The Case of the Drowning Duck

I picked up a bunch of old Perry Mason mysteries and thought I’d try one. I fondly remember reading several when I was a kid and they hold up well. There are the usual archaic references to contemporary technology, and one very jarring reference to a Red River Valley in California where there were large cotton farms. That was a bit ungeographical. Not to mention the constant cigarette smoking . It was just a given that everyone smoked. And women were to be good-looking and useful.

Nevertheless, interesting plot lines. A wealthy blue-blood, John Witherspoon approaches Mason and asks him to look into the background of his daughter’s fiance, Marvin Adams. Supposedly, Marvin had been kidnapped as a child and brought up by the kidnappers. show more Withersppon had hired detectives who contrarily learned the boy’s father had been convicted of murder and Witherspoon, overly genetically inclined, is sure those evil traits might have been passed down from father to son. He wants Mason to read the trial transcript, see if the conviction was representative of the truth, and if so he will devise a test involving murder that will show Marvin’s true colors. And the key to it all is a drowning duck.

True to the formula (this is not a negative,) Mason arrogantly bends the law, manipulates the evidence, pulls rabbits out of his hat, even switches ducks. It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that he again gets his client (always innocent) off and reveals the identity of the killer in court.

Not as sophisticated as many of the currently published legal thrillers, there is still an undercurrent of criticism of the legal system that surprised me. show less

A quick, fun read. A bit dated, but the story holds up well. Holds an adult readers interest with an overload of sex, violence or profanity. I was surprised that my perception of the characters was colored by the Perry Mason TV series so many years ago. From reading the book, the characters seem much younger, a fun loving group.

Ending felt a little abrupt, but this was a good one as usual that takes them out of the office and to a dysfunctional country inn with a few twists tossed in. I'm guessing detergent was a brand new thing back when ..

The opening is a stunner. The end is a stunner. This man is a master of crime novels. He even put some chemistry into the story line. Not only do you have a page turner but a book that gives you a Chemistry 101 lesson. Must read.

I know I know not exactly a scholarly read but it was fun and quick. I love how Perry is perfect at everything from skiing to horseback riding, what a life! And Della what about her? She is the perfect secretory that has no life outside of her work with Perry, would love to see someone do a mystery where she was the murderer.

7 - 2010

I read this book for a challenge, but the moment I began reading I could hear/see Raymond Burr the TV Perry Mason. The creation of Erle Stanley Gardner telling of a mystery that is as always solved in a court of law. A step back in time and a very enjoyable read.

PERRY MASON DEFENDS A YOUNG MAN ACCUSED OF A GRIM MURDER IN A SMALL TOWN—UNCOVERING SECRETS FAR MURKIER THAN EXPECTED.