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A review by melindamoor
The Case of the Angry Mourner by Erle Stanley Gardner
5.0
Full of intensity, swing and the usual razzmatazz with Perry Mason pulling legal rabbits out of his magician's hat. A favourite Mason-novel.
Perry Mason is having a ski-minibreak in a winter resort, but isn't particularly enjoying it, missing the challenge & turmoil of his work. So isn't it "fortunate" that a murder is committed on his doorstep - or at least very close to where he is staying. Arthur Cushing, a playboy with bad reputation & son of a rich banker is found dead in his winter-lodge. The suspects are Carlotta Adriani, whom Arthur was pursuing, and her mother, Bella. Both mother and daughter believe the other did it and try to cover up for each other, complicating matters even further.
Circumstantial evidence all points to Bella & Mason's job is made more difficult by:
-Carlotta's overzealous lawyer boyfriend, who has a chip on his shoulder and thinks he has things to teach Mason about the law;
- by the local prosecutor who is out to gain personal and political advantages by winning a case against the famous defense attorney and he is supported by the victim's rich and influential father;
- by the angry mourner, the victim's girlfriend, Marion Keats, incensed that Perry managed to track her down & forced her to stand up as a witness, vows to crucify Bella with her evidence.
Perry Mason is maneuvered into one tight corner with three lawyers on the prosecution's side, all out for his blood (= ruining his legal reputation), and it takes all his energy, swagger and brilliance to get out. And out he gets all right. :)
In this novel, we learn that Perry Mason is actually domesticated, and gets caught in the act of cooking breakfast. This I do not consider as an accomplishment per se (although I remember that he can also prepare hot-toddies), but as PM's usual hobbies are pursuing murderers & finding dead bodies, it is a welcome break for us all. :)
Perry Mason is having a ski-minibreak in a winter resort, but isn't particularly enjoying it, missing the challenge & turmoil of his work. So isn't it "fortunate" that a murder is committed on his doorstep - or at least very close to where he is staying. Arthur Cushing, a playboy with bad reputation & son of a rich banker is found dead in his winter-lodge. The suspects are Carlotta Adriani, whom Arthur was pursuing, and her mother, Bella. Both mother and daughter believe the other did it and try to cover up for each other, complicating matters even further.
Circumstantial evidence all points to Bella & Mason's job is made more difficult by:
-Carlotta's overzealous lawyer boyfriend, who has a chip on his shoulder and thinks he has things to teach Mason about the law;
- by the local prosecutor who is out to gain personal and political advantages by winning a case against the famous defense attorney and he is supported by the victim's rich and influential father;
- by the angry mourner, the victim's girlfriend, Marion Keats, incensed that Perry managed to track her down & forced her to stand up as a witness, vows to crucify Bella with her evidence.
Perry Mason is maneuvered into one tight corner with three lawyers on the prosecution's side, all out for his blood (= ruining his legal reputation), and it takes all his energy, swagger and brilliance to get out. And out he gets all right. :)
In this novel, we learn that Perry Mason is actually domesticated, and gets caught in the act of cooking breakfast. This I do not consider as an accomplishment per se (although I remember that he can also prepare hot-toddies), but as PM's usual hobbies are pursuing murderers & finding dead bodies, it is a welcome break for us all. :)