What do you think?
Rate this book
Perry Mason #10
The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
When Matilda Benson solicits the help of Perry Mason, her request seems simple enough: cruise to a gambling ship moored just beyond the twelve-mile limit and buy back the IOUs signed by Miss Benson's niece. But after Mason reaches the floating casino, he discovers problems aplenty -- most notably the ship's owner with a bullet hole through his head. Strangely enough, Matilda and her niece are also on board that night . . . when someone tosses a gun over the railing. Does Perry Mason's client have something to hide?
188 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
177 people are currently reading
630 people want to read
About the author
Erle Stanley Gardner
1,353 books819 followersErle 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...
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...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
May 12, 2015
Matilda Benson is an elderly cigar-smoking widow who has kicked over the traces somewhat late in life and decided to march to the beat of her own drummer. She appears in Perry Mason's office and asks Mason to get possession of some I.O.U.s that her granddaughter has foolishly given the owners of a gambling ship that sails just beyond the twelve-mile limit where law enforcement can't reach them.
The task seems simple enough, but as everyone who reads this series understands, complications are bound to ensue. Sure enough, Perry's initial attempt to get the notes, while very clever, goes astray. Soon after that, someone is shot to death and Perry's client is the prime suspect. Even worse, Perry winds up a fugitive from justice himself as he attempts to untangle what would appear to be an impossible locked room mystery. Perry's ability to pull yet another rabbit out of the hat will be sorely tested as he encounters one problem after another.
All in all, it's a lot of fun and this is one of the better of the early entries in this series.
The task seems simple enough, but as everyone who reads this series understands, complications are bound to ensue. Sure enough, Perry's initial attempt to get the notes, while very clever, goes astray. Soon after that, someone is shot to death and Perry's client is the prime suspect. Even worse, Perry winds up a fugitive from justice himself as he attempts to untangle what would appear to be an impossible locked room mystery. Perry's ability to pull yet another rabbit out of the hat will be sorely tested as he encounters one problem after another.
All in all, it's a lot of fun and this is one of the better of the early entries in this series.
November 28, 2021
The Case of the Dangerous Dowager by Erle Stanley Gardner is the 10th book in the Perry Mason Mystery series. Perry Mason is hired by wealthy widow Matilda Benson to retrieve IOUs that her granddaughter had given to owners of a gambling ship and which would cause problems in current divorce and custody proceedings. A very complicated story. Perry Mason always seems to find a clever but complex way of doing things. Fast paced and neatly tied up in the end.
January 31, 2018
This wasn't the first Perry Mason I've read but it's the first I've read in donkey's years so I didn't know if I'd like it. Well I did. It was fast moving and the mystery was interesting and intricate. Incidentally, as I was reading, I pictured Mason as he was portrayed by the actor Warren William and not Raymond Burr. I don't have anything against Burr, I just like Warren William better.
https://warrenwilliam.com
I think he made a top notch Perry Mason.
https://warrenwilliam.com
I think he made a top notch Perry Mason.
May 10, 2016
Another absolute winner. This one features the intriguing world of offshore gambling barges in 1930's Los Angeles.
August 6, 2020
This is the first Perry Mason novel I’ve read. Why did they go out of print? They don’t feel any more dated than Nero Wolfe and the Raymond Burr TV show and movies should have given them a broader reading audience. It might be because the Perry Mason of the books is conniving and probably unethical at times. Maybe the viewing public didn’t like this dashing Perry Mason compared to the avuncular Burr. Personally, I find the character more interesting this way.
It seemed like the TV show ended the same way every time. Perry Mason gets some witness to breakdown and confess everything on the stand. Maybe the novels eventually become that too, but we never see a courtroom in this book. Mason is really a detective here and his detective, Paul Drake, is really just a leg man.
One thing that impressed me is the subplot of Drake’s operative selling them out to the press to make a stack of money. Drake is livid, but Mason is philosophical about it. He understands the temptation and understands the operative is still useful on this case. The explanation of how tough it is for a freelance operative to pay the bills when the jobs are sporadic is insightful in ways not touched upon when Nero Wolfe sends Saul Panzer and Orrie Cather to shadow someone. Not everyone is devoted to Perry Mason and that makes the devotion of his secretary, Della Street, more significant. Mickey Spillane’s Velma seems to be an homage to the same idea.
I start more series than I finish but I plan on reading more Perry Mason.
It seemed like the TV show ended the same way every time. Perry Mason gets some witness to breakdown and confess everything on the stand. Maybe the novels eventually become that too, but we never see a courtroom in this book. Mason is really a detective here and his detective, Paul Drake, is really just a leg man.
One thing that impressed me is the subplot of Drake’s operative selling them out to the press to make a stack of money. Drake is livid, but Mason is philosophical about it. He understands the temptation and understands the operative is still useful on this case. The explanation of how tough it is for a freelance operative to pay the bills when the jobs are sporadic is insightful in ways not touched upon when Nero Wolfe sends Saul Panzer and Orrie Cather to shadow someone. Not everyone is devoted to Perry Mason and that makes the devotion of his secretary, Della Street, more significant. Mickey Spillane’s Velma seems to be an homage to the same idea.
I start more series than I finish but I plan on reading more Perry Mason.
July 27, 2021
This one started off badly. The idea of a plot about some gambling IOUs and a gambling ship in international waters didn't sound particularly promising or interesting to me. I was going to give up on it. Then, once the murder happened and a plethora of suspects were on board at the time, it picked up and got a lot more interesting.
Gardner really takes us for a spin with the logical procession of people in and out of the cabin where the murder took place, and by the end, my head was spinning. I'm not even sure I fully understand the whole layout of the solution (and visualizing the actual layout of the boat is difficult).
But it was good to see certain cocksure characters taken down a peg or two. I think that's one thing Gardner does well - have characters who start gloating because they think they have Mason trapped, and then he pulls the rug out from under their feet.
Gardner really takes us for a spin with the logical procession of people in and out of the cabin where the murder took place, and by the end, my head was spinning. I'm not even sure I fully understand the whole layout of the solution (and visualizing the actual layout of the boat is difficult).
But it was good to see certain cocksure characters taken down a peg or two. I think that's one thing Gardner does well - have characters who start gloating because they think they have Mason trapped, and then he pulls the rug out from under their feet.
May 4, 2021
Ha sido una lectura divertida y entretenida que me ha hecho pasar buenos ratos, además se lee muy rápido ya que sus 285 páginas tienen tamaño de letra bastante grande, así que ha sido una buena lectura para retomar el género tras años en pausa.
Perry Mason me ha parecido un interesante personaje sobre el que quiero leer más, tengo en casa otro libro de esta serie y ya lo he comenzado a leer, un detective al que ir descubriendo libro a libro de la mano de historias interesantes y, por supuesto, cargadas de misterio.
RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://atrapadaenunashojasdepapel.bl...
Perry Mason me ha parecido un interesante personaje sobre el que quiero leer más, tengo en casa otro libro de esta serie y ya lo he comenzado a leer, un detective al que ir descubriendo libro a libro de la mano de historias interesantes y, por supuesto, cargadas de misterio.
RESEÑA COMPLETA: https://atrapadaenunashojasdepapel.bl...
November 2, 2021
This one didn't hook me in the beginning as much as most of the series, but it was definitely a different type and the ending was filled with twists I didn't see coming. Mason skirts the rule of the letter of the law a lot and this one he definitely does. Overall another I ended up really enjoying.
November 1, 2022
This is the third Perry Mason mystery I've read. The other two previous I enjoyed more, but this was still fun and interesting. The plot is fairly straight forward, but the case was so complicated with legal jargon and technicalities involving IOU's and contract proceedings it was a bit eye-crossing to follow.
In fact, I got the impression that in order to pad this book out to novel length, Gardner packed in long descriptions of events and legal activity for word count. In the end, the story and its clever twists got lost in the technicalities. And at the end of of this one, Mason would have absolutely been disbarred for his extra-legal activities, having pushed the envelope far beyond the point of breaking.
So a clever story marred by extra padding and taking things a bit too far, not his best work. Still, considering that Gardner dictated these out loud to his secretary for her to type up, its an astonishing achievement.
In fact, I got the impression that in order to pad this book out to novel length, Gardner packed in long descriptions of events and legal activity for word count. In the end, the story and its clever twists got lost in the technicalities. And at the end of of this one, Mason would have absolutely been disbarred for his extra-legal activities, having pushed the envelope far beyond the point of breaking.
So a clever story marred by extra padding and taking things a bit too far, not his best work. Still, considering that Gardner dictated these out loud to his secretary for her to type up, its an astonishing achievement.
June 10, 2016
A few Perry Masons back I stopped writing reviews, mainly because the books, while highly entertaining, were formulaic and subsequently my reviews would be simple repetition. This is still true, but I thought I would check in to say still reading the occasional Perry, taking them chronologically, and still enjoying them.
February 17, 2023
I liked this story, especially for the kicky dialogue and the smoothness with which Perry Mason works to finding the murderer.
Made into a Perry Mason television episode.
💥 Recommended.
🟣
📺
Made into a Perry Mason television episode.
💥 Recommended.
🟣
📺
November 12, 2020
I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for many years. Those who are used to really fine mystery writers may find Gardner's writing style 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 1950 are the best. This is the tenth in the series and was written in 1937, in the first phase of the Perry Mason novels, which have a film-noir flavor. It is excellent! It is well written, a real page turner for most of its length, full of good descriptions of people and places.
One day an older white-haired woman named Matilda Benson comes into Mason's office (a "dowager"). She is concerned about her granddaughter Sylvia, who is 26 and has a small child. She and her husband, Frank Oxman, are on the verge of divorcing. Sylvia has a bit of a gambling problem. She has given IOUs totalling $7500 to some gamblers. That's bad enough, but Matilda is worried that husband Frank will learn about it and use the fact in the divorce court to prove that Sylvia is an unfit mother. Sylvia would then stand to lose not only her child but a large trust fund. Matilda wants Perry to go to the gamblers and get the IOUs back quickly.
"Why not just give Sylvia the $7500?", Perry asks. That would be too easy, she says! She wants to teach Sylvia a lesson. Perry will have to come up with a scheme that will get them back at minimal cost.
The gambling casino is on a ship beyond the twelve-mile limit that was in force then. (Gambling was illegal in California and almost all other states.) He does concoct a scheme. He and Paul Drake go out. The description of the trip out on a speedboat is excellent. Gardner could set a scene well when he wanted to. They meet the gamblers Sam Grieb and Charlie Duncan, and almost pull it off, but hit some bad luck. They leave with nothing.
The next day Mason tries again at the gambling ship. Also there are Sylvia, Frank, one of Drake's operatives, and Matilda! Of course, there is a murder. It takes place in an inner office with only one entry. Quite a few people move in and out of the office. Perry pulls a razzle-dazle with the IOUs. Sylvia is accused of the murder.
No Hamilton Burger. No Sgt. Holcomb, and this book is much too early for Lt. Tragg. Good use of Paul Drake. Della rents the apartment next to hers and lets Perry stay in it for a while. Mason is in danger of being an accessory after the fact.
There is no trial and no cross-examination. The resolution comes during a meeting with a federal prosecutor and most of the characters. I like it that a key clue was given and could be noticed by the alert reader.
For most of the book I was wondering, why is the dowager "dangerous"? Ah, wait til the end...
The story is very good and held my interest very well. I like the fairly exotic location of most of the action. One small negative is that there aren't very many characters. There are no recurring police or prosecutor characters.
The cast:
Matilda Benson, the "dangerous dowager" who is concerned about her granddaughter.
Sylvia Oxman, the granddaughter.
Frank Oxman, Sylvia's husband.
Sam Grieb, gambler and co-owner of the gambling ship Horn of Plenty.
Charlie Duncan, co-owner of the gambling ship Horn of Plenty.
George Belgrade, one of Drake's operatives who shadows Frank Oxman, later tells a story.
Arthur Manning, special deputy on the gambling ship who wants to work for Paul Drake.
Dick Perkins, policeman who serves papers and searches Perry.
Recommended.
Here's some cute dialog, which might be misinterpreted today:
Drake said, "Incidentally, Perry, he claims that Duncan is the more crooked and the more dangerous of the two, but that they’re both a couple of crooks.”
“Well,” Mason said, “you’d better jerk him off before he gets out on the ship.”
“Yeah, I’m rushing a man down to the wharf to relieve Belgrade."
On the whole, the ones written by 1950 are the best. This is the tenth in the series and was written in 1937, in the first phase of the Perry Mason novels, which have a film-noir flavor. It is excellent! It is well written, a real page turner for most of its length, full of good descriptions of people and places.
One day an older white-haired woman named Matilda Benson comes into Mason's office (a "dowager"). She is concerned about her granddaughter Sylvia, who is 26 and has a small child. She and her husband, Frank Oxman, are on the verge of divorcing. Sylvia has a bit of a gambling problem. She has given IOUs totalling $7500 to some gamblers. That's bad enough, but Matilda is worried that husband Frank will learn about it and use the fact in the divorce court to prove that Sylvia is an unfit mother. Sylvia would then stand to lose not only her child but a large trust fund. Matilda wants Perry to go to the gamblers and get the IOUs back quickly.
"Why not just give Sylvia the $7500?", Perry asks. That would be too easy, she says! She wants to teach Sylvia a lesson. Perry will have to come up with a scheme that will get them back at minimal cost.
The gambling casino is on a ship beyond the twelve-mile limit that was in force then. (Gambling was illegal in California and almost all other states.) He does concoct a scheme. He and Paul Drake go out. The description of the trip out on a speedboat is excellent. Gardner could set a scene well when he wanted to. They meet the gamblers Sam Grieb and Charlie Duncan, and almost pull it off, but hit some bad luck. They leave with nothing.
The next day Mason tries again at the gambling ship. Also there are Sylvia, Frank, one of Drake's operatives, and Matilda! Of course, there is a murder. It takes place in an inner office with only one entry. Quite a few people move in and out of the office. Perry pulls a razzle-dazle with the IOUs. Sylvia is accused of the murder.
No Hamilton Burger. No Sgt. Holcomb, and this book is much too early for Lt. Tragg. Good use of Paul Drake. Della rents the apartment next to hers and lets Perry stay in it for a while. Mason is in danger of being an accessory after the fact.
There is no trial and no cross-examination. The resolution comes during a meeting with a federal prosecutor and most of the characters. I like it that a key clue was given and could be noticed by the alert reader.
For most of the book I was wondering, why is the dowager "dangerous"? Ah, wait til the end...
The story is very good and held my interest very well. I like the fairly exotic location of most of the action. One small negative is that there aren't very many characters. There are no recurring police or prosecutor characters.
The cast:
Matilda Benson, the "dangerous dowager" who is concerned about her granddaughter.
Sylvia Oxman, the granddaughter.
Frank Oxman, Sylvia's husband.
Sam Grieb, gambler and co-owner of the gambling ship Horn of Plenty.
Charlie Duncan, co-owner of the gambling ship Horn of Plenty.
George Belgrade, one of Drake's operatives who shadows Frank Oxman, later tells a story.
Arthur Manning, special deputy on the gambling ship who wants to work for Paul Drake.
Dick Perkins, policeman who serves papers and searches Perry.
Recommended.
Here's some cute dialog, which might be misinterpreted today:
Drake said, "Incidentally, Perry, he claims that Duncan is the more crooked and the more dangerous of the two, but that they’re both a couple of crooks.”
“Well,” Mason said, “you’d better jerk him off before he gets out on the ship.”
“Yeah, I’m rushing a man down to the wharf to relieve Belgrade."
August 4, 2020
If like me you have spent hours watching the reruns of the original Perry Mason show, you know that many books were used as the base of the TV shows. And as these shows have been rerun over and over it is a small shock to see how they use very little of the books in many cases.
This is another one of those cases where the book is long and often confusing. The main characters are not as portrayed on TV and to some extent, Paul Drake is not very well presented. The main plot was used on TV but the action changed so much.
I am rereading the books and find them difficult at time because of the TV background. But worth the time.
This is another one of those cases where the book is long and often confusing. The main characters are not as portrayed on TV and to some extent, Paul Drake is not very well presented. The main plot was used on TV but the action changed so much.
I am rereading the books and find them difficult at time because of the TV background. But worth the time.
July 6, 2019
Gardner certainly makes you think. These cases are not a simple as they first appear. The narrator does a fine job, but having heard the voices of Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, no one can compare!
August 15, 2020
I'm not sure which Perry Mason (P.M.) I like more; the book or the tv series. This Perry is more cunning, strong-willed, & crafty. This story had hitches that only P.M. can resolve.
December 19, 2020
4 stars for cigar smoking dowager.
February 5, 2021
Pure Gold
Perry Mason stories are fun, creative, inventive, and sheer gold. This was no exception. Thoroughly enjoyed myself as I read. Della is awesome, too.
Perry Mason stories are fun, creative, inventive, and sheer gold. This was no exception. Thoroughly enjoyed myself as I read. Della is awesome, too.
May 5, 2025
Entretenido pero tibio
August 19, 2018
This was purely detective fiction. First Mason Mystery among the ones I have read till now, that doesn't have a court scene. Too much emphasis on the red herring too, with too many shady smarties.
September 4, 2023
The 10th novel down my "journey into time" (started in 2015) to discover old treasures like the Perry Mason Series, is, once again, a complete page-turner.
When Matilda Benson, a cigar smoking and tough talking widow, walked into Perry Mason's office, he had no idea what the next few days were going to do to him. What started off as a simple request to pay of her grand daughter's gambling debts, ends up as a murder investigation. It just so happens, that the police and a federal grand jury are interested in charging Perry with that murder.
There is just something so awesome about a man who is willing to bend the rules a little (sometimes a lot) to serve the interests of his clients and prove them innocent of all wrongdoings. He is at his best in this one.
When his first attempt to pay off the gambling attempt and collect the IOUs goes horribly wrong, Perry knows that it's only a matter of time before he ends up in trouble. When on his second attempt he finds the holder of those IOUs dead and his clients grand daughter standing over the body, Perry knows he's in big trouble. He quickly takes control of the situation, gets her out of there, and arranges things as best he can to protect both the granddaughter and his client.
Unfortunately for Perry, the authorities take his misleading to mean one of two things. Either he committed the murder himself or he's covering for someone else. Perry is forced to go on the run and with the help of Della Street and Paul Drake, his secretary and private investigator, Perry is racing around the clock to find the real killer before he himself is nabbed by the police.
Perry has a lot of suspects to occupy his time and brain. Maybe it is the grand daughter, desperately trying to protect herself against the truth coming out. It could be her husband wanting those IOUs to prove in their divorce proceedings that she is unfit to handle money and their daughter's trust fund. Maybe is the deceased business partner who was getting tired of him and wanted the business for himself. There is still a chance it could be a rival crime boss wanting to move in on his gambling ship operation. It may even be the Perry's client, Matilda Benson, willing to do anything to protect her family. Whoever the killer is, Perry uses his brains and double talking ways to get to the truth and clear his name.
In "The Case Of The Dangerous Dowager" Perry, as usual skates dangerously inside and outside the boundaries of proper judicial behavior, and just barely. It’s a complicated case, with all these ingredients in it. The moral of the tale is to keep an eye on Perry every single instant. He has rabbits in a hat he can pull out at any time, and he brings his own hat.
Perry Mason is a man who enjoys his work. He likes his cases but the real pleasure for him lies in pitting his wits against criminals, against the police and against the DA. The joy he takes in this is communicated to the reader and helps make each Perry Mason novel just so much fun. Perry Mason is referred as a "Wizard Of The Court Room", more a sleuth than a lawyer, who uses the fold of the legal system to hunt for the truth, takes calculated risks AND utilizes his devious mind to uncover pure evidence that would solve the case. Mr. Gardner continues to follow the KISS rule. 196 pages are all you get to race through this riveting story. Till the very end you will keep gasping "What is Perry Mason up to?" You will, once again, let go of your sleep to get to the bottom of things.
Perry Mason, a character created in 1930s, can easily be a part of 2023 and the author would need to change NOTHING (not even a word) to adjust to the advanced world since 1930s. Now, THAT, for sure is what is evergreen. The story telling has the same intensity now as it did then. This episode continues to be a fine example of American Literature from the yesteryears. No wonder Gardner was one of the best-selling writers of all times, and certainly one of the best-selling mystery authors ever. There are a total of 82 novels (which I now fortunately own in my shelves). It's a treasure cove indeed!!
When Matilda Benson, a cigar smoking and tough talking widow, walked into Perry Mason's office, he had no idea what the next few days were going to do to him. What started off as a simple request to pay of her grand daughter's gambling debts, ends up as a murder investigation. It just so happens, that the police and a federal grand jury are interested in charging Perry with that murder.
There is just something so awesome about a man who is willing to bend the rules a little (sometimes a lot) to serve the interests of his clients and prove them innocent of all wrongdoings. He is at his best in this one.
When his first attempt to pay off the gambling attempt and collect the IOUs goes horribly wrong, Perry knows that it's only a matter of time before he ends up in trouble. When on his second attempt he finds the holder of those IOUs dead and his clients grand daughter standing over the body, Perry knows he's in big trouble. He quickly takes control of the situation, gets her out of there, and arranges things as best he can to protect both the granddaughter and his client.
Unfortunately for Perry, the authorities take his misleading to mean one of two things. Either he committed the murder himself or he's covering for someone else. Perry is forced to go on the run and with the help of Della Street and Paul Drake, his secretary and private investigator, Perry is racing around the clock to find the real killer before he himself is nabbed by the police.
Perry has a lot of suspects to occupy his time and brain. Maybe it is the grand daughter, desperately trying to protect herself against the truth coming out. It could be her husband wanting those IOUs to prove in their divorce proceedings that she is unfit to handle money and their daughter's trust fund. Maybe is the deceased business partner who was getting tired of him and wanted the business for himself. There is still a chance it could be a rival crime boss wanting to move in on his gambling ship operation. It may even be the Perry's client, Matilda Benson, willing to do anything to protect her family. Whoever the killer is, Perry uses his brains and double talking ways to get to the truth and clear his name.
In "The Case Of The Dangerous Dowager" Perry, as usual skates dangerously inside and outside the boundaries of proper judicial behavior, and just barely. It’s a complicated case, with all these ingredients in it. The moral of the tale is to keep an eye on Perry every single instant. He has rabbits in a hat he can pull out at any time, and he brings his own hat.
Perry Mason is a man who enjoys his work. He likes his cases but the real pleasure for him lies in pitting his wits against criminals, against the police and against the DA. The joy he takes in this is communicated to the reader and helps make each Perry Mason novel just so much fun. Perry Mason is referred as a "Wizard Of The Court Room", more a sleuth than a lawyer, who uses the fold of the legal system to hunt for the truth, takes calculated risks AND utilizes his devious mind to uncover pure evidence that would solve the case. Mr. Gardner continues to follow the KISS rule. 196 pages are all you get to race through this riveting story. Till the very end you will keep gasping "What is Perry Mason up to?" You will, once again, let go of your sleep to get to the bottom of things.
Perry Mason, a character created in 1930s, can easily be a part of 2023 and the author would need to change NOTHING (not even a word) to adjust to the advanced world since 1930s. Now, THAT, for sure is what is evergreen. The story telling has the same intensity now as it did then. This episode continues to be a fine example of American Literature from the yesteryears. No wonder Gardner was one of the best-selling writers of all times, and certainly one of the best-selling mystery authors ever. There are a total of 82 novels (which I now fortunately own in my shelves). It's a treasure cove indeed!!
December 2, 2022
The Case Of The Dangerous Dowager (1937) (P. Mason #10) by Erle Stanley Gardner. The impetus for this tale is a young woman and her I.O.U.s. The notes are held onboard the gambling ship where she lost, and continued to lose, just about every time she set foot on the yacht. Reading this now the concept of a ship sitting 12 miles off the coast of California just for the purpose of gambling seems a bit extreme, but in the 1930’s there was no lottery, on-line gambling sites, or any of the modern ways to give away your money. Back then you really had to work at it.
The girl’s grandmother hires Mason to get the notes back. She’s a spunky no nonsense woman. You can tell because she smokes cigars, so don’t mess with her. And she is known to tote a firearm in her purse.
Most of the action takes place on the gambling ship. Mason and Drake go aboard, Drake posing as first a gambler and later as the young woman’s husband. Mason is more of the detective here, poking about and setting things into motion. When the man running the ship is killed both Mason and the young woman are implicated. The murder is a type of locked room puzzle, but with a variation.
The major problem with the I.O.U.s is that the granddaughter is about to divorce her less than savory husband and if he can prove she is a gambling addict (which she is) he can win custody of their son.
The girl is on the run, the husband is hiding out, at least one of Paul drake’s operative blabs info to the dirty press, and Mason himself is a fugitive from the law. Still this is no big deal for the brilliant and eloquent Perry Mason who handles everything that comes at him with style and panache and a great deal of good humor.
No courtroom in this one but it certainly doesn’t need one as this story is both entertaining and a lot of fun,
The girl’s grandmother hires Mason to get the notes back. She’s a spunky no nonsense woman. You can tell because she smokes cigars, so don’t mess with her. And she is known to tote a firearm in her purse.
Most of the action takes place on the gambling ship. Mason and Drake go aboard, Drake posing as first a gambler and later as the young woman’s husband. Mason is more of the detective here, poking about and setting things into motion. When the man running the ship is killed both Mason and the young woman are implicated. The murder is a type of locked room puzzle, but with a variation.
The major problem with the I.O.U.s is that the granddaughter is about to divorce her less than savory husband and if he can prove she is a gambling addict (which she is) he can win custody of their son.
The girl is on the run, the husband is hiding out, at least one of Paul drake’s operative blabs info to the dirty press, and Mason himself is a fugitive from the law. Still this is no big deal for the brilliant and eloquent Perry Mason who handles everything that comes at him with style and panache and a great deal of good humor.
No courtroom in this one but it certainly doesn’t need one as this story is both entertaining and a lot of fun,
December 13, 2025
Have a Cigar, You're Gonna Go Far...
Closing the covers on another Perry Mason pageturner! This one featured Perry the private investigator over the acclaimed attorney, here solving a locked-room mystery aboard a gambling ship anchored outside the 12-mile limit.
I marvel at Perry's uncanny ability to pluck the guilty party from a lineup of likely suspects. I'm no Perry. Some red herring swimming by will make me go a-ha! And I read on puffed up with pride that I know who the killer is and now I'm just waiting for Perry to catch up. But I'm wrong... every time.
I was ready to slap the cuffs on Matilda Benson. I mean, it's smack-dab in the giveaway title: The Dangerous Dowager, right? Her suspicious disappearance from the gambling boat, the gun in the handbag, and the clincher: Perry threatening, "If I ever represent a guilty client who lies to me, and I find out the lies, it'll be just too bad--for the client" (p. 171). I was sure that was Gardner tipping us to the fact Matilda was indeed that client. I was finding her guilty all the way through her grandstand play going all girl scout, standing at attention, right hand raised, and ready to wow the grand jury with her "I saw what I saw when I saw it" testimony. Nope, Gardner spun me like a top and I had egg on my face... again.
When the outta-left-field guilty party was revealed I was mouth-agape shocked. Never saw it coming... but Perry did, and he made it make sense... sorta. I was still puzzling it out during the epilogue and even through the ads for Never Love a Stranger and The Forty Days of Musa Dagh in the way-back pages of my 1961-vintage Pocket Books paperback.
Musings and Observations
Warning! This novel contains full-frontal nudity and drug references! Tender readers may be taken aback by Perry's striptease during Perkins' search and inventory. I mean, is this a quaint mystery from yesteryear or Fifty Shades of Perry Mason? Readers gasped as Perry "stepped out of his shorts" and swooned when he "stooped to unfasten his garters" (p. 56)! Ex-jailer Perkins boasted of his thoroughness, but I was grateful the only orifice examined was Perry's pie hole. Yeesh. Later Gardner writes of Perry shedding his pajamas before hitting the shower. I really didn't want these vivid visuals of Raymond Burr in the buff... but I got 'em anyway.
But wait, there's more! Later in the novel for no compelling reason except possibly to unsettle the earnest detectives busting down the door, 68-year-old Matilda flops nude on a bed puffing a cigar in a scene straight out of Freud's favorite wet dream! I had cast in my theater of the imagination Margorie Main as Matilda, so envisioning Ma Kettle in the altogether was discomfiting to be sure.
The nude scenes were as unexpected as Frank Oxman's rebuttal to Perry's raising inconvenient facts: "All wrong, Mason. ... You must have been smoking marihuana" (p. 164). That line closed the nearly 90-year gap between this book's publication and today where people still point to pot-puffing giving rise to preposterous suggestions.
Minding the gaps: This 1937 novel is a whopping 88 years old in 2025. And in the book, Matilda Benson is 68 years old, meaning she was born in 1869 on the heels of the Civil War. In fact, it was the year Ulysses S. Grant assumed the presidency from Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. But despite hailing from so far back in our history she would fit seamlessly in our 21st century with her fierce independence and flip repudiation of societal expectations. Her origin story of a hardscrabble life where lies were the lingua franca showed she was among the strong where only the strong survive. Matilda was an appealing iconoclast and certainly one of Perry's most memorable clients. (Yeah, I'm glad she wasn't guilty.)
Contrasting Matilda's strength with Sylvia's weakness: Sylvia has an unaddressed gambling addiction and from all evidence in the novel yes, she was an unfit mother. Her upbringing was very different from her grandmother's. Matilda worked for what she had while Sylvia had it handed to her. Interestingly, I could recall no mention being made of Matilda's child/Sylvia's parent, whose conspicuous absence from her life likely explains a lot (even if excusing nothing).
And the effete Frank Oxman was far from a fit father, from his underworld connections, framing his wife and forging IOUs, to the hints he's a closeted homosexual. The description of this Dapper Dan sitting on the bed with his legs out and pillows tucked behind him was hilarious. I cast Franklin Pangborn in the role (and he played it with aplomb!).
Wait, what? Paul making a move on Della? Della implies she's a player off-page? ("If you're going to spy on my unguarded moments you'll hear a lot worse than that" (p. 106).) It was a struggle picturing William Hopper and Barbara Hale playing out that scene!
But absolutely impossible was picturing Raymond Burr in Perry's slapstick breakfast imbroglio! Gotta hand it to Gardner, he wrote an effective screwball comedy scene that got a hearty laugh from me. But c'mon, Erle, what red-blooded American man would forget there's broiled bacon warming in the oven?
Credit Gardner as well for writing Perry as flawed and annoyingly human. When Paul was interviewing Manning in the car, Perry's impatient squirming and interruptions were irking me as a reader. I thought how Perry needs to check his outsized ego and let Paul lead for once. And it was a good thing he did. Glad Paul wasn't afraid to shoot Perry a glare and tell him to be quiet. And Perry gave it all back to Paul at Belgrade's, so the male ego scales were balanced. These exchanges told me these men stand on equal footing, even if Paul is technically working for Perry (and padding the expense account a decade before Johnny Dollar elevated it to an art form).
Drake Detective Agency Unfair to Workers? It comes out that Paul was paying Belgrade a measly eight dollars a day plus expenses. Judging by Belgrade's shotgun shack and the screeching brakes on his junker car, Perry was right to tamp down Paul's outrage at Belgrade's seizing the opportunity for an easy windfall. Even accounting for inflation, the contrast is striking: Less than four decades later Jim Rockford charged $200 a day plus expenses. Yeah, Drake had overhead, an office in a prestigious building versus a trailer in a parking lot, but still...
No courtroom scene but it wasn't really missed. Having all but one of the suspects sitting around a table exchanging accusations and prevarications proved just as compelling--and sure sped up the inevitable even if unexpected denouement!
Closing the covers on another Perry Mason pageturner! This one featured Perry the private investigator over the acclaimed attorney, here solving a locked-room mystery aboard a gambling ship anchored outside the 12-mile limit.
I marvel at Perry's uncanny ability to pluck the guilty party from a lineup of likely suspects. I'm no Perry. Some red herring swimming by will make me go a-ha! And I read on puffed up with pride that I know who the killer is and now I'm just waiting for Perry to catch up. But I'm wrong... every time.
I was ready to slap the cuffs on Matilda Benson. I mean, it's smack-dab in the giveaway title: The Dangerous Dowager, right? Her suspicious disappearance from the gambling boat, the gun in the handbag, and the clincher: Perry threatening, "If I ever represent a guilty client who lies to me, and I find out the lies, it'll be just too bad--for the client" (p. 171). I was sure that was Gardner tipping us to the fact Matilda was indeed that client. I was finding her guilty all the way through her grandstand play going all girl scout, standing at attention, right hand raised, and ready to wow the grand jury with her "I saw what I saw when I saw it" testimony. Nope, Gardner spun me like a top and I had egg on my face... again.
When the outta-left-field guilty party was revealed I was mouth-agape shocked. Never saw it coming... but Perry did, and he made it make sense... sorta. I was still puzzling it out during the epilogue and even through the ads for Never Love a Stranger and The Forty Days of Musa Dagh in the way-back pages of my 1961-vintage Pocket Books paperback.
Musings and Observations
Warning! This novel contains full-frontal nudity and drug references! Tender readers may be taken aback by Perry's striptease during Perkins' search and inventory. I mean, is this a quaint mystery from yesteryear or Fifty Shades of Perry Mason? Readers gasped as Perry "stepped out of his shorts" and swooned when he "stooped to unfasten his garters" (p. 56)! Ex-jailer Perkins boasted of his thoroughness, but I was grateful the only orifice examined was Perry's pie hole. Yeesh. Later Gardner writes of Perry shedding his pajamas before hitting the shower. I really didn't want these vivid visuals of Raymond Burr in the buff... but I got 'em anyway.
But wait, there's more! Later in the novel for no compelling reason except possibly to unsettle the earnest detectives busting down the door, 68-year-old Matilda flops nude on a bed puffing a cigar in a scene straight out of Freud's favorite wet dream! I had cast in my theater of the imagination Margorie Main as Matilda, so envisioning Ma Kettle in the altogether was discomfiting to be sure.
The nude scenes were as unexpected as Frank Oxman's rebuttal to Perry's raising inconvenient facts: "All wrong, Mason. ... You must have been smoking marihuana" (p. 164). That line closed the nearly 90-year gap between this book's publication and today where people still point to pot-puffing giving rise to preposterous suggestions.
Minding the gaps: This 1937 novel is a whopping 88 years old in 2025. And in the book, Matilda Benson is 68 years old, meaning she was born in 1869 on the heels of the Civil War. In fact, it was the year Ulysses S. Grant assumed the presidency from Lincoln's successor Andrew Johnson. But despite hailing from so far back in our history she would fit seamlessly in our 21st century with her fierce independence and flip repudiation of societal expectations. Her origin story of a hardscrabble life where lies were the lingua franca showed she was among the strong where only the strong survive. Matilda was an appealing iconoclast and certainly one of Perry's most memorable clients. (Yeah, I'm glad she wasn't guilty.)
Contrasting Matilda's strength with Sylvia's weakness: Sylvia has an unaddressed gambling addiction and from all evidence in the novel yes, she was an unfit mother. Her upbringing was very different from her grandmother's. Matilda worked for what she had while Sylvia had it handed to her. Interestingly, I could recall no mention being made of Matilda's child/Sylvia's parent, whose conspicuous absence from her life likely explains a lot (even if excusing nothing).
And the effete Frank Oxman was far from a fit father, from his underworld connections, framing his wife and forging IOUs, to the hints he's a closeted homosexual. The description of this Dapper Dan sitting on the bed with his legs out and pillows tucked behind him was hilarious. I cast Franklin Pangborn in the role (and he played it with aplomb!).
Wait, what? Paul making a move on Della? Della implies she's a player off-page? ("If you're going to spy on my unguarded moments you'll hear a lot worse than that" (p. 106).) It was a struggle picturing William Hopper and Barbara Hale playing out that scene!
But absolutely impossible was picturing Raymond Burr in Perry's slapstick breakfast imbroglio! Gotta hand it to Gardner, he wrote an effective screwball comedy scene that got a hearty laugh from me. But c'mon, Erle, what red-blooded American man would forget there's broiled bacon warming in the oven?
Credit Gardner as well for writing Perry as flawed and annoyingly human. When Paul was interviewing Manning in the car, Perry's impatient squirming and interruptions were irking me as a reader. I thought how Perry needs to check his outsized ego and let Paul lead for once. And it was a good thing he did. Glad Paul wasn't afraid to shoot Perry a glare and tell him to be quiet. And Perry gave it all back to Paul at Belgrade's, so the male ego scales were balanced. These exchanges told me these men stand on equal footing, even if Paul is technically working for Perry (and padding the expense account a decade before Johnny Dollar elevated it to an art form).
Drake Detective Agency Unfair to Workers? It comes out that Paul was paying Belgrade a measly eight dollars a day plus expenses. Judging by Belgrade's shotgun shack and the screeching brakes on his junker car, Perry was right to tamp down Paul's outrage at Belgrade's seizing the opportunity for an easy windfall. Even accounting for inflation, the contrast is striking: Less than four decades later Jim Rockford charged $200 a day plus expenses. Yeah, Drake had overhead, an office in a prestigious building versus a trailer in a parking lot, but still...
No courtroom scene but it wasn't really missed. Having all but one of the suspects sitting around a table exchanging accusations and prevarications proved just as compelling--and sure sped up the inevitable even if unexpected denouement!
March 18, 2014
Now here's a novelty among Perry Mason mysteries--a locked doory mystery. There's a murder on a gambling ship anchored miles off the shoreline. So, there's a limited mumber of suspects all on the boat. Matilda Benson is one of Gardner's more delightful creations--a feisty dowager who smokes cigars, speaks bluntly and is a tough old bird. This 1937 mystery never reaches a courtroom, but you won't miss it because it's so quickly paced and filled with colorful suspects.
December 1, 2021
I read it all but the first 28 pages. That is what happens when you have a copy of a paperback book printed in the 1940s when they were 25 cents. Still has the front cover but you open it and find you are looking at page 29. 29-30 and 31-32 are loose. So l expect one day they will be gone, too. Not the oldest book in my library but one of the most abused. I still enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars.
December 29, 2012
A very different Perry Mason mystery. For one thing, there's no dramatic courtroom scene. The murder takes place on a gambling boat, and is somewhat of a locked room mystery. Much too complex and complicated to figure out, so don't try. Just enjoy. Detective Paul Drake actually makes a play for Della Street in one scene, so I guess Gardner's main characters aren't ALL sexless!
April 19, 2025
Although I grew up in a household with a few dilapidated Erle Stanley Gardner paperbacks in my parents' library, it's only now, at the mature age of 54 that I read my first Perry Mason book (this one found in my late father-in-law's small summerhouse library). It was more hard-boiled, and more 'operative', than I'd expected. The little I knew about Gardner and Perry Mason, I thought it was going to be a courtroom drama, but this turned out to involve quite a bit of legwork.
Granted, I know that you can find more hard-boiled plots in the contemporary works by Raymond Chandler, but I was still struck by how modern the plot was. I wonder if this could even be considered a past-day 'techno-thriller', in the sense that it seems to make use of quite a bit of then-new technology. Mason's secretary has a portable radio; I had not realised that such things even existed before the invention of transistors. Mason rents a car; this implies how integrated in 1937 Los Angeles society cars had already become. The mystery's 'closed room' is equipped with remote approach sensors. Were such things already normal in that environment, or were they a bit of a thrill in themselves?
In any case, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself reading another example of what may best be described as 'competency porn': A genre where the protagonist solves problems using skill and experience, rather than through luck, willpower, or an ability to suffer more than humanly possible. Other examples include The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, The Martian, Killing Floor, and basically all of Jan Guillou's Hamilton books (is this a particular Swedish specialty?). Many of those examples come with near-superheroic protagonists, where, in contrast, Perry Mason 'only' seems to be unrealistically competent and ahead of the game.
As usual, after finishing a murder mystery, my subconscious immediately starts to punch holes in the resolution. How did this detail fit? Wasn't that a bit of an unlikely coincidence, after all? Still, I was well entertained during two days of light flu, covid-19, or whatever it is that currently ails me.
Granted, I know that you can find more hard-boiled plots in the contemporary works by Raymond Chandler, but I was still struck by how modern the plot was. I wonder if this could even be considered a past-day 'techno-thriller', in the sense that it seems to make use of quite a bit of then-new technology. Mason's secretary has a portable radio; I had not realised that such things even existed before the invention of transistors. Mason rents a car; this implies how integrated in 1937 Los Angeles society cars had already become. The mystery's 'closed room' is equipped with remote approach sensors. Were such things already normal in that environment, or were they a bit of a thrill in themselves?
In any case, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself reading another example of what may best be described as 'competency porn': A genre where the protagonist solves problems using skill and experience, rather than through luck, willpower, or an ability to suffer more than humanly possible. Other examples include The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, The Martian, Killing Floor, and basically all of Jan Guillou's Hamilton books (is this a particular Swedish specialty?). Many of those examples come with near-superheroic protagonists, where, in contrast, Perry Mason 'only' seems to be unrealistically competent and ahead of the game.
As usual, after finishing a murder mystery, my subconscious immediately starts to punch holes in the resolution. How did this detail fit? Wasn't that a bit of an unlikely coincidence, after all? Still, I was well entertained during two days of light flu, covid-19, or whatever it is that currently ails me.
April 3, 2023
Mathilda Benson adında bir kadın Perry Mason'a gelir ve ondan yardım ister. Torunu Sylvia Oxman'un kumar borcu olduğu için bazı senetler imzaladığını, kocası olan Frank'in de bu 7500 dolarlık senetleri daha fazla verip alarak bunu eşine boşanma davası için kullanması ve onun mal varlığını ele geçirmesinden korktuğunu, kendi adını karıştırmadan bu senetleri almasını ister. Bir gemide kumar oynatan Sam Grieb ve Charlie Duncan ile Paul Drake'i yanına alıp görüşmeye giden Mason, senetler için 8500 dolar teklif ederk. Tam Duncan, Grieb'i ikna edecekken Sylvia odaya girer ve Paul'un Frank gibi davranması işe yaramaz. Sonrasında Duncan Mason'a başvurur ve Grieb ile ortaklığını bitireceğini bu yüzden yardımcı olmasını ister. Mason bunu kabul etmez. Ertesi gün gemiye çıkıp Grieb'in odasına gittiğinde onu ölü bulur ve odanın dışında Sylvia durmaktadır. Sonra odaya Duncan gelmeden önce senetleri yakar, 7500 dolar para bırakır. Duncan onun üzerini aratır ama hiç bir şey bulamaz. Polis olay yerine gelmeden önce Sylvia ortadan kaybolur. Ancak gemiye Mathilda ve Frank de gelmiştir. Mason kendisine celp geleceğini anlayınca Della Street'in yan binasında saklanmaya başlar. Bu arada Drake'in dedektiflerinden biri elindeki bilgileri basın ile paylaşır ve Frank de yazılı bir ifade vererek elindeki senetleri gösterir. Duncan ve Grieb'in eski adamı Arthur Manning olayın bir intihar olabileceğini söyler ve bildiklerini paylaşır. Manning'i Drake'in yanında işe sokan Mason, kendilerini satan Belgrade ile de görüşür. Ondan bilgileri alır ancak Sylvia'nın odasına biri ölümle ilişkili silahı bırakır. Savcı hepsini odasında toplar ancak Frank, Mason'un bildiklerini açıklaması ile kayıplara karışmıştır. Çünkü para bırakmadığı halde bıraktım demiştir ve başı belada olacaktır bu ortaya çıkarsa. Belgrade ve Manning ifadelerini verir. Savcı kararsız kalmıştır. Acaba gerçekten intihar mıdır? Yoksa Mason başka bir mantık mı yürütecektir? Kim yalan söylemiştir? Grieb kim veya kimler tarafından öldürülmüştür? Mason katili bulabilecek midir? Mathilda bu konuda nasıl bir yardım edecektir? Keyifle bir solukta okunan bir roman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2020
اسم الكتاب: الأكذوبة
اسم الكاتب: إيرل ستانلي جاردنر
عدد الصفحات: 148 صفحة
المترجم:
تلجأ الأرملة العجوز والمتمردة "ماتيلدا بنسون" للمحامي الشهير بيري ميسون لتوكيله مهمة التي تورطت بها حفيدتها سيلفيا أوكسمان بسبب طيشها الذي أوقعها بمشكلة بعد انغماسها في المقامرة على متن سفينة هورنز بلنتي مما جعلها مديونة بمبلغ كبير للشريرين سام جريب وشريكه شارلي دنكان اللذان ارغماها على توقيع سند بالمبلغ الذي خسرته واحتفظا بالسند كدين قمار. وتريد ماتيلدا من ميسون أن يحصل على السند بعد أن يدفع المبلغ لهما ولكن من دون علم سيلفيا لانها لا ترغب لزوج سيلفيا "فرانك أوكسمان" أن يحصل على السند حتى لا يطلب الطلاق من زوجته المقامرة ويحرمها من حضانة ابنتها ذات ال6 سنوات.
اليوم التالي في الخامسة مساءاً يصعد بيري ميسون وصديقه المحقق ديريك منتحلاً شخصية فرانك أوكسمان ومعهما خطة جريئة سيعملان عليها لتكون لديهما أيضاً بعض من الأرباح!
يعود ميسون اليوم التالي بعد فض الشراكة بين شارلي و سام وعندما يرغب بمقابلة سام يجده مقتولاً في قمرته، وأمامه السندات التي يأخذها ويضع النقود في أحد الأدراج ويخرج.
يبدأ التحقيق بالجريمة وتتعقد الأمور أكثر، والكل مشتبه به من المتواجدين على متن السفينة ويُعتَقد إنه متورط بهذا الفعل ولكن من هو القاتل وما كان دافعه؟
هذا ما سنكتشفه لاحقاً.
المزعج في هذه القصة كانت اللغة الضعيفة والأخطاء الإملائية الكثيرة (مثلاً علي/على، الي/إلى)! التي جعلتني أقرأ القصة ببطء شديد لتخمين الكلمة الصحيحة بسبب الطباعة الرديئة التي تبدو فيها الهاء ميماً! ونقاط الحروف التي تبدو أحيانا نقطتين بدل من واحدة (نون تبدو كالتاء)! أو العكس (سـما/ سيما، الجرـمة/الجريمة)! ونقص الحروف بالكلمات (جيب/اُجيب،المحلفبن/المحلفين، الرجر/الرجل)! وتكرار الحوارات للقائل ذاته مرتين وعدم وضوح من القائل في بعض الحوارات الأخرى.
اسم الكاتب: إيرل ستانلي جاردنر
عدد الصفحات: 148 صفحة
المترجم:
تلجأ الأرملة العجوز والمتمردة "ماتيلدا بنسون" للمحامي الشهير بيري ميسون لتوكيله مهمة التي تورطت بها حفيدتها سيلفيا أوكسمان بسبب طيشها الذي أوقعها بمشكلة بعد انغماسها في المقامرة على متن سفينة هورنز بلنتي مما جعلها مديونة بمبلغ كبير للشريرين سام جريب وشريكه شارلي دنكان اللذان ارغماها على توقيع سند بالمبلغ الذي خسرته واحتفظا بالسند كدين قمار. وتريد ماتيلدا من ميسون أن يحصل على السند بعد أن يدفع المبلغ لهما ولكن من دون علم سيلفيا لانها لا ترغب لزوج سيلفيا "فرانك أوكسمان" أن يحصل على السند حتى لا يطلب الطلاق من زوجته المقامرة ويحرمها من حضانة ابنتها ذات ال6 سنوات.
اليوم التالي في الخامسة مساءاً يصعد بيري ميسون وصديقه المحقق ديريك منتحلاً شخصية فرانك أوكسمان ومعهما خطة جريئة سيعملان عليها لتكون لديهما أيضاً بعض من الأرباح!
يعود ميسون اليوم التالي بعد فض الشراكة بين شارلي و سام وعندما يرغب بمقابلة سام يجده مقتولاً في قمرته، وأمامه السندات التي يأخذها ويضع النقود في أحد الأدراج ويخرج.
يبدأ التحقيق بالجريمة وتتعقد الأمور أكثر، والكل مشتبه به من المتواجدين على متن السفينة ويُعتَقد إنه متورط بهذا الفعل ولكن من هو القاتل وما كان دافعه؟
هذا ما سنكتشفه لاحقاً.
المزعج في هذه القصة كانت اللغة الضعيفة والأخطاء الإملائية الكثيرة (مثلاً علي/على، الي/إلى)! التي جعلتني أقرأ القصة ببطء شديد لتخمين الكلمة الصحيحة بسبب الطباعة الرديئة التي تبدو فيها الهاء ميماً! ونقاط الحروف التي تبدو أحيانا نقطتين بدل من واحدة (نون تبدو كالتاء)! أو العكس (سـما/ سيما، الجرـمة/الجريمة)! ونقص الحروف بالكلمات (جيب/اُجيب،المحلفبن/المحلفين، الرجر/الرجل)! وتكرار الحوارات للقائل ذاته مرتين وعدم وضوح من القائل في بعض الحوارات الأخرى.
December 25, 2017
Certainly fun, though this strikes me as being less that Gardner's best work.
A plus is that a number of the characters (Sam Greib, Charley Duncan, Frank Oxman) are better developed that we see in the earlier books of this series. And Matilda Benson, the 68-year-old cigar-smoking widow who can look like a 50+ year old in a slinky silver gown, is the first memorable character Gardner has produced (I am reading the books in order). She also adds the first touches of humor in the Mason series.
The biggest downside is this is the kind of mystery (a locked-room one) where you need to take a sheet of paper and chart the comings and goings of half a dozen or so people in the room where the death occurs. If, like me, you fail to do that, the story is a bit hard to follow.
The law was apparently different back in the 1930's. Police could tap phones at will. Newspapers pair for interviews with people involved in murders. It was easy to register in a hotel under an assumed name.
And I keep wondering how Paul Drake has apparently unlimited manpower.
There are some firsts here. Drake makes a play for Della. And "marihuana" is mentioned. Who knew?
So far, I find this series a bit less successful in recapturing the decade than the Nero Wolfe series does, and the writing remains a bit stiff and awkward. But these are fast reads and fun in their way.
A plus is that a number of the characters (Sam Greib, Charley Duncan, Frank Oxman) are better developed that we see in the earlier books of this series. And Matilda Benson, the 68-year-old cigar-smoking widow who can look like a 50+ year old in a slinky silver gown, is the first memorable character Gardner has produced (I am reading the books in order). She also adds the first touches of humor in the Mason series.
The biggest downside is this is the kind of mystery (a locked-room one) where you need to take a sheet of paper and chart the comings and goings of half a dozen or so people in the room where the death occurs. If, like me, you fail to do that, the story is a bit hard to follow.
The law was apparently different back in the 1930's. Police could tap phones at will. Newspapers pair for interviews with people involved in murders. It was easy to register in a hotel under an assumed name.
And I keep wondering how Paul Drake has apparently unlimited manpower.
There are some firsts here. Drake makes a play for Della. And "marihuana" is mentioned. Who knew?
So far, I find this series a bit less successful in recapturing the decade than the Nero Wolfe series does, and the writing remains a bit stiff and awkward. But these are fast reads and fun in their way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews