Note: This is the twelfth Cool and Lam novel, written by Erle Stanley Gardner under his A.A. Fair alias. Published in 1956, it’s been out of print in the U.S. so long it probably qualifies for Social Security, though Mastermind Books in India gave it a second life in 2009. I’ve read half a dozen Perry Mason titles from Mastermind, and only one was so mangled by typos and punctuation crimes that it read like a phishing attempt from someone who failed the course Mechanics of Written English twice.
Bedrooms Have Windows – Erle Stanley Gardner writing as A.A. Fair.
Meet Cool and Lam: she’s brass and bluster, he’s brains and magnetism. the running joke is that they turn routine jobs into chaos for reasons unique to their characters- and this case is no exception.
This time, Lam’s “routine” trailing assignment goes sideways the minute he crosses paths with a woman who’s pure dynamite in a pocket-sized frame. She’s got taffy-colored hair, eyes like melted chocolate, and curves that could make a Zen acolyte sweat. Lam knows better than to get personal with a person of interest, but circumstances are out of his power to influence. Both The Girl and Lam bribe the waiter to disguise ginger ale as scotch. They watch each other through fake-tipsy eyes and book a motel room under circumstances that would make a divorce lawyer grin and shrug.
What starts as a playful charade turns deadly before dawn. Then come the noises in the night - gunshots? Backfiring truck? Either way, Lam’s in deep.
From there, the story kicks into high gear: prowlers, peeping toms, cheating spouses, and a murder that drags Lam into a whirlpool of lies, fear, and death. Bertha stomps in, all bluster and suspicion, while Lam juggles mean cops, genial bully boys, and a femme fatale. Gardner spins the plot like a roulette wheel - every chapter another reversal, every clue a trapdoor. Just when you think you’ve got the angle, the floor drops out.
What makes this one sing isn’t just the twists - though there are plenty - but the texture. Gardner lingers over settings more than usual for a Cool & Lam book and a whole lot more than a Mason novel: smoky bars, anonymous motels, Monterey houses that all tell forlorn stories. It’s a nice shift from the usual headlong rush, giving the chaotic unfolding of incident a backdrop that feels lived-in.
The last third is sheer adrenaline. Lam’s boxed in, the stakes climbing, the clock ticking. You know he’ll wriggle free - he always foils the cops’ ambition to put him away for keeps - but for a few pages it feels like the walls are closing for good. Then comes a reveal so audacious you’ll laugh out loud, even as you admire the nerve it took to pull it off. Sure, the explanation creaks in spots, but that’s part of the charm: Gardner wants fans surprised, and he gets his way.
Bottom line? This is Gardner at his sly, high-octane best
- a must-read for fans and a perfect entry point for newcomers.
No comments:
Post a Comment