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Cool and Lam #27
Widows Wear Weeds
Blackmail was a dirty business and Donald Lam liked to stay clear of it. But for his partner, Bertha Cool, no business was too dirty to handle at the right price. And the price for this job was certainly right.
What was wrong, though, was a payoff for pictures that weren't worth a dime, a free dinner that cost the blackmailer his life, and more than a couple of double-crosses that framed Donald Lam quite neatly for a charge of murder ...
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1966
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 25, 2019
A restaurant owner named Nicholas Baffin approaches detective Donald Lam and wants to hire him to pay off a blackmailer. Donald very patiently explains that paying off a blackmailer is always a bad idea that will open the door to all kinds of future problems. Baffin insists that this case is different and that after Donald makes the payoff, Baffin would like to host him, his partner Bertha Cool, and police sergeant Frank Sellers, for an luxurious dinner at his restaurant. This, of course, would be in addition to the large fee that Bertha has set for taking the case.
Donald and the reader both understand that something is way off about Baffin's proposal, but Bertha can see only the money involved and the epicurean feast to follow. The firm takes the case and Donald makes the payoff, attempting to tie up the blackmailer in such a way that he can never come back for a second taste. But all hell breaks loose the next night at the big celebratory dinner, and the whole case goes sideways. Even worse, before all is said and done, the unimaginative Frank Sellers may try to pin a murder rap on Donald.
This is a fairly typical Cool and Lam mystery and those have read many of the twenty-seven earlier books in the series will know exactly what to expect. This is among the better of the latter books in the series, and I enjoyed spending an evening watching Donald try to stay one step ahead of his adversaries and of his own partner.
Donald and the reader both understand that something is way off about Baffin's proposal, but Bertha can see only the money involved and the epicurean feast to follow. The firm takes the case and Donald makes the payoff, attempting to tie up the blackmailer in such a way that he can never come back for a second taste. But all hell breaks loose the next night at the big celebratory dinner, and the whole case goes sideways. Even worse, before all is said and done, the unimaginative Frank Sellers may try to pin a murder rap on Donald.
This is a fairly typical Cool and Lam mystery and those have read many of the twenty-seven earlier books in the series will know exactly what to expect. This is among the better of the latter books in the series, and I enjoyed spending an evening watching Donald try to stay one step ahead of his adversaries and of his own partner.
September 17, 2018
A.A. Fair is a pseudonym for Eric Stanley Gardner who wrote the Perry Mason series. Out of curiosity I bought a collection of books that he wrote under a different name about two different sort of mystery solvers.
No spoilers.
I think there is a book that writes about the meeting of the two protagonists but I wasn't sure if I had it so I plunged in with the first book I plucked off my shelf.
A.A. Fair's mysteries involve an oddball couple: Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Together they run a private detective agency. How they met, I don't know but they took up shop together and at least in this mystery the arrangement works.
Bertha Cool is no Della Street. She is built like a cement truck and carries all the finesse and charm of one. She's rough, crude and gets what she wants, which is to make sure they get paid well for their casework.
Donald Lam, a slender handsome man of smallish stature, is the one on the streets doing the actual investigating. He also seems to be the one with the most brains. Other than finances, Bertha Cool doesn't seem to have a whole lot of foresight, a trait that is starkly demonstrated in this story.
The story: Nicholas Baffin, a local restaurant owner, comes to Lam and Cool because he is being blackmailed. He wants Lam to meet the blackmailer with him and pay him off. Lam informs Baffin that blackmailers have a way of demanding more and more money and the worst thing one could do is pay them.
No, no, Nicholas Baffin insists. We need to pay him off and be done with it. It's not for him, understand, but for the famous movie star that he has compromised and, in fact, it is her money that is going to the blackmailer.
Things sound sketchy to Donald but Baffin is paying well and Bertha's eyes go "kaching!" so they take the case. Everything seems weird from the get go and afterwards, Lam discovers that the blackmail scheme was a set up, but why? Why would a man risk his marriage by pretending to be having an affair and being blackmailed?
Another strange incident: Nicholas Baffin invites Lam, Cool and the Chief of Police to eat at his restaurant. They are placed at a table where they are in the spotlight. Obviously, Baffin wants everyone to know they are there. What happens next (no spoiler!) compromises them all and sets a turgid series of events that makes it tempting to all involved to disengage in dishonest practices so as not to be incriminated to a horrible crime.
This was a very quick read and just as fun as the Perry Mason novels. I am impressed that Gardner was able to adeptly write mystery novels in a way that did not imitate his other novels. Lam and Cool are very different people, as I said, and the story line, at least in this book was developed in a different way than the Mason mysteries.
Good, old school reading.
No spoilers.
I think there is a book that writes about the meeting of the two protagonists but I wasn't sure if I had it so I plunged in with the first book I plucked off my shelf.
A.A. Fair's mysteries involve an oddball couple: Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Together they run a private detective agency. How they met, I don't know but they took up shop together and at least in this mystery the arrangement works.
Bertha Cool is no Della Street. She is built like a cement truck and carries all the finesse and charm of one. She's rough, crude and gets what she wants, which is to make sure they get paid well for their casework.
Donald Lam, a slender handsome man of smallish stature, is the one on the streets doing the actual investigating. He also seems to be the one with the most brains. Other than finances, Bertha Cool doesn't seem to have a whole lot of foresight, a trait that is starkly demonstrated in this story.
The story: Nicholas Baffin, a local restaurant owner, comes to Lam and Cool because he is being blackmailed. He wants Lam to meet the blackmailer with him and pay him off. Lam informs Baffin that blackmailers have a way of demanding more and more money and the worst thing one could do is pay them.
No, no, Nicholas Baffin insists. We need to pay him off and be done with it. It's not for him, understand, but for the famous movie star that he has compromised and, in fact, it is her money that is going to the blackmailer.
Things sound sketchy to Donald but Baffin is paying well and Bertha's eyes go "kaching!" so they take the case. Everything seems weird from the get go and afterwards, Lam discovers that the blackmail scheme was a set up, but why? Why would a man risk his marriage by pretending to be having an affair and being blackmailed?
Another strange incident: Nicholas Baffin invites Lam, Cool and the Chief of Police to eat at his restaurant. They are placed at a table where they are in the spotlight. Obviously, Baffin wants everyone to know they are there. What happens next (no spoiler!) compromises them all and sets a turgid series of events that makes it tempting to all involved to disengage in dishonest practices so as not to be incriminated to a horrible crime.
This was a very quick read and just as fun as the Perry Mason novels. I am impressed that Gardner was able to adeptly write mystery novels in a way that did not imitate his other novels. Lam and Cool are very different people, as I said, and the story line, at least in this book was developed in a different way than the Mason mysteries.
Good, old school reading.
February 23, 2021
Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are called in on a blackmail case. A prominent restaurant owner wants out from under. Donald does his thing. The client wants to give them, and Sergeant Sellers a celebration at his restaurant. There's a murder, Sellers runs out, and Donald is behind the 8-ball!
Great stuff, as Donald and Bertha try to figure out what is going on, and Sellers tries to put Donald in the Big House.
Great stuff, as Donald and Bertha try to figure out what is going on, and Sellers tries to put Donald in the Big House.
May 20, 2017
I am really closing in on the end of the series at this point. AAF/ESG shows a return to form with Sgt. Sellers reverting to his ham-handed tactics, the likes of which would never fly today. The ending is also a sort of AAF/ESG template with the standard variations. I think that AAF/ESG must have been running out of steam at this point, but I still like reading these books after so much time has passed.
I was a young "Perry Mason" fan, watching Raymond Burr reruns with my maternal grandmother after school & I began to buy the used paperbacks, finding them both available & accessible. The Cool & Lam series, on the other hand, was available, but the subject matter was more than I could parse at that age. The books got set aside and then buried at my parents' house until I moved 8.5 years ago & they again came to light.
I now understand the subject matter and appreciate having waited to read them until now. I brought my 1971 Dell paperback edition with me on an assignment yesterday & I read it as I walked. Upon arrival, I was in a classroom with an exemplary set of children & when it came time for SSR (sustained silent reading), EVERY student took out a book of their own choosing & began to read. Usually, I have to ride herd during this time, but when I realized that such would not be necessary, I pulled out my book & also read until one of the students noticed me & became inquisitive at the end of SSR. "Did you bring that book from home?" "Yes." "What are you reading?" "A private detective mystery that I bought when I was your age & set aside." "How come?" "The material was of an adult nature & I had trouble understanding it." "Oh. There are books specifically for adults?!?" "Oh, yeah." "Wow. May I see the cover?" Now, these editions featured a young woman in some state of undress & shot through a fisheye lens, so while not totally inappropriate, I kept my thumb strategically placed. "Do you always read?" "Sure. I was reading this while I walked over from my house." "You can read while you walk?" "Yes. I read in the car as a passenger & on trains and planes." "I could do that! It never occurred to me to read outside of the house or classroom." "Well, I guess that I imparted at least one new thing today." This led to a brief class-wide discussion of who else had the ability to read while walking or moving & not all of them could. I am sure that AAF/ESG was smiling during that convo.
I was a young "Perry Mason" fan, watching Raymond Burr reruns with my maternal grandmother after school & I began to buy the used paperbacks, finding them both available & accessible. The Cool & Lam series, on the other hand, was available, but the subject matter was more than I could parse at that age. The books got set aside and then buried at my parents' house until I moved 8.5 years ago & they again came to light.
I now understand the subject matter and appreciate having waited to read them until now. I brought my 1971 Dell paperback edition with me on an assignment yesterday & I read it as I walked. Upon arrival, I was in a classroom with an exemplary set of children & when it came time for SSR (sustained silent reading), EVERY student took out a book of their own choosing & began to read. Usually, I have to ride herd during this time, but when I realized that such would not be necessary, I pulled out my book & also read until one of the students noticed me & became inquisitive at the end of SSR. "Did you bring that book from home?" "Yes." "What are you reading?" "A private detective mystery that I bought when I was your age & set aside." "How come?" "The material was of an adult nature & I had trouble understanding it." "Oh. There are books specifically for adults?!?" "Oh, yeah." "Wow. May I see the cover?" Now, these editions featured a young woman in some state of undress & shot through a fisheye lens, so while not totally inappropriate, I kept my thumb strategically placed. "Do you always read?" "Sure. I was reading this while I walked over from my house." "You can read while you walk?" "Yes. I read in the car as a passenger & on trains and planes." "I could do that! It never occurred to me to read outside of the house or classroom." "Well, I guess that I imparted at least one new thing today." This led to a brief class-wide discussion of who else had the ability to read while walking or moving & not all of them could. I am sure that AAF/ESG was smiling during that convo.
June 11, 2017
Widows Wear Weeds comes at nearly the end of the Cool and Lam series. Unlike earlier books in the series, this one doesn't play up the mismatched nature of the Cool and Lam detective duo, but instead explores what happens when a detective is used as a patsy. And it's obvious from page one that something is very twisted about the job this client wants both because of how he approaches Lam but how strange the blackmail scheme seems to be. It's a fast moving story involving no-tell motels, blackmail, starlets, politicians,photographers, mistresses, murder, waitresses, and breezy Ensenada nights. Lam by this point in the series is calm Cool and collected and he's got everything under control even with an all points bulletin out for him. This just misses being really good because Gardner perhaps got a bit too clever with his plotting.
July 8, 2016
Another recent re-read.
Nicholas Baffin approaches Donald Lam and Elsie Brand in a restaurant while they are on a break. He says he’s being blackmailed, and wants to pay the blackmailer off to protect the woman involved. He wants Lam to handle the payoff. He says he’ll treat Lam, Bertha Cool, and Sergeant Sellers to a complimentary dinner, all amenities included, the following night at his upscale grill. Lam handles the payoff, but during the meal, Lam is called to the phone and on his way back to the table has to back up to let a waitress with a full tray pass him. He backs slightly into the curtain for booth 13, then continues to his seat. Shortly thereafter, a waitress discovers a murdered man in booth 13. When the cry of “Murder” rings out, Sgt. Sellers high tails it out of the place. He had been drinking champagne along with the rest, and was on duty. Two eyewitnesses claim they saw Lam exit the murder booth.
Sellers expects Lam to back his story that he was not drinking, and left before the murder was discovered. Bertha wants to back Sellers’ story also. Lam doesn’t want to get painted into a corner.
The hook is it’s the blackmailer who was murdered.
This is a novel in the series about Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written by Erle Stanley Gardner under the pseudonym A. A. Fair. It’s a very enjoyable novel; an easy, fast read. The dialogue is superb. It’s snappy and sharp, but also very real, how people really speak to each other. There is a surprising amount of very “modern” language in this book, including cursing (the book is copyrighted 1966). While not at all graphic, there is a sexual element.
I found this novel to be well written and very enjoyable. It stays true to the characters as established in previous books. Readers will not be disappointed.
Hard Case Crime is publishing a never before released Bertha Cool and Donald Lam mystery, written by Gardner as A.A. Fair, this December (2016). The title is The Knife Slipped. It was supposed to be the second novel in the series, but Gardner’s publisher objected to some of the content. See the details at the Hard Case Crime website http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bi....
Nicholas Baffin approaches Donald Lam and Elsie Brand in a restaurant while they are on a break. He says he’s being blackmailed, and wants to pay the blackmailer off to protect the woman involved. He wants Lam to handle the payoff. He says he’ll treat Lam, Bertha Cool, and Sergeant Sellers to a complimentary dinner, all amenities included, the following night at his upscale grill. Lam handles the payoff, but during the meal, Lam is called to the phone and on his way back to the table has to back up to let a waitress with a full tray pass him. He backs slightly into the curtain for booth 13, then continues to his seat. Shortly thereafter, a waitress discovers a murdered man in booth 13. When the cry of “Murder” rings out, Sgt. Sellers high tails it out of the place. He had been drinking champagne along with the rest, and was on duty. Two eyewitnesses claim they saw Lam exit the murder booth.
Sellers expects Lam to back his story that he was not drinking, and left before the murder was discovered. Bertha wants to back Sellers’ story also. Lam doesn’t want to get painted into a corner.
The hook is it’s the blackmailer who was murdered.
This is a novel in the series about Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written by Erle Stanley Gardner under the pseudonym A. A. Fair. It’s a very enjoyable novel; an easy, fast read. The dialogue is superb. It’s snappy and sharp, but also very real, how people really speak to each other. There is a surprising amount of very “modern” language in this book, including cursing (the book is copyrighted 1966). While not at all graphic, there is a sexual element.
I found this novel to be well written and very enjoyable. It stays true to the characters as established in previous books. Readers will not be disappointed.
Hard Case Crime is publishing a never before released Bertha Cool and Donald Lam mystery, written by Gardner as A.A. Fair, this December (2016). The title is The Knife Slipped. It was supposed to be the second novel in the series, but Gardner’s publisher objected to some of the content. See the details at the Hard Case Crime website http://www.hardcasecrime.com/books_bi....
February 27, 2017
Erle Stanley Gardner (1889 – 1970) was an American lawyer and author best known for the Perry Mason series of legal detective stories that spawned a series of Hollywood films of the 1930s, and then a titular radio program, which ran from 1943 to 1955, then finally a long-running CBS-TV series starring Raymond Burr in the title role.
But Gardner also wrote some shorter pieces and numerous other novels including a two-part series with amateur detective Gramps Wiggins, a two-parter with freelancer Terry Clane, and a longer series with DA Doug Selby. His longest non-Perry Mason series were the thirty novels featuring the mismatched private detective team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written under the pen name of A. A. Fair. A TV pilot was aired in 1958 by CBS, starring former jockey Billy Pearson as Lam and Benay Venuta as Cool, although it was never developed into a series.
Cool is a 60ish, overweight widow who opened her detective agency after the death of her husband in 1936. She has white hair and "greedy piggish eyes," with all the novels agreeing she is extremely avaricious and miserly and isn't overly concerned with ethics, or, as she freely admits, "I'll handle any disbarred lawyer." Her employee, Lam, is a recently suspended attorney who is a bit on the short side (about 5'6", weighs 130 pounds soaking wet) and is a "cocky little bastard" (Gardner once said he was modeled after his literary agent).
Widows Wear Weeds dates from 1966 and is the twenty-seventh installment in the Cool and Lam series. It starts out with Lam and his secretary, Elsie Brand, enjoying a coffee break when restaurant owner Nicholas Bafflin approaches Lam and wants to hire him to pay off a man who is blackmailing a famous movie star. Lam meets the blackmailer, Starman Calvert, gets the photo negatives and a receipt for the money (a confession), and leaves. Baffin thanks Lam by giving them a free meal, and he invites Sergeant Frank Sellers to join them.
But during the meal, Lam is called to the phone and on his way back to the table has to back up into the curtain for booth 13 in order to let a waitress with a full tray pass him. Soon afterward, when a waitress discovers a murdered man in booth 13, Sgt. Sellers vamooses because he'd been drinking champagne and was on duty, and two eyewitnesses claim they saw Lam exit the murder booth. When the victim is discovered to be the blackmailer, Lam is left as a suspect without Sellers to back him up. As Cool and Lam dig deeper, they aren't entirely sure what Baffin's game really was other than the blackmail scheme was a set up. But why? And why would a man risk his marriage by pretending to be having an affair and being blackmailed? The list of suspects turns out to be pretty long, including desperate waitresses, corrupt politicians, one frantic cop, and the deceased's missing widow.
The book is a fast-moving, quick read, with a lot of humor and snappy, sharp dialogue, or as Kirkus Reviews noted, "Tried and true and tricky."
A fun little note: Erle Stanley Gardner had an amazing sales record: at the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s he was selling an average of 26,000 copies of his novels a day, making him one of the world's best selling author's, easily outstripping at the time Agatha Christie and Barbara Cartland combined.
But Gardner also wrote some shorter pieces and numerous other novels including a two-part series with amateur detective Gramps Wiggins, a two-parter with freelancer Terry Clane, and a longer series with DA Doug Selby. His longest non-Perry Mason series were the thirty novels featuring the mismatched private detective team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, written under the pen name of A. A. Fair. A TV pilot was aired in 1958 by CBS, starring former jockey Billy Pearson as Lam and Benay Venuta as Cool, although it was never developed into a series.
Cool is a 60ish, overweight widow who opened her detective agency after the death of her husband in 1936. She has white hair and "greedy piggish eyes," with all the novels agreeing she is extremely avaricious and miserly and isn't overly concerned with ethics, or, as she freely admits, "I'll handle any disbarred lawyer." Her employee, Lam, is a recently suspended attorney who is a bit on the short side (about 5'6", weighs 130 pounds soaking wet) and is a "cocky little bastard" (Gardner once said he was modeled after his literary agent).
Widows Wear Weeds dates from 1966 and is the twenty-seventh installment in the Cool and Lam series. It starts out with Lam and his secretary, Elsie Brand, enjoying a coffee break when restaurant owner Nicholas Bafflin approaches Lam and wants to hire him to pay off a man who is blackmailing a famous movie star. Lam meets the blackmailer, Starman Calvert, gets the photo negatives and a receipt for the money (a confession), and leaves. Baffin thanks Lam by giving them a free meal, and he invites Sergeant Frank Sellers to join them.
But during the meal, Lam is called to the phone and on his way back to the table has to back up into the curtain for booth 13 in order to let a waitress with a full tray pass him. Soon afterward, when a waitress discovers a murdered man in booth 13, Sgt. Sellers vamooses because he'd been drinking champagne and was on duty, and two eyewitnesses claim they saw Lam exit the murder booth. When the victim is discovered to be the blackmailer, Lam is left as a suspect without Sellers to back him up. As Cool and Lam dig deeper, they aren't entirely sure what Baffin's game really was other than the blackmail scheme was a set up. But why? And why would a man risk his marriage by pretending to be having an affair and being blackmailed? The list of suspects turns out to be pretty long, including desperate waitresses, corrupt politicians, one frantic cop, and the deceased's missing widow.
The book is a fast-moving, quick read, with a lot of humor and snappy, sharp dialogue, or as Kirkus Reviews noted, "Tried and true and tricky."
A fun little note: Erle Stanley Gardner had an amazing sales record: at the height of his popularity in the mid-1960s he was selling an average of 26,000 copies of his novels a day, making him one of the world's best selling author's, easily outstripping at the time Agatha Christie and Barbara Cartland combined.
September 24, 2021
Erle Stanley Gardner became famous thanks to his Perry Mason stories, featuring a defense attorney whose client is always innocent (of the particular murder the story is about.) But not every one of his story ideas fit that mold, so under the pen name of A.A. Fair, Mr. Gardner also wrote the Cool and Lam series. Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are partners in a detective agency. Bertha’s got a mind for business and keeps them in the black, and Donald does the actual leg work and most of the deducing. (They have other operatives, but they’re not important to this story.)
In this case, a restaurant owner who’s being blackmailed insists on paying off, but retains Lam and Cool to make sure this will be the only payment. Donald smells something off about the deal, so takes some precautions. All seems to go well, but the free meal the restauranteur provides goes sour when the blackmailer turns up dead in a nearby booth. Donald’s caught between lying to protect a police officer who was with them at the time, or being framed for murder!
This particular book was published in 1966, and is late in the series. By this time, the detective firm is well established, and it’s easy to find out, for example, which police officers they hang out with. Sergeant Frank Sellers is frenemies with Donald; Don keeps giving him wrapped up cases, but makes the police officer feel stupid and suspicious. In this case, he has to find some way to keep the fact that he was drinking at dinner from becoming known, so he wants Donald to cover for him–or else.
Mention is made of then recent Supreme Court decisions making it harder for police to trample over the rights of suspects. Sellers is against these, and is the old-fashioned sort of cop who indulges in a little light brutality when he thinks he can get away with it. Donald’s smarter, and knows how to get around the new rules.
The plot itself is the usual twisty affair. People are lying because they’ve committed crimes, or to protect people who they think have committed crimes, or because the truth is embarrassing. Donald has to sort out this web of lies while staying out of jail, and of course enjoying the company of attractive women. Can he serve the interests of his client while seeing that justice is done, and precisely who is the actual client?
Bertha plays very little part this time as Donald has to avoid her to achieve part of his goals, but does get to show off her combat chops towards the end.
The action here is very much of its time, so would be best appreciated by those who’ve studied a bit about the social changes that happened in the 1960s in America and understand how that affects the character’s actions and attitudes. (Also, for our younger readers, it used to be the fashion for widows to wear black dresses of a certain sort, which were called “weeds.”)
Recommended to Erle Stanley Gardner fans.
In this case, a restaurant owner who’s being blackmailed insists on paying off, but retains Lam and Cool to make sure this will be the only payment. Donald smells something off about the deal, so takes some precautions. All seems to go well, but the free meal the restauranteur provides goes sour when the blackmailer turns up dead in a nearby booth. Donald’s caught between lying to protect a police officer who was with them at the time, or being framed for murder!
This particular book was published in 1966, and is late in the series. By this time, the detective firm is well established, and it’s easy to find out, for example, which police officers they hang out with. Sergeant Frank Sellers is frenemies with Donald; Don keeps giving him wrapped up cases, but makes the police officer feel stupid and suspicious. In this case, he has to find some way to keep the fact that he was drinking at dinner from becoming known, so he wants Donald to cover for him–or else.
Mention is made of then recent Supreme Court decisions making it harder for police to trample over the rights of suspects. Sellers is against these, and is the old-fashioned sort of cop who indulges in a little light brutality when he thinks he can get away with it. Donald’s smarter, and knows how to get around the new rules.
The plot itself is the usual twisty affair. People are lying because they’ve committed crimes, or to protect people who they think have committed crimes, or because the truth is embarrassing. Donald has to sort out this web of lies while staying out of jail, and of course enjoying the company of attractive women. Can he serve the interests of his client while seeing that justice is done, and precisely who is the actual client?
Bertha plays very little part this time as Donald has to avoid her to achieve part of his goals, but does get to show off her combat chops towards the end.
The action here is very much of its time, so would be best appreciated by those who’ve studied a bit about the social changes that happened in the 1960s in America and understand how that affects the character’s actions and attitudes. (Also, for our younger readers, it used to be the fashion for widows to wear black dresses of a certain sort, which were called “weeds.”)
Recommended to Erle Stanley Gardner fans.
July 5, 2021
To veer from a Frank Slaughter epic into a Gardner light mystery is like walking from the Louvre and into a comic book store. I find this a lesser effort of Gardner's writings. A convoluted tale hung on various plot devices to get to an end.
There's a number of "I shouldn't do this, but..." written to detective Lam all to set up Gardner's conclusion. From the first page the story seemed more a setup of the reader than the characters. The murder involved is preposterous nonsense. The "investigation" and the traps are all about. There's an effort for red herrings, but none of it works and I came out of the book mighty disappointed witht eh whole thing.
The characters are typical for such a tale. Usually there's a fluffy lady that falls for Lam. Here there are more. This adds to how easy all of this happens without any of the obvious travails likely to result from various actions.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
There's a number of "I shouldn't do this, but..." written to detective Lam all to set up Gardner's conclusion. From the first page the story seemed more a setup of the reader than the characters. The murder involved is preposterous nonsense. The "investigation" and the traps are all about. There's an effort for red herrings, but none of it works and I came out of the book mighty disappointed witht eh whole thing.
The characters are typical for such a tale. Usually there's a fluffy lady that falls for Lam. Here there are more. This adds to how easy all of this happens without any of the obvious travails likely to result from various actions.
Bottom line: i don't recommend this book. 4 out of 10 points.
April 26, 2023
Donald Lam is hired to pay off a blackmailer and make sure that blackmailer doesn't come back for more money later on. It's a job he doesn't care for, since blackmailers ALWAYS want more, but he comes up with a plan that might work.
As usual with Donald Lam, the situation is complicated by a murder. Lam is a suspect and pretty much everyone else involved--including his original client and the police detective who's in charge of the official investigation--has reason to tell lies. But, also as usual with Donald Lam, he's smarter than everyone else. He plans, improvises and outsmarts until he's able to put the finger on the real killer.
The interplay between Lam and his boss Bertha Cool always adds to the enjoyment of a Lam and Cool novel. The myriad elements in the complicated plot comes together nicely and the resolution is satisfying. Whether writing as A. A. Fair or as Erle Stanley Gardner, the author knows how to tell a strong story.
As usual with Donald Lam, the situation is complicated by a murder. Lam is a suspect and pretty much everyone else involved--including his original client and the police detective who's in charge of the official investigation--has reason to tell lies. But, also as usual with Donald Lam, he's smarter than everyone else. He plans, improvises and outsmarts until he's able to put the finger on the real killer.
The interplay between Lam and his boss Bertha Cool always adds to the enjoyment of a Lam and Cool novel. The myriad elements in the complicated plot comes together nicely and the resolution is satisfying. Whether writing as A. A. Fair or as Erle Stanley Gardner, the author knows how to tell a strong story.
February 11, 2024
The Cool and Lam series began in 1939, and this was number 27, first published in 1966.
It is very easy reading but one’s level of enjoyment will depend on how much one appreciates Donald Lam’s smart-assery and his ability to to think faster than the oh-so-dumb rest of the world.
The plot is fairly thin and the casual brutality, double standards over sexual behaviour, and the objectification of women,make the whole novel seem very dated and,in places, distasteful.While most mysteries involve some suspension of disbelief and a degree of unreality, much of this was contrived and blindingly obvious yet its convolutions could only be fully explained by the late emergence of a behind-the-scenes “Mr Big”. This is lazy plotting tricked out with some playing around with the legal system.
Not one of Gardner’s better offerings. Having read three,I shall bow out of this series for now.
3.25 stars
It is very easy reading but one’s level of enjoyment will depend on how much one appreciates Donald Lam’s smart-assery and his ability to to think faster than the oh-so-dumb rest of the world.
The plot is fairly thin and the casual brutality, double standards over sexual behaviour, and the objectification of women,make the whole novel seem very dated and,in places, distasteful.While most mysteries involve some suspension of disbelief and a degree of unreality, much of this was contrived and blindingly obvious yet its convolutions could only be fully explained by the late emergence of a behind-the-scenes “Mr Big”. This is lazy plotting tricked out with some playing around with the legal system.
Not one of Gardner’s better offerings. Having read three,I shall bow out of this series for now.
3.25 stars
February 20, 2024
An okay Cool and Lam (although I think they tend to be inferior to the Perry Masons). The firm is hired by Nicholas Baffin, who want Donald Lam to handle a blackmail payoff for him. Although Lam insists that's a dumb thing to do, he finally agrees, but put in extra safeguards so that the blackmailer can't come back for more money. Turns out it's a fake blackmail scheme so that Baffin can claim to have been somewhere at a time he was not. And then the blackmailer comes to his restaurant and is found dead. Lam is suspected because he was having dinner at Baffin's restaurant with Bertha Cool an Sgt. Frank Sellers. Sellers is an ugly character (and a continuing one) who indulges in a lot of police brutality, often hitting Donald and then being grudgingly grateful when Lam solves the case.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2017
Good mystery story. Lots of new information being revealed as you go along adding light to what occurred and conclusions as to "who dun what and why?" as a good mystery should. Quick pace and cool characters.
I picked this up because A. A. Fair (pen name fore Erle Stanley Gardner) went to school locally and I learned a little history recently so gave it a go.
I picked this up because A. A. Fair (pen name fore Erle Stanley Gardner) went to school locally and I learned a little history recently so gave it a go.
September 26, 2020
Cool and Lam are hired to make a blackmail payoff. Donald delivers the money but then does not cooperate with the man who contacted the agency because he was not the one who paid the money. Cool and Lam are then invited out for a free dinner and are asked to invite Sgt. Sellers as well. While at dinner, another diner is murdered and Donald is framed, Sgt. Sellers gets out as quickly as he can.
June 28, 2020
Read in 1975. What the hell?
June 30, 2021
I fairly enjoyed the story, despite its shortcomings it is nicely done.
June 30, 2025
Another fine story in this series of Cool and Lam. The story is very entertaining. I enjoy the messes Donald Lam lands but always finds a way to get out of it. Enjoy!
March 4, 2018
The Cool & Lam series started out with a bang. It wasn't the best hard-boiled series of the time...but it was about as good as anything not written by someone named Dashiell or Raymond. The quality stayed generally high, but eventually degenerated in to formula.
This one was an example. Murder...Lam is framed...cops are all over him. At least this time Berha isn't down on him. The saving grace is that the book is so darn readable that you don't care that much that you've essentially read it before.
This one was an example. Murder...Lam is framed...cops are all over him. At least this time Berha isn't down on him. The saving grace is that the book is so darn readable that you don't care that much that you've essentially read it before.
September 14, 2016
I am not a fan of Perry Mason stories, either in print or on television. I read this ESG book (written under his AAF alias) somewhat against my will after reading a review of a new edition. Imagine my surprise when WWW was enjoyable, very enjoyable. Lam is a chip off the old block of Archer, Hammer, Chandler and their brethren.
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