The Case of the Screaming Woman [Mass Market Paperback]

Erle Stanley Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1994

Accepting John Kirby's wife's fearful request for legal assistance, Perry Mason discovers that Kirby may have been at the scene of a murder and uncovers an secret operation involving illegal adoption, stolen narcotics, and blackmail. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Erle Stanley Gardner was the master of American mystery fiction. A civil rights lawyer turned author, his mysteries contain intricate plots. Challenging and full of surprises, these are whodunits in the best tradition. He wrote 146 books, 85 of which feature Perry Mason. The fictional attorney became the basis of a popular TV series, achieving an enviable record for winning his cases. At the height of his popularity Gardner was selling an average of 26,000 copies of his novels a day. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 182 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (October 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034537875X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345378750
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,479,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Otherwise strong novel marred by the courtroom scene, April 2, 1999

By 

P. Mann (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Case of the Screaming Woman (Mass Market Paperback)

Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason is faced with a peculiar request in "The Case of the Screaming Woman." Joan Kirby wants Mason to cross-examine her husband, who she says told her a cock-and-bull story about picking up a stranded woman in the middle of the night and dropping her off at a hotel. When Mason investigates, he finds that his new client is likely to be implicated in the murder of a doctor running a singular sort of clinic.

It should come as no surprise that the book ends with a dramatic courtroom confrontation. This time, though, the scene rings false. Mason confronts his D.A. nemesis, Hamilton Burger, but the D.A.'s actions seem unusually inept and cartoonish. Mason succeeds in making a fool of the man far too easily, and the book ends on an unimpressive note. This ending is especially unfortunate given the strong beginning. In setting up the preliminary hearing, Gardner does a wonderful job of presenting the lies of witnesses and suspects alike, leaving Mason with the difficult task of finding the truth in the pile of lies. In addition, the mystery here is one of Gardner's better ones. The clues are there, and the identity of the true culprit still comes as a surprise. The review, then, is mixed. Amid so many good things is the one false note, but the prominence of that note makes it a real clunker.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Entertaining Installment In The Perry Mason Series, March 19, 2005

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Case Of The Screaming Woman (A Perry Mason Mystery) (Paperback)

Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970) wrote more than one hundred novels over the course of his long career. A trial lawyer himself, Gardner's best known creation was Perry Mason, a flamboyant criminal defense attorney who earns his large fees by virtue of a remarkable talent for using the law to uncover the truth on the witness stand.

In this particular instance Mason is retained by a woman who asks him to cross-examine her husband about a peculiar story he has told--a story involving an attractive and sadly stranded motorist that he rescued the night before. What interests Mason is the fact that Mrs. Kirby isn't the jealous type; she's only concerned that her husband may have fabricated the story in order to get himself out of a possibly dangerous scrape. And unfolding events show that she's right on target. It isn't long before a body surfaces and Mr. Kirby is in the hands of DA Hamilton Burger.

The Perry Mason novels are pure genre, but they are genre fiction at its best, and while the laws (and certainly forensic science) has changed over the years they are still fun to read. Erle Stanley Gardner was at the peak of his powers in the 1950s, and while this 1957 novel is a shade too preachy for its own good it remains a lot of fun. Recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Complex Puzzle Solved, July 21, 2004

By 

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

This review is from: Perry Mason in the Case of the Screaming Woman (Curley Large Print Books) (Hardcover)

The Case of the Screaming Woman, by Erle Stanley Gardner

This book is dedicated to Dr. A.W. Freireich, M.D., F.A.C.P. who is Director of the Division of Internal Medicine at Meadowbrook Hospital in Nassau County, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the New York University Post-Graduate School, etc. Dr. Freireich developed a new technique for combatting barbituate poisoning. His investigations have often refuted the arguments of defense attorneys.

Perry Mason gets a very unusual call: a woman wants him to cross?examine her husband to determine if his story will stand up. John Kirby shows up to say he was at a sales meeting that lasted to 11 pm at night. On the way home he saw a young woman carrying a one gallon gasoline can. He gave her a lift, but her car had disappeared. So he took her to a motel, registered as man and wife, then drove home. Kirby told his wife this story, and she insisted they drive to the motel to help the young woman; but she had disappeared. And the one gallon can was no longer in Kirby's car. After Kirby leaves, Della Street now connects this to an attack on a Doctor Babb who lives in the suburbs. A young woman was seen running from the Doctor's house, and she fits the description of Kirby's rider. The name "Kirby" was found on the Doctor's appointment book. Paul Drake is called to investigate.

This is another story with numerous suspects. Perry Mason soon finds Kirby's story had left out quite a few details. Before the Doctor died he mentioned his attacker: "John Kirby", but witnesses say John Kirby did not leave his car. The name of the young woman was also in the Doctor's appointment book! John Kirby is arrested, and Perry defends him at the preliminary hearing. Doctor Babb had been running a baby mill. Young women would give up their babies so a married woman could present an heir. [The implications about society are not discussed.] The records of these adoptions could provide a blackmailer with lucrative opportunities. One unasked question: could a person taking a shower in his house hear a woman scream from the next house?