The Case of the Grinning Gorilla

Perry Mason #40

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Helen Cadmus was dead –But how had it happened? Suicide, most people said. She jumped off that millionaire’s yacht in a fit of despair, her body was never found, and the case was closed. The story was too neat to suit Perry Mason. It didn’t add up. Somebody was concealing the truth about Helen’s death, and how was going to uncover it even if it killed him. That’s how Mason fell into a trap set by three killers-two from humans and one grinning gorilla! There was nothing modest about Helen Cadmus,” said Mrs. Josephine Kempton in answer to Perry Mason’s question. “She was very, very proud of her figure. She liked to be photographed and she liked to look at herself in the mirror.” “Nude?” “Not nude. She loved to take two or three squares of material and knot them so they’d make a bathing suit. Of course it wouldn’t have stood any swimming.” “Do you feel she didn’t commit suicide?” “I just absolutely know Helen didn’t commit suicide.” “Well, let’s suppose,” Mason said, “that her death wasn’t suicide and let’s suppose it wasn’t accidental.” Josephine Kempton looked at him steadily. “That leaves murder.”

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Legal, Detective, Classics, Audiobook

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 1952

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

[Mai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing


This one was a pleasant surprise. I honestly didn’t expect much going in, especially after not enjoying a previous book by the same author , that one felt messy and full of flaws, though I’ll admit the case itself might’ve been part of the problem.

But this book? It was a total shift. From the very beginning, it was solid , the writing was more focused, the plot was well structured, and the pacing was smooth. I did start suspecting the twist early on, but that didn’t take away from the fun at all. It was executed well enough to keep me engaged.

All in all, I had a really good time with this one. It definitely redeemed the author in my eyes.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason novels are always masterpieces of deductive reasoning. Mason, a shrewd calculating attorney, sort of stumbles by accident into this case by buying a drowned secretary's diaries at auction - offering a bid merely to get the auction rolling. This case involves an estate of an eccentric millionaire of the Howard Hughes variety - whose estate is sort of like the Island of Dr. Moreau - filled with massive gorillas who are the subjects of homicidal experiments. This is to put it mildly an unusual Perry Mason book, but it's well written, cleverly plotted, and an easy read.

[Rajan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. I completed it very fast. Like i used to in younger days. Do i need to say more





Some excerpts :

“You don’t get to understand human nature,” Mason said, “by listening to what people tell you when they’re talking to you.”




“You don’t?” Fallon asked, surprised.




Mason shook his head. “That’s when you see them with their make-up on, with their best foot forward. You learn about human nature by watching people when they don’t know they’re being watched, by listening to conversations that they don’t know are being overheard, by prying into their thoughts whenever you can find what their true thoughts are. You learn about people when you see their souls stripped naked by suffering.”
________

Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Addicks was experimenting along modern lines, trying to make animals neurotic. And he had some peculiar ideas about hypnotism. Apparently he felt that a man could not be put into such a deep hypnotic trance that he would do something that would outrage his higher moral sense, but he felt that gorillas were so closely related to man that they could be hypnotized, and taught to commit a homicide.
_______

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The grinning gorilla only shows up on the last couple of pages, but fear not! more gorillas lurk throughout the book. Perry is a speedster on the road and even Della has to hold on to her seat when he takes off in response to a client. Courtroom and logical arguments are great as usual.

Bonus: Perry and Della have a little bit of romance in this one. We want to see more of this!!!!

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick and fun read. The plot is a little more implausible than is the case with most of the Perry Mason novels, but it was still an entertaining and exciting story.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[False · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bitter man decides to perform experiments to see if the great apes can be hypnotized into becoming homicidal maniacs. Answer: No. You cannot hypnotize a gorilla. No do their backs have zippers. It's odd how often mining crops up in Perry Mason books. I think geology was a side passion of the author. I know he loved deserts, and those show up quite frequently as well. There's always some babe who's been wrongly charged in a murder. Perry knows what's what. Paul Drake isn't smacking double sticks of gum--yet. Lt. Tragg never shows his puss. There's one section in which the author describes uncaged gorillas running amok that smacks more than a little of racism. Favorite meal of Perry and Della Street? A big thick steak, medium rare (often with onions and/or mushrooms) and toasted brown bread with shaved garlic on top. Gardner writes about garlic the way we would about Harissa spice today: something exotic. There are a lot of people in bad marriages in Perry Mason books. They should get out more and eat thick steaks and cut a rug on the dance floor the way Perry does.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. Gardner has a unique writing style which is very different from current era reads, that of very little descriptive narrative, mostly concentrating on conversation between characters. The books move very fast and leave much to your imagination. A good thing in today's society of 'no imaginative thoughts please'. I recommend this book to be read more towards the end of the group if you are reading more than one.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun to read. Not only is it a well-written mystery but one of my favorite animals, a gorilla, played a critical role in the plot, and surprisingly was described rather accurately considering when the book was written and what was known about gorilla behavior at that time.

[Ella (book.monkey) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the blurb said "a spine-chilling mystery".
This was absolutely fantastic. kept me on my toes and I literally couldn't put this book down unless I fell asleep while reading it.

although my copy was from 1961 so I was terrified of taking into school for fear of damaging it in some way.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a gorilla. There's a mysterious housekeeper. There's Perry Mason and of course there's a very irate Hamilton Burger. What more do you need?

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our first Perry Mason -what fun!!!!

[Livros de Vidro]

Li este livro em pouco mais de 3 dias. Um livro já velhote, das antigas colecções vampiro da Livros do Brasil. Muitos destes meninos encontram-se apenas em feiras e alfarrabistas, embora a Livros do Brasil esteja agora a fazer novas edições. diferença entre os velhos e os novos? O preço e, obviamente, a qualidade - os mais antigos já estão amarelados e as letras, em alguns, sumidas.

Este livro penso que o trouxe da cabine de leitura Trokaquiosque de Leiria. Mas já não tenho a certeza, pois já tenho vários volumes desta colecção. Sempre que vou a uma feira de velharias acabo por trazer vários.

O que dizer da história? Que não desilude. O bom e velho estilo de mistério e policial. Gosto de ler estes livros pois os escritores destas épocas, por exemplo, anos 50 do séc. XX, tinham uma forma de escrever policiais tão inteligente, tão limpa e misteriosa que é um regalo para os amantes de policiais.

Neste livro, temos um advogado e a sua secretária que se vêm a braços com um estranho caso. Caso esse que só lhes aparece por força da compra, por parte do advogado, de uma caixa com diários de uma jovem que se supõem ter-se suicidado, atirando-se borda fora de um iate.

Continuação e classificação: https://livrosdevidro.wixsite.com/liv...

[B.R. Stateham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Perry Mason novels. Especially the early and most of the middle years of the series. Perry Mason'a character, as Earle Stanley Garner saw him, was a robust, hard hitting man's man. You get the impression of a Kirk Douglas persona with him. Smart, witty, taking chances both in the court room and out in the field investigating personally for his client. He get's shot at, rousted by the cops, and in this book . . . confronted with very genuine mountain gorillas who were let out of their cages and are roaming freely around in a rich man's mansion.

And oh . . . I like Della Street, Mason's personal secretary as well. She's the feminine version of Mason. Maybe even more so when it comes to chutzpah.

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are so many secrets in a Perry Mason mystery that you'll find yourself way off base when the real killer is announced.

Gorillas, chimpanzees, & possibly monkeys living in a home instead of a zoo, you would expect a murder to occur. However, it's the fired housekeeper that's to blame & now it's up to Perry to pull a rabbit out of a hat to save his client.

This one ran a little slow sometimes, a little confusing, & a lot of anecdotal humor. I enjoyed the book and needed more simple yet direct information to bring me through the book.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a crazy story even for Perry. I liked it. It is
a good story with clean dialogue. I liked it.
I would recommend it to everyone.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry Mason buys the diaries of Helen Cadmus, a private secretary who was washed overboard from her employer's yacht. Shortly afterward, Mason is contacted by a number of people, all kee to buy the diaries from him.

When the secretary's employer is killed and Mason defends the woman accused of murder, some ugly truths are revealed.

Gardner's mystery is well worth reading and Perry Mason fans will see a lot here worth admiring, but there is an element of a "Scooby Doo" ending which mars an otherwise excellent novel.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A couple of generations ago, lawyers were stuffy people," said Perry Mason. "Then came a new and more flippant generation," he said in this 1952 book. That's what we said in the 70's! Every generation thinks they invented fun!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for many years. Many years ago, I was an intense fan of the series, and read them all, at least once. Now, after a lot of water over the dam, I'm looking at them again.

Those who are used to really fine mystery writers may find the writing style here a bit stiff and mechanical. Nonetheless, I still love the general setting: the characters of Perry, Della, Paul, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Berger. That, and the ingenious plots, are why I read Perry Mason.

On the whole, the ones written by around 1953 are the best. This one was written in 1952. It's very good -- at least the first half is. It is lively and imaginative! It is one of the most unusual Perry Mason stories, not to be missed. However it starts to drag over the second half before coming to its very unusual climax.

Perry is walking through the courthouse one day and comes upon an auction. The public administrator periodically auctions off unclaimed property of various types. The diaries of a woman who died at sea six months earlier are on the block. He bids $5 and wins them. He and Della talk it over. They recall the newspaper story when the young woman, Helen Cadmus, disappeared during a storm on the way to Catalina Island. She was on the yacht owned by wealthy Benjamin Addicks. The police investigation stalled, and the body was never found.

They are surprised when they soon get a phone call from some reporters looking for a human interest story. They want to know, does Mason's purchase have anything to do with the suit of Josephine Kempton aganist Benjamin Addicks? Perry never heard of any such suit. Even more intriguing, they are soon visited by one Nathan Fallon who wants to buy the diaries on behalf of Addicks. Perry smells a rat and refuses to sell, even as the price offered goes to $1000.

Perry and Della are soon invited to visit the mansion of Benjamin Addicks. Turns out he is a very eccentric millionaire indeed, as he is obsessed with hypnotism, and tries to hypnotize apes and monkeys! He keeps quite a few gorilas and apes of all sizes in his own private zoo, where he experiments on them. Perry again refuses to sell the diaries.

And who is Josephine Kempton? She was a long-time employee of Addicks who was fired for supposedly purloining jewelry. Perry figues out what actually happened, but soon the plot really thickens as Addicks is stabbed to death. Kempton says a gorilla did it! The police say that's nonsense and arrest her.

This is a complex page turner for about the first half, but then somehow it starts to lose steam. There is a great scene where Addicks' lawyer, Hardwick, tries to get Perry to let him talk to Perry's client, Kempton.

The courtroom cross examinations are good but go on too long. I found myself getting bored. There are also a couple unexplained loose ends.

Good Hamilton Burger, but he is handled to better effect elsewhere. Very good use of Della, average Drake. Small amount of Tragg and Holcomb.

The book is noteworthy for an unusual amount of kissing and hugging between Perry and Della! Here's a quote:

Mason came over to place his hip on a corner of the desk. He put his hand over hers. “Nice to have you around,” he said. “Nice to be around,” she told him, smiling up at him.

Della gets an unusual fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant.

Recommended, in spite of a few loose ends.

The cast:

Benjamin Addicks, wealthy eccentric, experiments with apes and monkeys.
Helen Cadmus, former secretary of Addicks, apparently drowned at sea.
Mrs. Josephine Kempton, former employee of Addicks.
Nathan Fallon, trouble shooter for Addicks.
James Etna, lawyer for Mrs. Kempton.
Mortimer Hershey, Addicks’ business manager.
Sidney Hardwick, Addicks’ lawyer.
Herman Addicks, mysterious brother of Benjamin, apparently committed a murder long ago.
Fern Blevins, ex-wife of a hypnotist.

[Kelvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a 1952 book of the long running Perry Mason series, a series that ran from early 1930s through late 1960s. The story starts off with Perry Mason doing a favor to his friend the public administrator of the City of Los Angeles by buying some unclaimed properties of a presumed dead person Helen Cadmus from a courthouse sale. Helen was the secretary to a multi-millionaire Benjamin Addicks and she disappeared one stormy night from Addicks’ yacht. Among the items purchased by Perry Mason were Helen’s diaries. The newspapers heard of Mason’s purchase and thought he was onto something because at that time Ben Addicks was defending a defamation lawsuit filed by his former housekeeper Mrs. Kempton.

Ben Addicks, a self-made millionaire, is into animal hypnotization experiments and keeps a collection of gorillas and monkeys in his huge mansion, part of which has been converted into a zoo where the animals are kept caged. Perry, who ended up representing Mrs. Kempton, was called to the Addicks house one night by Mrs. Kempton. Mrs. Kempton claimed she has been hit in the back and lost consciousness while waiting for Perry to arrive. When she woke up, she witnessed a scene where a gorilla which has escaped from the cage was holding a knife and stabbed Ben Addicks to death.

Erle Stanley Gardner threw in his usual twists, red herrings and legal complexities in the book. The Helen Cadmus issue turned out to be a substantive issue, but is after all, only a side issue. What happened was two of Ben Addicks’ associates came up with a plan with Ben’s brother Herman to murder Ben and fake a will so that Herman can inherit Ben’s millions. By overpowering Ben and got him drunk, they then staged a scene where Herman (dressed in a gorilla suit) stabbed the incapacitation Ben in front of Mrs. Kempton, who would then be able to testify it is a gorilla who has killed Ben while it was hypnotized.

This book has the standard cast of Mason characters, including Della Streets, Paul Drake, Lieutenant Tragg and of course, District Attorney Hamilton Burger. Unlike the earlier Mason books, where Perry and Della were on a wholly professional relationship, in this book Perry and Della are in a budding romance, even with a kissing scene and Della having marriage thought.
The story is well written. It moves fast and the plot is not as convoluted as some of other Perry Mason’s books.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perry Mason bir müzayededen Helen Cadmus adında bir kadının eşyalarını cüzi bir rakama satın alır. Ancak ertesinde meşhur milyoner Benjamin Addicks'in çalışanı ziyarete gelir ve günlükler dahil hepsini satın almak ister. Mason bunu kabul etmez. Benjamin ile olan bir deniz yolculuğunda kaybolmuştur Helen. Herkes öldüğünü düşünür. Bu arafa Benjamin eski çalışanı Josephine Kempton'ı dava eder. Gerekçesi ise hırsızlıktır. Goril ve şempanzeler ile deney yapan Benjamin'in bir kardeşi vardır ve Avustralya'dan işlenen bir cinayet sebebiyle hipnotizma çalışmaktadır. Mason evlerine gider ve burada gözü sarılı bir adam kendini Benjamin olarak tanıtır. Görüşmede bir gorilin çalınan eşyaları sakladığı ortaya çıkar. Avukatı ile Mason beraber çalışmaya başlarlar. Benjamin büyük bir tazminat öder ve dava düşer. Ancak sonrasında Benjamin öldürülür. Evde bir gorilin kaçtığı söylenir ve Kempton da olay yerindedir. Çalışanlar Nathon Fallon ve Mortimer Hershey Kempton'ı suçlar. Hamilton Burger da aynı görüştedir. Ama Benjamin'in gerçek soyadını Paul Drake ile öğrenen Mason Helen Cadmus'u bulur. Kadın Benjamin ile evlidir ve kaçaktır. Kan izlerinin bir goril ait olduğunu düşünen Mason mahkemeden bir erteleme alır ve Benjamin'in kardeşi ile görüşmeye gider. Burada Della ile bir tehlike atlatır. Katil kimdir? Gözü sarılı adam kimdir? Zimmet olayı cinayette nasıl bir yer kaplamaktadır? Hershey gorilin görünce ne yapmıştır? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to the Perry Mason novels, this one is in a class by itself. We’ve had howling dogs, lame canaries, and goldfish; none of them compare, for sheer shock value, with the great primates roaming through the estate of Benjamin Addicks and the pages of this book.

Gardner must have had a keen interest in gorillas because a very similar plot could have been put forth without the addition of such an outre element. Talk about tarantulas in the angel food and trout in the milk!

Still, we get to see Perry’s typical ingenuity on display, as well as some rather atypical physicality. In addition to the gorillas, Mason and his “secretary” engage in just a bit of their own style of monkey business, or, at least, as much as we’ve ever seen displayed in the ESG books.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gardner comes close to jumping the shark with this one. An eccentric millionaire is trying to arouse homicidal behavior in gorillas through hypnotism. Oh, and he may have murdered his secretary at sea. If this had been made into a movie with Warren William, it most certainly would've featured the stereotypically cheesy actor dressed up in a gorilla suit. Unlike most of the Perry Mason plots, this one leaves some threads just dangling at the end. Still, a mediocre Mason novel is more entertaining than most of his competitors. Also, Della gets a fortune cookie that makes her blush.

[JJ Larsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are Perry Mason novels literature? Not really, but does it matter? It's about fun and the joy of recognition. This novel is among the better I think. It's quite exciting with gorillas running around trying to kill Perry. Not much courtroom though, and not the usual humiliation of Hamilton Burger. But instead there is a nice bit of romance between Perry and Della. I think fans of Mason will feel satisfied.

[Charles R · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a Surprise Ending!

First of all, if you have seen the TV episode corresponding to this book, forget what you saw. It did not do justice to the book.
The mysterious disappearance of a woman, as well as the appearance of an apparently hypnotized grinning gorilla, is window dressing to a story with unexpected twists and turns. When you get to the ending, will you be as surprised as I was?

[Gerli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krimikirjaniku Erle Stanley Gardneri raamatuid advokaat Perry Masonist ja tema kuulsatest erinevatest juhtumitest lugesin viimati keskkooli ajal. See oli nüüd küll tore retk ajas tagasi. Mul polnud isegi plaanis enam Gardneri raamatuid lugeda, aga juhuste kokkusattumised mängisid selle alles tõlgitud raamatu lauale. Raamat lõpp läks kiirustamiseks kätte ära ja veidi ka segaseks. Muidu aga oli igati põnev ja nostalgiline lugemine.

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Grinning Gorilla,” which includes one of Perry’s most ridiculous murder scenes as of the early 50s, involving actual gorillas, is a wonderfully ludicrous legal adventure. But just hang on – it all makes sense by the time you get to the end of this odd little tale. The primatologist in me had a few extra giggles along the way, but even without that, this was a fun, classic Mason mystery with a few special court room moments.

[John Bunyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gardner used a couple of ruses that appeared in an earlier story and have been used by other authors. Mason only figures out the significance at the last minute.
The scene at the end is also way too obvious.
I have 3 stars because the book was entertaining besides lacking real mystery.

The romance between Perry and Della is back!

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun read! This is a great little story that involves gorillas, and other animals kept by a multimillionaire who is trying to hypnotize the monkeys and apes. A convoluted tail that covers a lot of ground and a lot of directions, and amazingly Perry Mason manages to figure out the threads and untie the knots.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"She never told the truth about anything in her life. She's a congenital liar. She's a plotter, a sneak, a vicious, backbiting, nasty-minded woman, and she killed Benjamin Addicks. I know it just as well as I know I’m sitting here."
Mason said, “How do you know it?"
"I don’t know it by any evidence, but I’m absolutely certain that’s the case."