2026 Reading Challenge

Cool and Lam Series

30 primary works • 32 total works
Cool and Lam is the fictional American private detective firm that is the center of a series of detective novels written by Erle Stanley Gardner using the pen name of A. A. Fair.

Book 1

The Bigger They Come
by
3.89 · 552 Ratings · 82 Reviews · published 1939 · 50 editions
Bertha Cool, head of the B. L. Cool Detective Agen…

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    Book 1.5

    The Knife Slipped
    by
    3.84     · 812 Ratings · 147 Reviews · published 2016 · 4 editions
    At the time of his death, Erle Stanley Gardner was…

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    Book 2

    Turn on the Heat
    by
    3.78     · 672 Ratings · 113 Reviews · published 1940 · 48 editions
    A CLASSIC COOL AND LAM NOVEL FROM THE CREATOR OF P…

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    Book 3

    Gold Comes in Bricks
    by
    3.87     · 253 Ratings · 31 Reviews · published 1940 · 53 editions
    (A book in the Donald Lam and Bertha Cool series)

    F…

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    Book 4

    Spill the Jackpot
    by
    3.94     · 193 Ratings · 21 Reviews · published 1941 · 44 editions
    The diminutive detective and his bulldog of a boss…

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    Book 5

    Double or Quits
    by
    3.95     · 249 Ratings · 29 Reviews · published 1941 · 41 editions

    Dr. Hilton Devarest was a whiz at curing patients,…

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    Book 6

    Owls Don't Blink
    by
    3.89     · 310 Ratings · 29 Reviews · published 1942 · 51 editions
    The sixth Donald Lam/Bertha Cool novel.

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    Book 7

    Bats Fly at Dusk
    by
    3.90     · 280 Ratings · 26 Reviews · published 1942 · 49 editions
    Private detective Bertha Cool is hired by a blind …

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    Book 8

    Cats Prowl at Night
    by
    3.81     · 236 Ratings · 32 Reviews · published 1943 · 43 editions
    By the time he went to Cool and Lam for help, his …

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    Book 9

    Give 'Em the Ax
    by
    3.71     · 295 Ratings · 34 Reviews · published 1944 · 52 editions
    Donald Lam returns from the Navy to Bertha Cool, a…

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    Book 10

    Crows Can't Count
    by
    4.03     · 265 Ratings · 27 Reviews · published 1946 · 51 editions
    Vintage paperback

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    Book 11

    Fools Die on Friday
    by
    4.01     · 378 Ratings · 46 Reviews · published 1947 · 38 editions
    From Perry Mason -creator Erle Stanley Gardner com…

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    Book 12

    Bedrooms Have Windows
    by
    3.85     · 168 Ratings · 18 Reviews · published 1949 · 21 editions
    A Bertha Cool - Donald Lam mystery in which a shad…

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    Book 13

    Top of The Heap
    by
    3.66     · 1039 Ratings · 136 Reviews · published 1952 · 37 editions
    Detective Donald Lam is hired by the last man to s…

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    Book 14

    Some Women Won't Wait
    by
    3.99     · 137 Ratings · 19 Reviews · published 1953 · 27 editions
    Hardcover; Very Good; Light yellow boards with bla…

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    Book 15

    Beware the Curves
    by
    3.90     · 154 Ratings · 30 Reviews · published 1956 · 33 editions
    Donald Lam and his partner, Bertha Cool, private d…

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    Book 16

    You Can Die Laughing
    by
    3.94     · 144 Ratings · 20 Reviews · published 1957 · 29 editions
    Great detective novel by the author of Perry Mason…

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    Book 17

    Some Slips Don't Show
    by
    3.98     · 102 Ratings · 12 Reviews · published 1957 · 26 editions
    One morning Barclay Fisher awakes in the apartment…

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    Book 18

    The Count of 9
    by
    3.98     · 499 Ratings · 78 Reviews · published 1958 · 35 editions
    From the world-famous creator of "Perry Mason,"…

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    Book 19

    Pass the Gravy
    by
    3.90     · 117 Ratings · 16 Reviews · published 1959 · 15 editions
    There's an insurance policy worth $75,000, which p…

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    Book 20

    Kept Women Can't Quit
    by
    3.87     · 112 Ratings · 15 Reviews · published 1960 · 28 editions
    Hardcover; Good; Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. Red b…

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    Book 21

    Bachelors Get Lonely
    by
    3.92     · 116 Ratings · 15 Reviews · published 1961 · 20 editions
    "Bertha laid down the law - no more of Donald's de…

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    Book 22

    SHILLS CAN'T CASH CHIPS
    by
    3.82     · 375 Ratings · 55 Reviews · published 1961 · 18 editions
    Has Donald Lam gone to the dark side?!? From the w…

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    Book 23

    Try Anything Once
    by
    3.90     · 156 Ratings · 19 Reviews · published 1962 · 30 editions
    Bertha Coolin ja Donald Lamin etsivätoimistoon saa…

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    Book 24

    Fish or Cut Bait
    by
    3.79     · 110 Ratings · 15 Reviews · published 1963 · 24 editions
    220 pp.

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    Book 25

    Up for Grabs
    by
    3.98     · 102 Ratings · 12 Reviews · published 1964 · 19 editions
    One in the Bertha Cool/Donald Lam series. A.A. Fai…

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    Book 26

    Cut Thin to Win
    by
    3.83     · 133 Ratings · 16 Reviews · published 1965 · 27 editions
    { 15.34 x 23.59 cms} Leather Binding on Spine and …

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    Book 27

    Widows Wear Weeds
    by
    3.71     · 130 Ratings · 19 Reviews · published 1966 · 27 editions
    Widows Wear Weeds, A.A. Fair Donald Lam and Elsie …

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    Book 28

    Traps Need Fresh Bait
    by
    3.82     · 112 Ratings · 18 Reviews · published 1967 · 27 editions
    "I want to dissolve our partnership," said Donald …

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    Book 29

    All Grass Isn't Green
    by
    3.81     · 97 Ratings · 14 Reviews · published 1970 · 12 editions
    All that glitters isn't gold.

    A rich man sends Dona…

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    Gold Comes in Bricks/The Bigger They Come
    by
    4.00     · 9 Ratings · 1 Reviews · 1 edition

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    Shills Can't Cash Chips & Bedrooms Have Windows
    by
    3.60     · 10 Ratings · 2 editions

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