal mystery yarn, there's nothing like action, there's an offscreen murder, an offscreen shooting, and another years old offscreen crime. What we get in the present is the intrigue of suspicion, Perry having to play close to the vest, the threat of being disbarred, and of course the threat of execution to a client wrongfully accused of murder.
I figure Gardner did precisely what he meant to do with this book, so we'll count it a success. I would have no problem reading Mr. Mason's exploits again, especially if I'm bound for an airplane or a waiting room.
Perry is hired to come to a dinner party with Della Street by a rich guy who thinks one of the guests in blackmailing his wife. There's a fingerprint on a note, so detective Paul Drake has got to have his people run the catering so they can get the fingerprints of all the guests off the glasses and such. The wife was once involved with a crook named Gideon, who the feds have been after for his $47,000 in loot. Gideon resurfaces, and trouble ensues!
Beyond the odd expression of frustration, everything in the book is to dedicated solely to the plot. The plot, in turn, unfolds almost entirely through the dialogue and the description outside the quotation marks is very scant. This makes it no surprise the character was adapted to films, radio, and the long-running show, it's almost in script format to start with.
There is nothing profound in this legal mystery yarn, there's nothing like action, there's an offscreen murder, an offscreen shooting, and another years old offscreen crime. What we get in the present is the intrigue of suspicion, Perry having to play close to the vest, the threat of being disbarred, and of course the threat of execution to a client wrongfully accused of murder.
I figure Gardner did precisely what he meant to do with this book, so we'll count it a success. I would have no problem reading Mr. Mason's exploits again, especially if I'm bound for an airplane or a waiting room.
May 31, 2021
Perry Mason is paid $500 to accompany Della to a function as a cover to help his host uncover who may be trying to blackmail his wife.
When the case inevitably leads to murder, Hamilton Burger requests that Perry Mason be tried for witness tampering and Mason must use all his skills to prove not only that he is innocent, but uncover the guilty party.
Perhaps the stereotypical storyline for those who think they know 'Perry Mason', where readers get the closest to someone being identified as the true crook from the dock as the hero is placed in jeopardy. A fine case of plotting by Gardner.
When the case inevitably leads to murder, Hamilton Burger requests that Perry Mason be tried for witness tampering and Mason must use all his skills to prove not only that he is innocent, but uncover the guilty party.
Perhaps the stereotypical storyline for those who think they know 'Perry Mason', where readers get the closest to someone being identified as the true crook from the dock as the hero is placed in jeopardy. A fine case of plotting by Gardner.
January 12, 2025
Incredibly improbable. 5 stars, great time
July 1, 2016
The trick in Perry Mason novels is to figure out the real killer since Mason's client is never guilty. This was really difficult in this story because there were so many people guilty of so many smaller crimes. Mason figuring out the real killer in the courtroom at the last minute is pretty standard but never gets old. I did miss Hamilton Burger losing his cool though.
Read
April 20, 2011I rather liked it. There are many mystery authors I have never read, but for some reason I never ventured much beyond Agatha Christie. I didn't know either that the TV show Perry Mason was based on a book series. Nor did I realize he's actually a lawyer; I thought he was a detective.
March 28, 2013
Classic Perry Mason. Lots of blackmail. In fact, this is the first book I've read where Perry is blackmailed, threatens to kill someone and almost gets disbarred. But the strange twists are masterfully done, making this one of the best in the series.
March 6, 2015
I love a good Perry Mason mystery!
May 5, 2021
The library keeps sending me large print books (which I do not enjoy reading,) but since they are interlibrary loans, I stick it out and read them. I've added the scan of the cover of the book to help BookReads build it's library.
erry Mason is probably one of my all-time favorite comfort food writers. He is always reassuringly smooth and arrogant. He's faithful to his Della, who is clearly both competent and a serious babe. The clients never tell the truth (is this where House gets its "patients always lie" trope?) and Lt. Tragg never catches up quickly enough. The books follow enough of a formula to be reassuring, but are never so formulaic that they are uninteresting.
The Case of the Phantom Fortune is a late Mason novel (1964) and honestly one of the weaker books in the bunch. The plot is oddly convoluted and seems to move in fits and starts. It isn't quite as slick as some of the other books. But still, it gets you where you are going, more or less. And it still is fine entertainment value, sure as shooting. This seems to be the last decade and Gardner becomes very formulaic. I can see him chasing his eight secretaries around the office, wanting to take them to his mining camp in his custom fit traveling van.
When a new client goes to a huge amount of trouble to retrieve a single matching fingerprint, Perry Mason is amused. When the same client hires Perry to protect his wife from the owner of the fingerprint no matter *who* it might be, he is even more intrigued. The fingerprint, however, came from the least likely person that could imagine and the story gets even stranger from there. With all the blackmail, double identities, and suspicion running around in this novel it is no wonder that somebody ends up dead.
In the earliest Perry Mason books, he was always punching someone out, Paul Drake constantly threw a leg over the furniture and Della Street was a flapper. Twenty-three skidoo. I miss "that" Perry.
erry Mason is probably one of my all-time favorite comfort food writers. He is always reassuringly smooth and arrogant. He's faithful to his Della, who is clearly both competent and a serious babe. The clients never tell the truth (is this where House gets its "patients always lie" trope?) and Lt. Tragg never catches up quickly enough. The books follow enough of a formula to be reassuring, but are never so formulaic that they are uninteresting.
The Case of the Phantom Fortune is a late Mason novel (1964) and honestly one of the weaker books in the bunch. The plot is oddly convoluted and seems to move in fits and starts. It isn't quite as slick as some of the other books. But still, it gets you where you are going, more or less. And it still is fine entertainment value, sure as shooting. This seems to be the last decade and Gardner becomes very formulaic. I can see him chasing his eight secretaries around the office, wanting to take them to his mining camp in his custom fit traveling van.
When a new client goes to a huge amount of trouble to retrieve a single matching fingerprint, Perry Mason is amused. When the same client hires Perry to protect his wife from the owner of the fingerprint no matter *who* it might be, he is even more intrigued. The fingerprint, however, came from the least likely person that could imagine and the story gets even stranger from there. With all the blackmail, double identities, and suspicion running around in this novel it is no wonder that somebody ends up dead.
In the earliest Perry Mason books, he was always punching someone out, Paul Drake constantly threw a leg over the furniture and Della Street was a flapper. Twenty-three skidoo. I miss "that" Perry.
October 10, 2025
The Case of the Phantom Fortune (1964) (P. Mason #73) by Erle Stanley Gardner. Possible blackmail is the main factor in this book. Horace Warren, a rich business man, wants Perry to protect his wife from a suspected villain. The bad guy is fresh out of prison and had been sent there for a crime involving $47,000, His secretary who was also tried but found not guilty, is now Warren;s wife. She told him early on not to inquire about her past, and as he loved her, agreed not to look.
Now she has a suitcase with $47,000 in it and he goes to see Mason because, as a loving husband, he needed to know what was behind the contents of the bag.
Like all the Mason stories, this is fast paced omitting almost everything that does not compel the story onward. The great cast is all present on both sides of the case, Paul Drake is still eating greasy hamburgers (you’d think he would order something else off the menu by now) and Della Street gets to strut her stuff when she has Mason escort her to a private dinner at the Warrens.
The courtroom is as lively as ever, it being one of the consistent scenes throughout the series. There is nothing to dislike in this book, and the mystery that surrounds Gideon, the villain, plays out smoothly with Mason solving another crime against his client.
Very satisfying, but the reading goes too quickly. Luckily I have a trove of editions from throughout Mr. Gardner’s career to fall back on.
And as a side note this book, like so many of his, is dedicated to a person who is at the top of the Forensic sciences, this time from Japan named Shigeo Osgata., A very nice thing he did to honor the people who dedicated their lives for the good of justice.
Now she has a suitcase with $47,000 in it and he goes to see Mason because, as a loving husband, he needed to know what was behind the contents of the bag.
Like all the Mason stories, this is fast paced omitting almost everything that does not compel the story onward. The great cast is all present on both sides of the case, Paul Drake is still eating greasy hamburgers (you’d think he would order something else off the menu by now) and Della Street gets to strut her stuff when she has Mason escort her to a private dinner at the Warrens.
The courtroom is as lively as ever, it being one of the consistent scenes throughout the series. There is nothing to dislike in this book, and the mystery that surrounds Gideon, the villain, plays out smoothly with Mason solving another crime against his client.
Very satisfying, but the reading goes too quickly. Luckily I have a trove of editions from throughout Mr. Gardner’s career to fall back on.
And as a side note this book, like so many of his, is dedicated to a person who is at the top of the Forensic sciences, this time from Japan named Shigeo Osgata., A very nice thing he did to honor the people who dedicated their lives for the good of justice.
January 7, 2024
Horace Warren, bir gün Mason'a gelir. Evinde bir Büfe yemeği vereceğini, bu sırada gelen misafirlerin parmak izini almasını, bunlardan birini karısı aleyhine iş yaptığını düşündüğünü, bunu tespit etmesini ister. Bu kişi kimse karısını bu kişiden korumasını ister. Paul Drake catering firması gibi davranarak eve girer. Yardımcısı Judson Olley de Della Street ile bir gemi yolculuğunda karşılaştığın ve o yüzden çağırdığını söyler. Della da yanında Mason'ı getirmiştir. Horace evde karısının şantaj için para biriktirdiğini söyler. Ama çantada para yerine gazete kağıdı çıkar. Collister Gideon adında biri, Mason'a gelir ve ona şantaj yapar. Kadının geçmişini bildiğini söyler. Horace'ın karısı zamanında onunla çalışmıştır. Mason 500 dolar verir. Ama sonra 10000 dolar ister. Ayrıca Horace ve karısına da ayrı ayrı şantaj yapmıştır. Mason, bir soygun olayında Gideon'un robot resmini dükkan sahibi Leary'ye gösterir ama tanımaz onu. Gideon'un beklediği depo işin yangın alarmı verir. Ama itfaiye ve Tragg gidince Gideon'un cesedini bulurlar. Olay yerine Horace elinde silahla bulunur. Dava sürecinde Hamilton Burger, Mason'a da dava açmak ister. Leary'yi kandırmaya çalışıyor iddiasıyla. Ama deponun aranmadığı ortaya çıkar. Burada bir silah daha bulunur. Acaba katil kimdir? Mason Gideon'un bir ortağı olduğunu mu düşünür? Müvekkilini kurtarabilecek midir? Keyifle okunan bir roman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2024
Like many of the books in the series, this one recycles certain elements from previous books. It’s as if Gardner has a stock of plot pieces and pulls various ones out to create a new story.
There is a husband who suspects his wife is being blackmailed and some evidence found later in the story that is similar to what Perry has found before - but I won’t spoil it.
Perry has gotten Paul in trouble with the police. Perry suspects some facts that would let Paul off the hook but doesn’t reveal them until later because that would wrap things up too early.
DA Burger accuses Perry of planting evidence and using “the old razzle dazzle” despite having been proven wrong every other time. He’s embarrassed in court once again.
This book is pretty short at 173 pages and lacks some of the fun and spirit that makes it easier to accept the far fetched elements.
There is a husband who suspects his wife is being blackmailed and some evidence found later in the story that is similar to what Perry has found before - but I won’t spoil it.
Perry has gotten Paul in trouble with the police. Perry suspects some facts that would let Paul off the hook but doesn’t reveal them until later because that would wrap things up too early.
DA Burger accuses Perry of planting evidence and using “the old razzle dazzle” despite having been proven wrong every other time. He’s embarrassed in court once again.
This book is pretty short at 173 pages and lacks some of the fun and spirit that makes it easier to accept the far fetched elements.
December 14, 2018
"El caso de la fortuna fantasma" (3/5)
El abogado Perry Mason es contratado por un millonario para averiguar quién chantajea a su esposa, labor que realiza con la ayuda de un amigo detective, aunque, en realidad el abogado se comporta todo el tiempo como si él fuese el detective y el otro un simple asiatente. Excepto al final, durante el juicio. Es la primera novela que leo del personaje. La narración es sencilla, entretenida, sin mucho vuelo.
14.12.18
El abogado Perry Mason es contratado por un millonario para averiguar quién chantajea a su esposa, labor que realiza con la ayuda de un amigo detective, aunque, en realidad el abogado se comporta todo el tiempo como si él fuese el detective y el otro un simple asiatente. Excepto al final, durante el juicio. Es la primera novela que leo del personaje. La narración es sencilla, entretenida, sin mucho vuelo.
14.12.18
July 22, 2023
What gets introduced in the first act and solved in the last act are actually pretty interesting, but it's almost impressive how unconnected they are to each other. Add on to that endless boring scenes of people talking in offices, and the mental gymnastics that Gardner does to pretend that hiring a lawyer is exactly the same act as hiring a private detective, and it comes out with a book that could have been pleasantly diverting but is more hollow and disappointing.
August 5, 2024
Mason is hired by Mr. Horace Warren to attend a dinner party at his home, and protect his wife from the party goers, and herself. Mason soon realizes that this client is no ordinary client, and finds himself involved in mail fraud, blackmail, and murder, and a charge of witness tampering and contempt brought on by the D.A. Hamilton Burger. Perry Mason must use all his wits and talent to clear his client of murder, and himself all in one neat package.
August 18, 2020
A reread of a reread. Gardner is probably my all time favorite author, and every now and then
I pull one and reread. In this instance, I was saying goodbye to an old friend - the cover has torn off and it's time to place it in the craft bin.
Another galloping Mason read!
I pull one and reread. In this instance, I was saying goodbye to an old friend - the cover has torn off and it's time to place it in the craft bin.
Another galloping Mason read!
April 2, 2024
Perry Mason has an unusual lead-up to a murder case and Mason himself is charged by Hamilton Burger with tampering of evidence. It’s a really good story and the revelations at the end make a lot of sense.
February 20, 2018
Great setup meets is undermined by a rather unlikely coincidence to tie things together.
May 16, 2019
This is a fun puzzle style mystery with a satisfactory ending.
June 1, 2020
Basic Perry Mason, who done it? A murder, a client, a court case and Mason wins out. These were my Mom's favorite and I inherited them. Decided I'd read through her collection, memories.
October 11, 2020
Perry and Della- the dream team
May 4, 2021
Unputdownable !
October 5, 2021
Goog mix of plot and legal stuff
Standard plot, good trial episode, good closure . Great repartee between Mason and D.A. Burger. I do not have five more words.
Standard plot, good trial episode, good closure . Great repartee between Mason and D.A. Burger. I do not have five more words.
October 22, 2022
Hate to say it, but the red herrings got me and I was completely surprised at the end. So much fun.
January 14, 2025
Entertaining as all the Perry Mason books are
December 23, 2025
me lo encontré en la calle y un perfecto libro de llevar en el bolso
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