Where Perry Mason Figures It Out

The Case Of The Crimson Kiss by Erle Stanley Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a collection of 5 short stories. The Crimson Kiss, a Perry Mason story, is the longest of them. The others have a random cast of characters.

I enjoyed this collection. I've only read a little by Erle Stanley Gardner, and so far I like him pretty well. I'm not a lover of the genre, I'll admit, but I'm trying to give it a chance, and these are pretty entertaining. I wouldn't call this noir, nor is it super gritty. Realistic, let's say, but not depressing. Another thing I like is that they're not too long but they are still complete. There is no ambiguous ending like you find with many types of short stories, whether fantasy or literary or whatever. This isn't just a vibe; it's a self-contained story, with a beginning, middle, and end. There's a mystery, an investigation, and a resolution where we know who did it. (The bad guys might get caught or they might get away, but we know what happened.) That tidy completeness is satisfying, and the brevity means the story doesn't overstay its welcome.

The stories were written in a period stretching from the late 20s into the 40s. Some of what I found intriguing was how modern much of it seemed despite the years separating the author and the reader, something I've noticed with Gardner before. (The lack of cell phones is probably the most notable difference from the present. Cars and planes and roads and guns and cops and people all feel pretty similar to today, though.)

Anyway, if you like old-fashioned crime novels, you don't need me to tell you about Gardner or his most famous creation, Perry Mason. If, like me, you're just wanting to try the genre out, this author is a great place to start.

Now I think I need to track down some of the grittier stuff from that era. Just to see.

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Where Perry Mason Cracks Wise

The Case of the Runaway Corpse by Erle Stanley Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first time reading a Perry Mason story, or anything by Erle Stanley Gardner. I liked it.

This was published in 1954, and it surprised me how some parts of it felt very modern and other parts felt the way I had imagined it. The forensics seemed pretty similar to today, and the quick travel--jumping on planes here and there at almost a moment's notice--was more modern than I thought I'd find in a Perry Mason story. In fact, many elements of the story--almost all of it, actually--could happen right now. These characters could have the same story today, it feels like.

One noticeable difference is the communication thing. Some of the story turns on the difficulty of getting a message to someone when they're not near a phone or if they plan to be driving or something, and those details would be totally different now in a murder mystery.

I like the way Perry Mason isn't screwing up the way he does on the newest TV show. He isn't superhuman, but he's very competent and very confident, which makes him a fun character to watch. (More fun than in the show. I'm waiting for him to be awesome there.) I don't know yet if this is a typical mystery for the series, but it moves along quickly, with lots of dialogue, and it actually feels more like a screenplay or radio script. It would be easy to turn it into one, anyway.

This is a quick read and a satisfying mystery. I have to admit it's more modern and nearer to my tastes than I expected to find, and I'm glad. Thrift stores have bunches of these books. :)

Recommended for readers of mysteries who, like me, haven't already tried Erle Stanley Gardner. Worth a shot.

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