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Cool and Lam #21
Bachelors Get Lonely
"Bertha laid down the law - no more of Donald's desperate gambles that had him skirting prison walls! The Cool-Lam Agency was going back to a safe, sane business. with solid, substantial, citizens like Montrose L. Carson for clients. All Carson wanted was the name of the person in his office who was passing on confidential information to business rival Herbert Jason Dowling..The complexion of the case changed, however, when Dowling was found murdered at the Swim and Tan Motel - the same motel where two Peeping Tom incidents had been reported. And oly Donald, with his affinity for long shots and playing tag with the police, would have thought of baiting a trap for a murderer with the liveliest, most irrepressible stripper ever to hit the boards."
185 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1961
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 21, 2018
This is a fairly typical entry in the Donald Lam/Bertha Cool series. Bertha is delighted to have found a new client for the firm--a fine, upstanding businessman named Montrose Carson. Bertha believes that the kind of clients they usually recruit keep getting the firm into trouble. A substantial, impeccable client like Carson will raise them above all that.
Carson is a developer who is suddenly facing a new competitor. Carson believes that someone in his office is leaking information to the competitor who is then stealing deals out from under Carson. Even before Donald can enter the picture, Bertha has already designed a plan to root out the leaker and is extremely proud of herself for doing so.
Inevitably, of course, the case will blow up; someone will be murdered; Donald will be left to pull the chestnuts out of the fire; Detective Frank Sellers will be in hot pursuit of Donald for any number of alleged infractions, and Bertha will be freaking out, believing Seller's accusations and accusing Donald of betraying her and the firm. The only question that remains is whether this will finally be the time when Donald is unable to do so.
It's a quick read that should appeal to any fan of the series. The plot is horribly convoluted, but no more so than most of those created by Erle Stanley Gardner. The edition I read was published in 1963. The book itself was first published in 1961, although it reads like a book written in the late 1940s.
I believe I inherited this copy from my father, and bound in with the book is an opportunity to join the Detective Book Club. By doing so, you can get nine "great mysteries," including seven Perry Masons, for only a dollar. It's a "treasure chest of crackling, high-voltage mysteries at a sensational low introductory price," and so how could I resist? I've torn off the attached post card, filled it out, and will be dropping it into the mail tomorrow.
I'm a little nervous because this offer seems to predate the invention of zip codes. The address is only "The Detective Book Club, Roslyn, L.I., New York." On the other hand, though, how many detective book clubs could there possibly be in Roslyn? I imagine the mail carrier will have no difficulty in finding them, and I can hardly wait to get my new books and have the chance to read and review them!
Carson is a developer who is suddenly facing a new competitor. Carson believes that someone in his office is leaking information to the competitor who is then stealing deals out from under Carson. Even before Donald can enter the picture, Bertha has already designed a plan to root out the leaker and is extremely proud of herself for doing so.
Inevitably, of course, the case will blow up; someone will be murdered; Donald will be left to pull the chestnuts out of the fire; Detective Frank Sellers will be in hot pursuit of Donald for any number of alleged infractions, and Bertha will be freaking out, believing Seller's accusations and accusing Donald of betraying her and the firm. The only question that remains is whether this will finally be the time when Donald is unable to do so.
It's a quick read that should appeal to any fan of the series. The plot is horribly convoluted, but no more so than most of those created by Erle Stanley Gardner. The edition I read was published in 1963. The book itself was first published in 1961, although it reads like a book written in the late 1940s.
I believe I inherited this copy from my father, and bound in with the book is an opportunity to join the Detective Book Club. By doing so, you can get nine "great mysteries," including seven Perry Masons, for only a dollar. It's a "treasure chest of crackling, high-voltage mysteries at a sensational low introductory price," and so how could I resist? I've torn off the attached post card, filled it out, and will be dropping it into the mail tomorrow.
I'm a little nervous because this offer seems to predate the invention of zip codes. The address is only "The Detective Book Club, Roslyn, L.I., New York." On the other hand, though, how many detective book clubs could there possibly be in Roslyn? I imagine the mail carrier will have no difficulty in finding them, and I can hardly wait to get my new books and have the chance to read and review them!
July 5, 2017
Bachelors Get Lonely fits well into the universe of the Cool and Lam detective series, Gardner's slightly offbeat comedic series of private eye novels. The series revolves around the juxtaposition of Heavyset coarse greedy Bertha Cool who takes anything a client says at face value and brainy bantamweight Donald Lam who ends up doing all the leg work.
Here, a thoroughly pedestrian case of commercial espionage develops into a typical fifties private eye world of illicit affairs, no-tell motels, peeping toms, and secret apartments.
Gardner, a practicing defense attorney who penned some 80 or more Perry Mason novels, also managed to throw in some legal issues such as raising questions about the infallibility of eyewitness identification in light of the suggestiveness of police questioning and profile sketches and even a full-scale although technically informal extradition hearing.
Like most of the books in the series, it's an easy and enjoyable read and is a minor story rather than a major-scale thriller.
The copy of the book I borrowed from the library has a sticker indicating it was presented to the library by Mrs. Erle Stanley Gardner.
Here, a thoroughly pedestrian case of commercial espionage develops into a typical fifties private eye world of illicit affairs, no-tell motels, peeping toms, and secret apartments.
Gardner, a practicing defense attorney who penned some 80 or more Perry Mason novels, also managed to throw in some legal issues such as raising questions about the infallibility of eyewitness identification in light of the suggestiveness of police questioning and profile sketches and even a full-scale although technically informal extradition hearing.
Like most of the books in the series, it's an easy and enjoyable read and is a minor story rather than a major-scale thriller.
The copy of the book I borrowed from the library has a sticker indicating it was presented to the library by Mrs. Erle Stanley Gardner.
September 18, 2019
Sometimes I just need a book that I know I'm going to like, and that impulse brings me back again and again to Erle Stanley Gardner and A. A. Fair. This one is late in the canon, published in 1961, but it's as happy a read for me as the early ones. Bertha is always trying to get "respectable" business for the detective agency, but when Donald gets on a case somehow things never turn out that way. Lots of fast thinking and lots of dames -- just the way we like it!
March 26, 2021
Lam is an appropriate name for the classic hard-boiled private detective who is constantly in hot water with the law, immediately reminding the reader of someone who is “on the lam.” Bachelors Get Lonely, written in 1961, was quite late in the Bertha Cool-Donald Lam mystery series, but it was the first novel I was able to read in that series. I call Donald Lam hard-boiled because of his attitude. My brother, who reviewed the series for Men of Violence #12, had a different take on the name, calling him a “lamb” because he didn’t seem to end up starting the fights or making the threats of a Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett protagonist, using his brains more than his brawn.
Bertha Cool, the founding partner of the detective agency, doesn’t fit her name at all. With that name, I was expecting someone more like the Jessica Pearson, managing partner on the first couple of seasons of the Suits television series. Instead, Cool is uncool to the point of histrionics over expense accounts and paranoia regarding the police. Of course, the tension makes for a nice dynamic, especially in a series with a certain amount of comic overtones.
Although Bachelors Get Lonely was the first novel in the series that I read, it was not the first time I became aware of it. In 1970, I was the paperback book buyer at a major university bookstore. As such, I took care of special orders. One customer wanted all of the books he could get his hands on by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner’s pen name under which these books were originally published). My manager preferred having me order from a large distributor for both convenience and saving on shipping. These required ordering direct from the publisher. She was furious. How dare I waste such resources on this kind of trash?
Well, now that I’ve read one of these, I know why she called them “trash.” They do have suggestive descriptions and scenes, but they are so mild by today’s standards that I am surprised (with hindsight) at her overreaction. On the other hand, we were supposed to be a reputable bookstore, but she didn’t seem to mind that The Godfather with its rather explicit scenes sold quite nicely off our shelves. Ironically, my brother’s review observed: “…without being ‘dirty’ it is in some ways just a little racier than the others.” (Men of Violence #12, p. 12) I’ll take his word for it because this is the first I’ve read (though he sent me two others).
As for Bachelors Get Lonely, the title seems to be generated from Lam’s bachelorhood and the role he is allowed to play as free-spending heir and playboy to draw the trap closed in exposing some industrial espionage. Of course, industrial espionage leads to murder and the investigation of the murder leads to exposure of personal secrets. In one case, exposure leads to the following defense: “How many people in the world live the orthodox lives they’re supposed to? How many people conform to the standards set up by the moralists? There are certain rules which just don’t work when you come down to real life.” (p. 64) Of course, it only takes a little bit of thought to realize that her rationalization is mere “what-aboutism.” Of course, that’s probably the pastor and ethics professor in me breaking out of my suspension of disbelief.
For me, the novel was risible entertainment, full of comic relief, unexpected (and expected) set-ups, and enjoyable (but not too jarring) coincidences. Lam alternates between in out-of-control situations and calm, collected responses to situations in which I would panic. Bachelors Get Lonely is an amusing novel that functions (with its switchboards, cafeterias, and motels with separate units) as something of a period piece. It definitely takes me back to my childhood.
Bertha Cool, the founding partner of the detective agency, doesn’t fit her name at all. With that name, I was expecting someone more like the Jessica Pearson, managing partner on the first couple of seasons of the Suits television series. Instead, Cool is uncool to the point of histrionics over expense accounts and paranoia regarding the police. Of course, the tension makes for a nice dynamic, especially in a series with a certain amount of comic overtones.
Although Bachelors Get Lonely was the first novel in the series that I read, it was not the first time I became aware of it. In 1970, I was the paperback book buyer at a major university bookstore. As such, I took care of special orders. One customer wanted all of the books he could get his hands on by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner’s pen name under which these books were originally published). My manager preferred having me order from a large distributor for both convenience and saving on shipping. These required ordering direct from the publisher. She was furious. How dare I waste such resources on this kind of trash?
Well, now that I’ve read one of these, I know why she called them “trash.” They do have suggestive descriptions and scenes, but they are so mild by today’s standards that I am surprised (with hindsight) at her overreaction. On the other hand, we were supposed to be a reputable bookstore, but she didn’t seem to mind that The Godfather with its rather explicit scenes sold quite nicely off our shelves. Ironically, my brother’s review observed: “…without being ‘dirty’ it is in some ways just a little racier than the others.” (Men of Violence #12, p. 12) I’ll take his word for it because this is the first I’ve read (though he sent me two others).
As for Bachelors Get Lonely, the title seems to be generated from Lam’s bachelorhood and the role he is allowed to play as free-spending heir and playboy to draw the trap closed in exposing some industrial espionage. Of course, industrial espionage leads to murder and the investigation of the murder leads to exposure of personal secrets. In one case, exposure leads to the following defense: “How many people in the world live the orthodox lives they’re supposed to? How many people conform to the standards set up by the moralists? There are certain rules which just don’t work when you come down to real life.” (p. 64) Of course, it only takes a little bit of thought to realize that her rationalization is mere “what-aboutism.” Of course, that’s probably the pastor and ethics professor in me breaking out of my suspension of disbelief.
For me, the novel was risible entertainment, full of comic relief, unexpected (and expected) set-ups, and enjoyable (but not too jarring) coincidences. Lam alternates between in out-of-control situations and calm, collected responses to situations in which I would panic. Bachelors Get Lonely is an amusing novel that functions (with its switchboards, cafeterias, and motels with separate units) as something of a period piece. It definitely takes me back to my childhood.
November 4, 2020
This is one of the later installments in the Bertha Cool\Donald Lam mystery series-- that being said, without being "dirty" it is in some ways just a little racier than the others. Lam has his secretary cutting out articles about crime sprees with the thinking that he might find a way to use some of the incidents as a "cover" for some of his investigations. Soon, he is embroiled with some of the standard material we see in this series. Lam manipulates women, plays upon legal technicalities, and finds himself a suspect in a murder. Of course, he finds a way to use the newspaper stories to set a trap. And of course, as usual, nobody is exactly what they seem.
Another fun outing from an author who keeps it fun. One of the cool things about Lam is that though he is good looking and smooth with the women, the cop continually calls him "pipsqueak" which suggests he is nothing physically big. This makes the material even more fun because Lam isn't your typical hard-boiled private eye. He is a thinker and a manipulator. In this installment, the cop, Sellers, has a moment of police brutality that lands him in a little hot water. It is important to remember that this was the period in which a lot of excesses of police powers were being ruled on in courts. Confessions were often beaten from suspects and Sellers intends to do exactly this to Lam. As they discuss evidence rules the cop complains that the courts are taking handcuffs off the crooks and putting them on the police. To some extent, this was true, and it is and was the attitude of many law-and-order people. While these rulings were necessary to remind us of the rights of the accused, it added some realism to the story to have the officer wrestle with it.
Another fun outing from an author who keeps it fun. One of the cool things about Lam is that though he is good looking and smooth with the women, the cop continually calls him "pipsqueak" which suggests he is nothing physically big. This makes the material even more fun because Lam isn't your typical hard-boiled private eye. He is a thinker and a manipulator. In this installment, the cop, Sellers, has a moment of police brutality that lands him in a little hot water. It is important to remember that this was the period in which a lot of excesses of police powers were being ruled on in courts. Confessions were often beaten from suspects and Sellers intends to do exactly this to Lam. As they discuss evidence rules the cop complains that the courts are taking handcuffs off the crooks and putting them on the police. To some extent, this was true, and it is and was the attitude of many law-and-order people. While these rulings were necessary to remind us of the rights of the accused, it added some realism to the story to have the officer wrestle with it.
March 17, 2016
Phew...thank goodness it wasn't anything remotely close to what the title suggested. Before I started reading I wasn't aware of any Cool/Lam series. I never heard of it before. So it was a pleasant shock when I found that this book belonged to thriller/mystery category and not an adults only fiction.
Now that I know this book is part of a long running series, I reckoned there would be characters in it from the previous books and that I might be out of sorts there without knowing their background stories. But Mr. Fair didn't give too much stress on their flashbacks, instead he concentrated on the current case in hand. And so I was spared my blushes of having picked a book somewhere in the chronological order of the series.
This was the first ever short-novel thriller book that I have read. The story lasts only 170 pages. If you ask me if it's a gripping tale then I would have to say no. It doesn't get you involved. You feel like a mere passerby happening to have a glance at the goings on. This is where other thrillers (such as "I Let You Go", "Airport" and to a certain extent "Puppet on a Chain") stand apart. But nonetheless you wouldn't feel like discontinuing. Mainly because of Donald Lam and his quick replies. Some replies of his leave you dumbfounded and looking at him with admire. The way he gives tit-for-tat replies to ladies are awesome. And the way he manipulates ladies (not sexually) with his looks and talks is an art worth learning. But Mr Fair, I have had the chance to have a few lady friends and I don't think that species is something you can easily gauge and make them fall for you just like that with your words. Nevertheless, it was fun reading ladies being toyed with (a welcome change after seeing and hearing guys being toyed by girls) made to come and stand on the line drawn by a guy (again, I repeat, not sexually).
Even though I gave this one 4 stars, it was purely because of the way Donald Lam carried himself. Cool and composed even in the face of danger. Once I read two or three books in the series and if the author has got no exciting plots, then my ratings would definitely go down. For the time being, let it bask in the warmth of 4 stars.
Now that I know this book is part of a long running series, I reckoned there would be characters in it from the previous books and that I might be out of sorts there without knowing their background stories. But Mr. Fair didn't give too much stress on their flashbacks, instead he concentrated on the current case in hand. And so I was spared my blushes of having picked a book somewhere in the chronological order of the series.
This was the first ever short-novel thriller book that I have read. The story lasts only 170 pages. If you ask me if it's a gripping tale then I would have to say no. It doesn't get you involved. You feel like a mere passerby happening to have a glance at the goings on. This is where other thrillers (such as "I Let You Go", "Airport" and to a certain extent "Puppet on a Chain") stand apart. But nonetheless you wouldn't feel like discontinuing. Mainly because of Donald Lam and his quick replies. Some replies of his leave you dumbfounded and looking at him with admire. The way he gives tit-for-tat replies to ladies are awesome. And the way he manipulates ladies (not sexually) with his looks and talks is an art worth learning. But Mr Fair, I have had the chance to have a few lady friends and I don't think that species is something you can easily gauge and make them fall for you just like that with your words. Nevertheless, it was fun reading ladies being toyed with (a welcome change after seeing and hearing guys being toyed by girls) made to come and stand on the line drawn by a guy (again, I repeat, not sexually).
Even though I gave this one 4 stars, it was purely because of the way Donald Lam carried himself. Cool and composed even in the face of danger. Once I read two or three books in the series and if the author has got no exciting plots, then my ratings would definitely go down. For the time being, let it bask in the warmth of 4 stars.
August 8, 2019
Major characters:
Montrose L. Carson, a property appraiser
Irene Addis, employee of Montrose Carson
Herbert Jason Dowling, a property appraiser, Carson's competitor
Bernice Clinton, employee of Herbert J. Dowling
Donald Lam, investigator
Bertha Cool, his partner
Elsie Brand, his secretary
Locale: Los Angeles
Synopsis: Appraiser Montrose Carson hires Cool & Lam to find out who is the leak in his office. Whenever he prepares to close on a deal, his competitor Herbert J. Dowling beats him to it at the last moment with a better price. Bertha Cool cooks up a scheme to reveal who the leaker is, by putting up a fake property deal with Donald Lam as the "seller". To help create a realistic identity, Lam moves into a bachelor apartment and secretary Elsie Brand poses as his girlfriend. Dowling's employee, Bernice Clinton, approaches Lam with a better (than Carson's) offer; and the details reveal Irene Addis as the leaker in Carson's office. Lam follows Carson to a motel, where Carson meets a woman. After she leaves, Lam looks in the window to see Carson dead on the floor, and a bullet hole in the window.
Review: With A. A. Fair you are always guaranteed skulking around looking in windows, and secret meetings at cheap motels, with every woman in the cast throwing herself at Donald Lam; and this one is no different. It is a fun romp with a clever trap set by Bertha Cool to find the leaker. The repartee between Lam and Elsie Brand is always enjoyable. I always find A. A. Fair works to be best taken at either one or at most two sittings, as everybody assumes various alias' throughout, and it's hard to keep it all straight over more than two days!
Montrose L. Carson, a property appraiser
Irene Addis, employee of Montrose Carson
Herbert Jason Dowling, a property appraiser, Carson's competitor
Bernice Clinton, employee of Herbert J. Dowling
Donald Lam, investigator
Bertha Cool, his partner
Elsie Brand, his secretary
Locale: Los Angeles
Synopsis: Appraiser Montrose Carson hires Cool & Lam to find out who is the leak in his office. Whenever he prepares to close on a deal, his competitor Herbert J. Dowling beats him to it at the last moment with a better price. Bertha Cool cooks up a scheme to reveal who the leaker is, by putting up a fake property deal with Donald Lam as the "seller". To help create a realistic identity, Lam moves into a bachelor apartment and secretary Elsie Brand poses as his girlfriend. Dowling's employee, Bernice Clinton, approaches Lam with a better (than Carson's) offer; and the details reveal Irene Addis as the leaker in Carson's office. Lam follows Carson to a motel, where Carson meets a woman. After she leaves, Lam looks in the window to see Carson dead on the floor, and a bullet hole in the window.
Review: With A. A. Fair you are always guaranteed skulking around looking in windows, and secret meetings at cheap motels, with every woman in the cast throwing herself at Donald Lam; and this one is no different. It is a fun romp with a clever trap set by Bertha Cool to find the leaker. The repartee between Lam and Elsie Brand is always enjoyable. I always find A. A. Fair works to be best taken at either one or at most two sittings, as everybody assumes various alias' throughout, and it's hard to keep it all straight over more than two days!
May 7, 2017
Another quick, interesting read. Donald found himself embroiled in yet another convoluted situation thanks to Bertha's anxiousness to take on what she felt would be an easy case. Nothing is ever easy in their line of work, but she is a slow learner in that regard. I don't like that Sgt. Frank Sellers again strikes Donald. The romance between Donald & his secretary, Elsie Brand continues to heat up, but with so few remaining books, it will probably remain unresolved. On to the next one!
April 24, 2023
Comfort food--minxy mistresses, galivanting gumshoes, and seedy happenings at the Swim & Tan motel. If you've read one of these ESG/A.A. Fair dime store mysteries you've read them all, and there's nothing wrong with that every once in awhile.
April 10, 2025
Another entertaining book by Mr. Gardner. The story was suspenseful and entertaining. Even though the dialog is aged, the story still holds your attention. The Cool and Lam series reveals to us the author's pulp fiction writing days. One is amazed how sexual the stories are for that time. Enjoy.
June 20, 2025
"I'm just in the mood to pitch a little woo"
A solid Lam and Cool caper with some great dialog as always with Gardner/Fair,
enough has already been said about these great books,
Just great reads when you need something light and fun.
A solid Lam and Cool caper with some great dialog as always with Gardner/Fair,
enough has already been said about these great books,
Just great reads when you need something light and fun.
April 9, 2021
Erle Stanley Gardner (A.A. Fair) was a genius. Lam and Cool deserve the fame that Perry Mason enjoys. This is one of the better Cool & Lam books.
March 4, 2018
Maybe I wasn't in the mood. More likely Fair/Gardner just hit too much formula with this one. Whichever is the case this was the first Cool & Lam novel in quite a while that I found to be a tough read and just didn't enjoy.
I think it may well be that this far in Gardner really was coasting on the formula. There wasn't much here that we hadn't seen a few times before. And it just wasn't enough different to make it interesting. Add to that Bertha Cool being pretty horribly out of character and it wasn't a good fit. Bertha has always been mercurial, but this time she turned on Donald in an instant and stayed there til the bitter end when she was shown to be wrong. It just didn't feel right.
Weak entry in an enjoyable series of books.
I think it may well be that this far in Gardner really was coasting on the formula. There wasn't much here that we hadn't seen a few times before. And it just wasn't enough different to make it interesting. Add to that Bertha Cool being pretty horribly out of character and it wasn't a good fit. Bertha has always been mercurial, but this time she turned on Donald in an instant and stayed there til the bitter end when she was shown to be wrong. It just didn't feel right.
Weak entry in an enjoyable series of books.
April 10, 2011
I've only recently found the Cool/Lam series, but you can count me as a big fan these days.
September 16, 2020
Cool & Lam - another great adventure
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