Book Description
If you’re tired of living paycheck to paycheck and are looking for ways to create new wealth, then come on, girl—it’s time to make your money grow! In this timely follow-up to the bestselling Girl, Get Your Money Straight!, author and financial expert Glinda Bridgforth teams up with investment expert and stockbroker Gail Perry-Mason to deliver power-packed, sister-to-sister advice on how to master the stock market, grow your income, and start investing in your biggest asset—you. Girl, Make Your Money Grow! presents their step-by-step plan to help you clear away debt, create new streams of income, buy prime real estate, map out a personalized plan for retirement, and build an investment portfolio that’s right for you using bonds, mutual funds, and blue-chip stocks to lower your risk without sacrificing profits. Filled with Bridgforth and Perry-Mason’s warmhearted wisdom, and complete with exercises, affirmations, and inspiring stories of African American women who’ve successfully grown their financial gardens, Girl, Make Your Money Grow! is a fresh, fun, and eminently practical guide to achieving the next level of financial security and funding the future of your dreams.
Customer Reviews:
Fuels you up and points you in the right direction!.......2007-08-29
One of the best things this book does is points out that it is a CHOICE to live an abundant life. The book points out those wrong mental footprints of to handling finances can be corrected. Then it shares easy to understand, sensible steps to follow in making one's financial abundant life a reality. I read the book the first time and made notes. Now I am rereading it the second time and doing the exercises. I see the rewards are right around the corner.
You go, Ladies!!!.......2006-10-10
This is the first popular book on finance I've ever read that didn't make me want to go out and cut my throat because I'd been so stupid and now it was too late! Instead, the authors explain how to think in terms of abundance, not deprivation, and explain how it's NEVER too late.
Another great thing about this book is that it integrates saving and investing into your life, not just your lifestyle, and shows how they can actually enhance your value system.
Buy it. It's the WHAT COLOR IS YOUR PARACHUTE of investing.
Need more books like this for us........2006-09-25
I brought this book last year and I still refer back to it. It is a must have for all women who are trying to get it together.Good luck ladies we can do it.
GIRL, YOU'D BETTER FIND A WAY TO HANG ON TO IT TOO!.......2006-07-16
A truly wonderful book. However there is a crucial element that must be addressed in light of what is coming down the pike at us "Girls". If you read Arnold's The Great Bust Ahead (or visit the book's website at thegreatbustahead.com) you will gain insights into what may be the greatest depression in history beginning just a few years from now. This will probably affect women the most, and women (and men) of color more than others. So, whatever us Girls can make by following Glinda's advice needs to be protected (i.e. not lost in the coming depression) by reading Arnold's advice.
Buy Now. For Every Woman trying to Live Abundantly.......2006-06-11
I love this book so much. Glinda breaks down investing step by step. I love her encouragement and belief in the success of the reader to learn more about investing. I'm starting to follow her advice and reap the great rewards. I bought her first book after reading this treasure. Buy Now. Stop living Check to Check.
Customer Reviews:
Wished for more.......2005-07-10
Overall ok, but not "The complete story.." as the book describes itself. Plot descriptions are inconsistent. Cast listings are meager. There were great character actors throughout but many are not listed. Overpriced; get it at your local library if they have it.
A MUST READ FOR PERRY MASON FANS.......2001-01-31
This is a great informational book for the Perry Mason TV series fan. Detailed info on all episodes including the TV Movies.
I hope the author or publisher reprints this. It is almost impossible to find, but highly sought by all Perry Mason fans! Perry Mason fans want a reprint of this popular book!!!
Product Description
In Scoundrels to the Hoosegow, a veteran prosecutor who is also a consummate storyteller shares more than thirty entertaining legal stories drawn from real life, re-creating, with verve and wit, villains, heroes, and ordinary citizens. In cases both tragic and hilarious, Morley Swingle offers a behind-the-scenes look at the justice system, taking readers from the scene of the crime to the courtroom as he explores the worlds of judges, attorneys, police officers, and criminals. Not since the author of Anatomy of a Murder, Robert Traver, wrote Small Town D.A. fifty years ago has an American prosecutor penned such a candid, revealing, and funny account of the job an altogether satisfying book that sentences the reader to many hours of enjoyment.
Customer Reviews:
Hilarious, Entertaining, and Worth Reading.......2007-08-21
Having spent 5 semesters at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, and being a native of Jefferson County, I recognized some of the people and trials Morley Swingle wrote about and found them hilarious, entertaining, informative, and sometimes disgusting. It is a book worth reading and shows just how low some people will go or how honorable they will be. While the book doesn't necessarily flow from one chapter to the next, it makes it easier to be able to pick up anywhere in the middle of the book and read about a specific case. I only wish Swingle had referenced case and law numbers more. His simple explanations of legal lingo made reading easier and educational. Morley, if you're reading this...I sure am glad I never met you. :-)
The honest truth, as far as it went........2007-06-30
Disclaimer: I am not objective on this topic. I bought this book, but I only read one chapter, "The Case of the Millionaire Murder", that related the murder trial of Bill Pagano. The CSI officer on the case, Jan Vessell, is my mother. As I was away at college at the time of the crime, investigation, and trial, I had never read a complete and objective telling of what happened. Now that I have, I must thank Mr. Swingle for his tenacity and talent at successfully prosecuting a case that nobody in Jefferson County expected him to win.
Sadly, I wish Mr. Swingle had stayed in town, because the story has a typical Jefferson County ending. Were the ones who investigated this crime rewarded for their efforts? No. Wally Gansmann, Jan Vessell, and three other Jefferson County detectives were demoted. In my mother's case, with 13 years service to the department as the first female law enforcement officer in Jefferson County (and all the harassment you can imagine came with that), in spite of 8 years as crime scene investigator, attendee of the same FBI Academy Mr. Swingle attended, she was demoted first to dispatcher, then to jailor. My sister and I finally talked her into resigning from the department in 1993 after she was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, no doubt brought on by her attempts to salvage her career from what was left of the machinery left behind by "Boss Hogg".
And this is why Jefferson County is still the laughingstock of the St. Louis Metro area. My hat is off to you, Morley Swingle, for exposing what you could. You did an indescribable service to us. I only wish you could have helped us with the aftermath.
Tales of A top Prosecutor.......2007-06-25
Swingle hits a home run with these stories of the interesting cases he's handled in South East Missouri.
Ranging from the hilarious to the not-funny-at-all, Swingle proves with his intelligence and wit why he's been re-elected as Cape Girardeau Missouri's prosecutor for many years, and will continue to be so.
The stories would be appreciated by Mark Twain, and bear a Twain-like edge along with the humor.
Ranging from a hilarious account of how a rough looking felon tried to pass a check stolen from a State Senator and got a face full of pepper spray for his trouble, to a story about a total monster who killed with no remorse, the stories are intensely interesting.
It's one thing to read a dry news paper account of the check passers efforts to cash in and something quite else to read Swingle's humorous account of a jaded pawnshop worker and a policeman with a sarcastic humor versus versus a hood who's not the brightest bulb in the criminal world but who's very willing to "discuss it" with the police.
Then too, the story of an unstoppable killer takes on a different color when I remember my frightened wife telling me that she heard something under our porch, when we lived in sight of the county jail the killer had just escaped from.
To say the least, the neighbors were not to sure what was going on while I was peering under our porch with a flashlight in one hand and an assault rifle in the other.
There's nothing at all funny about this case, but Swingle gives a good account of how he stopped the "unstoppable" murderer.
Swingle writes with skill and the ability to hold the readers interest, not the easiest job for many writers.
I've had the pleasure of both reading Swingle, reading about Swingle, and actually sitting on a jury in a trial he was prosecuting.
Swingle does the best job yet to date of describing just HOW a county prosecutor decides whether to prosecute, what to prosecute FOR, and how he prepares and presents his case.
Of particular interest is the information on why an honest prosecutor will not prosecute a case.
The man does it all with flair, and I heartily recommend reading his work.
I've been told that he hates to waste time, and when he has a few minutes on his hands, he writes.
Here's hoping there's more to come.
Witty, Clever, Lots of Fun and Imformative.......2007-04-15
To the writer I say hats off and what a lot of fun I had reading this treasure. Great stories that keep you glued and also make it humorous at the end of each short story to give it that neat zing of laughter. The wanting to finish the next unfortunate event for some----but the fulfillment of gratitude for others-----also to see at the end of each story what the outcome of the next Scoundrel will be and how they get themselves a room at the Hoosegow. Thank You
Book Description
Her husband was stealing her money, while accusing her of a plot to poison him -- or so claims the frightened young Mrs. Myrna Davenport. She wants Perry Mason to find the incriminating note her husband left for the authorities accusing her of murder -- especially now that Davenport is dying.
Perry finds the envelope, but it's filled with blank paper. Then Davenport does die, or so everyone thinks until his alleged corpse climbs out a window and drives away -- straight into a prepared open grave in another county.
With Davenport finally dead, Perry could become a possible accessory to murder. And though the victim died twice, Perry gets only one clear shot at saving his client -- and himself.
Customer Reviews:
The Dead Man Who Walked Away.......2005-12-21
Della tells Perry there are two women to see him: a young woman in her late 20s (Mrs. Myrna Davenport), and an older woman in her 50s (Mrs. Sara Ansel). Its about a murder case. Myrna's husband wrote a letter accusing his wife of planning to kill him! Also, of poisoning a niece Hortense Paxton who stood to inherit the bulk of an estate. Myrna has a garden and dangerous pest chemicals. Now her husband Ed has become sick. They want Perry Mason to get that letter. Perry explains the legalities in doing this. Perry will act to safeguard Myrna's property rights. Later Perry gets a call from Sara Ansel; Ed is dead so Perry must go to his office. Mabel Norge, Ed Davenport's secretary, shows up and calls the police. Perry explains his duty as Myrna's attorney to Mabel and the Deputy Sheriff. After they leave, Perry gets a call from Myrna Davenport: Ed wasn't dead, and now he went away. This "corpse" has runaway! This seems like a double-cross to Perry. Before meeting Myrna and Sara, Perry tells Della how to find out if they are being shadowed. A man is sitting and reading a newspaper at 3 AM. Ed got sick while driving, and stopped at a town for a doctor. Ed took a turn for the worse and died. The doctor called the sheriff, coroner, and district attorney because of this suspicious death.
Paul Drake wakes Perry with a telephone call. Myrna has been arrested for two murders; the body of Hortense Paxton was disinterred and arsenic was found, and they're looking for Ed (who is found in a shallow grave). The District Attorney calls Perry to ask him a question (Chapter 6). Perry learns that the witness who saw a man in pajamas leave by a window gave a false name and disappeared (Chapter 8)! District Attorney Talbert Vandling plays by the rules. Perry warns Myrna against a friendly inmate or talking on the telephone (Chapter 9). Perry learns more about the Paradise Motor Court (Chapter 10). Chapter 11 explains how rigor mortis can provide an estimate of time of death. The questioning of Sara Ansel brings out her testimony about the events. Perry's questioning of Dr. Renault brings out the inconsistency of previous nausea in the morning and stomach contents showing a meal of bacon and eggs! There is a conflict between the doctor who witnessed Ed's death and the doctor who performed the autopsy. This chapter with the preliminary hearing has the most pages.
Perry discusses the interesting facts in the case (Chapter 12). How could anyone know Ed would get sick in Crampton? What does the prepared grave say? Perry and Della search the area to find tracks of a car and trailer. Who was the one person who knew Ed Davenport would leave Fresno that morning? After meeting a witness, the preliminary hearing continues (Chapter 14). A witness is recalled, and the testimony puts a surprising end to the case against Perry's client Myrna. Chapter 15 ties up the loose strings. When a dead man is seen walking away then one or more witnesses must be mistaken or lying. Was a murderer caught because they were too greedy? You can expect a surprising finish to this story.
Customer Reviews:
Not one of my favorites.......2007-08-20
I've read quite a few of the Perry Mason books, and this wasn't one of his best. I like the courtroom drama, and that was shorter than usual in this book. There is some interesting interplay between Perry and Della, though. For those who have not read these books, they're a lot of fun, and Perry is quite the dashing bachelor with the dramatic flair in the courtroom that is so much fun to read.
A Mystery of Mistaken Identification.......2006-01-21
The `Foreword' is dedicated to Dr. Robert P. Brittain, barrister and doctor of medicine. Harvard Medical School holds a class that covers everything pertaining to murder, from detection to an actual post-mortem. Its purpose is to educate police officers so they can do a better job in detecting criminals. Dr. Brittain is one of the teachers. Whenever an innocent man is convicted it leaves a guilty party free to menace society. [This 1950 book cannot be referencing the Marilyn Sheppard murder.]
Chapter 1 begins in a long-gone environment: an urban downtown busy with people. A woman calls Perry Mason and inquires about a package. When she sees a man enter the drugstore she drops the phone and leaves the booth. Perry and Della are dining out. A cigarette girl tells them about what happened to her child. Perry notes this event, and later is given a package. Perry then visits the name given by that woman (Chapter 2). Perry and Della meet M. D. Carlin to give him the message; Carlin says he knows nothing. But Della and Perry don't believe him, and take action. The private detectives watching the Carlin house report a fire, so Perry shows up to investigate (Chapter 4). Later a telephone call tells Paul Drake and Perry that a body was found after the fire was extinguished. It matches M. D. Carlin, and Lt. Tragg is on the job. Perry surmises about the woman who telephoned him, and asks Paul to find this unknown person (Chapter 6).
Paul Drake gets the names of customers at that nightclub. Perry visits the one living close to that drugstore, then asks Paul to have Arthman D. Fargo watched. Perry returns with Della to look at Fargo's house as prospective buyers. They find a dead body, and Lt. Tragg finds them (Chapter 10). Perry's fingerprints are found on Fargo's safe (from his earlier visit), and Lt. Tragg asks if Perry removed any paper from that safe (Chapter 11). Paul Drake gets the name of Arthman Fargo's girlfriend Celine Gilson and Perry goes to question her. [This tells about life in Los Angeles.] The conversation ends when Lt. Tragg shows up (Chapter 12). Perry learns that Mrs. Fargo is on a bus to Sacramento, and arranges to meet the bus in Stockton with operatives to question the passengers (Chapter 13). Myrtle Fargo denies making that telephone call, but Della notices something. The police take Myrtle away, and Paul Drake calls with bad news: witnesses who identify Myrtle and contradict her alibi (Chapter 14)! In Chapter 15 Perry sums up the case, and comments about eye-witness identification.
Myrtle Fargo continues to deny calling Perry or sending the package, but asks him to represent her. Perry will raise the issue of reasonable doubt (Chapter 16). Perry learns that Celinda Gilson was married to the headwaiter at that restaurant (Chapter 17). Chapter 18 tells that the general public, who read the newspapers, was convinced that Myrtle Fargo was guilty as sin. Perry points out that showing pictures of the defendant to a witness was followed by the identification in a line-up. Perry's cross-examination of Mrs. Newton Maynard is the high point in this chapter. Then Perry's subpoenaed witness testifies about the repaired glasses. In Chapter 19 Perry reconsiders the events at that nightclub, and comes up with an idea to spoof a witness. Perry visits this witness, converses, then gets a big surprise (Chapter 20)! This witness tells about the racket that is behind the crimes. In Chapter 23 Perry asks Mrs. Maynard to test her eyesight by identifying a person in court; she does this, but reveals a fact that helps to clear Perry's client of the murder charge. Perry explains it all in the last chapter.
Who's that girl?.......2004-02-24
A client sends over a mysterious retainer and then (apparently) denies being Perry's client. Another man turns up dead, and then another. Perry Mason's fingerprints are all over the case. Della is bemused; Tragg is furious; Perry has to penetrate the mystery to find out what really happened and clear his name.
Although Gardners writes as stylishly as ever, the plot is this time slightly thinner than usual. All the same, if you are already a Mason fan or are in the mood for a breezy, fun read then The Case of the One-Eyed Witness is a good choice for you.
The Case of the Anonymous (and Horrified) Client.......2004-02-14
36th Perry Mason Mystery written in 1950. Openings of Mason Mysteries are always strange, but this book's opening is rather unusual. When Mason has a pleasant time at a night club, he receives a phone call from an anonymous woman who urgently asks his help for a seemingly not-so-urgent matter. Mason ordinarily tosses away such an anonymous request, but he is moved by the woman's frantic, horrified tone.
At last, Mason traces a highly likely woman, but she stubbornly denies that she called him. WHY? This riddle is the most interesting in this book. The answer doesn't fail my expectation. And the meaning of the "One-Eyed Witness" is not so simple such as the witness has a bad eyesight. That doesn't fail my expectation, either.
Smash Hit Mystery!!!.......2003-12-08
Hi friends!!! This book is perhaps the best mystery i have ever read. the solution to the mystery is ingenious. No one can guess the climax. The courtroom drama is crisp and beautifully written, the cross examination is the best ever. It never slows down and moves at a break neck pace and blasts u out of your seats in the end with a huge explosion of a climax. If u dont read this one u will miss the best mystery novel. Trust me.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing Mystery with Courtroom Drama.......2006-06-08
The Case of the Counterfeit Eye
Mr. Peter Brunold visits Perry Mason because of a problem with his glass eye: it was stolen! Brunold keeps spares for when his eye is bloodshot, and this was taken. He suspects it will be planted to implicate him in a crime. Perry figures out a scheme to prevent this. Next Bertha McLane and her brother Harry visit Perry Mason. Harry has embezzled money from Hartley Basset, who "makes all sorts of loans", and Harry wants to return the money if Perry can arrange it (Chapter II). Perry advises Harry to straighten out his life. In Chapter III Perry meets Hartley Basset and learns of his character. Perry also meets his wife, who is dissatisfied. A midnight telephone call summons Perry; Mrs. Sylvia Basset has trouble at home between Hartley and his son Dick. Hartley drove away after hitting Dick's secret wife Hazel Fenwick. Perry calls the police, then learns of a mysterious man with one eye. A search of the other rooms finds a dead Hartley Basset! When the police search they find two guns. How could that be suicide (Chapter IV)?
Sergeant Holcomb questions Perry about his presence (Chapter IV). The police found a third gun carried by Basset. There is another complication: Dick's secret wife did not drive to Perry's office. Peter Brunold is called to Perry's office, and answers questions. Sergeant Holcomb shows up and arrests Brunold for the murder of Hartley Basset (Chapter VI). Perry learns the facts discovered by Paul Drake's investigation (Chapter VII). Bertha and Harry McLane show up; Harry's story about repaying the embezzled money has a problem (Chapter VIII). Perry and Paul use a ruse to talk to Sylvia Basset (Chapter IX).
District Attorney Hamilton Burger visits Perry and ask him to produce Hazel Fenwick in 48 hours (Chapter X). In the next chapter we learn the shocking news about Hazel Fenwick! She was married three times before. Perry gets a call from Harry McLane who wants a secret meeting. When Perry goes to the hotel room he finds Harry will never talk to anyone. Peter Brunold's release is a new complication (Chapter XII). The Preliminary Examination begins with a new surprise (Chapter XIV). Then the Reno police catch Paul Drake handing papers to the stand-in hired by Perry Mason. It appears that Perry Mason stumbled, but we know what happened in Chapter XIII. When Thelma Bevins is questioned, Perry must tell all that he found out about the missing Hazel Fenwick. This produces pandemonium in the courtroom, and exonerates Perry from any witness concealment charge (Chapter XVI). Perry explains why he used a double for Hazel Fenwick, and what he hoped to accomplish. It worked as planned (Chapter XVII).
In this story Perry Mason often acts as a detective, and certainly plays very close to the foul line. The appearance of a "serial murderer" in this story is a first (they don't use that term).
For completists only.......2005-12-19
I love the Perry Mason series, with its fast-paced movement, bizarre twists, and (now) dated atmosphere. But this entry is weak. There are far too many characters, and the plot is extremely convoluted. Perry breaks the law 8 or 9 times without any justification, tarnishing his image of someone who is protecting justice and not just his clients. The result is that it is simply not as enjoyable as the best in the series. To call any of the novels "believable" would be a stretch, but this one is so far out of bounds that you simply stop taking it seriously. It is the only book in the series that I can remember having to push myself to finish. That is not a good sign for what should be escapist entertainment.
Mason vs Burger, the First Round.......2001-10-18
This is the 6th Perry Mason mystery written in 1935. It might not be so good as a mystery, but it contains several impressive scenes such as Mason's grandstand play at the court, the sad romance of the client with the counterfeit eye, and the "infiltration operation" of Mason and Drake to the hotel guarded by the police.
And it is also notable that Hamilton Burger, the District Attoney of Los Angeles County, Mason's arch-enemy, first appears on the scene. In this book, Burger is described as a respectable opponent who wants to be faithful to his duty. In later books, he gradually becomes an one-track minded, stubborn enemy who wants to get Mason by all means.
One of Gardner's weakest Perry Mason mysteries.......2000-06-27
Background: The stylistic heritage of the Perry Mason mysteries is the American pulp magazines of the 1920s. In the early Mason mysteries, Perry - a good-looking, broad-shouldered, two-fisted, man of action - is constantly stiff-arming sultry beauties on his way to an explosive encounter that precipitates the book's climactic action sequence. In the opening chapters of these stories, Gardner subjects the reader to assertive passages that Mason is a crusader for justice, a man so action-oriented he is constitutionally incapable of sitting in his office and waiting for a case to come to him or to develop on its own once it has - he has to be out on the street, in the midst of the action, making things happen, always on the offensive, never standing pat or accepting being put on the defensive. These narrative passages - naïve, embarrassingly crude "character" development - pop up throughout the early books, stopping the narrative dead in its tracks, and putting on full display a non-writer's worst characteristic: telling the reader a character's traits instead of showing them through action, dialogue, and use of other of the writer's tools.
Rating "Ground Rules": These flaws, and others so staggeringly obvious that enumerating them is akin to using cannons to take out a flea, occur throughout the Gardner books, and can easily be used (with justification) to trash his work. But for this reader they are a "given", part of the literary terrain, and are not relevant to my assessment of the Gardner books. In other words, my assessments of the Perry Mason mysteries turn a blind eye to Erle Stanley Gardner's wooden, style-less writing, inept descriptive passages, unrealistic dialogue, and weak characterizations. As I've just noted, as examples of literary style all of Gardner's books, including the Perry Mason series, are all pretty bad. Nonetheless, the Mason stories are a lot of fun, offering intriguing puzzles, nifty legal gymnastics, courtroom pyrotechnics, and lots of action and close calls for Perry and crew. Basically, you have to turn off the literary sensibilities and enjoy the "guilty" pleasure of a fun read of bad writing. So, my 1-5 star ratings (A, B, C, D, and F) are relative to other books in the Gardner canon, not to other mysteries, and certainly not to literature or general fiction.
"The Case of the Counterfeit Eye": D+
A generally weak entry in the Perry Mason series, not even close to such Gardner classics as "The Stuttering Bishop", "The Lame Canary", "The Substitute Face", or "The Perjured Parrot", to name entries that were published in successive years after 1935, when "The Case of the Counterfeit Eye" first came out, and when Gardner's fertile imagination was approaching its quirky peak.
This somewhat "forced" and very artificial mystery has an other-worldly, disconnected air, more removed than most mysteries from the real world - like a mystery gimmick that Gardner dreamed up and simply didn't want to pass up turning into a novel-length story. "The Counterfeit Eye" is his unsatisfying attempt to put the gimmick into story form. Unsatisfying, because it still feels like a gimmick imposed on the situation and characters, forcing them to behave in ways that satisfy the needs of the gimmick, but not the readers' need for a coherent story in which the characters display a modicum of rational behavior, and the police do not exhibit the blinkered stupidity so characteristic of the drawing room mysteries that were so antithetical to the more "realistic" roots of the pulp mysteries that are the Perry Mason series' progenitors.
In "The Counterfeit Eye" the basic situation that precipitates the murder and its mystery relies on a tangle of coincidences and are unlikely enough on their own, but surpass any possibility of suspended-disbelief when they coincide the way the author forces them to on the fateful night of the murder. And - the most irritating aspect of this story - resolution of the daunting case against Perry's client is achieved by trotting out the most far-fetched coincidence that Gardner has ever had the temerity to use.
All in all a far-fetched, disappointing early effort by Gardner in the midst of one of his most creative periods.
It is one of the most fantastic books I have ever read!!!.......1998-07-12
Erle Stanley Gardner is a wonderful author. He has created a case that splendered me, and freiends. I've read the book 6 times in two months because I can't get enough of it. It is one of the best in the "Perry Mason" series if you ask me. I couldn't think of a better gift for any mystery fan. It has everything; Mystery, thrills, espionage, comedy and romance
Customer Reviews:
A Fantastic Trip Into Noir.......2007-09-12
Enter a world of dark shadows, private dicks, and dames. Gardner's novel is hard-boiled and thrilling. Don't expect much characterization from Gardner, though; his specialty is non-stop action. Although the plot is a bit convoluted and at times difficult to follow, I really enjoyed the fast pace and sense of place. Highly recommended!
Another Complex and Intriguing Case.......2006-06-08
Bishop William Mallory of Sydney, Australia visits Perry Mason about a manslaughter case. Could a sudden emotional shock cause stuttering? Perry calls Paul Drake to see if the bishop is genuine (Chapter I). They find where Mallory is staying, but there is a mysterious attack on Mallory in his hotel room. An ambulance came for him, then another ambulance came for him! They track down the woman who visited him (Chapter II). Her story about a personal ad checks out (Chapter III). But the bishop got on a ship bound for Australia (Chapter IV). Julia Branner, formerly Mrs. Oscar Brownley, visits Perry and tells of her past life and what she wants (Chapter V). Perry visits Renwold C. Brownley and they discuss the case (Chapter VI). An early morning phone call wakes Perry with the message that a woman has shot and killed Renwold C. Brownley (Chapter VII)!
Perry finds that Julia Branner had gone to the waterfront, and saw another woman shoot Brownley. Perry tells her to not answer questions and he'll try to help her (Chapter VIII). Julia Branner was arrested for murder, Mallory disappeared from his ship (Chapter IX). Della's impersonation of Janice Seaton draws out two private investigators (Chapter X). Perry meets the granddaughter of Brownley, and finds Victor Stockton, one of the two private investigators, with a scheme that will trap Perry in a crime! Perry meets Philip Brownley, the grandson, who tells what he knows (this substantiates what a witness saw). When Perry interviews Julia Branner in jail he gets an unpleasant surprise. Paul Drake found a yachtsman who visited Mallory (Chapter XII).
Perry visits Hamilton Burger to explain his actions. Burger gives Perry little time to justify his story. It doesn't look good for Perry and his client (Chapter XIII). The preliminary examination of Julia Branner begins in Chapter XIV, this reviews the known facts about the shooting. Perry notes the strange facts: if the shooter ran away, and Brownley was dead, who drove the car off the wharf? Perry is in an impossible situation. If Brownley drove off the wharf, he was not shot dead by Julia Branner (Chapter XV). A chance remark by Della Street puts a new light on one person's activities the night of the murder. Perry plays this hand and it pays off (Chapter XVI). They find out what happened to Bishop Mallory (Chapter XVII). Perry explained what happened, and why Julia Branner refused to talk (Chapter XVIII). The next chapter concludes this case.
In this story Perry was very close to jail and disbarment. He was involved in more action than in other stories. This 1936 novel reflects the outlook of its day.
Enjoyable Book.......2005-07-24
I really enjoyed this book. I've always enjoyed the perry mason books.
Thrilling.......2004-12-01
This book is, admittedly, my first experience with the literary Mason (before that I had only seen the television version). The other review pretty much states the plot, so I will only give you my opinion.
It was a fantastic, well-crafted mystery. Each chapter seems to throw new developments at you, yet in later chapters things start to come together, connecting the various bits together into a cohesive and plausible whole. Fun reading all around.
My only complaint is that the last few chapters were kind of droll, but perhaps they were necessary to tie up all the loose ends.
If you've never read a Perry Mason novel before, this one is as good as any to start off with.
Not the best of Perry Mason.......1998-11-17
The title character of Erle Stanley Gardner's "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop" enters Perry Mason's office one day and presents an enigmatic story about the granddaughter of a wealthy man. The girl's mother gave up the child for adoption long before, but now the granddaughter is coming forward to claim a share of her grandfather's estate. At the same time, an imposter has come forward--or so says the stuttering bishop. But is he for real, or is he merely an imposter, too?
Before Mason can determine the answer to that question, the bishop is attacked in his hotel room and then disappears, apparently into thin air, while boarding a ship. At the same time, Mason is trying to track down the various parties and to determine who's who. When the wealthy grandfather is murdered, though, it appears that Mason has his first guilty client.
Unlike many Perry Mason novels, "The Case of the Stuttering Bishop" does not end up in a dramatic court confrontation, and it therefore deviates somewhat from form. The case here is also significantly more convoluted than that in many of the Perry Mason novels. Because of this change of form, I found the novel less satisfying than the other Perry Mason novels I've read. The name Perry Mason, after all, connotes brilliant lawyering, and the emphasis on the detective work here left me disappointed.
Customer Reviews:
Classic plot-driven entertainment from an earlier era.......2007-01-25
If you are a Perry Mason fan, buy this volume now or check it out from your library. This 821 page collection of novels from 1955-59 will keep you entertained with non-stop action. Note: The publisher used a font that is smaller in size than some aging eyes might prefer and the line spacing is a bit tight.
Erle Stanley Gardner published his first novel at age 44 and he still managed to author 82 novels featuring Perry Mason. Under the pseudonym of A. A. Fair, he wrote 24 novels featuring Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. These are delightfully light entertainment, and have more repartee between the main characters (undersized detective Donald Lam and his overweight boss, Bertha Cool) and a bit more descriptive text than was Gardner's style in the Mason novels. The irreverent Lam might remind some of Craig Rice's John J. Malone, but Gardner's plots are always better constructed than Rice's.
Gardner was a man of energy with an amazing work ethic who became the most read mystery writer in the world. At age 32, Gardner, a practicing attorney, began writing fiction for the pulps for a very minimal amount per word. His output was in the range of a one million words year - a stunning level by any measure. By the time he started writing the Perry Mason novels, he had the right systems and support staff to allow an incredible output.
Gardner dictated his prose, and that in part explains his preference for dialogue over description, action over analysis. Gardner's novels emphasize physical movement - running from one place to another, full-throttle car trips, chartered airplane flights.
Gardner's clients in these works are innocent, but usually do not reveal the full truth to Perry Mason. The highlight of each novel is in the courtroom, where Perry Mason with flamboyance and audacity not only proves his client innocent, but also reveals the identity of the real murderer. Mason's novels are plot driven, and the plots grab your attention - even though there is seldom an immediate danger to either the client or Mason. Plausibility and consistency in the plots are quite good. The crimes and their solutions hold up well to scrutiny.
Buy and read this volume if you enjoy classic American entertainment. Part of Gardner's incredible popularity was that he never added the extensive descriptions that most readers skip in detective novels. Gardner's novels have tight plots, snappy dialog and an abundance of action.
If your only exposure to Perry Mason was from the television show, you are in for much more rapid and exciting entertainment than you could possibly expect. Each of these novels is a quick and fun read. I also recommend that you explore some of the earlier writings of Gardner, where the testosterone and energy are even stronger. You might also enjoy the insightful biography of Gardner, The Case Of The Real Perry Mason, authored by mystery writer and critic Dorothy B. Hughes.
Erle Stanley Gardner at the Height of His Powers.......2005-03-15
Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970) wrote some one hundred novels over the course of his long career. He was at the height of his powers during the late 1950s, and this collection offers seven of his best works featuring Los Angeles attorney Perry Mason. Writing in a dialogue-heavy, almost staccato style that calls to mind the likes of Hammett, Gardner leads the reader through complexities of the law with considerable skill--and if these tales are genre-fiction pure and simple, they are nonetheless enjoyable for that.
THE CASE OF THE GLAMOROUS GHOST (1955) finds Mason entangled with a young woman who claims memory loss, and her dead boyfriend is one of the the things she can't quite recall. In THE CASE OF THE TERRIFIED TYPIST (1956) Mason requires an office temp--who suddenly disappears from the job and may be implicated in both robbery and murder.
In THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LOSER (1957) Mason is asked to observe a trail by a mysterious client and finds himself more involved in the court case than he expected. THE CASE OF THE SCREAMING WOMAN finds Mason called upon to play marriage counselor when a skeptical woman demands that he get to the bottom of her husband's wild story.
THE CASE OF THE LONG-LEGGED MODELS (1957) finds Mason representing a casino heiress who is being strong armed to sell. In THE CASE OF THE FOOT-LOOSE DOLL (1958) a lovelorn woman claims to have committed insurance fraud, and in THE CASE OF THE WAYLAID WOLF (1959) an office worker's refusal of a young man's advances has unexpected consequences to say the least.
The novels include the supporting characters so much beloved--or loathed--by Gardner's fans: the witty and efficient secretary Della Street; the hard nosed detective Paul Drake; and, of course, such 'for the prosecution' figures as Police Lt. Trask and the urbane but none-to-swift attorney Hamilton Burger. Police processes and in some instances laws have changed in the half-century Gardner wrote these tales, but they are still good fun, fast and entertaining reads from the first page to the last. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
An Erle Stanley Gardner Sampler.......2004-10-11
Perry Mason Seven Famous Novels
These seven novels were originally published between 1955 and 1959 when Gardner was at his prime. They take place in 1950s Los Angeles California, an area where Erle Stanley Gardner lived and worked. Gardner never put dates in his novels to keep them from being dated. But after the devaluation of the dollar from 1971 on many of the dollar figures are long out of date. There were other changes in law and culture as well. Gardner was a trial attorney himself, and his experiences were not unlike that of Perry Mason. His novels economize on characterization, using dialogue to keep the story moving. Few of the people tell the whole truth to Mason. His job is to compare testimony to the facts gathered by his private investigator. Mason's clients are usually "middle class" or better; few clients have messy lives or cases. The stories involve some technical or scientific facts, and show some point of law.
Erle Stanley Gardner was the founder of the "Court of Last Resort" which sought to free many unjustly convicted persons. Gardner, among others, sought to use scientific means to find the guilty, rather than using hunches or guesses alone. Mason's clients are always not guilty, because few would buy a book where a defense lawyer let the guilty go free. An important lesson for the reader is to think about the facts, and not jump to a conclusion based on newspaper reports. These seven novels are often educational, like some novels of Dashiell Hammett, in teaching about the tricks of undercover detectives. You'll learn about a "roper", rough or smooth shadows, etc. and be able to identify the undercover operatives that you may encounter in your life.
* The Case of the Glamorous Ghost. A young woman was found in a park at night, nearly nude. She seems to be an amnesia victim. When her missing boyfriend is found dead she is accused of the murder.
* The Case of the Terrified Typist. A skilled typist shows up for work, then disappears. This typist matches a suspect in a burglary. Perry Mason's client is convicted of murder, but this is overturned on a technicality.
* The Case of the Lucky Loser. A young man is on trial for a hit-and-run. The investigation brings out hidden facts. Why did his step-mother and a company official testify against him?
* The Case of the Screaming Woman. A wife calls to have her husband's story checked. He had picked up a hitchhiker and taken her to a motel. After a nearby doctor was killed, the man is charged with murder.
* The Case of the Long-Legged Models. A young lady inherited shares in a Las Vegas casino. A man is pressuring her to sell out. When the man is murdered, the young lady is charged with murder.
* The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll. A woman runs away and assumes a new identity. But an investigator ties the new identity to a past crime. When the investigator is killed, she is accused of the murder.
* The Case of the Waylaid Wolf. A woman can't start her car, and is given a ride by her employer's son. She resists his advances, then runs off. When this man is found dead she is charged with murder.
Book Description
I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason is the debut novel in a hip, sexy, smart and, yes, cozy mystery series with a great hook. Think Sex and the City collides with Murder, She Wrote.
All that writer Cece Caruso really wants to do is complete her biography of mystery legend Erle Stanley Gardner, find a vintage 1970s Ossie Clark gown to add to her collection, and fix the doorknob on her picturesque West Hollywood bungalow. Then a chance visit with a prison inmate who knew Gardner lands her right in the middle of a 40–year–old murder and another case where the blood is still warm. In fact, Cece finds the body. This brings her into irresistible contact with her inner personal sleuth and shows how crime and greed can reverberate through several generations of a single family.
Customer Reviews:
If you like Janet Evanovich...........2007-09-12
Move over Stephanie Plum. Kandel's heroine, Cece, is Italian (in name only) instead of Polish; but she's got big hair, she's tall and her boyfriend is a policeman. Well, if the formula works, why change it? Cece has left New Jersey for West Hollywood and she's prettier than Ms. Plum,and thinner,too. But, like Stephanie, Cece lives on a diet of junk food.
The mystery is solved and the culpable meet their fate all in the space of two pages. Considering the book is 280 pages long, she could have dragged out the climax for a few more pages. Unlike Evanovich, the prose doesn't ring true. Evanovich manages to make the most outlandish characters seem plausible--maybe because she feeds into our dearly-held stereotypes. Kandel always seems to be trying to hard to make her characters loveable eccentrics, but they aren't believable for a minute. Still, I couldn't put the book down.
Pleasantly surprised!.......2007-07-03
My expectations for this book weren't very high for some reason. I thought it would be just another chick-genre mystery with a gimmick and not much to make it stand out. I was surprised to find that not only was the story good, the tie-in with Erle Stanley Gardner seemed extremely well researched and truly a part of the plot, not just something thrown in as a device. In the first chapter I wasn't so sure I was going to appreciate Cece's passion for vintage clothing, but that came across as a genuine part of the story and part of the character as well and wasn't overdone. The writing is good, the locale is really well described and the characters are interesting. I am looking forward to seeing what the author does with Nancy Drew in the next book (Nancy was my first introduction to mystery fiction!).
I Dreamed Of A Better Book.......2007-04-12
I thought this book had promise- I liked the premise, thought the title was cute and the PARADE magazine in the Sunday paper had recommended the follow up book "Not A Girl Detective". However, I really had a hard time getting into this book. I did like the characters and thought the story was good, but the writing did not seem to capture my attention and there just seemed to be something missing. I'd give it two and a half stars to be exact.
Fun.......2006-10-27
A friend gave me this book because I'm a fan of the Perry Mason books and because I live in Ventura (where the book takes place, and where Erle Stanley Gardner, the author of the Perry Mason books, practiced law himself).
For some reason I found it annoying at first and put it down. Then one night, desperate for something to read, I picked it up again and thoroughly enjoyed it. Her breezy writing style is entertaining and it's good for the kind of light, pleasant, undisturbing story that is nice to read before bed. The dialogue was witty and the main character spunky and fun to hang out with. The plot got a little thick, but she was canny enough to provide recaps along the way so that one didn't get lost. The character is interested in vintage clothing and I found that an interesting side plot.
Her depiction of Ventura was accurate and insightful.
I would read another book starring this character.
A Fun Read; Ready to Read the Next Volume.......2006-09-17
I've got nothing in common with Cece Caruso except that we're both Italian, but I found this first story about mystery writer biographer Caruso fun and the mystery suitably convoluted. Cece's flip descriptions of her life and loves are lively and amusing, her travels through the California countryside appealing, and she has an interesting assortment of friends. Her clothing obsession and constant descriptions of such are a bit dull to me, but then, hey, everyone collects something; Cece's thing is just clothing. Looking forward to the second book!
Customer Reviews:
Perry Mason pulls a "Doctor Watson".......2001-11-24
This is the 29th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 12th in the series). Forgive me for giving this one less than a rave review. Usually Perry Mason sees what no one else can see--a sort of mid-20th Century Sherlock Holmes. In this case the only surprise about the solution is that it takes Mr. Mason so long to happen upon it. The most interesting feature of this story is Perry Mason's marriage proposal to Della Street. (Holmes' own Doctor Watson got married in the "Sign of Four," but his wife was killed off in "The Empty House." I guess his wife "got in the way" one too many times. Could Della suffer a similar fate?)
Period pleasure........2001-06-09
If the writing style characteristic of the thirties and forties is something that you enjoy, then Gardner's mysteries are a must-read. In this early novel, mistaken identity plays a large role. We have a switched photograph, a bandaged man, a woman in thick glasses, and a family traveling under false pretenses. Perry Mason is initially involved to protect a young innocent from scandal, but he gets in deeper and deeper until it's finally all about murder.
THE best Perry Mason mystery.......2000-11-27
So, you've heard about Perry Mason and would like to read one of his books? If you were to read one and only one of the dozens of books Erle Stanley Gardner wrote, "The Case of the Substitute Face" should be it. This book, written in 1938, shows Gardner at the top of his form, after he had fully developed his formula, but before it truly became a formula.
Gardner himself was a top lawyer. "The Case of the Chinese Shopkeepers" could have been one of Gardner's books if he hadn't done it himself. When Gardner heard the DA was going to subpoena one of his clients, a chinese shopkeeper in Oxnard CA, Gardner put another chinese man, who didn't speak English, in his client's store. The court officer then brought the wrong witness to court and, after much confusion, the case was dismissed.
In an ending, there is a beginning...........2000-07-02
Background: The stylistic heritage of the Perry Mason mysteries is the American pulp magazines of the 1920s. In the early Mason mysteries, Perry - a good-looking, broad-shouldered, two-fisted, man of action - is constantly stiff-arming sultry beauties on his way to an explosive encounter that precipitates the book's climactic action sequence. In the opening chapters of these stories, Gardner subjects the reader to assertive passages that Mason is a crusader for justice, a man so action-oriented he is constitutionally incapable of sitting in his office and waiting for a case to come to him or to develop on its own once it has - he has to be out on the street, in the midst of the action, making things happen, always on the offensive, never standing pat or accepting being put on the defensive. These narrative passages - naïve, embarrassingly crude "character" development - pop up throughout the early books, stopping the narrative dead in its tracks, and putting on full display a non-writer's worst characteristic: telling the reader a character's traits instead of showing them through action, dialogue, and use of other of the writer's tools.
Rating "Ground Rules": These flaws, and others so staggeringly obvious that enumerating them is akin to using cannons to take out a flea, occur throughout the Gardner books, and can easily be used (with justification) to trash his work. But for this reader they are a "given", part of the literary terrain, and are not relevant to my assessment of the Gardner books. In other words, my assessments of the Perry Mason mysteries turn a blind eye to Erle Stanley Gardner's wooden, style-less writing, inept descriptive passages, unrealistic dialogue, and weak characterizations. As I've just noted, as examples of literary style all of Gardner's books, including the Perry Mason series, are all pretty bad. Nonetheless, the Mason stories are a lot of fun, offering intriguing puzzles, nifty legal gymnastics, courtroom pyrotechnics, and lots of action and close calls for Perry and crew. Basically, you have to turn off the literary sensibilities and enjoy the "guilty" pleasure of a fun read of bad writing. So, my 1-5 star ratings (A, B, C, D, and F) are relative to other books in the Gardner canon, not to other mysteries, and certainly not to literature or general fiction.
"The Case of the Substitute Face": A
This solid Perry Mason mystery is an entertaining read with plenty of twists and turns and mysterious events - more sheer detection than any half-a-dozen mysteries by less inventive writers, of which, it might be noted, there were plenty populating the book racks in 1938 when this story was first published. But as good as this particular case is, the book itself is ultimately more memorable for the insights it provides into the relationship between Perry Mason and his superhumanly faithful secretary, Della Street.
Perry and Della are returning to Los Angeles by cruise ship from a Hawaiian vacation, when Perry is approached by a woman who would like to engage his help in determining whether her closed-mouth husband is a lottery winner, as he claims, or an embezzler on the run. Before Mason can get an investigation off the ground, her husband disappears during some rough weather, leaving behind witnesses who swear that his wife shot him and then tossed the body over the railing. On his way to solving this tricky case, Perry manages to pull off a couple of bluffs and double-bluffs to get information from evasive witnesses, and then stages some courtroom drama that turns the tables on the prosecution and the murderer.
In the course of bringing a murderer to justice, however, Perry proposes marriage to Della - who turns him down. Her reasons for rejecting the man she obviously loves will have readers with feminist leanings reaching for their picket signs and, in all honesty, there is simply no defending the bald chauvinism of Gardner's attitude. But the attitude strikes me as not truly felt; it seems more like an expedient solution to a problem that was developing in successive books in the Perry Mason series - namely, the burgeoning relationship between Perry and Della. At this point in the series the relationship seemed to be acquiring a life of its own, and consequently demanding more attention and time than Gardner wanted to devote to it. He knew his strengths well enough to realize that it was in his best interests to push the relationship to the far background and focus on the story, the mystery, and the legal twists that constitute the Perry Mason stories at their best.
In this book, as in its immediate predecessors, he is groping not to establish a relationship between them, but to define it in such a way that it no longer needs to be written about. A relationship that is no longer dynamic, no longer subject to change or development, so that he can concentrate his writing on the mystery, the law, the action, and the story. In this book, with the rejected marriage proposal, he achieves that objective.
Importance of "Corpus Delicti".......1999-08-26
Perry Mason often uses unorthodox (even illegal sometimes) methods to find out what really happened. His attitude is described metaphorically as "skating on thin ice". In this novel, Mason did not only skate but made several somersaults on thin ice. I just applauded that. But Mason's spectacular stunt is not limited to this novel. The distinctive feature of this novel will be the importance of "corpus delicti", the proof that the victim is really dead and that the death is caused by another people's criminal act. If you want to know what I mean, just read the book.
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