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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shoplifting Old Lady, January 2, 2000
By A Customer
Very well-plotted mystery entangled with two murders and two guns. Events occured one after another from the beginning to the end and I never got bored. Mrs. Breel, the shoplifting old lady, was the most peculiar of all Mason's clients; her attitude was as cold as a cucumber but what she really did were highly irrational. I wouldn't say I liked her, but anyway she was very impressive.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterful Mason Mystery, August 15, 2001
By A Customer
Erle Stanley Garnder's THE SHOPLIFTER'S SHOE is vintage Perry Mason, published in the 30s when Gardner was at the height of his powers. This is a complex tale of sinister gem thieves, blood-stained shoes, phantom bullets, and a double murder. Of course, the most obviously innocent person is immediately determined by the police to be guilty and that propels Perry into action. Perry is more hard-boiled in this story than he is in the 50s and 60s. I don't think audiences were intended to LIKE him as much as we are meant to later in the series. His treatment of Paul Drake (his detective friend who gives constant assistance), for example, is a little more gruff in this tale. And Perry has no time to give to the hysterical Virginia Trant, when a second body almost literally falls in her lap. Gardner, at this stage in his writing, seems to be influenced by his BLACK MASK days, when he was writing his Lester Leith and Phantom Crook tales. But watching Perry in action, whether hard-boiled or not, is always fun. So the question remains: is THE SHOPLIFTER'S SHOE a good book? Yes, but with some reservations. The mystery itself is very good, with a dazzling defense of the defendant. The entire case hinges on which pocket a policemen uses to store the incriminating evidence. This won't ruin anything because we are not actually shown this event when it occurs in the story. Once again, Perry shows the unreliability of circumstantial evidence, which is a Gardner trademark. However, I don't think the characters were as fully developed as in some of the other books. There is really no one to latch on to emotionally. Also, Della Street takes a back seat in this story, which doesn't help either. In fact, Della doesn't really make her mark until the very last page. But I will say that it is worth the wait...To conclude, the plot is very strong in this book, with interesting clues and a strong trial sequence. Though not one of Gardner's main masterpieces, it is still well worth the three hours it would take to read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The weak courtroom opponent makes for a weaker story, August 11, 2008
The story begins in a bizarre manner, Perry Mason and Della Street are eating in the dining room of a department store and the store detective accuses an elderly woman (Sarah) of shoplifting. She is probably guilty and the young woman (Virginia) with her is embarrassed and pays for the merchandise. When the detective tries to arrest the woman, Mason steps in and points out that it cannot be shoplifting because the woman never left the store. All appears smoothed over and they make a foursome to complete their meal.
However, shortly after this the young woman enters Mason's office and poses a problem. Her uncle George has a diamond business and he generally is a methodical and dependable man. However, he occasionally goes out on an extreme drunken spree where he gambles heavily. Fortunately, his methodical nature is also part of his wildness. He prepares for the drunken episodes by dropping his car keys in the mail, taking only a certain amount of money and making sure the business is secure and running.
Unfortunately, in this case, something has gone wrong, at first George is missing along with a cache of diamonds, but then he turns up dead. Gem dealer Austin Cullens becomes involved and then he too is shot dead. Sarah is observed running from the scene and she has Cullens' blood on her shoe. Mason defends her and at first the situation appears hopeless. However, some serious holes in the prosecution's presentation of the case combined with some intelligent prodding by Mason takes the case on an unexpected twist.
While I enjoyed the courtroom drama of Mason extracting the truth under pressure, there was a weak point in the plot. Much of Mason's success is dependent on the incompetence of the prosecutor, a man named Sampson. He is indecisive and flippant as he fails in his case. The late, great film reviewer Gene Siskel often said that to have a great hero you had to have a strong villain. In this case, the weak courtroom adversary to Perry Mason lessens the quality of the story.
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