The Case of the Sulky Girl

Another well-done Perry Mason. I'm hoping to eventually get through this whole series, but who knows since there are so many.

I listened to some audiobook of this as well narrated by Alexander Cendese and I can't recommend those highly enough - available on Scribd and his voice complements the story well with suitable speed. Unfortunately I had seen the episode recently on the show (available streaming on Amazon), so it didn't have all its surprises to offer. - I will have to say his narration improves in later books

Perry is a likable lawyer who seems half brain courtroom guru, half investigative private-eye muscle. There's character ambience easily loaned to the story thanks to his assistants and secretary who act as supportive, show more realistic characters. The author uses scenes with them to have Perry "think aloud" and use them as soundboards, but also to show his mental prowess and what's he really after on the case. The writing is not introspective - we may hear Perry's thoughts, but the author focuses primarily on his mannerisms, face expression descriptions, and can hold back some of the reveals of the storyline and what the lawyer is really thinking until the right time in the plot.

So far with both books of this series there is a beautiful and manipulative dame pulling the strings - the girl in question in this book, Frances, is similar in ways to the client in the first book. Indeed, Perry tells Della that all clients lie the first meeting, but when asked further he says, well, the women anyway. Ouch! However, this goes with the old-school almost noirish feel. Della offers her opinion on the sulkiness and impressions of the girl when she's waiting in the outer office to meet him, while the first book had the same carry-out --- in that case, Della disliked the other one was manipulative almost immediately. Note to self: If ever in a lawyer's office, watch how I act around their secretaries.

Great series so far- the mystery is mentally-stimulating enough, but it's the back and forth banter, mini surprises, and ironic tension that give it the bulk of its shine. As I said, not all was a surprise to me since I watched the episode, but it's still a fun book. show less

The Case of the Sulky Girl by Erle Stanley Gardner is the 2nd book in his highly successful Perry Mason series. The TV show “Perry Mason” was a staple in my house during my growing up years, so I was quite surprised that the book gave me a totally different view of this character. In the book, Parry Mason isn’t quite as upstanding and honest as the TV character, while he doesn’t cross the line, he certainly skirts the edges. The book gives us an edgier Perry Mason, but I couldn’t help but still see Raymond Burr as the lawyer.

This book was classic Perry Mason with a murder case that involved trust funds and blackmail. Perry Mason is defending a young couple in a case that looked pretty bleak for them, but once he got to the show more court, he knew exactly how to handle the jury, the judge and the prosecutor. It is obvious that the author knows the rules of law as the trial portion of the book was very realistic and although I had a very good idea of who the real murderer was, the courtroom reveal was dramatic and like the rest of the book, well crafted and clever. show less

I had heard of the Perry Mason novels and stories. I had read a few of the later ones - but had never read the early ones. And I had never watched the series. For years, I had been planning to pick a few of them and see if they are still readable - and never got around to it. I knew the main premise and I knew the main characters - so I knew what to expect - but style sometimes makes a book hard to read. So when I saw that one in the library, I decided that it is time to try. Now the big problem is that I want to read all of them...

Perry Mason of this novel is an (almost) unknown lawyer that seems to be bending the rules to help his clients. And the client here is a young lady that will get her inheritance as long as she does not marry show more before she turns 25 (without the approval of the uncle anyway). But of course she does get married in secret, the uncle that has the power to stop her from getting the inheritance is murdered and things start getting complicated - especially when our heroine keep getting caught into lies.

Despite it being an early novel, the main characters are fully realized - Della Street and Paul Drake are complete characters, even if some backstory is showing up here and there. Some of the characters that will show up later - such as the DA Hamilton Burger is not yet around; Drake had not moved into the same building yet. Knowing where the series will go makes it even more pleasurable to read such an early story - when Mason is not known by everyone and can pull quite a lot of stints.

Of course, as any book written in the 30s, it shows its age in the attitudes towards minorities and women. But if you expect something else, you should not be reading classical mysteries. show less

I was actually pretty impressed with the mystery itself - it's nicely twisty and the ending makes sense in terms of motivation. Again, it's very much a product of its times so you have to ignore the casual misogyny, but if you can get past that it's a good read.

2 1/2 stars: I didn't particularly like it or dislike it; mixed or no real interest

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From the back cover: murder made her rich. Fran Celane's problems were solved. Death removed the strict guardian who had administered her father's will. Now he couldn't keep her own money from her--or force her to conceal the fact she had married secretly. But Edward Norton's murder made Fran anything but hapy.

Earlier that day, she had retained Perry Mason to break her father's will. Now she found her secret husband acccused of murder and herself suspected as accomplice.

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One of the earlier Mason stories, I read this one in a few hours, while recuperating. It felt more dated than many of them, and while a good yarn, as always, show more is not something I would reread, or very exemplary of the genre.

Della Street and Paul Drake are caricatures here, barely fleshed out as characters. The series gets better in other offerrings. show less

Perry Mason reads are refreshing though nothing that hasnt been done before.
And yet the plots are pretty tightly knit and keeps the reader thinking.
Good read but the way of narration could have been a lot better.

Only the second Perry Mason but most of the standard characters are already established --secretary Della Street, private detective Paul Drake,, though at this point Perry has a young legal side named Frank Everly , and the opposing D.A. is Claude Drumm, not Hamilton Burger. The "silky girl" Fran Celene is a wealthy heiress who is to lose her money if she maries without her trustee's approval by the age of 25. She has in fact secretly married (though she only tells Perry she wants to marry) and she consults Perry about invalidating that clause in her father's will. Perry talks to the trustee with no results, and he is murdered shortly afterwards.
Naturally, she is suspected.