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The Adventures of Paul Pry (Perry Mason Mysteries (House of Stratus))

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Adventures of Paul Pry, by Erle Stanley Gardner

Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler were writers who went from pulp-paper magazines to the hardcover market. They often rewrote their short stories into book novels. Erle Stanley Gardner ignored his early pulp stories in writing fast-paced action novels; he suppressed these stories that contrasted to his later works. Gardner wrote over five hundred short stories and used dozens of characters. Gardner wrote twenty-seven stories using "Paul Pry", an urbane man-about-town who lived by his quick wits in recovering loot from crooks to earn a reward. The plot predominated over character, the settings and characters were not realistic (p.2). These nine stories are some of his rarest stories. Their background tells about life in the 1920s.

"The Crime Juggler" asks why "Big Front" Gilvray should give a girl a big roll of bills to buy an incense burner and ship it by motor express to a suburban town. We learn of a scheme to switch a valuable package for a cheap item using a stolen receipt.

"The Racket Buster" tells of a clever bank robbery that used a hijacked armor truck. Pry follows some of the gang to where they hid their truck in plain sight, the takes over to return the loot to the police.

"The Daisy Pusher" has Paul Pry watching a man being followed by a double. Mugs Magoo explains this double provides an alibi! Pry figured out how the robbery occurred and creates a scheme to recover the jewelry. It works, but brings unwanted attention.

"Wiker Gets the Works" tells how a gunman was to put Paul Pry on the spot. A clever and fantastic scheme outwitted crooks, produced a reward, and eliminated a threat to Pry.

"A Double Deal in Diamonds" begins with orders for Paul Pry to leave town under a police escort. An out of town visitor who looked like Pry was bumped off! Pry leaves for another city to buy jewelry. An inter-urban trolley carries passengers. Pry baits a trap by talking to a night club singer. And so Pry receives another reward for recovering stolen merchandise.

"Slick and Clean" tells how a woman in distress is used as a lure for Paul Pry. An ambush fails, and Pry is wise to Maude. The next day Maude creates a diversion at a train station so a bank messenger is robbed. Pry hatches a scheme so he can recover the suitcase with the stolen negotiable bonds.

"Hell's Danger Signal" begins with a beautiful woman driving a big car with a man in the back. A group of men attack this pair and abduct the man! She follows with Paul Pry, but loses that car. The rest of the story has some amazing fast-paced events that seem incredible.

"Dressed to Kill" has Paul Pry at a speakeasy where he meets a young woman. Stella wants him to recover her letters from a blackmailer. Is there a slick scheme here? Pry succeeds in getting the letters back and recovers a stolen diamond.

"The Cross-Stitch Killer" is the story of an extortionist who kills his victims. Charles B. Davis kept a hidden apartment on the west end of town. Paul Pry uses a scheme to intercept a pay-off and enrich himself. Pry returns to that speakeasy and puts an end to the Cross-Stitch murderer. [Gardner would use the trick of a noticeable envelope and a forged check in later stories.]