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This was my first Perry Mason book, and I have to say it was quite good. It all came together in the end, and I didn't guess whodunnit, so that is good, and the writing is very good, but there was a lot of stuff about mining and law that I had trouble following and had to check back on. I spent a good deal of time re-reading due to all of the technicalities and twisty turns and stuff, so... overall, a good book, but not NEARLY as quick a read as I expected!
Not one of Gardner's finest efforts. The local color of prospectors was about the only redeeming quality. Plus Perry's proposal makes it worth reading.
"Quit running," Velma shouted, her voice sharp with exasperation. "I've seen underwear before."
Velma Starler, a nurse caring for a mining investor with a weak heart, hers what sounds like a mosquito in the night --when she gets up, someone shoots at her.
Original price: $0.25
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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
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Penguin Books (965)
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
- Original title
- The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
- Original publication date
- 1943
- People/Characters
- Perry Mason; Della Street; Gertie; Salty Bowers; Banning Clarke; Hayward Small (show all 20); Pete Sims; Nell Sims; Velma Starler; Mrs Bradisson; Dr Kenward; James Bradisson; Harvey Brady; Paul Drake; Dorina Crofton; Mr Moffgat; Lucille Brunn; Bruce Kenwood; Sam Greggory; Lieutenant Tragg
- First words
- Sun soaked the city streets, filtered through the office window so that the sign reading, PERRY MASON, ATTORNEY AT LAW, was thrown in shadow where the sunlight splashed across the massive table loaded withÂ
law books. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)'... Sometimes, when she's blistering hot and the light burns your eyes out, you only see the cruelty. But then, along about this time of day, she smiles back at you and tells you her cruelty is really kindness, and you can see it from her viewpoint - and it's the right viewpoint.'
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 249
- Popularity
- 129,886
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.68)
- Languages
- 5 — Czech, English, German, Hungarian, Italian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 11
- ASINs
- 22
