The Bigger They Come [Paperback]

A. A. Fair (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co (April 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688031374
• ISBN-13: 978-0688031374
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,080,851 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Very Unlikely Duo, November 4, 2003

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bigger They Come (Paperback)

Erle Stanley Gardner, writing under the pseudonym A.A. Fair, produced a rather unusual, but highly entertaining private investigator series known as The Unlikely Duo series. THE BIGGER THEY COME is the first book in the series featuring Bertha Cool and Donald Lam.

Meet Donald Lam, he's a private detective or at least, he is by the end of the book. A more unlikely looking P.I. you'll never meet, as he is constantly reminded. At 5 and a half feet tall and 127 pounds, he's simply not intimidating at all. But what he lacks in brawn he more than makes up for in brains, a fact that is not lost on his new employer, Bertha Cool of the B.L. Cool Agency, was sharp enough to spot.

Now, Bertha Cool is also not the most likely head figure of a detective agency, although physically impressive she most certainly is. She's sixty-something with grey hair, sparkling eyes and a grandmotherly expression. She weighs in at over 300 pounds and is described as having the majesty of a snow capped mountain and the assurance of a steamroller.

When Lam gets the job he is put to work immediately because if there's one thing Bertha Cool believes in it's getting her money's worth. His first job is to serve divorce papers on Morgan Birks, husband of Sandra Birks who claims he has been abusing her. It seems a straightforward enough job, and it is. But it's only after the papers have been served that the real fireworks begin. It's in the moments of confusion that quickly follow a seemingly successful job that Lam's genius is uncovered as he works his way through deduction after deduction and then comes up with a brilliant solution that is as impressive in it's cunning as it is in it's simplicity.

As the first book of a series of 29, it provides a terrific start combining an interesting duo with a clever mystery. With the promise of many more such stories to follow, it's bound to leave you begging for more.

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Searching for a Missing Husband, February 22, 2007

By 

Acute Observer (By the Shore NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bigger They Come (Paperback)

The Bigger They Come

When this book was published Dean Wigmore protested this book was mistaken. "A. A. Fair" replied with citations for the idea. Wigmore said he would plug the loophole. This is the first in the "Bertha Cool & Donald Lam" series of private-eye novels. A parody that worked. Chapter 1 tells how Donald Lam answered an ad and got a job. He will serve a subpoena on Morgan Birks, who disappeared after his involvement with a slot-machine scandal. [Gardner often dealt with the urban corruption that other writers avoided.] Alma Hunt's friend Sandra married Morgan Birks, so Lam and Alma will meet her. Sandra's brother "Bleatie" knows Morgan's mistress Sally Durke, and she can lead to Morgan (who is wanted by the police). Lam visited Sally and told her he wants to serve papers. Lam and Alma follow Sally to a hotel. Lam serves the papers on Morgan Birks, then leaves with Bertha Cool. After separating Lam is abducted and taken to see "the chief", an incident similar to other private-eye novels.

After being released Lam got a telephone call to return to the hotel. Something had happened. In Chapter 9 Lam recapitulates the events to Bertha, and considered a new interpretation. [This is a too clever plot to be plausible.] Lam begins new investigations into the past events. He then flew to Yuma Arizona where he engaged in some very complicated actions, the result is to create a story that absolves Alma Hunt from guilt (Chapter 11). In Chapter 13 Lam makes the legal argument as to why he cannot be extradited back to California: he didn't leave voluntarily but was extradited from California! The judge had referenced this argument and found it to be true. Lam is released and has legal immunity in Arizona. Lam's confession allowed California to round up the rest of Morgan Birks' gang. The meeting with Bertha ties up the loose ends (Chapter 14). The police worked on "the chief" to get the details.

I think this novel was originally written as a one-of-a-kind story like some others. Gardner's story must have been so popular that a series continued. Gardner's legal knowledge was often used in the "Perry Mason" series. Gardner wrote that this loophole had been "very much narrowed". I wonder what events created this loophole? Perhaps a too broad ban on double jeopardy? The idea of mistaken identity was often used in Gardner's stories, as well as the idea of an overlooked second gunshot.

As far as I know they never made movies from these stories. I suspect that Frankie Darro and Jane Darwell would have been physically perfect for the roles.