I read this book for the Vintage
Mystery Bingo Reading Challenge 2014. The challenge is to read 6 or more
Vintage Mysteries. All novels must have been originally written before 1960 and
be from the mystery category.
I read this for N-4: Medical Mystery or features a doctor
or a nurse
The Case of the
Fugitive Nurse - Erle Stanley Gardner, 1954
Like any astute reader of mysteries, Perry Mason does not
believe that a shifty doctor-millionaire died in a plane crash. After dealing
with the difficult widow, Perry could completely understand why the guy would fake his own death and run off
with a more sympathetic nurse.
The widow is charged with her husband’s murder. She involves Perry up to his keister since she accuses him of making off with
thousands in income that was undeclared by her husband.
Gardner respected forensics because he assumed that
scientific methods would balance the prejudiced inclination of detectives and a justice system not so blind that it can't tell how much money an accused has in her pockets. The
use of dental records in the identification of burned bodies provides some
interesting tangents.
This is an okay Mason novel - Della Street plays a
prominent part and so does Paul Drake. The
story is complex without being absurdly convoluted. Gardner emphasizes how
problematic clients can land lawyers in a peck of trouble.
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