The Case of the Careless Kitten (Perry Mason, #21)

by Erle Stanley Gardner

PERRY MASON had that peculiar, confidence-inspiring magnetism which is so frequently found in tall men. In repose, his features and his manner had the weathered patience of hard granite. It was only in times of stress that his irrepressible personality flooded through. Before a jury, for instance, he could summon the skill and grace of a finished actor. His voice was a responsive instrument that accompanied and emphasized his words. His questions held a razor-edged sharpness which cut through the clumsy falsehoods of sullen, stubborn perjurers. In critical courtroom crises he was a fast-moving, quick-thinking force molding men’s minds, playing on their emotions, out-thinking his antagonists; dramatic, persuasive, agile, yet never forsaking the fortress of deadly logic which buttressed every contention.