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Cool and Lam #11
Fools Die on Friday
From Perry Mason -creator Erle Stanley Gardner comes a lost classic of detective fiction featuring private eyes Donald Lam (once played by Frank Sinatra!) and Bertha Cool.
"About the best of the series... perhaps since the very first." — Raymond Chandler
Private investigators Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, stars of five of Hard Case Crime’s most popular novels, return to solve their toughest case yet.
Hired to prevent a socialite from poisoning her husband, Donald Lam dreams up an ingenious scheme involving a carton of anchovy paste and a fictitious national ad campaign. But when the whole thing backfires spectacularly and bodies, witnesses, and suspects start piling up, it’ll take every ounce of Donald’s brainpower and Bertha’s bruising ruthlessness to keep the police at bay – and a killer from getting away with murder.
"About the best of the series... perhaps since the very first." — Raymond Chandler
Private investigators Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, stars of five of Hard Case Crime’s most popular novels, return to solve their toughest case yet.
Hired to prevent a socialite from poisoning her husband, Donald Lam dreams up an ingenious scheme involving a carton of anchovy paste and a fictitious national ad campaign. But when the whole thing backfires spectacularly and bodies, witnesses, and suspects start piling up, it’ll take every ounce of Donald’s brainpower and Bertha’s bruising ruthlessness to keep the police at bay – and a killer from getting away with murder.
Hardcover
First published September 1, 1947
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
October 2, 2017
The twelfth entry in A. A. Fair's (Erle Stanley Gardner's) Donald Lam and Bertha Cool series begins, as do many of the others, with a new client coming into the office and lying to the two detectives. A young woman--"a nice number, brunette, trim, with nice curves"--claims to be Beatrice Ballwin. She offers the partners $500.00 to prevent her uncle, Gerald, from being poisoned by his wife, Daphne. (This book was published in 1947, when people still had names like Beatrice and Daphne.)
As always, Bertha is happy to take the money while leaving the execution of the job up to Donald. But, as he points out, he can hardly stand by Gerald Ballwin's side, watching everything that his wife serves him to eat. How, exactly, is he supposed to prevent the guy from being poisoned?
Donald comes up with a clever scheme to protect Ballwin that should work perfectly. But then complications occur and all hell breaks loose. The client is unhappy with Donald; Bertha is furious with him, and now the cops are after him.
Oh well, it's all in a day's work for Donald, and as always, he'll have to move quickly and intelligently to save his own bacon and that of the firm. As usual, it's fun watching him maneuver his way through the puzzle while Bertha fumes and sputters and Sergeant Frank Sellers stumbles around one step behind him. This is one of the more entertaining books in a fun, classic series.
As always, Bertha is happy to take the money while leaving the execution of the job up to Donald. But, as he points out, he can hardly stand by Gerald Ballwin's side, watching everything that his wife serves him to eat. How, exactly, is he supposed to prevent the guy from being poisoned?
Donald comes up with a clever scheme to protect Ballwin that should work perfectly. But then complications occur and all hell breaks loose. The client is unhappy with Donald; Bertha is furious with him, and now the cops are after him.
Oh well, it's all in a day's work for Donald, and as always, he'll have to move quickly and intelligently to save his own bacon and that of the firm. As usual, it's fun watching him maneuver his way through the puzzle while Bertha fumes and sputters and Sergeant Frank Sellers stumbles around one step behind him. This is one of the more entertaining books in a fun, classic series.
August 29, 2025
"The thickheaded incompetency of them - the fools who die on Friday! They're the bums among the murderers, the ones who lost their heads, the ones who are incompetent . . . " -- suspect Carl Keetley
" . . . and sometimes the ones who are lucky." -- private eye Donald Lam, on pages 156-157
The Hard Case Crime paperback reprint of this 1947 murder-mystery includes a cover blurb from no less than the legendary Raymond Chandler opining that this book is "about the best of the series" at that time, of the (eventual) thirty 'Cool and Lam' stories. However, I found this a merely good if dated story, with an over-reliance on dialogue-heavy scenes and a lack of actual action and/or suspense. Donald Lam, that law school-educated but otherwise sort of everyman-type of a persevering private investigator, takes on a case involving a poisoned Los Angeles real estate magnate and his socialite second wife. It wasn't a particularly memorable narrative, but there was a very good extended scene late in the book where P.I. Lam, a cynical police sergeant, and a shady Good Samaritan type work together (using technology that was state-of-the-art at the time, but seems almost laughably quaint to a modern audience) to obtain evidence that will prove to be a breakthrough in the investigation.
" . . . and sometimes the ones who are lucky." -- private eye Donald Lam, on pages 156-157
The Hard Case Crime paperback reprint of this 1947 murder-mystery includes a cover blurb from no less than the legendary Raymond Chandler opining that this book is "about the best of the series" at that time, of the (eventual) thirty 'Cool and Lam' stories. However, I found this a merely good if dated story, with an over-reliance on dialogue-heavy scenes and a lack of actual action and/or suspense. Donald Lam, that law school-educated but otherwise sort of everyman-type of a persevering private investigator, takes on a case involving a poisoned Los Angeles real estate magnate and his socialite second wife. It wasn't a particularly memorable narrative, but there was a very good extended scene late in the book where P.I. Lam, a cynical police sergeant, and a shady Good Samaritan type work together (using technology that was state-of-the-art at the time, but seems almost laughably quaint to a modern audience) to obtain evidence that will prove to be a breakthrough in the investigation.
June 20, 2017
The Cool and Lam series is the story of a mismatched pair of detectives, Typical of the series is greedy Bertha Cool immediately signing a client who waved around a stack of dollar bills. Also typical of the series is Donald Lam's exhortations to slow down because brainy Donald thinks the story doesn't all add up. Why is a secretary ponying up hundreds of dollars to investigate the possibility that a poisoning might occur? This story involves murder, real estate sales, horse racing, and bodies flopping around just about everywhere. Truth be told there's not all that much of the usual kind of action you find in detective stories -- car chases, gunfights, death-defying feats -- but the story moves so fast you don't even realize that. All in all, a good, solid story, very typical of the series, although it doesn't quite have the kind of mind-blowing pop other stories might have.
February 11, 2023
Cool and Lam return with arsenic-laced hors d'oeuvres and murder.
“Every Friday there's a sorry procession of them, stumbling up the thirteen stairs to the scafold, being led into the gas chamber between two attendants, marching the last grim mile down to the electric chair. They're fools. They've started out for eternity on Friday, the last grim stroke of torture that our civilization can think up. Not only do they deprive the man of his life, but they try to make him feel he's starting on his journey to eternity on an unlucky day."
-Erle Stanley Gardner
“Every Friday there's a sorry procession of them, stumbling up the thirteen stairs to the scafold, being led into the gas chamber between two attendants, marching the last grim mile down to the electric chair. They're fools. They've started out for eternity on Friday, the last grim stroke of torture that our civilization can think up. Not only do they deprive the man of his life, but they try to make him feel he's starting on his journey to eternity on an unlucky day."
-Erle Stanley Gardner
May 9, 2025
3.5
It's inevitable that certain authors fall out of favor; not so much that, at some point, readers turn on them but they can enter that twilight zone of 'falling out of fashion'. Some - like Erle Stanley Gardner - can still deserve to be read.
I've no idea how often people still read Gardner's Perry Mason novels, much less his concurrent sub-series 'Cool and Lam'. But the 'C&L' books seem to remain much more alive with their sense of 'noir'... at least in a way that the PM novels just hint at.
'Noir' may, to some degree, have gone out of fashion but, on the other hand, there may always be a percentage that find the genre evergreen. And Gardner (writing the C&L series as 'A.A. Fair') seemed intent on helping noir endure.
He's especially effective in that regard when it comes to the first 3 C&L books (including 'The Knife Slipped', now regarded as entry #2, though it was only finally published in 2016).
'Fools Die on Friday' - the 12th entry - certainly does its best to avoid a formulaic feeling. The Hard Case Crime edition tells us on its cover that none other than Raymond Chandler was duly impressed: "About the best of the series... perhaps since the very first."
Alas, I can't go that far; I think the first 3 entries are superior. But... 'FDOF' isn't at all a bad book. In most ways, it's rather solid even if, by comparison, it feels a bit slim, occasionally lazy, and even though Bertha Cool feels needlessly sidelined.
It's better in its first half - highlighting the kind of snap-crackle-pop dialogue that may have wowed Chandler (no slouch himself in the near-jabber department). It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this entry, to me, felt somewhat more like 'automatic pilot'. ~ except that, in this case, more than the other ones I've read, I had the feeling that Gardner was just 'doing his day job'. The story didn't seem to have that 'something extra' that made the other entries more kinetic.
And, of course, this could just be me and others may scratch their heads in disagreement. Like I said, it's still not a bad book.
Lately, there seems to be... some... renewed (if slow) interest (on the part of Hard Case Crime and American Mystery Classics, in particular) in bringing out new editions of C&L. Currently, finding entries in sequence can be a bit pricey. Sequence isn't important to me so I plan to read a few more that are readily available. For now, I remain intrigued by Bertha and her 'guy Friday' Donald Lam.
It's inevitable that certain authors fall out of favor; not so much that, at some point, readers turn on them but they can enter that twilight zone of 'falling out of fashion'. Some - like Erle Stanley Gardner - can still deserve to be read.
I've no idea how often people still read Gardner's Perry Mason novels, much less his concurrent sub-series 'Cool and Lam'. But the 'C&L' books seem to remain much more alive with their sense of 'noir'... at least in a way that the PM novels just hint at.
'Noir' may, to some degree, have gone out of fashion but, on the other hand, there may always be a percentage that find the genre evergreen. And Gardner (writing the C&L series as 'A.A. Fair') seemed intent on helping noir endure.
He's especially effective in that regard when it comes to the first 3 C&L books (including 'The Knife Slipped', now regarded as entry #2, though it was only finally published in 2016).
'Fools Die on Friday' - the 12th entry - certainly does its best to avoid a formulaic feeling. The Hard Case Crime edition tells us on its cover that none other than Raymond Chandler was duly impressed: "About the best of the series... perhaps since the very first."
Alas, I can't go that far; I think the first 3 entries are superior. But... 'FDOF' isn't at all a bad book. In most ways, it's rather solid even if, by comparison, it feels a bit slim, occasionally lazy, and even though Bertha Cool feels needlessly sidelined.
It's better in its first half - highlighting the kind of snap-crackle-pop dialogue that may have wowed Chandler (no slouch himself in the near-jabber department). It's hard to pinpoint exactly why this entry, to me, felt somewhat more like 'automatic pilot'. ~ except that, in this case, more than the other ones I've read, I had the feeling that Gardner was just 'doing his day job'. The story didn't seem to have that 'something extra' that made the other entries more kinetic.
And, of course, this could just be me and others may scratch their heads in disagreement. Like I said, it's still not a bad book.
Lately, there seems to be... some... renewed (if slow) interest (on the part of Hard Case Crime and American Mystery Classics, in particular) in bringing out new editions of C&L. Currently, finding entries in sequence can be a bit pricey. Sequence isn't important to me so I plan to read a few more that are readily available. For now, I remain intrigued by Bertha and her 'guy Friday' Donald Lam.
January 21, 2021
This is the 13th volume of this series I've read, though not the 13th chronologically or in published order. Cool and Lam is right up there with Macdonald's Archer and Chandler's Marlowe in terms of my favorite mystery series, though Gardner's a very different sort of writer. I've spaced out the reading of these too much to be able to do any more than an "impressions" type comparison, but I'd say this is one of the better installments in the series.
The blurbs on these books often try to play up Lam as some kind of ladies man, which baffles me as he doesn't come off that way in the text to me. The plot here kicks off with a sketchy client hiring them to prevent her employer being poisoned. Of course, poisonings ensue and everybody's lying. I felt like the main villain was obvious early on, but there were enough twists and unexpected details to satisfy.
The blurbs on these books often try to play up Lam as some kind of ladies man, which baffles me as he doesn't come off that way in the text to me. The plot here kicks off with a sketchy client hiring them to prevent her employer being poisoned. Of course, poisonings ensue and everybody's lying. I felt like the main villain was obvious early on, but there were enough twists and unexpected details to satisfy.
December 20, 2022
Hard Case Crime's new edition of Erle Stanley Gardner's Fools Die on Friday has that quote from Raymond Chandler on it that says it's the best entry in the series since the first, and it's not an exaggeration. Most of the books in the series are good, enjoyable reads, but this one was great. It's the twelfth installment in the Cool and Lam series which I have really grown to love more than Gardner's other series, Perry Mason. This one takes all the ingredients that make up a great Cool and Lam mystery and enhances them to create a story that really had me guessing up until the final pages.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Books and Edelweiss Plus for a digital ARC.
Special Thanks to Hard Case Crime, Titan Books and Edelweiss Plus for a digital ARC.
October 24, 2020
A.A. Fair was the pen name of Earl Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason. The feel of the Donald Lam and Bertha Cool mystery series shows signs of a common creator, though they are cut of the same bold cloth, there are some distinctions. Bertha Cool is a loud obnoxious, big boned woman, tight-fisted with a dollar, demanding, and she is the boss of the operation. Her partner, Donald Lam, appears to be almost a lamb compared to the stereotypical private eye type. In this volume one of the characters reflects that there is something about him that makes a woman feel safe divulging secrets, but that she is aware that the is a pillar of concrete. Lam is not particularly tough, but he makes up for that in cleverness. Most of these novels feature Bertha while showcasing Donald. In fact, some of the novels in this series star Bertha as during World War II, the author sent Donald off to war, leaving Bertha to run the agency alone. This volume is set after World War II. (first published 1947)
The pacing of this novel is almost frenetic-- moving rapidly along from scene to scene-- with a sense that something needs to be done quickly. The author moves gracefully from plot twist to plot twist. The client comes to Lam and Cool seeking protection for a businessman whose household she serves as a secretary. She believes he is to be poisoned. Lam immediately suspects it is a setup to create a frame for someone. He arranges a plot that he calls "psychological handcuffs" to keep the wife from poisoning her husband. To Lam's dismay-- the husband is poisoned and the plot is off to the races from there... A dentist, a conniving wife, a grumpy butler/driver, a sexy business woman, a gambler with a system for betting the horses, a fired dental assistant (called a nurse) and of course, Sergeant Sellers, who is trying to solve the mystery himself.
Gardner writes clever stories. Nothing is ever as it exactly seems. Every character has his or her own agenda. Most have their own secrets that complicate the murder mystery. Through it all, Lam connives, plots, searches, and sets his own traps-- always avoiding falling into the hands of the police and keep them from using the framed up evidence against his client or others.
Lam is a sucker for the dames-- seemingly falling in love at the drop of a hat.. Funny that the women in these books always have "nice legs" or a "nice front." I don't remember an ugly character (with the exception of Bertha, who might not be ugly, but the author conveys a certain unattractiveness).
The dialogue is a bit dated.. Bertha's favorite exclamation is "Fry me for an oyster!" There is a bit of a side story involving horse race betting that is fun. As long as the reader remembers that this book is set in the 1940's, he will enjoy a step back in history, style, and flavor. Modern writers try to recapture this era from time to time-- but none of them are a substitute for this author, the real thing.
Finally, a personal note. I'd been looking hard for some of this series. I read one of them at my grandmother's house as a teenager. I purchased one on ebay and when the package arrive there were three books inside. First, I had misread the listing and did not realize it was for two books by this author. The seller had another title that was falling apart and threw it in the package with a note stating it was "free." This title was the one falling apart. I labored to hold it together as I read it. If it had been any less exciting and fun I would have set it aside. It turned out that it was definitely worth all the effort holding the pages together. A fun and thrilling mystery novel.
The pacing of this novel is almost frenetic-- moving rapidly along from scene to scene-- with a sense that something needs to be done quickly. The author moves gracefully from plot twist to plot twist. The client comes to Lam and Cool seeking protection for a businessman whose household she serves as a secretary. She believes he is to be poisoned. Lam immediately suspects it is a setup to create a frame for someone. He arranges a plot that he calls "psychological handcuffs" to keep the wife from poisoning her husband. To Lam's dismay-- the husband is poisoned and the plot is off to the races from there... A dentist, a conniving wife, a grumpy butler/driver, a sexy business woman, a gambler with a system for betting the horses, a fired dental assistant (called a nurse) and of course, Sergeant Sellers, who is trying to solve the mystery himself.
Gardner writes clever stories. Nothing is ever as it exactly seems. Every character has his or her own agenda. Most have their own secrets that complicate the murder mystery. Through it all, Lam connives, plots, searches, and sets his own traps-- always avoiding falling into the hands of the police and keep them from using the framed up evidence against his client or others.
Lam is a sucker for the dames-- seemingly falling in love at the drop of a hat.. Funny that the women in these books always have "nice legs" or a "nice front." I don't remember an ugly character (with the exception of Bertha, who might not be ugly, but the author conveys a certain unattractiveness).
The dialogue is a bit dated.. Bertha's favorite exclamation is "Fry me for an oyster!" There is a bit of a side story involving horse race betting that is fun. As long as the reader remembers that this book is set in the 1940's, he will enjoy a step back in history, style, and flavor. Modern writers try to recapture this era from time to time-- but none of them are a substitute for this author, the real thing.
Finally, a personal note. I'd been looking hard for some of this series. I read one of them at my grandmother's house as a teenager. I purchased one on ebay and when the package arrive there were three books inside. First, I had misread the listing and did not realize it was for two books by this author. The seller had another title that was falling apart and threw it in the package with a note stating it was "free." This title was the one falling apart. I labored to hold it together as I read it. If it had been any less exciting and fun I would have set it aside. It turned out that it was definitely worth all the effort holding the pages together. A fun and thrilling mystery novel.
April 1, 2017
I only read it once, but I Finished it On Friday and today is April Fools' Day. Hopefully, I will not Die as a result. It was a nice, quick read & enjoyable, but as one reviewer mentioned, it is pretty formulaic. I am sure that it is a drawback borne of reading a series in succession, as opposed to as they were released, kind of like binge-watching older television shows.
In this one, ESG/AAF kept the cast of characters rather minimal, which made it easier to keep track and I had a bit of an inkling before the grand finale. I liked the idea of the redheaded nurse who is depicted on the cover of an early edition.
Speaking of editions, I added mine, but I wish that there were some way of adding a picture of the cover. Mine was a Dell paperback c. 1971 or 1972 as are the bulk of my collection. The cover(s) feature a circular picture, most likely taken with a fisheye lens, with a woman (usually topless, but covering her breasts) surrounded by objets d'art, usually having something to do with the plot. Very evocative of that swingin' era.
In this one, ESG/AAF kept the cast of characters rather minimal, which made it easier to keep track and I had a bit of an inkling before the grand finale. I liked the idea of the redheaded nurse who is depicted on the cover of an early edition.
Speaking of editions, I added mine, but I wish that there were some way of adding a picture of the cover. Mine was a Dell paperback c. 1971 or 1972 as are the bulk of my collection. The cover(s) feature a circular picture, most likely taken with a fisheye lens, with a woman (usually topless, but covering her breasts) surrounded by objets d'art, usually having something to do with the plot. Very evocative of that swingin' era.
March 7, 2023
Fools Die on Friday, Erle Stanley Gardner writing as A.A. Fair [Hard Case Crime, 1947].
In this reissue of a 1947 novel featuring Cool and Lam, Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are hired to prevent the poisoning of a man named Gerald Ballwin by his wife. Despite a clever ruse by Lam, Ballwin and his wife are poisoned by arsenic-laced anchovy paste.
***
Erle Stanley Gardner was, at one time, the world’s bestselling writer. The creator of Perry Mason, Gardner died in Temecula, CA in 1970.
In this reissue of a 1947 novel featuring Cool and Lam, Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are hired to prevent the poisoning of a man named Gerald Ballwin by his wife. Despite a clever ruse by Lam, Ballwin and his wife are poisoned by arsenic-laced anchovy paste.
***
Erle Stanley Gardner was, at one time, the world’s bestselling writer. The creator of Perry Mason, Gardner died in Temecula, CA in 1970.
July 28, 2021
The Cool and Lam series is enjoyable although Bertha Cool is becoming increasingly bombastic and bullying that it is surprising that Donald puts up with her as she does precious little work. In this one, her role seemed to be to get him into the bad books of Sergeant Sellars.
Good story, complicated finale and frustrating at times. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
Good story, complicated finale and frustrating at times. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars.
December 18, 2023
Major Characters:
Gerald Ballwin, real estate developer
Anita Ballwin, his first wife (died prior to story)
Daphne Ballwin, his second wife
Carl Keetley, Anita’s brother, a gambler
Ethyl Worley, Gerald’s secretary
Carlotta Hanford, Daphne’s personal secretary
Wilmont Mariville, the Ballwin’s butler/chauffeur
Dr. George L. Quay, a dentist
Ruth Otis, Dr. Quay’s nurse
Bertha Cool, P.I.
Donald Lam, P.I.
Jim Fordney, Cool & Lam’s operative
Detective Frank Sellers
Locale: not specified
Synopsis: A woman claiming to be Beatrice Ballwin comes to the office of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. She is worried a poisoning attempt will be made on her uncle, real estate developer Gerald Ballwin, and is looking for them to prevent it. Lam replies they cannot prevent a determined poisoner, but they take the case. Lam quickly determines she is not really who she says she is, but is Carlotta Hanford, personal secretary to Gerald’s wife, Daphne Ballwin.
Lam visits Ballwin’s sales office under the guise of purchasing a building lot, and is shown around by Carl Keetley, Ballwin’s brother-in-law (brother of Anita, Ballwin’s first wife). Keetley, a gambler, is not an employee, but hangs around the real estate office to borrow money from Ballwin.
Lam then wants to buy some time for Gerald by putting his wife (Lam’s suspect) in “psychological handcuffs”. He visits Daphne in the guise of an advertising agent for a brand of anchovy paste. He finds her to be a social climber who desperately wants social publicity, and amuses herself by tormenting her butler/chauffeur Wilmont Mariville. Lam charms her into agreeing to try samples of the paste with vague promises of a nationwide advertising campaign. Lam reasons this potential publicity will cause her to hold off on any murder attempts.
Lam suspects Daphne as the potential poisoner, and puts operative Jim Fordney on her tail. He finds that she pays frequent visits to her dentist, Dr. George L. Quay, and intimidates his nurse, Ruth Otis. Lam pumps Otis for details, and finds Daphne is deep in an affair with Dr. Quay.
Daphne hosts a dinner party and has butler Mariville prepare the hors d’oeuvres - anchovy paste on crackers. She feeds one to Gerald, who immediately becomes poisoned from arsenic and hospitalized. Soon after, Daphne eats some of the crackers and is herself poisoned.
Review: As with most murder mysteries, I was expecting a murder right off, but no murder occurs until fully 2/3 of the way through so we are kept hanging (forgive choice of word) a long time - Gerald is poisoned - is he going to die? Daphne is poisoned - is she going to die?.
The interesting character is Carl Keetley. He is on the edge of everything that happens. At first he seems a lounge lizard-type bounder, always hitting up the relations for money. Later we find him in an office of his own, suspiciously near Dr. Quay’s office - whose lover/patient is wife #2 to Gerald, whose wife #1 was Carl’s sister. It takes a little concentration to keep the relationships straight. Keetley uses this office to develop a machine (described in great detail) which allows him to predict the winner of horse races. Once murder occurs, Sellers and Lam visit him, but they seem more interested in the machine than in solving the murder.
I always enjoy the sarcastic trash-talking between Lam, Cool, and Sellers. Lam gets into that so much more than Perry Mason.
Gardner explains the title in his author’s note in the preface: "There are many people who do not know that from time immemorial Society has decreed there shall be thirteen steps to the gallows. There may be, therefore, readers who miss the significance of the title of this story. In California, as in many other states, executions invariably take place on Friday."
For additional reviews indexed by author, please visit The Mystillery Blog and try The Mystillery Reading Challenges!
Gerald Ballwin, real estate developer
Anita Ballwin, his first wife (died prior to story)
Daphne Ballwin, his second wife
Carl Keetley, Anita’s brother, a gambler
Ethyl Worley, Gerald’s secretary
Carlotta Hanford, Daphne’s personal secretary
Wilmont Mariville, the Ballwin’s butler/chauffeur
Dr. George L. Quay, a dentist
Ruth Otis, Dr. Quay’s nurse
Bertha Cool, P.I.
Donald Lam, P.I.
Jim Fordney, Cool & Lam’s operative
Detective Frank Sellers
Locale: not specified
Synopsis: A woman claiming to be Beatrice Ballwin comes to the office of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. She is worried a poisoning attempt will be made on her uncle, real estate developer Gerald Ballwin, and is looking for them to prevent it. Lam replies they cannot prevent a determined poisoner, but they take the case. Lam quickly determines she is not really who she says she is, but is Carlotta Hanford, personal secretary to Gerald’s wife, Daphne Ballwin.
Lam visits Ballwin’s sales office under the guise of purchasing a building lot, and is shown around by Carl Keetley, Ballwin’s brother-in-law (brother of Anita, Ballwin’s first wife). Keetley, a gambler, is not an employee, but hangs around the real estate office to borrow money from Ballwin.
Lam then wants to buy some time for Gerald by putting his wife (Lam’s suspect) in “psychological handcuffs”. He visits Daphne in the guise of an advertising agent for a brand of anchovy paste. He finds her to be a social climber who desperately wants social publicity, and amuses herself by tormenting her butler/chauffeur Wilmont Mariville. Lam charms her into agreeing to try samples of the paste with vague promises of a nationwide advertising campaign. Lam reasons this potential publicity will cause her to hold off on any murder attempts.
Lam suspects Daphne as the potential poisoner, and puts operative Jim Fordney on her tail. He finds that she pays frequent visits to her dentist, Dr. George L. Quay, and intimidates his nurse, Ruth Otis. Lam pumps Otis for details, and finds Daphne is deep in an affair with Dr. Quay.
Daphne hosts a dinner party and has butler Mariville prepare the hors d’oeuvres - anchovy paste on crackers. She feeds one to Gerald, who immediately becomes poisoned from arsenic and hospitalized. Soon after, Daphne eats some of the crackers and is herself poisoned.
Review: As with most murder mysteries, I was expecting a murder right off, but no murder occurs until fully 2/3 of the way through so we are kept hanging (forgive choice of word) a long time - Gerald is poisoned - is he going to die? Daphne is poisoned - is she going to die?.
The interesting character is Carl Keetley. He is on the edge of everything that happens. At first he seems a lounge lizard-type bounder, always hitting up the relations for money. Later we find him in an office of his own, suspiciously near Dr. Quay’s office - whose lover/patient is wife #2 to Gerald, whose wife #1 was Carl’s sister. It takes a little concentration to keep the relationships straight. Keetley uses this office to develop a machine (described in great detail) which allows him to predict the winner of horse races. Once murder occurs, Sellers and Lam visit him, but they seem more interested in the machine than in solving the murder.
I always enjoy the sarcastic trash-talking between Lam, Cool, and Sellers. Lam gets into that so much more than Perry Mason.
Gardner explains the title in his author’s note in the preface: "There are many people who do not know that from time immemorial Society has decreed there shall be thirteen steps to the gallows. There may be, therefore, readers who miss the significance of the title of this story. In California, as in many other states, executions invariably take place on Friday."
For additional reviews indexed by author, please visit The Mystillery Blog and try The Mystillery Reading Challenges!
February 9, 2025
Další A. A. Fair, další Donald Lam a další Berta Coolová. Další příběh, kdy se hrdina zaplétá do zločinu, stává se podezřelým, vodí všechny za nos, jde po něm nejen policie, ale i jeho hamižná partnerka, aby nakonec, v okamžiku, kdy už ho zatýkají, všechno vyřešil.
Podobně jako všechny ostatní romány, i tohle je postavené hlavně na informačních dialozích a člověk nemá z knihy ani tak pocit literatury, jako mechanismu, který má za cíl dostat děj od začátku do finále. Je tu minimum popisů, téměř žádná psychologie, i Lamovo obdivování ženských půvabů je tu jen tak, aby se neřeklo.
Berta Coolová je stále jednorozměrná figurka, která je kombinací J. Jonaha Jamesona a Strýčka Skrblíka. Vlastně v příbězích nedělá nic moc jiného, než že řve a přemýšlí, jak na něčem vydělat co nejvíc peněz. Funguje částečně jako komický prvek, částečně jak ohrožení, protože neváhá svého kolegu předhodit policii, když si myslí, že to bude výhodnější. (V jednom příběhu se dokonce část zápletky točí kolem peněz, které nedorazily do kanceláře… aby se ve finále zjistilo, že dorazily, ale Berta je ulila.)
Je tady zajímavá zápletka, točící se kolem ženy, která přijde do kanceláře požádat o ochranu cizího manžela před zavražděním svou manželkou. Než se ovšem něco stihne udělat, je manžel otrávený a manželka také… a to artyčokovou pastou, kterou přinesl Donald Lam, když se chtěl do domácnosti nenápadně vetřít. Do toho tu máte ještě tajemného zubaře, realitního agenta a množství krásných žen, které potřebují Donaldovu ochranu.
Ten nápad je fajn, ale jak to stojí hodně na tempu, tak se autor moc nezajímá o nějaké prokreslení, psychologii či vyznění. Je to jako pobíhání po městě s průvodcem, který je odhodlaný stihnout celou dvouhodinovou prohlídku za půl hodiny. Vlastně jedinou zastávkou je diskuze ohledně sázení na dostihy. Jo, je to také ve finále využité, ale je to asi jediný okamžik, kdy se zuřivý klus po pamětihodnostech změní v pohodovou procházku.
Podobně jako všechny ostatní romány, i tohle je postavené hlavně na informačních dialozích a člověk nemá z knihy ani tak pocit literatury, jako mechanismu, který má za cíl dostat děj od začátku do finále. Je tu minimum popisů, téměř žádná psychologie, i Lamovo obdivování ženských půvabů je tu jen tak, aby se neřeklo.
Berta Coolová je stále jednorozměrná figurka, která je kombinací J. Jonaha Jamesona a Strýčka Skrblíka. Vlastně v příbězích nedělá nic moc jiného, než že řve a přemýšlí, jak na něčem vydělat co nejvíc peněz. Funguje částečně jako komický prvek, částečně jak ohrožení, protože neváhá svého kolegu předhodit policii, když si myslí, že to bude výhodnější. (V jednom příběhu se dokonce část zápletky točí kolem peněz, které nedorazily do kanceláře… aby se ve finále zjistilo, že dorazily, ale Berta je ulila.)
Je tady zajímavá zápletka, točící se kolem ženy, která přijde do kanceláře požádat o ochranu cizího manžela před zavražděním svou manželkou. Než se ovšem něco stihne udělat, je manžel otrávený a manželka také… a to artyčokovou pastou, kterou přinesl Donald Lam, když se chtěl do domácnosti nenápadně vetřít. Do toho tu máte ještě tajemného zubaře, realitního agenta a množství krásných žen, které potřebují Donaldovu ochranu.
Ten nápad je fajn, ale jak to stojí hodně na tempu, tak se autor moc nezajímá o nějaké prokreslení, psychologii či vyznění. Je to jako pobíhání po městě s průvodcem, který je odhodlaný stihnout celou dvouhodinovou prohlídku za půl hodiny. Vlastně jedinou zastávkou je diskuze ohledně sázení na dostihy. Jo, je to také ve finále využité, ale je to asi jediný okamžik, kdy se zuřivý klus po pamětihodnostech změní v pohodovou procházku.
October 29, 2020
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam really grow on you.
Their cases are as complicated as a Chinese puzzle box, which is essential, because the plots of these novels have more holes than a real Swiss cheese. That's not a real problem for the reader, since the intrepid PIs can't make head not tails out of the clues either. Quick wits, snappy dialogue, deus ex machina, and nifty writer flim-flam get us to the satisfying ending every time.
The game is afoot, a horse race between the killers and the sleuths, with the cops and the reader trying breathlessly to keep up.
The pace never flags, and Erie Stanley Gardner has us wrapped around his prolific pen from the starting gun to the far turn and the home stretch. Cool and Lam succeed by nerves, wit, and honest detection, gum shoe-ing at a gallop, winning at the finish by a nose.
Lam is so busy in this one it seems like he has no sleep and half a meal in a week. But three babes want to drape themselves all over him and he gets a nice piece of real estate and a 5 to 1 long shot winner along the way. And the prettiest damsel in distress is going to make him dinner. For a guy with no time to shower, he sure comes up roses. Maybe it's his snappy suits.
All the bad guys get what's coming to them--the worst get justice, and the best of the bad ones get a wink and a pass, especially the pretty ones. And of course Bertha gets her hands on the cash, up front.
Theirs isn't a perfect world but the firm of Cool and Lam, Investigators, is a perfect place to lose yourself, watching the masters do what nobody does better, baffle you all along, wiggling out of the tightest turns, racing right to the finish line of these most entertaining cases.
Gardner was America's most prolific author for good reason. He backed only winners.
Their cases are as complicated as a Chinese puzzle box, which is essential, because the plots of these novels have more holes than a real Swiss cheese. That's not a real problem for the reader, since the intrepid PIs can't make head not tails out of the clues either. Quick wits, snappy dialogue, deus ex machina, and nifty writer flim-flam get us to the satisfying ending every time.
The game is afoot, a horse race between the killers and the sleuths, with the cops and the reader trying breathlessly to keep up.
The pace never flags, and Erie Stanley Gardner has us wrapped around his prolific pen from the starting gun to the far turn and the home stretch. Cool and Lam succeed by nerves, wit, and honest detection, gum shoe-ing at a gallop, winning at the finish by a nose.
Lam is so busy in this one it seems like he has no sleep and half a meal in a week. But three babes want to drape themselves all over him and he gets a nice piece of real estate and a 5 to 1 long shot winner along the way. And the prettiest damsel in distress is going to make him dinner. For a guy with no time to shower, he sure comes up roses. Maybe it's his snappy suits.
All the bad guys get what's coming to them--the worst get justice, and the best of the bad ones get a wink and a pass, especially the pretty ones. And of course Bertha gets her hands on the cash, up front.
Theirs isn't a perfect world but the firm of Cool and Lam, Investigators, is a perfect place to lose yourself, watching the masters do what nobody does better, baffle you all along, wiggling out of the tightest turns, racing right to the finish line of these most entertaining cases.
Gardner was America's most prolific author for good reason. He backed only winners.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2023
Another Lam and Cool detective mystery by Erle Stanley Gardner, using the pen name A.A. Fair, this one from the 1940s. As I've said previously, "The main characters are supposed to be Donald Lam and Bertha Cool, but as usual Bertha does nothing but complain and screech in the background, looking out for her money".
The fun is always with Donald Lam, the junior partner who does all of the work. This time they've been hired to stop a rich wife from poisoning her husband, without either of the two knowing that they've been hired. Lam comes up with a ridiculous scheme involving anchovy paste that ends up backfiring and being the delivery system for the poison. Accidental deaths, crooked real estate deals, brother-in-law with gambling problem, affairs on top of affairs, and helpless damsels in distress: just another day for Donald Lam.
Once again from a previous review of mine: "The most interesting part of these stories to me is always trying to figure out what Lam is going to do, and I'm pretty much always wrong. Cool is useless and one-dimensional, the women in the story are portrayed as helpless or vixens, and the plots are pretty formulaic. But Lam is the one that always does something unexpected, and that's what makes me smile and pick up another adventure."
The fun is always with Donald Lam, the junior partner who does all of the work. This time they've been hired to stop a rich wife from poisoning her husband, without either of the two knowing that they've been hired. Lam comes up with a ridiculous scheme involving anchovy paste that ends up backfiring and being the delivery system for the poison. Accidental deaths, crooked real estate deals, brother-in-law with gambling problem, affairs on top of affairs, and helpless damsels in distress: just another day for Donald Lam.
Once again from a previous review of mine: "The most interesting part of these stories to me is always trying to figure out what Lam is going to do, and I'm pretty much always wrong. Cool is useless and one-dimensional, the women in the story are portrayed as helpless or vixens, and the plots are pretty formulaic. But Lam is the one that always does something unexpected, and that's what makes me smile and pick up another adventure."
July 27, 2023
Pretty solid Cool & Lam novel, though wow, does Gardner overuse "grinned." It feels like, if you kept track of it, the number of old mysteries and thrillers that repeatedly trot out that word would be quite substantial; also, in old mysteries, there's a lot of drawling by the sleuths, usually to capture their devil-may-care ease in any situation. (I think I've read at least three Ellery Queen novels where Ellery "drawls" at some, or multiple, points.) Anyway, this one has a tricky little poisoning plot with a bunch of good red herrings and smart repartee from Lam. Not to mention an enthusiastically, and I presume intentionally, absurd bit centered around possibly poisoned anchovy paste, with Lam pretending he's from the "Zesty-Paste" company to get in the door. Gotta be a joke, yes? Also a good deal of yucky hard-boiled period sexism in the treatment of women, who are constantly being appraised, touched, looked at, evaluated, and so on, and are of course not just fine with but appreciative of said treatment. Per usual for Gardner, some not-crucial, but fun, little divagations about postwar zoning and land allotment in the suburbs and an enjoyable proto-Sabermetric method of picking horse races. I missed the weird little legal curlicues that his best material finds and exploits, though.
June 26, 2023
In this Cool and Lam series book, Donald Lam has returned from the war and is ready to go to work. Bertha Cool, his partner, and creator of the private detective firm has decided her role is all about the money -- getting their clients, setting profitable rates, and watching expenses -- while Lam's role is to get out and do the investigating.
As per his usual style, Lam goes about the investigation in his own way, keeping just barely on the right side of the law. Cool can hardly keep up with him at times although she does her level best to curtail his spending of company money. And, as usual, there's at least one young woman who becomes enamored with Lam; they seem drawn to him like bears to honey.
The investigation is always interesting with twists the reader doesn't always anticipate. Cool and Lam are interesting characters in their own right, keeping this series fresh.
As per his usual style, Lam goes about the investigation in his own way, keeping just barely on the right side of the law. Cool can hardly keep up with him at times although she does her level best to curtail his spending of company money. And, as usual, there's at least one young woman who becomes enamored with Lam; they seem drawn to him like bears to honey.
The investigation is always interesting with twists the reader doesn't always anticipate. Cool and Lam are interesting characters in their own right, keeping this series fresh.
January 23, 2024
The mystery and its solution are a good one, but I get really sick of Bertha Cool. She's an undeveloped character who blusters and yells and thinks about money all the time, doubting her partner Donald (even though he always figures everything out) and willing to sell him out to save her skin. I always think of the A.A. Fair mysteries as Erle Stanley Gardner slumming because there is a lot of use of slang, stereotype, and repeated expressions (especially by Bertha). Having said that, the mystery of who poisoned a man and his wife, the motives behind it, and how Donald figures out that it's neither the personal secretary to the poisoned woman nor the nurse of the dentist (who's in love with the woman who gets poisoned) is well done.
September 19, 2020
Lam&Coolová mě baví. Tuto knihu jsem četla mimo pořadí, kvůli čtenářské výzvě na databázi knih, poslední téma, které mi ještě letos zbývalo. Zatím moje třetí přečtená z této série.
Ale zdá se, že nevadilo, že jsem četla napřeskáčku, zaznamenala jsem tam jen odkaz na první díl, který jsem četla a který si mi zatím i líbil nejvíc.
Tohle byla zkrátka pěkná oddychová detektivka, příjemné odreagování na půl dne čtení.
Prostředí se zubařem mi trochu připomnělo Columbovu "Smrtící korunku", ale mé obavy, že by bylo řešení podobné jako u Columba, se naštěstí nepotvrdily.
Ale zdá se, že nevadilo, že jsem četla napřeskáčku, zaznamenala jsem tam jen odkaz na první díl, který jsem četla a který si mi zatím i líbil nejvíc.
Tohle byla zkrátka pěkná oddychová detektivka, příjemné odreagování na půl dne čtení.
Prostředí se zubařem mi trochu připomnělo Columbovu "Smrtící korunku", ale mé obavy, že by bylo řešení podobné jako u Columba, se naštěstí nepotvrdily.
May 7, 2023
I really enjoy the Cool and Lam mysteries from A.A. Fair/Gardner. I really enjoyed this one. I like Lam he is a do the right thing kind of guy. Cool on the other hand is in it for the bucks unless her freedom is in jeopardy. The latest book released by Hard Case Crime is from 1947. It is a double crossed murder. Lam is all over the double crosses and who's in love with who and who hates who , and who wants to kill who. I am almost not sure I could keep up with all that but Lam does. This was a fun wild ride.
June 16, 2023
I haven’t read a Cool&Lam mystery for years and was very happy to read this one as it was new to me and I love the characters. This is a good novel, a classic hard boiled action packed and fast paced.
Not the best one to approach this series but a treat if you love hard boiled.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Not the best one to approach this series but a treat if you love hard boiled.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
July 5, 2023
Fue entretenido el final, pero no fue una historia atrapante, ningún personaje fue memorable, ni siquiera el mismo Lam; se que es una serie y probablemente necesites leer más sobre el detective para encariñarte, tampoco hubo ningún giro de tuerca sorprendente, por lo que creo que será una historia muy fácilmente olvidable por mi.
March 27, 2025
3.6* I really enjoy the Hard Case Crime books. This oldie from Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Garnder is no exception. Good characters. Good mystery. Plenty of twists and turns. The writing is okay and the pacing is quite good. I didn't love the expository dump toward the end, but overall a good read.
October 10, 2017
Found this be accident and when I found out that A.A. Fair was a pseudonym for Earle Stanley Gardner, I decided to give it a go. I really loved it with great twists and turns and what great characters Cool and Lam are. I’m keen to find more in this series.
August 19, 2020
The friction between Donald and Bertha seemed particularly strong in this story, everything else was pretty much the same: Donald comes up with clever solutions to challenges and young women are attracted to him.
March 15, 2023
B: Good book by the author of the Perry Mason series. Written in 1947, Donald Lam may have been inspired by his Paul Drake character who was introduced into the Perry Mason novels in 1933. Gardiner originally published this novel under a pseudonym (A. A. Fair).
June 9, 2023
Fun little slice of life from the late 40’s. Private Investigator Lam solves a puzzling case while dealing with dames, coppers and femme fatales. Erle Stanley Gardner originally wrote this under the pseudonym AA Fair.
October 3, 2023
"Fools die on Friday... and Thursday's almost over."
Despite the quote attributed to Raymond Chandler on the front cover, this is definitely not the best of the series. I'd say it's almost the worst one in this series that I've read so far. A client hires Cool & Lam to prevent a poisoning, and it happens anyway! And then there's a lot of running around, and arsenic, and a dentist, and real estate. And then the killer is caught. I really had a hard time staying interested in this plot and found my mind wondering quite a bit as I read. Well, at least I learned one thing - there's a product in the world called anchovy paste. So...
“Fry me for an oyster!”
Despite the quote attributed to Raymond Chandler on the front cover, this is definitely not the best of the series. I'd say it's almost the worst one in this series that I've read so far. A client hires Cool & Lam to prevent a poisoning, and it happens anyway! And then there's a lot of running around, and arsenic, and a dentist, and real estate. And then the killer is caught. I really had a hard time staying interested in this plot and found my mind wondering quite a bit as I read. Well, at least I learned one thing - there's a product in the world called anchovy paste. So...
“Fry me for an oyster!”
April 14, 2024
A competent enough murder mystery, but one has the sense Gardner is merely going through the motions in putting it together. The detective team of Donald and Bertha aren't particularly interesting and it's difficult to empathize with them. I doubt I'll be reading any other entries in this series.
June 5, 2023
Fun book from the Cool And Lam series, but the ending felt like Gardner just ran out of book and had to wrap everything up in the last two chapters as fast as he could.
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