Ραντεβού με το θάνατο

Cool and Lam #9

by A.A. Fair, Erle Stanley Gardner

Τη στιγμή που ο Ντόναλντ Λαμ έμπαινε στο αμάξι του, μια καλλονή με το όνομα Μπίλι Πρόου όρμησε προς το μέρος του. Χωρίς να πει λέξη, ρίχτηκε στην αγκαλιά του. Όταν εκείνη τον άφησε, ο Ντόναλντ είδε ότι φορούσε ένα γούνινο μάξι παλτό. Αυτό ήταν απολύτως φυσιολογικό -έκανε πολύ κρύο εκείνη τη νύχτα. Έπειτα όμως, η Μπίλι άνοιξε το παλτό της και φαίνεται πως είχε ξεχάσει να φορέσει φουστάνι. Ύστερα από πέντε λεπτά, όταν βρέθηκαν στο διαμέρισμά της, ο Λαμ αναγκάστηκε να ξεχάσει μ' έναν πολύ απότομο τρόπο τις πλούσιες καμπύλες της Μπίλι. Την προσοχή του την τράβηξε ένα άλλο κορμί. Ανδρικό αυτή τη φορά και ντυμένο κανονικά. Αλλά πολύ... πεθαμένο.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Ebooks

159 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

A.A. Fair is a pseudonym of Erle Stanley Gardner.

Reviews

[James Thane · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1944, this is another of Erle Stanley Gardner's Donald Lam and Bertha Cool detective novels, which Gardner wrote under the name of A. A. Fair.

At this point, of course, World War II was raging and as a virile young specimen, Donald could hardly fail to do his part. So he left the agency in the hand of his partner, Bertha, and joined the Navy. This was very convenient for the Navy, but very inconvenient for a crime fiction author whose lead character was thus unavailable for duty.

Gardner (or Fair) resolved the problem by sending Lam to the South Seas. There he was attacked not by the Japanese but by a tropical bug that left him too debilitated to continue in the service. He's been mustered out for health reasons and so returns to duty at the detective agency, where he will carry on, albeit in a weakened condition.

By the time Donald returns, the agency has fallen on hard times. He was the brains of the outfit and without him around, the clients have been few and far between. But practically the moment Donald steps through the door, a new case falls into their lap. A young woman wants the firm to investigate the background of her boss's new wife. It seems simple enough, but naturally, it won't be simple at all.

Donald discovers the target at the Rimley Rendezvous, a cocktail lounge where bored women meet men on the prowl. The target is with a man who is not her new husband, and the management, recognizing Donald, boots him out. Donald calls Bertha, describes the man the target was with and tells Bertha to tail him when he leaves the club.

The tail job will lead to an auto accident, which will be followed shortly by an axe murder. Naturally, there's a cigarette girl with great legs who's involved in this up to her eyebrows and perhaps beyond and, as is usual in one of these books, the plot gets increasingly convoluted as one page follows the next.

Reading these books, I've often wondered how Gardner ever managed to keep the plots straight in his own mind, or if he even bothered to try; God knows, it's virtually impossible for the reader to follow them. In the end, of course, Donald will tease out the solution to the whole mess as he always does and just in the nick of time. These stories often don't make a lot of sense, but it's always fun to watch Donald in action and to return, however briefly, to a much simpler day and age in the crime fiction business.

[Dorcas · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars
I remember watching old B&W films like this when I was a kid. You know, the kind where you sit through an hour of chain smoking, red herrings and bantering thug slang ("Have you got the dope on that jane, Lover? "), and when the curtain falls and the credits start to roll you turn to your companion, "So what happened?"

Well this was kind of like that. WW2, private eye detective agency, a nightclub, long legged cigarette seller, double crossing, legal cross examining and an ax murder. Lots of people and plots that may or may not mesh together, but while the whole package is mildly entertaining, I can't imagine wanting to reread this to fully understand it. And no, I didn't really understand it.

Bottom line: If you're a fan of WW2 crime/ detective stories of the "dime novel " variety, you might want to check this out.

CONTENT:
SEX: None
PROFANITY: Liberal sprinklings of D, H, GD, B
VIOLENCE: None shown
MY RATING : PG (for profanity)

[GreekReaders · Rating 1 out of 5]

Όχι και πάλι όχι.

Αυτό εδώ ξεκίνησε με καλούς οιωνούς, νουάρ, με ντετέκτιβ στην Αμερική της δεκαετίας του 40. Ο ένας ντετέκτιβ πολύ συμπαθητικός, η συνεργάτιδά του καθόλου.

Κούρασε στην πορεία με άσχετες σκηνές και λεπτομέρειες και το κερασάκι είναι η κακή μετάφραση και επιμέλεια, σε δύο σημεία μάλιστα χρησιμοποιείται άλλο ρήμα με αποτέλεσμα να μη βγάζει νόημα και εγώ να προσπαθώ να μαντέψω το ρήμα που μπορεί να υπήρχε στο αγγλικό κείμενο. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Α! Ξέχασα να αναφέρω ότι είναι σειρά βιβλίων. Που όμως δεν πρόκειται να διαβάσω. 💁

[Stven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best of the Donald Lam/Bertha Cool stories. There's some entertaining running around and a reasonable plot, but there's an awful lot of hashing and rehashing the details of an automobile accident. Maybe it's just me, but hearing about somebody else's automobile accident gets boring to me after about a sentence and a half.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donald Lamb is one of my favorite detectives and this mystery does not disappoint.

Donald has just come back from serving in the war. He was in the Navy and he's been sent home on indefinite leave because he's contracted malaria.

But this doesn't slow him down, although he does have a hard time keeping up when his body shakes uncontrollably. Still he marches forth.

Bertha Cool is ecstatic to see him because her business has dwindled to petty divorce cases and rejects of all the other detective agencies. Soon another reject shows her face. She wants Lamb to shadow a woman who she believes is a gold digger and stolen from her the man she was hoping to marry.

What at first seems like another small job turns out to involve much more: black mail, extortion, and murder.

The plot is quite a labyrinth and I have no idea how a writer keeps all the facts together and synchronized. There is never a dull moment and the ending is unpredictable, yet logical, not an easy thing to accomplish.

I read this book out loud to my husband while he was driving us to Austin. We finished it up in the hotel room that night. We had to finish it before the day was over. We had to know how everything turned out

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weak 4 stars, meaning I liked it. Better than the last two installments.

Lam is back from the Pacific, having done eighteen months in the navy (WWII) before contracting malaria and getting sent home on a medical discharge. Lam feels a bit more subdued than in other volumes I've read, and I've also read enough Gardner now to not take for granted that that's a deliberate thing on the author's part. Characterization (especially consistency therein) is not Gardner's strength.

Lam does wake up by the end of the book and pulls things out of the fire, as usual, but Bertha here, as seems to be the case more often than not so far, is a disappointment. This is Bertha the blowhard who gets made to look a fool, not the sharp, genuinely tough one that occasionally shows up.

To my mind, Gardner's strength is in the plotting. I know many people find his plots contrived, but as with Wodehouse's, I enjoy the rare sensation of having no clue where things are going, but assured it's going somewhere. The plot here involves an automobile accident injury scam, a woman unlucky in love, and some blackmail among other things. I wouldn't say it was one of Gardner's best, but it kept me happy and pacing was good as usual.

This was not one of the best of the series, but Lam is back! And I'm giving it a 4 because it's better than the last two and I gave those both 3. I'm surprised to see the average GR rating for this is currently lower than the previous two volumes, which were Bertha solo outings.

[Colin Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A copy of this book was difficult to find. A kindle edition is listed on Goodreads but none seemed to be available in England, even my usual source of second-hand books ABE didn't have anything except collectors edition at a prohibitive price and the series is not listed in my local library catalogue. Eventually, an edition was found as an ebook on Google Play Books for the princely sum of 73p.

The year is 1944 (The year I was born.) and Donald Lam arrives at the office have been in hospital with some tropical illness and now discharge from the Navy. He finds Elsie still hammering away at her typewriter and Bertha Cool only just keeping the Detective Agency afloat. Not unexpectedly an attractive younger woman arrives asking for help to protect her boss from a new gold digger wife. The whole band waggon rolls along with dubious lawyers, an automobile scam and of course murder.

This all adds up to a good read as the pages roll by and the characters start to come back to life. A good 3 star read.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rimley Rendezvous was the kind of back-street bistro where a tired businessman could drop in for a pick-up, no questions asked. Deep carpets and subdued lights gave the place an air of clandestine class. And solicitous waiters catered to the customer's every whim. All these comforts added up to a steep cover charge, especially since blackmail figured as the major part of the tab. It was a very lucrative business... until a murderer cut into the profits... and left his ax in Donald Lam's car. The team of Cool and Lam are at their fast-talking, fast-moving best in this tough tale of suicide, blackmail and murder.

[Larry Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Give ‘em the Ax by the great Erle Stanley Gardner’s popped up in my Kindle suggestions… been awhile, and I clicked to secure it. A nice way to close the year out —with a Cool & Lam caper. The irrepressible Bertha Cool, a 165 lb force of nature and her diminutive partner -Donald Lam, suave, cool, collected —the brains in the detective agency.

Donald makes a surprise return from the war in the Pacific -indefinite leave from the Navy due to malaria induced fatigue. “old familiar surroundings took me back to that first day when I’d made that same journey, looking for a job. At that time, the sign on the door had read, b. cool, confidential investigations. Now it read, cool & lam, with the name b. cool in one corner, and donald lam down in the other. — Elsie Brand was pounding the keyboard of the typewriter. I saw the expression jerk off her face. Her eyes widened. “Donald!” “Hello, Elsie.” “Donald! My, I’m glad to see you. Where did you come from?” “South Seas, and various places.” “How long are you . . . When do you have to go back?” “I don’t.” “Not ever?” “Probably not. Bertha in there?” “How is she?” “Same as ever.” “How’s her weight?” “Still keeping it at one hundred sixty-five, and hard as barbed wire.” “Making any money?” “She did for a while, and then she got in sort of a rut.” — “Elsie, I’ve told you to talk with clients only long enough to find out what they want, then call me. I’ll do the talking for the outfit.” —“For God’s sake . . . a friend! . . . A . . . Well, I’ll soon fix that!” She flashed a swift look to get my bearings, then came barging down on me like a battleship trying to ram a submarine. Halfway there, her eyes managed to get the message to her angry brain. “Why you little devil!” For a moment she was glad to see me, then you could see her catch herself. — “It’s a wonder you wouldn’t send a wire.” I used the only argument that would impress itself on Bertha’s mind. “Wires cost money.” — “Come on, Donald, get in the office and tell me what this is all about.” Bertha looked me over, said, “You’ve toughened up, Donald.” “I’ve been toughened.” “What do you weigh now?” “A hundred and thirty-five.”

How’s business? “ I said, “Perhaps you don’t make the people feel comfortable.” Bertha’s eyes glittered angrily. “Why the hell should I? We paid a hundred and twenty-five bucks for the chair to do that. If you think I’m going to squander a hundred and twenty-five dollars just in order to . . .” She broke off in midsentence. -“Get out of that chair. She’s coming in.” “Who?” “Her name’s Miss Georgia Rushe. She’s coming in. She . . .” “Mrs. Cool will see you immediately.” —The client, Georgia Rushe. Bertha Cool beamed at her and said in a voice that dripped sweetness, “Won’t you be seated, Miss Rushe?” The way she looked at me you’d have thought she was about to turn and run out of the office. Bertha said hastily, “This is Donald Lam, my partner.” Miss Rushe said, “Oh!” -turning to Miss Rushe, “do you want me to sit in on this?” Georgia Rushe smiled at me, said, “I think I’d like to have you sit in on it,” and walked over and settled herself in the big chair. I scribbled a note to Bertha Cool. “Quit being so eager. People want results. No one wants to hire a big-boned woman detective who’s all sticky with sweetness.” Bertha’s face got red. She crumpled the note, slammed it in the wastebasket, glowered at me. “Okay, Miss Rushe,” I said casually, “what’s your trouble?” Bertha remembering my note jerked herself back into character and said abruptly, “To hell with that stuff. What’s on your mind?” “To begin with,” Georgia Rushe said determinedly, “I’m a home wrecker.” “So what?” “Got enough money to pay our bills?” Bertha asked. “Yes, of course, otherwise I wouldn’t be here.” Bertha said grimly, “Go ahead and wreck ’em all you want, dearie. What do you want us to do? Scout out good homes for you to wreck? We can do it.”

Donald Lam’s back. “Don’t bother about it. I’ll take over on this.” “What are you going to do?” “Consult the Bureau of Vital Statistics, get whatever dope is available on the present Mrs. Crail, find out where she lived before she was married, make an investigation there, find out where she lived before that, try to find out why her sudden interest in the Stanberry Building.” I was picking up the the threads of life where I’d dropped them. I drove out to the address on Latonia. -Maplegrove Apartments, and a notice stating there was no vacancy.” Chat em up. “The manager a fleshy woman somewhere around forty — At the start, she was as belligerent, and looked as formidable, as a big tank. Then I smiled at her and, after a moment, she smiled back. —“Begley, Irma Begley.” “She used to live here. She got married.” — she must have given some references?” “Oh, yes.” “Suppose we could look them up?” “Just what was your name?” she asked. I smiled at her and said, “You won’t believe me.” “Why not?” “It’s Smith.” “I don’t.” “People seldom do.” “Won’t you come in, Mr. Smith?” “Won’t you sit down, Mr. Smith?” “Thanks.” I offered her a cigarette. She took one and I held a match. — Irma Begley. She lived at 392 South Fremington Street before she came here.” “Give any references?” I asked. “Two. Benjamin C. Cosgate, and Frank L. Glimson.” A telephone book showed me that Benjamin C. Cosgate was a lawyer, Frank Glimson was a lawyer, and there was a firm of Cosgate & Glimson, Attorneys. —I looked at the Register of Actions, Plaintiff, -there it was: Irma Begley versus Philip E. Cullingdon. There was a neat little complaint, a demurrer, an amended complaint, a demurrer to an amended complaint, and a notice of dismissal. Attorneys for the plaintiff were Cosgate & Glimson. Plaintiff prayed judgment in an amount of fifty thousand dollars and for her costs of suit incurred herein. The suit had been filed on the thirty-first day of March 1943. -I looked in the telephone book for Philip E. Cullingdon. I found him listed as a contractor and made a note of his residence.”

Afternoon Rendezvous. “The Rendezvous idea had swept the country like a plague. Night clubs built up a fine afternoon trade, catering to women between thirty and forty who wanted romance. -a nice racket for the night clubs who found themselves suddenly catering to a very profitable afternoon business— The Rimley Rendezvous kept open and, as nearly as I could tell, there were no restrictions, which was interesting -an atmosphere of clandestine class, coupled with security and stability. “Cigars—cigarettes?” I turned around and got an eyeful. She was about twenty-three with a skirt that stopped two or three inches before it reached her knees, a fancy white apron, a blouse with wide, flaring collar and a low V in front. -expense money for a package of cigarettes ostensibly on the theory that I might open up a contact, actually because I was enjoying the scenery. She didn’t move away, but waited to strike a match for me. “Thanks,” I said. “It’s a pleasure.” -didn’t see any women who would have fitted the description and the part. Anemic, female droops didn’t go in for afternoon romance. There wasn’t any use losing any sleep over it. I had a routine chore of detective work at ten bucks per day, and there was no occasion to use a lot of finesse.” —

An idea and a call back to Elsie at the office. “I’m at the Rimley Rendezvous. I want to get a line on a woman here. Take a look at your watch. Wait exactly seven minutes, then call the Rendezvous and ask if Mrs. Ellery Crail is here. Wait until they go to get her and then hang up.” -said something to the woman and she got up and excused herself. At first I couldn’t believe it. Then I saw from the way she walked as she headed towards the telephone. There was a little one-sided hitch to her gait. She wasn’t any anemic little milksop. She was all woman, and she knew it. I looked at the man who was with her. He was a tall drink of water with all the robust sex magnetism of a marble slab. He looked like a bank cashier with a passion for exact figures—on paper. You couldn’t picture him as getting enthusiastic over any others. She returned to the table. For all of the expression on their faces, they might have been discussing the National debt.” Another call to the office this time, Bertha. “Hello,” Bertha said. “Where the hell are you, lover?” “Down at the Rimley Rendezvous.” “Mrs. Ellery Crail is here with a man. I want to know who the man is. Suppose you stick around the outside, pick them up when they come out.” —

“Cigars—cigarettes?” I turned and looked at the legs. “Hello,” I said. “I just bought a pack of cigarettes. Remember? I don’t use them up that fast.” “Buy another one. You seem to enjoy the scenery, —“You’re Donald Lam, aren’t you?” she asked, striking a match. “Leaving?” “No.” She said, “Then for Heaven’s sake, circulate! Pick up some of these women who are looking you over with purring approval. The way it is now, you stand out like a sore thumb.” — I was still worried about how the cigarette girl had learned my name. —a tap on the shoulder. “I beg your pardon, sir.” “What rule have I violated now?” I asked. “Nothing, sir. But the manager asked me to present his compliments and ask you to join him for a few moments. It’s quite important.” He said, “Mr. Lam for you, sir,” and retired, pulling the massive door closed behind him. My name is Rimley. I own the place. -your present visit interests me.” “But how did it happen you knew who I was?” “Put yourself in my position. In order to run a place like this, one has to be on the black side of the ledger. One has to make money.” —“Before you enlisted in the Navy, you’d made quite a name for yourself, a little guy with guts—guts and brains; a daring operator who played a no limit game and always brought his clients out on top. -Have you ever noticed, Lam, that the persons who talk about what they’re going to do very seldom do what they say they’re going to do? I never talk about what I’m going to do. I do it. And, above all, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to tell you what I was going to do to keep you from being a regular visitor.” I also wondered if Pittman Rimley’s aversion to private detectives might not be due, at least in part, to the fact that he may have had some idea that a sale of the building in which his club was located was in process of negotiation—and did his lease have a clause that changed its terms in the event the premises were sold? The watch said four-thirty. I did mental arithmetic. It couldn’t have been that late. — waited until Rimley was looking at something else then flashed my eyes back for a quick glance at the face of the clock. The time was four thirty-two. —“I suppose you’d prefer I didn’t go back to my table.” “Go right ahead, Lam. Make yourself at home. Enjoy yourself. Relax. Have a good time. And when you leave, don’t bother about the check. Just get up and walk out. There won’t be any check. But don’t . . . come . . . back!” I looked at my watch. The time was three forty-five. It was four twenty-three when I got to the office.”

Ok -you got the set up, you know the time? You’ve had a taste of Cool & Lam -operators. It’s a twisted caper, but Donald will decipher it. And more of my highlights are visible if you choose to look. I suggest though you cut off a piece of that cake —read the book, find how the ax falls… and look out for the ambulance chasers…

🥳 Happy New Year! We’re on to 2025, so many books, so little time…

[Rick Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major characters:

Bertha Cool, Private eye
Donald Lam, Private eye
Miss Georgia Rushe, their client
Ellery Crail, head of the Crail Venetian Blind Co.
Irma Begley (now Irma Crail), his wife
Pittman Rimley, owner of several night clubs
Rufus Stanberry, building owner
Archie Stanberry, his nephew
Philip Cullingdon, lost an accident settlement to Irma Begley
Billy Prue, cigarette girl at the Rimley Rendezvous club
Esther Witson, witness to car accident
Colgate & Glimson, attorneys

Locale: not stated

Synopsis: Private Eyes Bertha Cool and Donald Lam are hired by Miss Georgia Rushe. She had been having an affair with Ellery Crail, who was married. His (unnamed) wife died, and before Rushe could grab him, he married wife #2, Irma (Begley) Crail, whom he met following a minor car accident. Rushe hires Cool & Lam to try to break them up so she can get him.

Lam discovers Irma has a history of staging little car accidents to collect insurance money. While following her to a night club (Rimley's Rendezvous), he finds she is cozy with Rufus Stanberry, the building owner. Lam gets information from the cigarette girl, Billy Prue; who returns to her apartment to find Stanberry dead there.

Review: Erle Stanley Gardner's writings as A. A. Fair are fast paced, without the slow plodding courtroom scenes of the Perry Masons, and he has a lot more fun with Donald Lam. The long involvement and complex discussions of minor car accident details detracts from the action - but provides an opportunity for an almost-courtroom scene when a deposition is taken from Bertha Cool in her office, and we see her unusually flustered.

The writing is certainly colorful, check these eyebrow-raising quotes:

[while approaching a rundown apartment building]: "One look at the place and you could smell the psychic stench of dejected spirits, the physical odors of ancient cooking, the irritating fumes of defective gas heaters."

"The second floor was silent as a deserted courtroom after the defendant has been sentenced to death and the judge has gathered his papers and gone out to play golf."

I always find the A. A. Fair books to be a good one-session read.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up there were a few of Erle Stanley Gardner’s PERRY MASON books around the house. I read them before ever seeing the TV show. I enjoyed them but even with having read them almost 40 years ago I still recall they seemed to be itching the whole time to get into the courtroom. Writing under the name A A Fair, GIVE ‘EM THE AX belongs to another series Gardner wrote known as COOL & LAM (one of the better names for a series I’ve heard). Not about a lawyer but instead about a couple of private detectives—Berth Cool & Donald Lam (B. Cool & D. Lam on their office door)—this book manages to keep a toe or two in the noir pool though we never quite dive in. Actually being written in the forties gives the book an extra noir gloss but even this book seems to want to get into the courtroom. The plot turns on a legal point that pops up late in the book deftly handled by Lam almost as if he studied law. Maybe he has, this is the 9th book in this series so who knows what I don’t know. Despite being late in the series, not a bad place to enter the series as Lam had just returned from serving in WW II and was re-entering civilian life. Wish that more thought had been given to what it means to return from war but being 1944 possibly a bit too soon to incorporate that into the story. A fast read, well-paced by someone who knows what they are doing with it’s share of snappy dialogue and smart characters. Have a soft spot for any book or movie that includes at least one scene where when a character says something important and more than one of the other characters in the room is smart enough to understand it and share a glance. While noir seems to beg for a seemingly doomed dame, the one here is shoe-horned in (as is the accompanying chaste romance), as if the author didn’t want her there. I did enjoy the characters enough to want to read another in the series—when late one night one is slipped under my door or tossed through an open transom.

[Jiří Pavlovský · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early Stanley Gardner přešel ze soudního dramatu k drsné škole, ovšem pořád to spíš připomíná ten soudní dvůr. Je to sice psané v ichformě, ale hrdina téměř nic neglosuje a nekomentuje, projevuje se především prostřednictvím dialogů a moc nedává čtenářům nahlédnout do svého myšlení a pocitů. Z drsné školy tu nezůstaly ani nějaké sociální a společenské úvahy, je to ryzí křížovka s nějakou zajímavější (ale nijak emocionálně zabarvenou) záhadou. A hlavní postavy se nijak nevyvíjí… což zarazí hlavně u policisty Sellerse, který na konci skoro každé knihy zkouší hrdinu zatknout. Už by mu mohlo dojít, že to zkouší marně, ne?

Plus z toho soudního procesu tu zůstává časový pres, nutnost se vykecávat… a vlastně celé finále je pokaždé obhajoba, kdy hrdina obhajuje sám sebe a dívku (která má zrovna na triku), a odhaluje skutečného pachatele.

Přiznám se, že tady jsem postupně ztratil zájem a přehled, která z žen v románu je manželka, milenka, sekretářka či manželka někoho jiného… a vlastně si ani deset minut po dočtení nevzpomínám, kdo byl pachatel. Bylo to poměrně jedno, důležité bylo to tempo.

Tohle je už, v rámci přípravy na Rudou žeň, nějaká čtvrtá kniha od Faira… a přijde mi, že se mezi nimi jen těžko hledají rozdíly. Tedy, jeden tady je a vypadá slibně – Donald Lam se tady vrací z druhé světové, kde bojoval v Atlantiku, což je hodně zajímavé, ale je to tam jen zmíněné. Ovšem zdá se, že si sebou přivezl nějakou chorobu, takže je mu část knihy špatně… ovšem pouze natolik, aby to nezdržovalo děj, a pak to přejde.

Spíš slabší přírůstek, ale naštěstí to byla součást edice 3x a následovaly lepší (alespoň o něco) věci.

[Jimmy Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donald Lam is back from his heroic turn in the Navy, and Bertha Cool has been missing him - as has their agency bank account, although she'll never admit it. She spent his years away trying to solve cases the way Donald did, but of course, she's not him, she's Bertha: aggressive, abrasive, and obnoxious. Lacking Donald's finesse, she also lacks his ability to pry confidences out of people, and thus solve cases. So they're not exactly in the money when he walks in the door; they need to take whatever they can get.

The first case that wanders in after Donald comes home is the type of case Bertha seems to attract: a home wrecker wants more information about the woman her boss married. Sounds unpleasant, but the agency needs the money. So off Donald goes on this distasteful opportunity - and in the process, uncovers a chronic insurance defrauder, a sophisticated scheme for blackmailing businessmen with wandering eyes, and murder. Bertha gets to play a role herself, having cozened up to a police detective in Donald's absence; she can work to keep him out of jail when it looks like Donald is about to be framed for said murder.

It's a rapid ride, with Donald weeds through multiple candidates for criminal action, apparently connected crimes, too many clues, and his own unreliable health from the war. Hard to put down.

[Menia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Δεν μπορώ να πω ότι το συγκεκριμένο αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα το απόλαυσα... Απλοϊκοί και παιδιάστικο διάλογοι, πλοκή χωρίς ειρμό με μεγάλα κενά, τεράστιους πλατειασμους και τρομερές ασάφειες. Σπαταλούνται σχεδόν δέκα σελίδες για να περιγραφεί ο διακανονισμός ενός τροχαίου ατυχήματος, με ασύνδετη ροή και παρεμβολές χωρίς λόγο από τον κεντρικό πρωταγωνιστή, Ντόναλντ Λαμ. Τέλος, δεν πάει το μυαλό σου στην ενοχή της δολοφόνου, πρώτον διότι είναι δευτερεύων χαρακτήρας και δεύτερον γιατί δεν υπάρχουν επαρκή στοιχεία στο διήγημα που να σε κάνουν έστω να εικασεις ότι είναι υπαίτια δολοφονίας. Θα κλείσω με δύο φράσεις που με έκαναν να μειδιασω, σεβόμενη πάντα το κοινωνικό πλαίσιο και τις αντιλήψεις της δεκαετίας του 40!
" Ναι, είμαι μια αντροχωριστρα!" (Τζώρτζια Ρας)
" Τελικά δεν ήταν όσο νέα φανταζομουν, πρέπει να είχε πατήσει τα 27!!!!!" (Ντόναλντ Λαμ)

[Steven desJardins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series, which began before World War II, did something unusual when the US entered the war: the protagonist enlisted. There were two novels featuring his female partner running their agency alone, and now Donald Lam is back, invalided due to an unspecified tropical illness which subject him to fits of shivering followed by exhaustion when he over-exerts himself. The plot itself is a fairly standard formula for the series, with Donald getting tangled up in a murder case while investigating something dull and routine, and taking risks to protect a beautiful woman who's involved somehow, and eventually getting caught in his lies by Detective Sellers, leaving him minutes to solve the case and explain away his sex interest's involvement to everyone's satisfaction. It's inferior to the usual Perry Mason structure, but it's fun for what it is.

[Greyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfying romp involving Bertha & Don as they navigate auto lawyers, a rendezvous club, and jealous spouses. The usual deal - seems haphazard until neatly tied into a bow in the last three pages. Somehow have managed to avoid reading any Gardner as Gardner, but his A.A. Fair stuff is consistently golden.

Good one to read while stuck at home as the temperature drops and the snow begins to fly in earnest.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 5 out of 5]

1944First new dell Oct 1962 191 pages
Cover painting Harry Bennett
Donald back from the South Seas recovering from tropical bugs.
Business has been slow but now that Donald’s back from the war his confidence and way with the ladies get Bertha what she wants from their business. Earning the Big Bucks! P. 190 “Fry me for an oyster!” p. 191 “Can me for a sardine.”

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donald Lam is back from the Navy and of course the first case ends up in murder. That brings in Sgt Sellers. I thought that he had proposed to Bertha at the end of the previous book but they seem to have the same old relationship not anything new.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Había olvidado lo enroscado que es Gardner en sus historias, me paseó tanto que terminé igual de mareada a que si hubiese estado en un samba.

[Sidney, uh, Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great! Picked this up for $3 in San Francisco. Been tucking into the pocket of my overcoat for a few weeks, reading it on the tube and taking some dialogue cues for plays and story ideas. Lots of fun, weirdly dense in parts, but I enjoyed it.

[Bill Jackman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Release Stanley Gardner wrote better as A.A.Fair than he did as himself. While I enjoy the Perry Mason books, Donald Lam has much better and believable personality.

[Danai Tsouna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα, μέρος σειράς από ότι έμαθα. Διαβάζεται ευχάριστα και γρήγορα, αλλά δεν είναι κάτι ιδιαίτερο που θα με κάνει να αναζητήσω και τα υπόλοιπα βιβλία με τους 2 ντετέκτιβ.

[John Bunyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Routine Cool and Lam story. A little bit convoluted solution to the crime. Just average for Gardner/Fair mystery.

[Stavroula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Με μπέρδεψε λίγο σε κάποια σημεία αλλά σε γενικές γραμμές ήταν ενδιαφέρον.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, fry me for an oyster! Bertha's back.

Many die-hard Perry Mason fans don't know that Erle Stanley Gardner wrote the "Cool & Lam" series under the name A.A.Fair. They're hard to find and the quality varies, but the best ones are delightful and this IS one of the best ones.

WWII is in full spate and Donald Lam served on a naval destroyer in the South Pacific until malaria put an end to his military career. Bertha Cool's been keeping the detective agency going, but she lacks Donald's knack for attracting the big, profitable cases. When she gets desperate for clients, she tries to be charming and there's NOTHING scarier than a large, foul-tempered woman who's acting sweet. Now Donald's in the office to charm the clients, Bertha can go back to being her acerbic, hilarious self. Cool & Lam is quickly involved in a complicated case of fraud, blackmail, and murder.

There's the usual line-up of wonderful characters: a smooth gangster whose nightclub attracts married women on the make, his business partner who combines a shrewd mind with gorgeous legs, a wealthy naive business owner who's fallen for a gold-digger, and his loving secretary who's determined to save him from his own folly.

The action heats up when a shady lawyer blackmails some of the nightclub's best customers. THEN he tries to buy the building so he can shake down the nightclub owner. Pittman Rimley is a dangerous man to shake. Soon there's a body in a bathtub and Donald Lam must figure out who put it there.

Meanwhile, Bertha's been rear-ended in an automobile accident and is up to her substantial rear in ambulance chasers and professional victims. Even in the 1940's, L.A. traffic was ferocious and the insurance fraud industry was booming.

The plot's complicated and there's lots of humor. Donald's value to the navy may be negligible, but he can still solve a crime, even when he's shaking from a malaria attack. To Bertha's horror, her partner has even lost his appetite. She may boil over with rage at the presumptuous squirt, but she's not going to let him starve to death OR be arrested for murder. If you haven't tried this series, you should! Gardner had a fine sense of humor and he let it rip in the Cool and Lam books.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read all of the AA Fair books as kids - passed down from my dad. Very interesting to go back and read them now!

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erle Stanley Gardner is, of course, most famous for his Perry Mason series. He did, however, publish thirty novels in the Cool and Lam private eye series, twenty nine of them between 1939 and 1970, and next month The Knife Slipped, a lost novel. It's a terrific series featuring the original odd couple pairing of Bertha Lam, greedy, overweight, given to yelling and screaming, with the slight person of Donald Lam, clever, and almost Holmes-like in his powers of seductive reasoning. Lam is more of your typical Hardboiled detective and Cool is almost there for comic relief.

This particular novel has Lam returning from Navy duty, although still suffering from tropical illnesses. A most unusual, but sensous, client appears and they take on a convoluted case involving a club for afternoon affairs, a lovesick secretary, a cigarette girl with legs that just went on forever, an axe murderer, an awful fender bender, and a suspicious police detective.

This is a quick and easy read and skillfully combines Hardboiled pulp detective fiction with lighter detective fare.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 4 out of 5]

The more I read, the more it becomes obvious that even bad Cool & Lam mysteries are page turners. Not that this one is actively bad, but it relies heavily on coincidence and Lam comes up with the ultimate answer to the mystery pretty much out of the ether. If you really want to stretch the bounds of reasonableness I suppose it's possible he could have gotten there...but not bloody likely.

Still it's a good read and it's nice to have Donald back from the South Pacific and working at his old tricks.

[Philip Christman · Rating 3 out of 5]

the Bertha Cool/ Donald Lam series was written under the name A.A.Fair, probably to keep it seprate from the Perry Mason series by the same author. Like the Mason series,the emphasis is more on puzzle solving than suspense. The characters are sufficiently wacky to be fun.No Great Moral Lessons here, just ah afternoon of fun.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these murder mysteries set in the forties and fifties. It feels like another world and I enjoy the social history of the book too.
The Cool and Lam characters are good and there was twists and turns to the plot that kept you interested right up to the end.