The Case of the Restless Redhead

Perry Mason #45

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Evelyn Bagby has ambition, bad luck - and red hair. When she is caught with stolen diamonds it looks like an airtight case. But Perry Mason believes she has been set up. Then comes news of another crime and Mason finds the charge against his client is murder.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Legal, Detective, Novels, Noir

274 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1954

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

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

What begins with Mason helping out a young attorney with his cross-examination skills in defending a young waitress framed for jewel theft turns much more complicated when soon after, she finds herself framed for murder. Though Mason’s client in this one seems much more straightforward than some others he’s defended, the other players have much to hide. The evidence is already rather complicated and the fact that everyone (not the actual culprit alone) is trying to hide something adds further twists. But Mason knows how to use the most perplexing of situations to his own advantage, much to the delight of the press but not so much the court, and of course to Hamilton Burger’s chagrin. This one held my attention throughout and I certainly wasn’t able to see where things were headed and what would emerge in the end. I enjoyed the court proceedings as well and didn’t like some other reviewers find them a drag. An exciting and fast paced read.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent Perry Mason mystery / legal drama.

I won't go into the plot (but it is a really good one), suffice to say it is full of old-style charm, cunning tactics and flamboyant characters.

So glad I've still got plenty of these dramas left to enjoy!

[Priya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back to back Perry Mason books and it was a trip down nostalgia lane! I didn't recall the details of this book which I must have read years ago and that was great because I enjoyed Mason's smartness all over again just like the first time!
Out of town to meet a judge, Mason lands in a courtroom where a young redhead, Evelyn Bagby, is being tried for alleged thievery. In a happy coincidence for the young lawyer defending her and Evelyn herself, Mason takes an interest in the case. Later, in trying to get Evelyn what he believes to be her due, he is pulled into a bizarre case of murder by shooting in which she is implicated.
In this case, Mason is anything but a passive participant, skirting the danger line in a thrilling way because we want to know what he is doing and how it's going to help Evelyn. His courtroom tactics are as always impressive as he battles to prove Evelyn innocent.
In some of the books in this many book series, we get to see the very humane side of Perry Mason and this is one of them.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find a lot of parallels between this Erle Stanley Garner novel and Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. I don't mean in terms of plot points or even writing style. The similarities are in the incomprehensibility of the plot and its too many nuances. Even when seeing the story faithfully translated into a screen version, main plot points faithfully preserved, it's still difficult to figure out the reason for all that happens.

This novel was adapted for the screen and is Season 1, Episode 1, of the Perry Mason series that starred Raymond Burr (the most perfect casting decision ever made for an actor to depict a role in my opinion). I can not believe the producers chose this book of all the many possibilities to use for the plot of their series premiere. I viewed the episode two, perhaps three times, over a wide span of years. I never fully understood what was going on. The main reason why is that in the dialogue the cast characters bandy about the names of key players to the plot long before those characters ever appear on screen. Who is this Merrill, Chaney, Aldritch, and Boles that keep being talked about? Each are vitally important to the plot but unseen until relatively late in the show. Then there's the confusion with the switched guns and bullets and some jewelry theft that happened off screen.

So I ordered the Gardner novel to see if I could figure it all out from that. Reading the novel helps, but even after reaching the end some plot points were still fuzzy for me. I knew I was in for a challenge reading the novel and therefore kept careful notes on characters, character names and when in the novel they were introduced (that character chart is appended below to possibly help others). Even doing that only helped me a little. The problem here, as it is in The Big Sleep, is that we have a lot of characters doing things off screen that are only related or sometimes alluded to at random points in the book. The plot is a lot of flying parts all up in the air much of the time.

Another problem is that minor characters who are at first only referenced then suddenly pop up many pages later in completely unexpected contexts. For example, Oscar B. Loomis is mentioned on page 89 as the owner of the car that left the road. Presumably, it was his body under the hood driving off the road. The next mention of Loomis is when Mason calls him to the stand as a witness in the final pages of the book. So whose body was it in the car? A highly attentive reader can piece that together by the end of the novel from context, but we're never told, unless I missed it. Why aren't we told? It seems to me the identity of the dead driver would be easy to establish early on, and it matters.

This novel is therefore a hot mess plotwise. Compounding the problems, once I did figure out the plot points, are the gaping plot holes that then reveal temselves. There is no humanly possible way for Perry Mason to have figured out everything right at the start based on the limited knowledge he had of the circumstances to have been able to take the actions he did in terms of switiching guns and firing the switched gun. Never mind how the murderer (telepathically?) persuaded the defendant to fire two, not three or one, random shots in fear as she was driving in order to then frame her. There are other impossible plot points too. It's simply a ludicrous plot both in the novel and the TV episode.

So why do I like this book enough to rate it so highly? Because plot comprehension difficulties and plot holes aside it is still an immensely fun read (and TV view) in the same way The Big Sleep is. It's the interactions among the characters that make the story so entertaining. I liked that Perry Mason is trying to help an up and coming lawyer behind the scenes learn what he needs to do and then tries not to take the credit. This really helps make Mason likable, which we need because of the unethical tactics he employed to confuse the legal case he is engaged in. It's fun to try to unravel the plot points as well, even though I think it's not possible with just one or even two viewings or readings, however careful one may be.

Cast of Characters, major and minor:
Perry Mason (1) The protagonist defense lawyer.
Judge Dillard (1) The stolen jewelry trial judge.
Harry Boles (1) Witness in the jewelry theft.
Evelyn Bagby (2) The defendant. Aspiring actress and actual waitress.
Frank Neely (6) The young lawyer questioning Boles.
Dalton (7) A Mason client.
Irene Keith (9) Her jewelry was stolen. Chaney's bridesmaid.
Helene Chaney (9) Actress, bride to be.
Della Street (18) Mason's secretary.
Estelle Nugent (19) Young woman Neely hopes to marry.
Gertie (22) Phone operator. Mason receptionist.
Staunton Vester Gladden / Steve V. Merrill (23) Chaney's second husband.
Mervyn Aldritch (28) Boat manufacturer. Is set to marry Chaney.
Joe Padena (30) Restaurant owner. Employs Bagby at Mason's request.
Judge Carver (39) Needs a letter from Mason.
Paul Drake (48) P.I. for Mason.
Mike (66) Headwaiter at the Joshua Tree Cafe.
Bill Ferron (79) Sheriff's office. Works the car wreck.
Oscar B. Loomis (89) Owner of the car that left the road.
Jim (106) One of Drake's men.
William (112) Helene Chaney's butler.
Ruby Inwood (125) Lives in the same apartment house as Bagby. Took a message.
Sgt. Holcomb (126) Homicide squad. Looking for Bagby.
Joe (127) In charge of Mason's garage.
Judge Kippen (138) In charge of Bagby's evidentiary trial.
Geoffrey Strawn (139) Prosecutor.
Mary Eunice (161) Retired artist. Found a bullet.
Hamilton Burger (165) The D.A.
Harmon B. Passing (196) Chaney's attorney.
Celeste (222) Irene Keith's maid.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading Gardner's Perry Mason books off and on for many years. Many years ago, I was an intense fan of the series, and read them all, at least once. Now, after a lot of water over the dam, I'm looking at them again.

Those who are used to really fine mystery writers may find the writing style here a bit stiff and mechanical. Nonetheless, I still love the general setting: the characters of Perry, Della, Paul, Lt. Tragg, and Hamilton Berger. That, and the ingenious plots, are why I read Perry Mason.

On the whole, the ones written by 1950 are the best. This one was written in 1954, and is very good in some ways, less so in others. It is very well written, a real page turner for most of its length. But the ending is too complicated and full of gimmicks the reader could never guess.

The story begins one day when Perry visits the courthouse in Riverside, CA, on an errand. He is early so wanders into court to see a case being tried. A young attorney, Frank Neely, is cross-examining a witness. It is soon obvious that Neely is floundering around with no idea what to ask next, and the witness is smug. Neely recognizes Perry and they have lunch. Perry gives him some tips on cross-examination. The tips work, Neely gets the witness confused that afternoon, and the defendant is acquitted.

But that is scarcely the beginning. The defendant, Evelyn Bagby, learns about Perry's help and comes to LA to thank him. She is a young, hardworking, down on her luck, struggling waitress. She had been defrauded of a small inheritence by one Staunton Vester Gladden, who had promised to teach her how to get noticed in Hollywood and become a star. Of course, he absconded with the money. So after learning about life the hard way, she refused to give up, and, being restless ("Restless Redhead"), decided to make her way to Hollywood. Her old car broke down near Riverside. While staying in a motel, a piece of jewelry was discovered in her luggage, and she was arrested. That's what the case was about that Perry walked in on.

But there's more! The jewels were owned by famous actress Helene Chaney, who was staying there with her rich friend Irene Keith. Now Irene Keith wants to give Evelyn a hundred dollars for her trouble! Odd. Furthermore, in reading about Helene Chaney, Evelyn realizes that Chaney's estranged second husband appears to be Staunton Vester Gladden. His real name is Steve Merrill. Word has it that Chaney wants to remarry to a wealthy businessman, but Merrill will try to stop it unless he is bought off.

Meanwhile, Perry helps Evelyn get a job at a restaurant in the hills near Hollywood. She lives on the premises. Soon she discovers a gun tucked in a drawer with her clothes in her room! First some jewels, now a gun? She phones Perry who tells her to bring him the gun. On her way, driving down the winding road in the hills, a car tries to force her off the road. The driver is wearing a hood of some kind covering his entire head! She grabs the gun and fires wildly out the window. The car swerves off and she goes on to meet Mason.

Later Steve Merrill is found dead in that car, shot, and wearing the hood. The car had evidently crashed through a guard rail and fallen into a gully. Soon the police think that Evelyn's story about being almost run off the road is a lie - that she murdered Merrill (alias Gladden), put him in the car, and ran it into the gully.

This story is very complicated, too complicated to summarize in any more detail. A big part of the plot is that the gun Evelyn had was one of a pair bought by businessman Mervyn Aldrich, the one who wants to marry Helene Chaney. Aldrich is a stock character in the Perry Mason opus: the rich arrogant businessman.

The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in 1954. Maybe that's why it is well written, full of colorful details. Until the last dozen pages or so, I was thinking that it must be among the very best Perry Mason stories. There are great courtroom scenes, many with Hamilton Burger. But unfortunately, the outcome disappoints. It is too complicated and too unreal. There are at least two coincidences without which the plot would die. Maybe even worse, a character with an important role, but no speaking part, is introduced with only two pages to go! That's a huge no-no in my book.

Good Hamilton Burger, good Sgt. Holcomb. Oddly, there is no mention of Lt. Tragg. The client is especially sympathetic. Average use of Della Street. Odd use of Paul Drake: he plays his typical role for the first 55% of the book, then is not even mentioned again until the wrap up on the last pages.

It's almost as if Gardner wrote the first 75% or so of the book, then passed it off to an assistant to finish.

Recurring themes: Two guns and a gun switch.

The cross-examination scenes are good, even above average.

The cast:

Frank Neely, young attorney from Riverside.
Evelyn Bagby, young waitress who keeps getting in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Irene Keith, wealthy friend and bridesmaid of
Helene Chaney, famous actress about to marry
Mervyn Aldrich, wealthy hard nosed businessman.
Harry Boles, witness who gets rattled on the witness stand.
Steve Merrill, ex-husband of Helene Chaney.
Staunton Vester Gladden, alias of Steve Merrill.
Oscar Loomis, lives in the same apartment house as Steve Merrill. And Harry Boles too!
Ruby Inwood, lives in the same apartment house as Steve Merrill.

- and a couple other people.

Recommended to see how well Gardner could write when he wanted to.

[Amit Bikram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contrary to the Case of the Runaway Corpse(Perry Mason, #44), this is one of the most convoluted cases I have come across in the Perry Mason series so far. The novel kicks off in a non-traditional fashion, with Mason being present at a case hearing involving stealing, not as a defense attorney but as a member of the audience. Frank Neely is the one defending a client, a redhead by the name of Miss Bagby. Mason, being the champion of poor, down on luck, and importantly, innocent, ladies, mentors Neely, helping him win an acquittal.

Before long though, Mason is drawn into the case, with the stakes immediately raised after a murder has been committed. To no one's surprise, it is Miss Bagby who is back in police custody, now fighting a murder charge. Mason does pull off a fast one in this case, something that I doubt would work today, and eventually wins the case, again to no one's surprise. But the end feels a bit rushed, especially given how complicated the whole plot is, with a large number of suspects and not many clues given to the reader in order to identify the real murderer before the final reveal.

I give the book a 4-star because it was definitely not an easy plot to build and seeing Mason in a mentor role is definitely the icing on the cake.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was the basis for the first Perry Mason episode ever aired (S1E1, not the pilot), so you know it's going to be good. This is the famous case with the identical guns and Perry using one to add extra bullet holes to the murder scene (forcing the authorities to realize that guns had been switched, although, as it turns out, not by the guilty parties, and thus unnecessary, although quite helpful to Perry's case). In fact, the stuff with the guns is all a red herring; something the defendant tells Mason near the beginning of the novel, along with one fact that comes along later, leads Perry on the right track.

The courtroom scenes in this novel are priceless. Perry has Hamilton Burger pulling out his hair, and even the judge is nearly beside himself. Perry himself seems to be fishing at times, but eventually the dots are connected in the right order. The novel has a bit of a soft ending, but fulfilling nonetheless.

[Rupesh Goenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry Mason travels from his Los Angeles office to the Riverside courthouse to get some documents signed by Judge Dillard. Evelyn Bagby an aspiring actress is falsely accused of stealing jewellery belonging to well-known Hollywood starlet Helene Chaney. She is on trial in Judge Dillard's courtroom. Frank Neely, her court-appointed young lawyer successfully gets her acquitted after receiving assistance from Perry Mason. Evelyn visits Mason in his office to express her gratitude. She tells him that she had to take up a job as a waitress because she had been duped of her inheritance money by a conman named Staunton Vester Gladden and that Steve Merrill, Helen Chaney’s estranged second husband bears a strong resemblance to the deceiver. Shortly afterwards, Steve Merrill is found murdered and Evelyn is charged for the crime. Mason defends her. He deliberately manipulates the evidence to expose the truth.

This Perry Mason instalment has a very complex storyline. The clever writing, great dialogue, humor and swift pace makes it a thrilling narrative. The courtroom drama is incredibly exciting to read. However, the far-fetched conclusion is a little disappointing. Overall, SUPER-DUPER ENTERTAINMENT.

[Genevieve · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too drawn out and I nearly got lost by the end; I've read better from Gardner.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.8)

There's a lot of lawyer talk but it's really interesting. Also, there's some Della/Perry but it's only hinted at.

Recommended 12+ for murder and language

[anarresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I saw some version of Perry Mason on TV when I was a little kid, but can't quite remember the details of the show. The book didn't help me remember. This title say "Perry Mason #45 and my library edition is from 1954 so readers would have been familiar with the character and Gardner certainly didn't bother with any description... of anyone. All of the characters were flat. I imagine by installment #45 people are looking for exactly what they expect and Gardner provides. It's a bit of a joke in the book that Mason will solve the mystery in the courtroom during the preliminary hearing, and so he does.

The titular redhead (I don't have a clue where "restless" comes from), Evelyn Bagby, is an aspiring actress and working waitress who has been accused of stealing jewelry from the car trunk of a Hollywood starlet and her rich friend. Mason offers some advice which gets the defendant acquitted and while offering her thanks Bagby is offered a small settlement from the accusers. Mason joins the team to negotiate a better settlement and from there the story spirals into a convoluted murder conspiracy.
It's preposterous, but maybe that's Gardner, or maybe the 1950s. Reading a book written then was kind of fun. Forget not having cell phones, people don't even have personal phones. There are switchboard operators and lines shared by multiple apartments. Ankles are a sexy distraction. The detective eats a hamburger sandwich in his office (while Mason smokes a cigarette) then rinses his coffee mug in a wash basin. A different Gardner might be worth reading, definitely not this one.

[Serdar Poirot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Neely adında bir avukat Evelyn Bagby adında bir kadını hırsızlık davasında savunurken Mason da mahkemeye gelir. Bir öğle arasında görüşürler ve Mason'ın tavsiyesi ile şahit Boles'u darmadağın eden Neely davayı kazanır. Zamanında Hollywood aktrisi olmak için çalışan ve Stephen adında bir adam tarafından dolandırılan Evelyn şimdi işsiz de kalmıştır. Helene ve Aldritch adlı bir çiftin mücevherleri çalındığı için olaya dahil olan Evelyn'e Mason iş bulur ve avans verir. Bu arada nedime Irene Keith, kadının zararını karşılamak ister ama Mason rakamı az bulur. İşe soktuğu yerde odasında bir silah bulan Evelyn, Mason ile buluşacakken yolsa biri sıkıştırır ve silahla rastgele 2 el ateş eder. Ancak Mason, Della ile olay yerine gidince uçurumda bir ceset bulurlar. Bu ceset Helen'in eski kocası ve Evelyn'i dolandıran Stephen Merrill'dir. Silah da Aldritch'e aittir. Aynı silahtan 2 tane alan bu adam birini nişanlısına vermiştir. Merrill'in komşusu olan Boles de o gün oradadır. Ama şahitleri vardır. Evelyn ikinci el ateşte metalik bir ses duyduğunu söyler. Bu davaya Neely ile beraber bakan Mason, olay yerinde 4 kurşun olduğunu ispatlar. Bunlardan ikisini kendi sıkmış ve Holcomb ondan silahı zorla almıştır. Silahları değiştirenin Aldritch olduğu ortaya çıkar. Ama celp verilmediği için ertesi gün nişanlısı ile mahkemeye gelmez. Ayrıca Irene ve Stephen'In hırsızlık olayını kurguladığı ortaya çıkar. Peki katil kimdir? Boles neden iki olayda da yer alır. Stephen kimde 7500 dolar almıştır? Bu paranın cinayet ile bir ilgisi var mıdır? Evelyn kurtulacak mıdır? Zararı tazmin edilecek mıdır? Bundan sonra neler olacaktır? Keyifle soluksuz okunan bir roman.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, Restless Redhead does not count among the very best Perry Mason novels. Some of Perry’s courtroom maneuvers, as usual bordering on abuse of the law, are a bit clumsy. And the end is unsatisfying compared to many of the stories. However, it remains an important part of the PM canon. It is set apart from others in that in entails Mason acting as coach/mentor to a young attorney working his first courtroom cases. It also contains one of the best Hamilton Burger blowups, where he really loses it in court. Featured too is an interesting judge who finds himself getting impatient with both defense and prosecution. And what really make it stand out as an important Mason novel is that it is the basis of the first episode of the Raymond Burr TV series, first broadcast in December of 1957 (a mere 11 months after I was first broadcast!).

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Preposterous nonsense. The very idea a high-high-powered attorney would walk into a courtroom and steal a client as if on his last legs and nothing else better to do, just wouldn't happen. What follows in the book us even more silly.

I added 5 Gardner books of Perry Mason to my library a few weeks ago and decided to read all. This is the fifth and most inane. the other were passable. This one is not.

This spins from prompting an up and coming attorney to aiding his client to a couple off to marry to hide and seek to gunfire to ...What a mess. And the conclusion is not worth the effort.

I don't recommend this book. 4 out of ten points.

[James Vest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like most Perry Mason mysteries, the story begins with a smaller problem which helps to introduce a stable of characters that gives way to a unforeseen complication sets up the conditions for murder from multiple interested parties.

What makes this mystery so unusual is how the setup plays out in real-time. After the story’s first crisis wraps, instead of the client shaking hands, going off, and coming back accused of murder, Mason’s client signals early that something is wrong. Despite Mason’s best effort, the trap laid for his client is so well concocted that not even he can steer his client clear.

[Brent Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entry #45 in the novel series became the first episode aired in the TV series! The TV adaptation stay faithful to the outline of the novel, with the biggest changes being skipping over a major incident leading the novel and combining some characters to create a murderer.

The novel is a compelling read, with a typically cryptic set of circumstances enmeshing Mason's client in a murder she was no where near. Typical courtroom scenes have the reader chuckling as Mason confounds Sgt. Holcomb (yet again) and swings the sympathy of the judge.

I've never yet met a Perry Mason book I didn't enjoy.

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the first chapter Perry watches the eponymous redhead's defense attorney struggling to clear her of a theft charge. Perry gives him some tips, which prompts the redhead to come to him with another legal problem. As usually happens in the series, just a few chapters later she's a prime suspect in murder.
After reading "Case of the Colonist's Corpse" I thought I'd revisit the series that inspired it. It ain't Gardner's best (several conversations repeat the same information) but it moves faster and develops the characters much more efficiently.

[Dharmabum · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is among the more complex plots among the Perry Masons I have read. And I am reading one after a long, long time. I was introduced to this character by my Grandpa, when I was much younger. He had a bunch of his books and encouraged me to read them. And I fill in love with Della Street, a tad more than Mason obviously :) Was glad to read one again after all these years and was looking for more, this time, in one of my uncle's homes.

[Martina Kovaříková · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would be honest, I definitely read better books where Mason is involved. But it is not terrible, still well worth the read if you enjoy the books with Perry Mason. Just this one seemed bit off to me. I will have to read few more to see if I just remember it wrongly or other books had more with Della and Drake appearance. Somehow, I missed them!
I still enjoyed the book and will definitely read some more from the author soon.

[Barney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Merill, Boles and Irene Keith's maid schemes to steal the jewelry - to be used for Helen Chance's wedding with Mervyn Alridch - from Irene's car and put the blame on Evelyn Bagby, who was cheated by Merill under the name Statten. When Evelyn came to know about who really Merill was, she had called him to return her the cheated money so Merill tried to put the theft on her name. But Boles killed Merill for money and he tried to put the blame on Evelyn.

[Richa · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more interesting cases. Especially, since it starts with a cross-examination and has a nice helpful portion where Gardner has given a tip for young lawyers.
This case has all the elements that can keep a reader gripped - glamour, star struck struggler, murder, truimph of good, and lastly, a gripping trial in the court of law.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

An aspiring actress is accused of theft and her court appointed attorney finds himself working alongside Perry Mason. Freeing her from her theft charge, Mason and Neery find they are soon called on again: to defend their client against a murder charge!

Gardner's tight plotting means that his short novels still feel rich and full of detail.

[Darel Krieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was used as the basis of the very first Perry Mason episode starring Raymond Burr. I had never read any of Mr. Gardner's books but had seen many of them turned into episodes for the above named TV series.
It was an enjoyable read and interesting in the way they did things and lived life back in the 50's. I will definitely be reading more of Mr. Gardner's writings.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Napínavé jak trenky od začátku do konce, protože jsem stále čekala, že se z Evelyn Bagbyové nakonec přece jen vyklube mrcha - ale ne, místo ní to byla zářící krásná mladá dáma. :) Hodně dobře se to poslouchalo a skvěle se u toho odpočívalo, třebaže jsem neusnula jako u jiných vyprávěných detektivek.

[Sharanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I learned that before there was a television series, Perry Mason movies were made in the 30s. Then I discovered that it all started with a book series, with the first book released in 1933. So, I went to my library, where there were a couple of titles. This quick read was entertaining.

[Jeff J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

#45 in the Perry Mason series. Perry mentors a young defense attorney and his client, quickly finding himself over his head in trouble. One of the better books in the series I’ve read. Adapted for the television series.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book were legally entertaining, but the end was a mish-mash of speculation. I don’t even remember the last couple of witnesses appearing earlier in the story. The earlier books are better.

[Lucy Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time I’ve read a Perry Mason book. It was a good fast read. It’s copyright is 1954 but it didn’t feel dated at all except for the technogy. The women characters are smart and competent, especially Della Street, Mason’s assistant.

[Gary Anderson]

TCOT Restless Redhead is another good reading mystery. Perry Mason eventually solves the case, of course, but some fun courtroom scenes are building to the end. PM is a master at cross-examination and finds time to teach a young lawyer some of his techniques.

[Mark Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visiting an out-of-town court, Perry sees a young public defender struggling with a cross-examination. A few words of advice manage to suck Perry into another hyper-complex case involving multiple frame-ups, multiple guns, multiple cars, and multiple blackmails. Just the one murder, though.