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When Perry Mason and Paul Drake ran the ad, all they were hoping for was a clue to the identity of a hit-and-run driver. The first reply looked suspicious. It said that the license number of the wanted car was written down in the notebook of a woman who could be out of her apartment from two to five on a certain afternoon, and a key to the apartment was enclosed. "Could this letter," Mason asked Della Street, "have been written by the woman herself? I want to get the feminine angle." Della show more laughed. "There aren't any feminine angles--they're all curved." Fast curves. From the very first time Perry met the voluptuous blonde, Lucille Barton, she pitched him trouble. She lied about her past, about her many marriages, about her gun, and about her boyfriends. Then the murders began. And the cops turned up with evidence which pointed clearly to one person as the killer--Perry Mason show lessTags
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Gardner needs to make the police look foolish and brutal - so Holcomb is back. By that time in the series, he had been replaced by Lieutenant Tragg but Tragg is too intelligent to fall for the plot the Mason devises - so our favorite sergeant is back.
It all starts easy enough - a hit-and-run victim hires Mason to find what happened and get him compensation (or that is what it amounts to anyway). An advertisement in the papers for witnesses brings a few young ladies to the attention of the lawyer - including a letter that lures Perry into investigating in an interesting way and then another woman makes sure he is really suspected in murder - because of course the bodies start dropping at some point. We know he is innocent but in order show more for him to prove it but because of his earlier actions, convincing the police may not be that easy. Enters Holcomb - the man who is so blinded by his disdain for Mason that he sees only what he wants to see.
It is a throwback to the early tales of the series in a way - Perry is more refined but the story could have fit in the first 15 or so. Reading it among them worked nicely for me - I am not sure how I would have liked it if was later and who close are Perry, Della and Drake to their characters at the time - as it is, they are very close to their late 30s presentations. show less
It all starts easy enough - a hit-and-run victim hires Mason to find what happened and get him compensation (or that is what it amounts to anyway). An advertisement in the papers for witnesses brings a few young ladies to the attention of the lawyer - including a letter that lures Perry into investigating in an interesting way and then another woman makes sure he is really suspected in murder - because of course the bodies start dropping at some point. We know he is innocent but in order show more for him to prove it but because of his earlier actions, convincing the police may not be that easy. Enters Holcomb - the man who is so blinded by his disdain for Mason that he sees only what he wants to see.
It is a throwback to the early tales of the series in a way - Perry is more refined but the story could have fit in the first 15 or so. Reading it among them worked nicely for me - I am not sure how I would have liked it if was later and who close are Perry, Della and Drake to their characters at the time - as it is, they are very close to their late 30s presentations. show less
I read the physical version, the audio last year. It is one of the more humorous Perry Masons with the games with the police and the judge who obviously in bias in Perry's favor and amused by him getting the best of Burger and the insurance agents. This mystery isn't quite as complex or fair to solve since we're not given the details needed until the end, but like most of Perry Mason novels, the story grips you with its confusion and is fun to follow along.
"You feel you should release that information to the newspapers?"
"If I have to."
"Yes,” Mason said, “that certainly will make headlines."
"Then there’ll be another headline: LAWYER REFUSES TO EXPLAIN."
"Yes, I can see where that will make sensational newspaper reading."
"If I have to."
"Yes,” Mason said, “that certainly will make headlines."
"Then there’ll be another headline: LAWYER REFUSES TO EXPLAIN."
"Yes, I can see where that will make sensational newspaper reading."
I love the Perry Mason books. This one was good.
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Author Information
863+ Works 30,659 Members
Mystery writer Erle Gardner was born on July 17, 1889 in Malden, Massachusetts. In 1902, he had moved to Oroville, CA. His parents could not afford to send a second son to college, so he worked in a legal office as a clerk reading law. He spent a short time at Valparaiso University in Indiana but had to drop out because of an illegal boxing show more exhibition. He continued to travel throughout California and read law at several law offices and finally passed the bar in 1911, at the age of 21. He married Natalie Francis Beatrice Talbert on April 9, 1912. In 1916, he formed the Law Firm of Orr and Gardner in Venture, CA. Gardner used many pseudonyms such as Charles Green, Kyle Corning and Grant Holiday. While working as an attorney, he began writing fiction. In 1921, "Nellie's Naughty Nighty" was published in the pulp magazine Breezy Stories. He had a goal of writing 100,000 words a month and would sometimes write two or more stories a day. In 1923, "The Shrieking Skeleton" was sold to the Black Mask Magazine. In the 1930's, Gardner had two manuscripts that were rejected and than "rediscovered" by Thayer Hobson, the president of the William Morrow Publishing Company, and rewritten as courtroom mysteries. During this process, the character Perry Mason was born. In 1933, the first Perry Mason book was written, "The Case of the Velvet Claws." The next one was entitled "The Case of the Sulky Girl" and they were followed by more than eighty additional Mason mysteries. Gardner died on March 11, 1970. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Is contained in
Perry Mason 2 in 1: The Case of the Caretaker's Cat [and] The Case of the Cautious Coquette by Erle Stanley Gardner
The Case of the Cautious Coquette | The Case of the Crimson Kiss | The Case of the Crying Swallow by Erle Stanley Gardner
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- The Case of the Cautious Coquette
- Original publication date
- 1949
- People/Characters
- Perry Mason; Della Street; Paul Drake; Lucille Barton; Lt. Tragg; Hamilton Burger
- Important places*
- Los Angeles, California, EEUU
- Related movies
- The Case of the Cautious Coquette (1958 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- So by this foreword I wish to pay tribute to a group of men who are courageously continuing to do their duty as they see it. I wish to dedicate this book to the greatest underdog of all in the field of public relations:
<... (show all)i> The Parole Board - First words
- Promptly at nine o'clock, Perry Mason joined Paul Drake for breakfast.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Sounds interesting," Della Street said.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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- Members
- 305
- Popularity
- 104,594
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (3.74)
- Languages
- 5 — English, Estonian, German, Polish, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 16
- ASINs
- 27
