The D.A. Breaks a Seal

Doug Selby #7

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner. The D.A. Breaks a Seal. London: Cassell and Company, [1950]. First UK edition. Octavo. 199 pages. Publisher's orange cloth and dust jacket with 8/6 net price.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

169 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1946

About the author

Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories who also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray, and Robert Parr.

Innovative and restless in his nature, he was bored by the routine of legal practice, the only part of which he enjoyed was trial work and the development of trial strategy. In his spare time, he began to write for pulp magazines, which also fostered the early careers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. He created many different series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a "gentleman thief" in the tradition of Raffles, and Ken Corning, a crusading lawyer who was the archetype of his most successful creation, the fictional lawyer and crime-solver Perry Mason, about whom he wrote more than eighty novels. With the success of Perry Mason, he gradually reduced his contributions to the pulp magazines, eventually withdrawing from the medium entirely, except for non-fiction articles on travel, Western history, and forensic science.

See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erle_Sta...

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gardner seems to have written his nine-volume Doug Selby series as a counterpoint to Gardner’s Perry Mason series. Seen from the viewpoint of Madison City District Attorney Selby, criminal defense attorney A.B. Carr is described as a magician with more tricks up his sleeve than you can imagine. Like Mason, Carr injects himself into cases and seems to be doing things on the borderline of ethicality. Carr is spoken of in terms of someone you dislike as a matter of course, but respect because of his consummate skills in the courtroom.

As this story opens, Selby is no longer the District Attorney. It’s 1941 and he’s enlisted to serve his country. As it so happens, he has five days leave and stops in Madison City to visit. Though he no longer has any official standing, Selby quickly finds himself embroiled in a civil dispute with Inez Stapleton representing one side of the undue influence over a will signing dispute and Carr being on the other side.

So Selby is officially a bystander in town for less than a week and the main event legally speaking is a civil case, not the usual criminal matters that occupy these books. The novel has a lengthy courtroom scene and Selby, who can’t stay on the sidelines, gets involved.

There is a murder of a visiting attorney in a local hotel under mysterious circumstances, but that matter almost has a backseat as compared to the other matters.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#7 in the Doug Selby series. This 1946 series entry by author Gardner is set somewhat earlier. It has D.A. Selby resigned from the position, enlisted in the Army and, as a Major, about to ship to the Pacific in 5 days, after a stint in Europe. With a tight time schedule, he helps Sheriff Brandon avoid the machinations of the new D.A., helps old flame lawyer Inez Stapleton escape a trap set by opposing counsel A.B. Carr, and provides headlines for reporter Sylvia Martin. An enjoyable read with familiar characters and an intriguing plot.

Maj. Selby is on a week's furlough before shipping out to the war in the Pacific. He stops in Madison City to visit with old friends--Sheriff Rex Brandon, reporter Sylvia Martin, and fellow-lawyer Inez Stapleton--and immediately finds himself drawn into mysterious circumstances. Inez is preparing to battle A. B. Carr in a lawsuit over a contested will. Selby and Sylvia notice Carr meeting strangers at the train depot by way of white gardenias on their lapels and, later, a man who had ordered a white gardenia turns up poisoned in his hotel. Selby's quite sure the mystery man was mixed up in Inez's current case. It's shown that Inez herself had been in contact with him but will only answer "No comment" to any questions posed to her.

[Jt]

Erle Stanley Gardner writes a mean potboiler!

[Rick Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Major characters:
Frank Norwalk, hotel manager
Fred Roff, attorney, deceased
Henry Farley, waiter, the accused
Coleman Dexter, a land speculator
Major Doug Selby, former D. A.
Carl Gifford, current D.A.
Alphonse Baker Carr, "Old A.B.C"
Anita Eldon, a Hollywood blonde bombshell, A.B. Carr's client
Sylvia Martin, reporter for The Clarion
Inez Stapleton, attorney
Barbara Horncutt, Inez' client

Synopsis: Major Doug Selby is arriving home on a furlough from the Army, prior to heading out to the Pacific in the waning days of WWII. He notices a man and woman on his train wearing gardenias. As they alight at the Madison City, attorney A. B. Carr is waiting for them on the platform - and Selby realizes the gardenias are a signal so they recognize each other.

Selby runs into old flame - now attorney - Inez Stapleton. She is working on a contested will case, against A. B. Carr.

Word comes of a dead body found in the Madison Hotel. Selby accompanies Sheriff Rex Brandon to the scene, where they find Fred Roff deceased from poison in his room. He has a gardenia also. A blonde bombshell, Anita Eldon, is in the adjacent room, also with a gardenia. It appears all the gardenia wearers may be parties to the contested will case.

While D.A. Carl Gifford tries to discover evidence to prosecute hotel waiter Henry Farley for the murder, the contested will case goes to trial; as Selby tries to sort out the various gardenia-wearers. The trial comes to an abrupt halt when of the witnesses is poisoned.

Review: The previous Selby novel, The D.A. Calls a Turn, was a low point in the series; but in this novel Gardner and Selby are both back in good form. The gardenia club is an interesting twist, and we have two simultaneous cases (poisoning, contested will) heading to trial; with some obscure link between them. Selby is no longer D.A., but gets involved by being associated with old flame Inez Stapleton; who again is portrayed as breaking down in tears when things go badly - not a good attribute for an attorney; and this distracts from the story.

The writing is very well done, one of my favorite sentences describes the deceased as he lies on the floor:

His bifocal spectacles had been pushed into one-sided incongruity by his fall and in some strange way lent an oddly facetious note to the occasion, as though these man-made aids to vision were somehow jeering at the final destiny of the eyes they had served.

The revelation of the murderer was a surprise, as this person served a minor role; and their connection to the victim a stretch. Nonetheless, a strong Doug Selby yarn.

[Larry Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The D.A. Breaks a Seal showed up on Amazon as a$3.99 ebooks (also included in kindle unlimited subscription) and I was curious. Book 7, in the Doug Selby series by Earle Stanley Gardner,1946?
This was news to me.
Lacking the unmatched originality and high humor of his Cool & Lam books (audacious Bertha “fry me an oyster” “break me off a piece of that cake” Cool, and her pint size partner, the lovable Donald Lam, oozing saviour faire and duende). The D.A. Selby books are more a precursor to ESG’s more popular and prolific profile and casework of the Perry Mason books.
Book 7 finds former Madison City DA, now Major Selby on 5 day furlough returning by train to Madison to pay a visit to old friends, prior to shipping off to parts unknown. Doug of course finds himself immediately involved in the legal intrigue of a contested will and accompanying murder.
ESG combines his usual plot suspense, along with an assortment of characters which present to the reader with sociological precision the good, the bad, the principles and sins of the time and place of the American landscape.
Since I’ve exhausted my supply of Cool & Lam, count me as a future procurer of D.A. books if Amazon chooses further kindle editions.

Notes:
“She’s something all her own — something that’s as distinctive and American as a country newspaper,”—ESG and his stories describing American folk and individuals’ characteristics…

“they won’t do us a darn bit of good,” Selby said, “unless we have definite principles and the will to fight to back up those principles. We’ve got to decide what we want and determine how we intend to get it. And we haven’t much time to lose. While we’re trying to make up our minds other nations will capitalize on our indecision by taking what they want and adding to their potential power at the same time they subtract from ours. I want to fit into something big,…to be part of something big is to do a lot of small things well” —(Postwar American ambitions and get up and go, but based on American principles to realize one’s larger goals.)

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doug Selby askere yazılmış, binbaşı olmuş ve 5 günlük iznini geçirmek üzere Madison City'ye giden trene binmiştir. Burada beyaz gardenya takan bir kadına dikkat eder. İstasyonda onu Slyvia Martin karşılar ama A. B. Carr da oradadır ve başka bir beyaz gardenya takan birini karşılar. Selby'nin dikkatini çeker bu durum. Sonrasında bir restoranda başka bir sarışın ile görür avukatı ve o kadında da aynı çiçekten vardır. Otelde bir adam ölü bulunur ve Rex Brandon isteği ile olay yerine gider. Şeker kutusuna bakar ve şahsın zehirlendiğini söyler. Öldürülen kişi Kansas'lı Roof adında bir avukattır. Dexter adında otelde kalan biri, avukatın odasından bir kadının çıktığını gördüğünü söyler. Bu arada Roof'un davaya müdahil bir avukat olan Inez Stepleton ile görüştüğü tespit edilir. Selby istemese de işe dahil olmuştur. Anita Eldon, Carr'ın müvekkilidir. Annesi bir kazada ölmüştür ve miras yaklaşık yarım milyon dolardır. Mahkemeye Inez ile beraber çıkan Selby tanıkları sorgulamaya başlar. Hattie Irwin adlı çiçek taşıyan kadın da zehirlenir. Ona bir kaç soru sorar. Anita'nın annesinin öldüğü kazaya o da şahit olmuştur. Selby mahkemeye geri döner ve Carr'ın ana şahidini sorgular. Irwin iyileşene kadar mahkemeye ara verilir. Cinayeti kim işlemiştir. Kazada ölümlerin sırası neden önemlidir? Anita gizlice kimle evlenmiştir? Selby trene binene kadar olayı çözebilecek midir? Slyvia ve Inez ne yapacaktır? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Gregory Van Den Berg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The D.A. Breaks a Seal by Erle Stanley Gardner, Major Doug Selby, an ex-district attorney on Army leave, investigates the murder of a Kansas lawyer poisoned by cyanide in a Madison City hotel. Assisting Sheriff Rex Brandon, Selby must solve the case in five days, navigating clues involving a mysterious blonde, white gardenias, and his old rival, defense attorney A.B. Carr.
Key elements of the novel include:
Plot: The murder initially appears to be a heart attack but is revealed to be cyanide poisoning, linking to a larger conspiracy and a civil case.
Characters: Major Doug Selby (protagonist), Sheriff Rex Brandon, reporter Sylvia Martin, and nemesis defense counsel A.B. Carr.
Setting/Style: A 1940s-era mystery set during World War II, showcasing Selby's investigative skills despite not being the official DA.
Selby must uncover the truth behind the "sealed" evidence before his leave expires and the killer escapes.

[C.A. Knutsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Mr Stanley's best

This story has a lot to offer. The author created urgency by having the main character only in town for a couple of days. Great characters and the mystery was intriguing. I like most of mr. Stanley's work including the Perry Mason series, but this book is better then most of the rest of his work.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent entry in the series, where Selby has been drafted but is back in Madison City on a brief furlough. He's no longer the D.A. but still manages to use the little time he has to both catch up with old friends and rivals and unravel a characteristically tricky case.

[Deanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time with Doug Selby, as opposed to Perry Mason, and enjoyed the cast of characters. Nice little mystery

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure this book matters but it is very entertaining.

[Dr. John P. Schaefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read in Earle Stanley Gardner ‘s traditional mode.

A typical Gardner whodunit and a period piece that makes for a pleasant read. Courtroom drama that would have pleased Perry mason to witness.

[Bev · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is the seventh of nine in one of Erle Stanley Gardner's non-Mason series. It features Doug Selby who serves through most of the series as the District Attorney in fictional Madison City, California. The books follow him as he's newly elected to the position until he enlists in the military as intelligence officer during World War II and then sees him back as the D.A. once the war ends. The Selby novels work as a sort of antithesis to the Perry Mason books with Selby's biggest opponent, A. B. Carr portrayed as corrupt and unscrupulous while Selby, the D. A., is more concerned with justice and equity; not interested in his reputation as a prosecutor or about his image in the press.

The story finds Selby on a week's furlough before heading back to the war in the Pacific. He decides to stop in Madison City to visit with old friends--Sheriff Rex Brandon, reporter Sylvia Martin, and fellow-lawyer Inez Stapleton--and immediately finds himself drawn into mysterious circumstances. Inez is preparing to battle A. B. Carr in a lawsuit over a contested will. When Selby and Sylvia notice Carr meeting strangers at the train depot by way of white gardenias on their lapels and, later, a man who had ordered a white gardenia turns up poisoned in his hotel, Selby's instincts are on high alert. He's quite sure the mystery man was mixed up in Inez's current case, but how? Once the man is identified and it's shown that Inez herself had been in contact with him but will only answer "No comment" to any questions posed to her, Selby knows he's on to something. He plays a few spectacular hunches and manages to help Brandon arrest a killer, Stapleton win her court battle, and give Martin the inside scoop on a the story behind it all.

The D.A. Breaks a Seal was first published in 1946, but obviously covers some time earlier because Major Selby is headed off somewhere unnamed in the Pacific to, as his friend Brandon tells him at the end of the novel, "Clean up the Japs." So the war isn't quite over for Selby. There is also mention of difficulties for anyone wanting to travel purely for pleasure--a point of interest when Selby is investigating one of the gardenia-wearers and how she managed to travel by train to Madison City. Of course references to mass train travel and Pullman cars also give a hint to the time period, but overall the story has a rather timeless feel to it. You know you're reading about early- to mid-twentieth century, but beyond the mention of Selby's military service, there isn't much to nail it down tighter than that. A nice general period atmosphere to cloak this solid courtroom drama.

First published on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Ashwin Dongre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a courtroom drama! Although it was not as long as I would have loved it to be (like in Perry Mason novels), but this one was goodly long and pretty much dramatic.

The book itself was a good read. The usual Doug Selby formulae. A confusingly intermingled plot of various seemingly unrelated events, like a murder by poison, an old accident, a will contest, lots of people wearing Gardenias. Personally, I think the plot was less confusing than the last two novels'. As usual Selby gets the "brainwave" towards the end, but this time, Gardner provided us the line of reasoning that leads to the "brainwave".
However, and here I go bragging, I had the eye on the murderer right from their first entry! :D And I also got the significance of the one important question Selby asks the second poisoning victim immediately without any explanation!

The title of the book is a bit erroneous, since Selby is no more a D.A. However I think Gardner, apart from keeping the title pattern, was thinking in the spirit of the respect for the person. Anyways, he's on a short vacation from his war duties and that is how he gets intermingled in these cases. But clearly its because of this plot device, we get the courtroom drama! :)

The Doug Selby series is fun to read, but less of it than the "Lester Leith" stories, less thrilling than the Perry Mason stories, and, thankfully, less blood-boiling than the "Cool & Lam" stories. So they are easy to enjoy. But sometimes its easy to put the book down for a while unlike any of those other series. Yet, I've liked the series. I guess I should keep this part of the review till the last book, where I'll discuss this in details.

So go ahead and read this one, its a bit better than most of the other D.A. books.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I understand it, Gardner wrote this series featuring Doug Selby as somewhat a mirror image of Perry Mason. Selby is the local D.A. who investigates the cases being brought to trial. This is the 7th in the series. I have not read the others.

I felt a bit out of my depth at first, not just because I was reading from the middle of the series, but Selby has resigned as D.A. and entered the Army (1944). He's back in Madison City on furlough. Conveniently there is a murder that same day and his friend, the sheriff, pulls him into the investigation--even though Selby is no longer an official.

This story contains some of the folksy charm of the Perry Masons, but I didn't buy the whole "solving the crime on a three day furlough" while at the same time fighting off the attentions of two determined women. The set-up is just too much here. The puzzle itself and its solution are good however, so I do recommend it if you want to see another side of Gardner. The cross-examinations are terrific.

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