The D.A. Breaks an Egg

Doug Selby #9

by Erle Stanley Gardner

D.A. Doug Selby was in trouble again. An enticing redhead had been murdered; the county newspaper, The Blade, was after his neck; he had an unsolved jewellery theft on his hands and that sly, unscrupulous attorney A.B. Carr was running circles around him.Selby knew that somehow or other all four of his troubles were tied up in one explosive bundle. But how could he open the bundle ... without setting off more murder?

Genres: Mystery, Crime

206 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1949

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

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#9 in the Doug Selby series. This 1949 series entry is the final book in the series, not as well known as author Gardner's Perry Mason series, it is nonetheless a good excursion into the post-war years in Southern California with fine period atmosphere. Without providing a spoiler, I can say that Gardner found an appropriate way to end the series. I had a good time reading this series over the last three months, looking forward to the next book as I finished each entry. I will miss Doug Selby and his comrades - kudos and thanks to Erle Stanley Gardner.

Doug Selby is on the spot as the unfriendly, new owner of the county newspaper, The Blade, is after his neck and when a robbery and a murder occur, Doug has to hump to protect his reputation. Again sly, unscrupulous attorney A.B. Carr is on hand, but Doug, reliable Rex, the Sheriff, and ever-helpful Sylvia, Doug's newspaper pal, struggle to untwist the tangled and knotted threads. Selby knew that somehow or other all four of his troubles were tied up in one explosive bundle.

[Annabel Frazer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this with high hopes as I enjoyed the Perry Mason I had recently read. However, it's a rather different beast from Mason, being more like a hard-boiled thriller with corruption, car chases and dubious forensic standards from both villains and heroes. It's rather reminiscent of Chandler, in fact, and just as hard to follow, but lacking the writing brilliance.

The plot hinged on people lying about where they had been when, which meant you had to keep times and locations clear in your head - perhaps that was never going to be easy when the book's set in the US and I'm English. But more character development and less focus on moving the plot forward would have made it work better - I was particularly frustrated that the appealing relationship with Dorothy and her boyfriend which started the book was effectively dropped as a plot point halfway through. Overall, it felt as though ESG was rushing it with one eye on another project he wanted to start - I know that feeling, but it isn't one that generates your best writing.

[Glyn Pope · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel had a lot to commend it. Fast prose, that read almost like American poetry. But it wasn't Raymond Chandler. However the plot was very involved and left the reader guessing.
Not the author's fault, but dated and sexist.

[Rick Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major Characters:
Daphne Arcola, from Montana
Rose Furman, a private detective
Alphonse Baker Carr, "Old A.B.C.", a shifty lawyer
Eleanor "Babe" Carr, his wife of convenience
Lorraine Lennox, a highly respectable type
Moana Lennox, her daughter
Steve Lennox, her son
Horace Lennox, her son
Dorothy Clifton, Horace's fiancé
Doug Selby, District Attorney
Rex Brandon, Sheriff
Sylvia Martin, reporter for The Clarion
Locale: Madison City, California

Synopsis: Dorothy Clifton is driving to Madison City to meet her fiancé's family (The Lennox's), and is apprehensive since they seem so high-society. While there, someone borrows her car - and returns it - but there is a purse in the back seat belonging to a Daphne Arcola.

That night, a woman's body is found stabbed in a park - but no purse. She is traced back to her hotel room, and appears she is Daphne Arcola. While D.A. Doug Selby and Sheriff Rex Brandon are looking around the room, lawyer A. B. Carr shows up; looking for Daphne, who he says is a friend of his wife Eleanor Carr.

About the same time, a burglar enters the Lennox home and makes off with some jewelry.

Later, Doug Selby returns to the hotel room for another look, and find an indignant woman in the room who claims she is Daphne Arcola, and what are they doing in her room anyway? No good answer for that one. Looks like the I.D. on the body wasn't too good. Turns out the deceased is a private detective, Rose Furman, who bears a superficial resemblance to Daphne Arcola.

Review: Well, this concludes my trip through the nine Doug Selbys, and it is sad there are no more. They are more satisfying than the Perry Masons. Next I am going to read some of the other non-Perry Masons, there are a few.

As this series progressed, attorney A. B. Carr gets more and more respectable (and more believable). The plot got a bit confusing when trying to follow who-what-when with the two redheads (Daphne Arcola and Rose Furman). The final chapters introduced some new characters who may have had a passing mention earlier but I did not remember them. I did find myself wondering if I was in the same book for a while. Other than that, a good read from Madison City.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorothy Clifton, nişanlısı Horace Lennox'un ailesi ile tanışmaya Madison City'ye gelir. Bu arada Blade gazetesinin sahibi değişmiştir ve Selby'yi tehdit eder. O D abu tehdite pabuç bırakmaz. Bir akşam çantası olmayan bir kadın ölüsü bulunur. Yapılan araştırmalar sonucunda Daphne Ariola olduğu görülür ve otel odasına Rex Brandon ile gider. Ama aynı geceye odaya bir kız gelir ve Daphne olduğunu söyler. Ölen başka biridir. A. B. Carr her zamanki gibi işin içindedir. Frank adında bir çocuk vur kaç kazasından dolayı içerdedir. Dorothy evde kalırken, Horace'ın kız kardeşi Moana eve hırsız girdiğini ve mücevherlerinin çalındığını söyler. Dorothy ise arabasının alındığını görür. Araba geri geldiğinde içine evir çanta vardır. Ölen kişinin Rose Furman adlı bir dedektif olduğu ortaya çıkar. Bir kumar meselesi vardır. Mosher adındaki adam da bu işin içindedir. Bir adam daha ölmüştür. Selby ve Brandon işi araştırırken Otto Larkin, Dorothy'yi tutuklar. Blade de yanlı haberlerine devam eder. Slyvia Martin ise Clarion gazetesi ile olayı çözmeye yardım etmeye çalışır. Mücevherler için Moana'ya tuzak kurarlar ama Carr boşa çıkarır. Onun evinden çıkar Mücevherler. Doug, Carr'ın arabasında Daphne'yi bukur. Frank da kefaletle çıkmıştır. Peki katil kimdir? Doug işi çözebilecek midir? Carr bu ilayda nasıl davranacaktır? Keyifle okunan bir roman.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

The DA series has a different flavor than the Mason books -- it's less legal gymnastics, and more a wrestling match between the DA, and the corrupt defense attorney, A.B. Carr. This one is genuinely good, with a nice flavor of small town California at mid-century, and Gardner's typically fast moving plotting. The old West is always lurking in the background when Gardner is not writing about LA, with old style sheriffs, gambling joints, and tricky businessmen. It is surprising, when on his game, about how much atmosphere he can convey with a minimalist style.

Carr is sort of a dark version of Mason; DA Selby isn't anything like Burger, though, at one moment, he wrestles with the idea he just might have to prosecute someone, even though they are innocent.

[Holger Haase · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had totally forgotten that Erle Stanley Gardner had also written crime fiction with characters other than Perry Mason. This is a fast and entertaining read but I couldn't help thinking that D.A. Selby and the accompanying sheriff broke the law and twisted the rules so many times that both the local shyster lawyer as well as the owner of a highly critical newspaper (who were presented as negative characters) were pretty much spot on with all the accusations they threw at our "heroes". I now would like to read an alternate account in which the hero/baddy roles are reversed.

[Walter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just the right book when your flight is delayed (again) so that you are in the right mood when the story takes a new twist every other page. In contrast to the author‘s Perry Mason series the oh-so-clever attorney is the evil adversary to the protagonist. An entertaining distraction to the sad reality of flying in 2023…

[Amanda Trumpower · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 1950s era mystery with all the dialogue patter, femme fatales, tough gumshoes, and “Just the facts, ma’am” police officers you would expect.

Loved the plot twists, and as an added delight, the female characters are surprisingly sensible and capable compared to how they usually fare in this time period.

Super enjoyable and would definitely go back to read the others in the series.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final story in the Doug Selby/Rex Brandon series. Criminal Defense Attorney, A.B. Carr is just as much a part of these stories as Doug and Rex. His clever manipulations of evidence and witnesses are as entertaining as Selby's and Brandon's solutions.

[Simon Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the book. I think it would be more mysterious if we didn't know the car/driveway story. I think that information would need to be redistributed throughout the rest of the book to have it be as coherent but the mystery at the heart of the book would be better if they weren't there. Fuck A.B.C

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story. Definitely gonna read more of the series.

[Bookguide]

2 copies

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good solid finish to the Doug Selby series. Perhaps it all wraps up a little abruptly, but it's still a satisfying tale of murder and false alibis with a core of familiar characters.

[Pharmacdon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read an Erle Stanley Gardner sans Perry Mason.
This time, it is the DA that's the lead character, rural, and his sidekicks are a sheriff and gal reporter.

[Ashwin Dongre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, heres a book that finally pissed me off. Perhaps I am a patient person. I started reading the D.A. series with certain expectations, hoping to read Perry Mason cases, but from the other side of the court, thought ABC will be something like crooked Mason and Selby was Mason version of Hamilton Burger, and will read dramatic court cases like I did in Perry Mason books. Read my this review. Well, I was was wrong!
I gradually accepted it was nothing of the sort and I came to accept that there were not going to be any court cases at all. Well that was fine, the series must have some other story-structure. And here is the thing that has pissed me off throughout the series: The Story-Structure!

Something happens, someone's murdered, Selby and Brandon gets on the case and starts investigating. Selby's investigation, because of his brilliance, takes him in some direction, away from an obvious one. There are lots of complicating events happening which not only seems to be confusing, but seems to have nothing at all with the murder case. But Selby doesn't think so. His opposition, the people who voted against him and The Blade, local newspaper, starts putting him in a corner, bashing him for not taking the obvious path or if nothing else, just for his so called inexperience, inspite of the fact that he has had a 100% record which has grown to a long period, which as per my calculation is longer than four years. In some books there is A. B. Carr, the criminal lawyer, on the other side and he keeps on making unexpected moves. The pressure is immense and eventually everything seems to be going against Selby. Just then Selby gets a "brainwave" and he figures out the solution. The End!
Seriously, The End! No arrests (most of the times), no conviction, no celebrations, no satisfaction of reading about how Selby was glorified against the bashing he had received throughout the case. You just feel like thrown out from your racing car just short of the finish line!
And this book is the height of that.

As per Wikipedia, Selby and Brandon finally has the showdown with ABC. Well it seems that they have something on him, and perhaps some proof as well, its a bit unclear. They also figure out who the culprit is and seems to have something of a proof on them as well. But you know what, as soon as they figure all this out you find out the culprit has skipped out and ABC cant be located, and biggest of all, the star witness has decided to zip her mouth! WTF???

Gardner's stories always have had a satisfying ends, as I explained in the review I linked above. But this is not just the end of the book, but the end of the series! So perhaps Selby is the nincompoop that Blade's been trying to portray! He can not convict the culprits afterall!

So here's the plot brief. There's a murder, a not-so-dead corpse, a jewellery theft, a hitchhiker, a hit-and-run accident, one lost and one found purse, an inconvenient marriage, a new owner of The Blade who seems intimidating, a lady detective working on two different cases which seems to have something in common, and Old ABC, who has his fingers in all of these. And the rest of the story is about Selby's struggle which ends as I explained in the above spoiler-full paragraph.

I guess I wasn't the only one with such unsatifying experience in this series, perhaps people back then also complained to ESG or perhapse ESG himself got tired of it and eventually decided to end the series. I wish he had decided to modify the story structure a little bit toward the end and the series would have been as good as any other ESG series. Nothing wrong in that, Angie Sage did it, the difference between her first three and last four Septimus Heap books is quite apparent.

Anyways, I'm glad the series has ended so now I can read something else. I've started reading Jack Reacher now. I hope the experience would be better there.

Read this book if you like whodunit, mystery and thriller, or if you have read the other D.A. books and want to finish off the series.

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

One inherited from my parents' shelves. Very much goodies and baddies and not too much stylistic development from the days of Holmes and Watson. I like the atmosphere, the characters, the sense of place and the little twists. Enjoyed it.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other side of Perry Mason - the district attorney. These Gardner books are of their era, but are well plotted and a pleasure to read.