The Case of the Burning Bequest

by Thomas Chastain

Perry Mason in the Case of the Burning Bequest: Based on Characters Created by Erle Stanley Gardner

Genres: Mystery, Detective, Fiction

212 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1990

Reviews

[Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este cartucho foi prazeroso! O célebre e excelente advogado Perry Mason é chamado a intervir quando o John Leland fica sob suspeita de ter assassinado a madrasta da sua noiva. As provas parecem indicar que ele é mesmo culpado... Fiz todas as deduções, também por causa do titulo tão evidente, e afinal fui surpreendido por uma grande reviravolta! Muito bom!

[Read1000books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having now read three Perry Mason mysteries by his creator Erle Stanley Gardner and the two by Thomas Chastain, I have to say that Mr. Chastain has the characters down pretty well. Both the mystery and the courtroom scenes in this novel were quite good. In fact for readers under age 40 who want to check out a P.M. novel for the first time, one of the two by Chastain (too bad he didn't write any more) might be good for starters in that he leaves out a lot of 1930's and 40's verbiage found in the originals that may not be familiar today (for example, do you know what a "flivver" is?). A couple of instances of mild profanity but no sexual content or over the top violence to mar a pleasant few hours of reading. And now a quote from our attorney: "Murder has a way of bringing out the worst in people' - Perry Mason (p.135).

[Panu Mäkinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perry Mason ja poltettu testamentti (1990) on toistaiseksi viimeinen julkaistu Perry Mason -tarina ja toinen Thomas Chastainin kirjoittamista Perry Mason -tarinoista. Chastain tavoittelee hyvin alkuperäisen tekijän Erle Stanley Gardnerin tyyliä, mutta alkuperäinen on silti alkuperäinen. Tarina ei toki ole huono mutta ei erityisen loistokaskaan. On melko hämmentävää, millaisella innolla kumpikin Chastainin Perry Mason -dekkareista on suomennettu heti alkuteosten ilmestymisen jälkeen, kun taasen Gardnerin dekkareista ainakin yli puolet odottavat vieläkin suomentamistaan.

[Tinker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harvoin saadaan aikaan hyvä lopputulos, kun kirjailijan kuoltua hänen luomistaan hahmoista alkaakin kirjoittaa joku muu. Thomas Chastain tuo kuitenkin takaisin Perry Masonin kiinnostavassa ja hyvinrakennetussa dekkarissa. Chastain kirjoittaa hyvin ja Erle Stanley Gardnerin tyyliä kunnioittaen.

[G Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done. Almost as if written by ESG

[Sherry Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, fun nostalgic read.

[Jacquelyn Schingeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent story and definitely captured the personalities of Perry Mason, Paul Drake, and Della Street. Strange to be reading it and not seeing it on TV but it was not lacking.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the large print edition of this book. The length was novella size and it read just like a TV episode. It was a nice, quick read and I could picture scenes from the old TV series in my mind, particularly the courtroom scenes. The author captured the feel of the old series, including the appearance of the side characters but updated the time frame for today, to include the use of DNA testing and cell phones. This was a third person narrative so you could not know what Perry Mason thinking until he told everyone else in court. All in all, this was a good, fresh update for a new Perry Mason story.

[Mark Stratton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another wonderful waste of time and brain power. Gardner wrote terrific little pot boilers that are always fun to read.

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Random, I know! I like Mason!