The D.A. Calls a Turn

Doug Selby #6

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Vintage paperback

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

First published January 1, 1947

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

[TXGAL1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

Written by Perry Mason author, Erle Stanley Gardner, in 1944 this is a fun mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed.

[Rick Mills · Rating 2 out of 5]

Major characters:

Carleton Grines / Desmond Billmeyer - amnesia victim with two identities
Charles and Ma Freelman, and their four sons:
Stephen, married to Bernice
Gilbert, married to Carmen
Edward, engaged to Corliss Ditmer
Frank, in the navy
D.A. Doug Selby
Sheriff Rex Brandon
Attorney A. B. Carr
Attorney Inez Stapleton (Selby's old flame)
Reporter Sylvia Martin (Selby's current flame)


Synopsis: Sheriff Rex Brandon receives a phone call on Thanksgiving evening. A man identifies himself as Carleton Grines, and wishes to turn himself in for car theft. As Brandon and D.A. Doug Selby head out to pick him up, they encounter him coming the other way just as Grines’ vehicle crashes into another car and a truck. He is dead.

As they view Grines’ body later in the morgue, it is apparent his cheap clothes do not fit. His expensive, hand-made shoes lead to a tentative identification, not of Grines, but of wealthy grocery chain owner Desmond Billmeyer. Brandon brings in Carmen Freelman, who works for Billmeyer, and identifies the body as that of Billmeyer.

Brandon brings in relatives of Grines to view the body, they identify it as Grines.

The story is pieced together. Ten years ago, Grimes was sent to jail in Oregon (wearing the cheap clothes), and escaped during a fire - although it was believed he had died. He suffered a head injury during the fire, causing amnesia. He put together a new life as teetotaler Desmond Billmeyer and began a successful grocery chain. He had been drinking the night of the car accident, which brought back his memory as Grines. He apparently retrieved his ten-year-old clothing and put it on again. The mystery is: where was the clothing all this time? and what caused him to start drinking?

Review: Oh, this one was the most blah of the Doug Selby's thus far. No real drama. Selby and Brandon just cruise sleepily through this one. A. B. Carr is too polite and likable. Inez Stapleton has lost her jealousy and is just a pal. Sylvia Martin follows along from habit.

The opening chapter fully describes everyone in the Freelman family, but they have little to do with the story. Much time is spent chasing two "major" clues: the old set of clothes and an ownerless dog - but again, little to do with the plot. The ending has a flavor of picking someone off the street to be the murderer; and the murderer dictates his own denouement.

Three more Selby's in the series, I am sure things will pick up after the war.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bir şükran günü yortusunda, Spug Selby, Rex Brandon'un evinde kutlama yaparken, bir telefon gelir. Suçlu olduğunu, alkol aldığını söyleyen biri onu almalarını istemiştir. Doug ve Rex yola çıkar. Ama bir kaza olmuştur. Arabanın içindeki kişi ölmüştür ve bir köpek vardır. Perkins incelemeyi yapar ama köpek onun başına kalır. Bu arada Freelman ailesine gelin olarak gelen Carmen'e o akşam patronu Desmond Billmeyer'den bir telefon gelir. Aileyi bırakıp gitmesi gerekir. Doug ve Rex kurbanın üzerindeki ceketin ona olmadığını fark eder. İpuçları üzerinden yola çıkarak, ölen adamın Carleton Grines olduğunu düşünür. Kardeşinin arabasında ölü bulunmuştur. Ama aynı zamanda Billmeyer olduğu da ortaya çıkar. Carmen şahitlik eder. Gillespie adındaki komşu da olayla ilgili detaylı bilgi vermiştir. Billmeyer ile Carmen dışında ailenin de iş ilişkisi vardır. Eski adıyla Grines bir suçludur ama şu anda çok zengindir. A. B. Carr Carmen'in kardeşinin avukatı olur, Inez Stapleton ise Carleton'un ortaya çıkan karısının. Yarım milyon dolar söz konusudur. Doug Carmen'in kardeşini bulur ve içeri atar. Ama katil o değildir. 10 yıl sonra içki içen adamı başka biri öldürmüştür. Slyvia Martin de araştırmalara katılır. Köpek ve elbise önemli delillerdir. Köpeği bir şekilde Carr alır. Bir soru sormak için daha önce ifade veren bir tanığa gider Selby ve kaçırılır. Acaba buradan kurtulabilecek midir? Üzerindeki ruj izi kimden gelecektir? Müvekkili ile ruhsal çöküntü yaşıyor diye görüştürmeyen Carr ve Inez ne yapacaktır? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#6 in the Doug Selby series. Author Gardner wrote this shorter series to accompany his more famous Perry Mason series. Doug Selby is the D.A. in a rural Southern California county. This 1942 episode brings wartime period flavor with a character's son away, but safe, on a destroyer and an opposing counsel serving rationed coffee. A fine read with an above average plot.

Doug Selby series - In Southern California, a car goes out of control and the D. A. finds a dog. The dead man's clothes don't fit and why should a ten year old letter be so important? Why does Carmen Freelman act so nervous? Selby has help from Sylvia Martin, a lovely newshound, and Sheriff Rex Brandon. He feels he is running in circles until he realizes the most important clue has been in his possession all of the time.

[Larry Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The D.A. Calls A Turn (The Doug Selby Mysteries Bk6) by the great mystery/legal author - including Cool & Lam and Perry Mason- Erle Stanley Gardner (nom de plume AA Fair). The story takes place in Madison City outside LA, in 1941 -early still in WWII— briefly told it’s DA Selby ( country lawyer) matching wits with his nemesis, AB Carr (ABC - the city lawyer) on the death/murder of questionable identity the local grocery store magnate/ escaped Oregon prisoner presumed dead.

It’s a different time, place and people [ lawyer Carr notes: “my contention that men who live in the open are more rugged and honest than those who spend their lives within cities”]. An excellent mystery with a complex story, terrific plotting usually! With strong characters, men + women alike.

While Cool & Lam is my favorite of his series… DA Selby is excellent as well!

[Robyn Balmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read a few of Erle Stanley Gardner's books, so I purchased D.A. Calls a Turn. The book confused me. I didn’t understand the text in the story, and the explanation of all the characters and their relationship with each other was confusing. I am sorry, but I won’t be purchasing any more books from Erle Stanley Gardner.

[Suryamouli Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good book but a letdown after the previous book in the series.

[Ashwin Dongre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story, one accident to which both DA and Sheriff are witness, dual identity of the corpse, so many relatives, and old A.B.C. Complete usual Doug Selby novel recipe.
The narration is pretty good, keeps you on your toes, guessing. The clues are revealed in such order, that putting them in sequence is a task! And so many relatives and people are involved that it was quite difficult for me to keep track of who's who so that I could weigh the motives/opportunities. But that could be because I had so many things on my mind with my life.
Again there is no courtroom drama, but now I am beginning to accept the fact that there will none in this series. Inez was a bit level headed in this book, but then she does not get enough footage.
But what puts this story apart from the rest so far in the series, is the action pack (literally) climax. the highlight of the story is Selby getting even with Carr, and even beating him in his own game! That was fun! I cant wait till the ninth book where he puts him behind bars.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

D.A. Doug Selby witnesses an automobile accident in which a prominent businessman is killed. However, the businessman was a convict who escaped prison years ago and it's unclear whether he remembered his past or not. There are crooked real estate dealings, an appearance by Selby's antagonist A. B. Carr, and a flight to a sanitarium in the desert to bring back a witness with tales to tell.