Stanley Books

A young woman under the influence of the "truth" serum sodium pentathol confesses to her doctor that she poisoned the older man in whose house she had been living. After the man's death, she says, she threw the bottle containing the poison into a lake. The doctor, armed with this information and a recording of the session, consults Perry Mason, bringing the famous lawyer into the case.

The police have no knowledge that anyone has been murdered. The possible victim's cause of death was put down to natural causes years before when he died. Now, though, the police get wind of the confession, and Mason finds himself racing against time to determine whether a crime has been committed at all. He goes to the lake and succeeds in finding a bottle that, thankfully, does not contain poison. Apparently, the case is at an end. The "confession," he thinks, was just a product of the woman's imagination and guilty conscience. However, just when Mason thinks he can rest easy, the police recover a second bottle.

Now, not only is Mason's client back in hot water, but Mason himself is also facing legal trouble. The police, it seems, suspect Mason of having planted the first bottle.

There is not much new in this Perry Mason tale. It is the same competent, completely readable, and thoroughly enjoyable mystery Garner produced time after time. Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who always seems out to get Mason, is at it once again, and Mason must fall back on his wits and hope to pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat to save his and his client's skins.

The Case of the Demure Defendant
Nadine Farr had emotional problems, and visited a psychiatrist. She is given sodium pentothal and her answers are recorded on tape. During the questioning she admits to poisoning her Uncle. Dr. Denair consults Perry Mason to find out if this is confidential, or must be reported to the police. Perry points out a confession to a crime is not confidential, but the statements of a drugged person are not reliable in a court of law since they may be imagined. Dr. Denair brings Nadine Farr to consult with Perry Mason. But the nurse present at the treatment tells this to her policeman boyfriend, and the tape recording is obtained with a search warrant by the police.

The story is that Nadine threw away the poison. Perry recovers the bottle and has it analyzed - a sugar substitute! But the police do their homework and find a second bottle with the poison. We learn that Nadine's boyfriend says he found that bottle and flushed it away. We also learn that Jackson Newburn also threw away the poison! The case goes to court, Hamilton Burger accusing Perry of substituting false evidence. This looks like a slam-dunk for Burger until Perry personally inspects the evidence and notices a detail that will clear Nadine Farr of murder, Perry of fabricating evidence, and get a confession from a witness pointing to the real murderer. The scandals that generated this crime are mentioned at the ending.

A young woman under the influence of the "truth" serum sodium pentathol confesses to her doctor that she poisoned the older man in whose house she had been living. After the man's death, she says, she threw the bottle containing the poison into a lake. The doctor, armed with this information and a recording of the session, consults Perry Mason, bringing the famous lawyer into the case.

The police have no knowledge that anyone has been murdered. The possible victim's cause of death was put down to natural causes years before when he died. Now, though, the police get wind of the confession, and Mason finds himself racing against time to determine whether a crime has been committed at all. He goes to the lake and succeeds in finding a bottle that, thankfully, does not contain poison. Apparently, the case is at an end. The "confession," he thinks, was just a product of the woman's imagination and guilty conscience. However, just when Mason thinks he can rest easy, the police recover a second bottle.

Now, not only is Mason's client back in hot water, but Mason himself is also facing legal trouble. The police, it seems, suspect Mason of having planted the first bottle.

There is not much new in this Perry Mason tale. It is the same competent, completely readable, and thoroughly enjoyable mystery Garner produced time after time. Hamilton Burger, the district attorney who always seems out to get Mason, is at it once again, and Mason must fall back on his wits and hope to pull the proverbial rabbit out of a hat to save his and his client's skins.

The Case of the Demure Defendant

Nadine Farr had emotional problems, and visited a psychiatrist. She is given sodium pentothal and her answers are recorded on tape. During the questioning she admits to poisoning her Uncle. Dr. Denair consults Perry Mason to find out if this is confidential, or must be reported to the police. Perry points out a confession to a crime is not confidential, but the statements of a drugged person are not reliable in a court of law since they may be imagined. Dr. Denair brings Nadine Farr to consult with Perry Mason. But the nurse present at the treatment tells this to her policeman boyfriend, and the tape recording is obtained with a search warrant by the police.

The story is that Nadine threw away the poison. Perry recovers the bottle and has it analyzed - a sugar substitute! But the police do their homework and find a second bottle with the poison. We learn that Nadine's boyfriend says he found that bottle and flushed it away. We also learn that Jackson Newburn also threw away the poison! The case goes to court, Hamilton Burger accusing Perry of substituting false evidence. This looks like a slam-dunk for Burger until Perry personally inspects the evidence and notices a detail that will clear Nadine Farr of murder, Perry of fabricating evidence, and get a confession from a witness pointing to the real murderer. The scandals that generated this crime are mentioned at the ending.

Got this for my grandson's summer reading. He is going into 3rd grade and loves figuring things out, but is not the best reader. His mom read a part of the story and then was "too busy" to finish it, so he read it himself and solved the clues. He and his brother have enjoyed it and he is actually reading much better now. The stories are good and do peak their interest.

Why write a long review? Gardner's best mysteries always involve a time element, where Mason gets it right and the DA doesn't. When ESG got busy he dictated, and the time element is absent, the story less interesting

Carter Gilman was eating breakfast and reading the newspaper. He asked his daughter Muriell to cook another egg and sausage. When Muriell brought this to the dining room she found Carter had disappeared without a word. But he left a note asking for Perry Mason to be called in case of any emergency. When Muriell finds hundred-dollar bills scattered on the workshop floor, she calls Perry Mason; he arrives as quickly as possible. Later that morning Perry Mason has a new client; Edward Carter (who is Carter Gilman). Edward Carter says he is a friend of the Gilman family and wants to prevent Nancy Gilman, Carter's wife, from being blackmailed by a Las Vegas private detective. Perry Mason assigns Paul Drake to investigate. A few hours later Mason receives a phone call from this Las Vegas detective, Vera Martel, who warns him to stay out of this case. Mason realizes there are a lot of assumptions and coincidences in this case, and he needs to recheck the stories that he is being told.

Paul Drake follows a daughter to Las Vegas, and uncovers startling news about a missing heir or heiress. Then they hear more shocking news about Vera Martel: murdered, and made to look like a car accident! The police arrested Carter Gilman on suspicion of murder. Then the police show up to question Carter's wife and daughters. Perry Mason advises them to tell the truth or say nothing, and to not volunteer information. Mason then interviews Hartley Elliott, who was a visitor that morning.

The Preliminary Hearing takes up the last third of the book. There is enough evidence to try Carter Gilman. DA Hamilton Burger wants to indict Glamis Barlow, Carter's stepdaughter, as an accessory to murder. Perry has a very difficult situation and little time to solve it. Mason receives a subpoena, and the news that Muriell has told all to DA Burger. Hartley Elliott will also testify. Mason is surprised to learn the source of the found hundred-dollar bills. Paul Drake calls with more information on the activities of the murdered private detective; his man on location will fly in with the results. This newspaper photo of an engagement helps Perry Mason to question a witness and crack this puzzling case. The last chapter gives the hidden history, and why the murder occurred after a double-cross. Like some other stories, this reveals the scandals in the hidden lives of the rich and famous. [Careful consideration of earlier testimony could provide a clue to the false testimony.]

The Case of the Fabulous Fake, by Erle Stanley Gardner

This book is dedicated to Jack Cadman, the Director of the Orange County Sheriff's Criminalistics Laboratory. Cadman invented a method to detect alcohol in the blood stream quickly and accurately, thereby advancing forensic science. Two examples in determining the cause of death are given.

A visitor consults with Perry Mason, but refuses to give her name. Her payment buys credibility (like for Spade & Archer in "The Maltese Falcon"). Perry has Paul Drake investigate her, after reading her coded ad in the classified section. Chapter 3 educates the reader on the weakness of eyewitness evidence [when the person identified is a complete stranger]. Paul Drake investigates her backtrail, and identifies Diana Douglas. Perry visits Diana to tell of the 'routine audit' at her company (imports items that are paid in cash only). There is a need to remove Diana and send her home; a substitute replaces her when the stranger visits. There is a request for a pay-off that Perry refuses. Later this blackmailer is found murdered, Diana's credit card is in his room. The murder weapon is traced to Diana, and she is arrested and brought back to Los Angeles.

Perry and Paul continue the investigation. Bit by bit the truth is extracted from Diana. She did visit the blackmailer, but found him dead. She took the gun because she recognized it as belonging to her now dead brother! Just when you think its curtains for her, Perry summons and questions a few of her coworkers. The unusual fact of an old coat among new clothes is explained. Diana is freed once the facts point to a new suspect. Again, "murder is caused by love or money, to get it or to keep it". The scandal that led to the murder is revealed at the end. Its not a good idea to spread workplace gossip around. This story says carrying a pistol on an airplane was not unusual then. This is Erle Stanley Gardner's last work. He died just after it was published.

Morley Eden visits Perry Mason about his problem. A beautiful woman has run a barbed wire fence through the middle of his house! Morley Eden paid a contractor to build a house on a lot, but half the lot belonged to his wife, and now she has claimed her share. Chapter One explains how this happened. Perry visits Judge Goodwin to learn about his decision in this case. The Judge hopes to use this conflict against the contractor Loring Carson. Perry Mason visits Nadine Palmer to tell her about Morley Eden's suit against Loring Carson. Nadine was wrongly accused in Loring's divorce suit, and she will get unwanted publicity (Chapter Five). When the press conference is held inside Morley Eden's part of the house they find the dead body of Loring Carson. The reporters cluster around the body like sharks in a feeding frenzy.

Perry calls the police, then Paul Drake so he can trace Nadine Palmer. Vivian Carson arrives home and is shocked to hear of the murder on the other side of the house. Perry questions Morley about his whereabouts. Lt. Tragg questions Vivian about her activities, then searches around the house and pool. Perry catches a plane to Las Vegas to talk to the woman who knew Loring Carson. Genevieve explains the policies of gambling (Chapter Ten). [Good advice for everyone!] Perry finds Nadine and talks to her until someone official shows up.

In Chapter Eleven Perry finds a briefcase planted in his hotel room, and tries to neutralize it, then returns to the gambling tables. Perry finds that Genevieve just got back from Los Angeles. Then the police arrive to question Perry about a trip. The police don't believe his answers and advise him to leave. So Perry returns to Los Angeles. "The best defense to circumstantial evidence ... is the truth" (Chapter Twelve). Morley and Vivian will be charged with the murder of Loring.

The newspapers report on this case of sex, mystery, drama, missing money, and an unusual setting. The high point is when Nadine testifies to what she saw at Morley Eden's house on the day of the murder (Chapter Thirteen). The cross-examination of Nadine begins in Chapter Fifteen. Perry asks a question that results in Nadine's fingerprints being taken. Perry calls Lt. Tragg to testify about the briefcase found in Perry's room and the unknown fingerprints on it. In his closing argument Perry uses the facts to arrive at a different explanation from the prosecution's theory. Finding fingerprints of a person will not tell you when they were made. Perry asks the jury to compare the sets of fingerprints and decide for themselves. The jury returned with a not guilty verdict. Chapter Sixteen provides a conclusion to this mystery.

This story was published after Erle Stanley Gardner's death. Like other stories, it implicitly critiques the morals and lifestyles of middle-class entrepreneurs.

The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands, by Erle Stanley Gardner

There is a need for close liaison between law enforcement, forensic pathology and legal medicine. A Medical Examiner can determine if a death was murder, suicide, or accidental. This book is dedicated to Joseph B. Fallon, recently retired Deputy Superintendent of the Boston Police Department. Fallon was a shrewd interrogator who taught and trained his picked investigators to carry on his skills.

Della Street tells Perry Mason that a new client is waiting impatiently to see him. Audrey Bicknell has five tickets on a horse in a race, and wants them cashed in if the horse has won. Perry wants more information to protect himself. Audrey wants cash only, no cashier's check (Chapter 1). The radio says this long shot paid off 27 to 1! After Perry cashes them in, a police detective and Marvin Fremont claim the money was embezzled by Rodney Banks. They have no proof of any connection to Perry Mason. Perry returns the call from Audrey Bicknell, and finds her name is Nancy Banks! Perry finishes this business with receipts for everything (Chapter 4). Acting for Nancy Banks, he puts up bail money for Rodney Banks, her brother (Chapter 5).

Then Perry gets a phone call summoning him to see Nancy Banks. Her motel room is empty, but a check of the bathroom finds a dead body! Then Nancy shows up with a story about being robbed at her apartment; her hands are ice-cold. Nancy doesn't want to call the police. But when Nancy admits to finding the body earlier, Perry calls Lt. Tragg in Homicide, who then questions Nancy about her day's events. Nancy is too upset to answer all the questions, so she is free until tomorrow (Chapter 7). Perry now has a new client who may be holding out information.

But Nancy disappears on her return to her apartment! Paul Drake calls Perry, Larsen Halstead is there with a story about Marvin Fremont's business and it bears on Rodney and Nancy Banks. We hear about Fremont's dealing in antique jewelry (Chapter 10). Perry calls Lt. Tragg to report this, and learns the police are looking for Halstead. Perry finds out where Nancy Banks is staying. Perry visits Nancy and gets her story (Chapter 11). They discover a secret in Marvin Fremont's remote past life (Chapter 12) and in his business (Chapter 13).

Chapter 14 finds Nancy Banks charged with first-degree murder. The body was found in the shower of her motel room. Was this in fact the murder site? Perry suavely sidesteps a baited prosecution witness. The police tell of finding the murder weapon, which was owned by Marvin Fremont! Does the District Attorney have a trick up his sleeve, based on a new law (Chapter 15)? Rodney Banks refuses to testify, but Hamilton Burger grants immunity to get answers (Chapter 16). What he says shocks and surprises everyone! Burger is so upset that Perry tries to calm him down. Then when witnesses are recalled we get a completely surprising ending that definitely clears Perry's client. The final explanatory chapter has a weakness in explaining the placement of a hundred-dollar bill, but is balanced by the trial testimony and cross-examination.

Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970) wrote more than one hundred novels over the course of his long career. A trial lawyer himself, Gardner's best known creation was Perry Mason, a flamboyant criminal defense attorney who earns his large fees by virtue of a remarkable talent for using the law to uncover the truth on the witness stand.

Although Gardner's Perry Mason novels were formula, Gardner was at the peak of his powers during the 1950s--and at his best he was able to combine a twisty plot, impressive courtroom scenes, and his tendency to staccato dialogue to tremendous effect. This "double header" volume contains two of his best: the 1957 THE CASE OF THE LONG-LEGGED MODELS and the 1958 THE CASE OF THE FOOT-LOOSE DOLL.

THE LONG-LEGGED MODELS presents us with Stephanie Falkner, an attractive young woman and sometimes model who has inherited a chunk of stock in a small Las Vegas casino from her father--but her father was murdered, the crime was never solved, and now a very unsavory person is after her share of the casino. Could her father's death and this attempted buy-out be connected? Stephanie goes to Mason for help, and it isn't too long before a second murder comes her way.

Like LONG-LEGGED MODELS, THE FOOT-LOOSE DOLL is the story of a woman in trouble--in this case Mildred Crest, an attractive secretary from Oceanside, California who was looking forward to marriage to the town's most eligible bachelor. But when Mildred's boyfriend abandons her under shocking circumstances, she wanders off the beaten track in more ways than one... and
an unforeseen accident offers her the opportunity to escape the past once and for all. But the past has a way of catching up with you--and in Mildred's case it isn't just her own past that she has to worry about. Before too long the question of murder arises, and Mildred finds herself in desperate need of legendary Los Angeles attorney Perry Mason.

Both these novels find Gardner at his best. Written in a workman-like and driving manner, they are fast and furious reads, the perfect way to spend a rainy day. Recommended to fans and newcomers alike.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The 'Foreword' is dedicated to W. R. Rule, Major USAF, who studied law, then specialized in the field of legal medicine, as it applies to the military. He is currently Legal Counsel for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. The Armed Forces have developed a nearly perfect system for the administration of justice.

Della Street tells Perry Mason a young woman, Dorrie Ambler, has come to establish her personal identification through an appendectomy scar. Perry suggests fingerprints would be better. Dorrie is afraid of becoming a victim of a frame-up! She has been given clothes to wear, even shoes and underwear; but she won't explain. Perry has her followed when she leaves. Dorrie goes to the airport, and does the craziest thing you could imagine (Chapter 2)! The police show up and arrest the woman who came out of the rest room. This is one goofy case or client. The five o'clock news tells of the event at the airport and that Minerva Minden, the madcap heiress of Montrose, has been arrested for her pranks.

Then Dorrie Ambler shows up, and tells about the job she was hired to do. [Anyone remember "The Red-Headed League"?] A lot of personal questions were asked to qualify for this high-paying job. Dorrie had to wear a complete outfit and walk at an intersection. Dorrie tells Mason how she identified the detective agency that gave her instructions. When she went there to learn more, she saw her double waiting there for her car. Dorrie got the license number of her double's car (Chapter 3). Because she was afraid of being used for a sinister purpose, Dorrie staged that scene at the airport. Perry figures out why Dorrie was hired, and how she is being used.

In Chapter 4 the trickery employed results in the police apparently waiting to arrest Dorrie Ambler for a crime she didn't commit! Perry Mason and Paul Drake come right over on this "red-hot lead". But the door is locked, and a woman screams. They break in to find a body on the floor, so they call the police. The police find a stolen car that was involved in a hit-and-run in Dorrie's garage (Chapter 5). Can a case be fixed by selecting the judge, and then a lawyer who is a good friend (Chapter 6)? Is Dorrie involved in a crooked scheme that if financed by a Las Vegas businessman (Chapter 7)? Is Dorrie an innocent victim or did she inveigle Perry into her scheme (Chapter 9)?

Chapter 10 has a shocking surprise. Minerva Minden was taken in for questioning by the police. She will be charged with a double murder. Perry warns Minerva against her "madcap heiress" reputation. People are convicted of murder on evidence that only shows guilt of adultery (Chapter 11). [Is this a reference to the Dr. Sam Sheppard case?] The trial begins in Chapter 12. The prosecution brings out new facts against Minerva, which fills in unknown details in this case. The witnesses give their testimony. One witness has a shocking story to tell! This is the most important chapter. Perry Mason tells Paul Drake to get a quick report on all unsolved stick-ups. Perry has only one chance for a not guilty verdict (Chapter 13). Chapter 14 has the testimony of Lt. Tragg on the thumb prints, and another shocking discovery! The judge orders a directed verdict of 'not guilty' after the conflicting stories are resolved (Chapter 15). The loose ends are tied up in the last chapter. The ending is different from many other stories. [Gardner managed to ridicule both eyewitness and circumstantial evidence in this story.]