For me, part of the joy of reading classic detective fiction is stumbling across lines like this: “Go home and doll up in your soup and fish, Paul, and wipe that worried look off your map.” Naturally we wear our “soup and fish” when we’re heading to a fine dining establishment. I know that whenever … Continue reading OH, LADY, BE NO GOOD! The Case of the Dangerous Dowager
Erle Stanley Gardner
BOOK CLUB GOES ON THE LAM: Beware the Curves by A.A. Fair
Due to some scheduling glitches, for the first time my Book Club will be discussing not one but two mystery novels at this month’s meeting. The first is The Dead Can Tell (1940) by Helen Reilly, and the new edition by Woodside Press beautifully reconstructs the old Dell Mapback cover on front and back, as well as the cast … Continue reading BOOK CLUB GOES ON THE LAM: Beware the Curves by A.A. Fair
SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
Back in January, I promised you that this spring the Three Amigos – Mystery Scholar and Film Noirist Extraordinaire Sergio Angelini, actor and Holmes Pasticher Nick Cardillo, and stagestruck Agathologist Yours Truly – would gather together and draft a list of the Twenty Best Literary Detectives of All Time!!! Well, my friends, the Game is … Continue reading SLEUTH DRAFT #1: The Twenty Greatest Literary Detectives of All Time
A GOOD NIGHT’S SLAYING: The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece
‘That’s what I get for trying to be ethical and prevent a murder – a divorce case, which I don’t like; conference with a pettifogging lawyer, which is a routine I despise, and an agreement of property settlement, which is a damned chore!’ “(Della Street), stretching forth a coolly, capable hand, picked up the check … Continue reading A GOOD NIGHT’S SLAYING: The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece
GAMS AND PINS AND SHANKS, OH MY! The Case of the Lucky Legs
“’Chief,’ (Della) said, ‘why don’t you do like the other lawyers do?’ “’You mean plant evidence, and suborn perjury?’ “’No, I don’t mean that. I mean, why don’t you sit in your office and wait until the cases come to you? Let the police go out and work up the case, and then you walk … Continue reading GAMS AND PINS AND SHANKS, OH MY! The Case of the Lucky Legs
NAUGHTY BUT NICE: The Case of the Sulky Girl
If the opening chapters of 1933’s The Case of the Sulky Girl emit for me a faint “been-there-read-that” whiff, I must remind myself that this was only Erle Stanley Gardner’s second Perry Mason adventure. That’s what comes of trying to read 80+ cases out of order. Fran Celane resembles half the female clients who will walk into Mason’s hallowed office … Continue reading NAUGHTY BUT NICE: The Case of the Sulky Girl
PERRY MASON ’26! The Case of the Unveiled Theme
Yes! Yes! Yes!!! I confess it!! I love you, Perry Mason! More than that, I need you!! I need my monthly fix of history’s best defense attorney to cope with this life. Your formula works for me: take one downtrodden client and shove them through the doors of Mason’s office, where secretary Della Street and … Continue reading PERRY MASON ’26! The Case of the Unveiled Theme
BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
This is my final post of the year, and for what you are about to receive . . . well, I apologize for the lack of originality! But this is what we bloggers do: we write and write and write and WRITE for you, and then at the end of the year we drag ourselves, … Continue reading BECAUSE YOU LIKE THE LISTS . . . Brad’s Top Ten Reads of 2025
“WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD . . . ?” The Case of the Waylaid Wolf
Can I just say how much this animal lover has enjoyed our year-long excursion through the Perry Mason Menagerie! Heck, any chance to hang out with Perry, Della, Paul, Lieutenant Tragg, and even D.A. Hamilton Burger are just the cure for what ails you in these troubling times. Are the Mason books formulaic? You bet they are … Continue reading “WHO’S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD . . . ?” The Case of the Waylaid Wolf
MASON IN THE MONKEY HOUSE, PART II: The Case of the Mythical Monkeys
Our penultimate visit to the Mason Menagerie also completes our extended stay in the Monkey House. Except here we’ll find no gorillas, grinning or otherwise; this time, the monkeys are purely metaphorical. However, if you are craving some real-life apes, then have I got a true story for you! It’s even a Thanksgiving tale, as … Continue reading MASON IN THE MONKEY HOUSE, PART II: The Case of the Mythical Monkeys
Ah Sweet Mystery! 