The Ides of Perry Mason 9

The 15th of every month until I don't know when I will post a review of a Perry Mason mystery. For the hell of it.

The Case of the Glamorous Ghost – Erle Stanley Gardner

Daughter of a rich father whom she buffaloes mercilessly, Eleanor Corbin goes on rampages in high society and low, causing outrage over her escapades. Then she blames her recurring amnesia and lies doggo in a private sanitarium.

But as this novel opens, her latest toying with scandal – romping about a lover’s lane in nothing but a filmy frilly thing and lively personality– has gotten her older half-sister Olga worried about the family reputation. Olga also agonizes that the semi-nude antics are a cover for wanton or even illegal activities on the part of the black sheep. To save the family honor, Olga  hires lawyer Perry Mason to deal with the press and police while Olga persuades Eleanor to come clean about what she’s been up to. Eleanor claims her darn amnesia is preventing her from recalling anything of the last couple of weeks but a collision with another car.

More of a problem for Eleanor is the murder victim is her fortune-hunter and drifter of a husband – or boyfriend, whatever he was on top of being a government informant on jewel smuggling. Eleanor had a gun of the same caliber with which the hubby was shot. Getting Eleanor off the hook of Lt. Tragg and DA Burger seems impossible in light of the tight coils of circumstantial evidence wound around her. The brilliant trial sequence is over 100 pages long, one of the longest in the 82-book canon.

As usual in a Mason novel, the murder investigation uncovers many nefarious goings-on.

There is also vandalism, narks, smuggling, blackmail, narcotics, impersonation, and secret bugging devices. In a strong scene between Perry and his lying client, Perry bluntly warns her to be straight with the facts since she’s facing her own execution by cyanide poisoning for first-degree murder.

In this Fifties story, Gardner treats the subject of sex with more frankness than usual. In the Mason novels, desire only comes up sometimes as a motive. Still, Perry sends Della to act a decoy in a high-class hotel, whose safe has received the “glittering assortment of gems.” Perry asks about her defenses against the predatory males on the prowl at the hotel. She replies:

Adequate, but not impregnable. I didn't give them the impression that they were storming the Maginot Line. I let them feel that the territory might be invaded, conquered and occupied by definitely not as the result of one skirmish. In other words, I was sophisticated, amused and -- I didn't slam any doors.

Yeah, it’s so 1955, but still – as a cultural artifact, it is not devoid of interest. While in Gardner’s novels starring Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, it’s assumed that normal healthy adults who aren’t married go off for fun-filled weekends together, spicy talk and tolerant attitudes are rare in a Mason novel. Anyway, this novel, the 46^th one, is worth reading for the both fan and novice.