The Case of the Deadly Toy

The Case of the Deadly Toy (P. Mason #58) (1958) by Erle Stanley Gardner. Say what you will about Erle Stanley Gardner’s abilities as they started to wane in his later years, he always, always, always had a master plot to frame the story. Detailing about the characters may have begun to reduce themselves to mere pencil sketches of people but he was always driven to give the reader a good, compelling mystery, and this 1959 outing is no exception.
A seven year old boy who was camping on the back patio with his Great Dane dog runs to his mom telling of a bad dream he had. He thought someone was trying to get into the tent so the boy shot at the person.
Thus begins the mystery of the deadly toy. It is a mystery as in the morning the show more boy’s father is found shot dead in his car many miles away.
The ensuing story is a complex tale involving divorce, mysterious letters that could be read as threats, a man too proud for his own good, a grandfather’s love?, a fortune to be had and blood on the sidewalk.
As usual with a Perry Mason tale there will be a courtroom scene that will have you enamored with the details of the law (just how Gardner always, and I mean always, managed to seduce his readers in the courtroom scenes is a magic beyond my ken), lies and truths so intermingled it is like trying to pick the right snake out of a basketful of the slithering creatures, Then there are the truths blatantly obvious except to the other characters and, I must confess, me.
In short, this story is the 58th in line but could still be #1 with the reader. show less

Erle Stanley Gardner's "The Case of the Deadly Toy" is a typical Perry Mason mystery, and that's a very good thing. The story is solidly written, and filled with interesting characters. It's also crafted with enough wry humor and clever plotting to hold a reader's interest, and keep her guessing about the plot's final twist till the story's end. Quite a story it is, too -- liberally spiced with gritty "noir" elements as well as Gardner's trademark courtroom theatrics, the mystery tale features a swirl of conniving spouses and clueless girlfriends, anonymous poison pen letters, a custody battle over a pistol-wielding boy all of seven years old, and a midnight murder whose best witness might be Rover, the Great Dane. There's a reason the show more old "Perry Mason" television series still flickers daily on televisions the world over. Fans of the show who haven't read at least a few of the books that launched the wily attorney's omnipresent TV episodes do themselves a disservice. "The Case of the Deadly Toy" is a great book to start exploring the Perry Mason adventures as Gardner wrote them, which is even more entertaining than the way Raymond Burr et als. portrayed them on the small screen. show less

Saturday morning, Perry Mason and his secretary, Della Street, are in the office catching up on work. They are interrupted by Norda Allison, who is seeking Perry’s assistance. She has a story and a problem which Perry thinks may be simple. It turns out to be simply complicated.

Norda has been receiving envelopes containing news articles about couples who had split up. In each case, the man couldn’t stand it and wound up killing the woman with a gun. Norda feels they are coming from the man she has just broken off her engagement from. He turned out not to be what she thought. Not only is he controlling, his father is very prominent in Los Angeles and also has connections in San Francisco, where Norda is from.

Finding the mailer becomes show more a minor problem when Norda’s ex is found murdered in his car and she is arrested for the crime.

Once again Perry is just a step ahead of Lieutenant Tragg and D.A. Hamilton Burger. But Perry has a few tricks up his sleeve too.

I’ve read quite a few Perry Masons over the years, and I still enjoy them. show less

Not bad. What I thought happened, Perry explored, but turned out to be a false trail, so ESG managed to surprise me somewhat. Still, I had the murderer pegged fairly early in the novel, which is unusual for one of these for me.

Really enjoyed this one, it was a lot different comparied to other Perry Mason's. Rarely are children involved to this degree.

A more mature ESG work.

PERRY MASON INVESTIGATES A DANGEROUS CUSTODY BATTLE THAT TURNS DEADLY IN THIS SUSPENSEFUL LEGAL MYSTERY.