The Case of the Singing Skirt [Mass Market Paperback]

Erle Stanley Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 22, 1992

Ellen Robb does more than just sing for her supper -- she also dances and sells cigarettes in a two-bit gambling parlor in a one-horse town. But when she hits a sour note with her scheming employer by refusing to help fleece a fat-cat customer in a crooked card game, she finds herself out of all three jobs. That's when she sings her song of woe to Perry Mason, who promises to turn her blues into greenbacks with the help of his crack team, Della Street and Paul Drake, and a hefty lawsuit.

Things are humming along just fine -- until murder interrupts the merry melody of Mason's crafty legal maneuvers. When the vindictive wife of Ellen Robb's not-so-secret lover turns up shot to death, Mason is certain it's a frame-up -- and that his songbird client's belligerent boss is to blame. Until his own gun is found at the scene. The cocksure Mason will have to change his tune -- and do some quick thinking -- or else this case could be his swan song.

The Perry Mason Novels

Criminal lawyer and all-time #1 mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote close to 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Today, the great Gardner tradition continues with many of his classics back in print, as well as brand-new additions to the ever-popular series starring the incomparable Perry Mason.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Ellen Robb does more than just sing for her supper -- she also dances and sells cigarettes in a two-bit gambling parlor in a one-horse town. But when she hits a sour note with her scheming employer by refusing to help fleece a fat-cat customer in a crooked card game, she finds herself out of all three jobs. That's when she sings her song of woe to Perry Mason, who promises to turn her blues into greenbacks with the help of his crack team, Della Street and Paul Drake, and a hefty lawsuit.

Things are humming along just fine -- until murder interrupts the merry melody of Mason's crafty legal maneuvers. When the vindictive wife of Ellen Robb's not-so-secret lover turns up shot to death, Mason is certain it's a frame-up -- and that his songbird client's belligerent boss is to blame. Until his own gun is found at the scene. The cocksure Mason will have to change his tune -- and do some quick thinking -- or else this case could be his swan song.

The Perry Mason Novels

Criminal lawyer and all-time #1 mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote close to 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Today, the great Gardner tradition continues with many of his classics back in print, as well as brand-new additions to the ever-popular series starring the incomparable Perry Mason.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 45 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett (April 22, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345371496
• ISBN-13: 978-0345371492
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,372,557 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Perry Mason's best but still enjoyable, March 30, 1998

By 

P. Mann (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Case of the Singing Skirt (Mass Market Paperback)

"The Case of the Singing Skirt" is one of Erle Stanley Gardner's eighty-five Perry Mason books. In this case, the famed defense attorney undertakes to help Ellen Robb, a cigar-and-cigarette girl who works at a local gambling club. Because she refused to help the owner swindle a gambler, Ellen finds herself framed for the theft of a certain amount of money. Mason quickly defuses that situation, enabling the woman to keep the money and threatening suit against the employer for defamation. Events escalate soon, though, when Ellen turns up with a gun in her possession that she cannot explain. Mason suspects that another attempt to frame Ellen is in the works, and he takes steps to thwart that attempt. When a woman turns up dead, though, Mason must defend his client on murder charges--and himself against charges of being an accessory after the fact.

"The Case of the Singing Skirt" is really a novel in two parts. The first part deals with the machinations of the various parties before court, and the second part puts Mason in his element--the courtroom. As a legal thriller, "The Case of the Singing Skirt" is passable, though not particularly exciting. Mason spends a great deal of time deflecting his opponent's thrusts, but only in the last few pages does Mason go on the offensive. As a result, this book is not the best forum for Mason's considerable legal expertise. As a mystery, there is little doubt who the murderer is. Once one starts with the premise that Mason's clients are, as a rule, innocent, there is little more to figure out. Still, eighty-five books with a single character do not come about by accident, and there is a fair amount of charm to "The Case of the Singing Skirt."

3.0 out of 5 stars Super Lawyer, January 17, 2011

By 

Paul Rooney "Paul Rooney" (Opotiki,New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Case of the Singing Skirt (Perry Mason Mysteries (Robert Bentley)) (Hardcover)

From 1959 we have super lawyer Perry Mason on the case.

A night club singer enters Perry's office with a gun and the tale of how her employers were planning to steal from a client with a gambling scam.

Then bodies start and turn up.

Of course Perry bamboozles everyone with his genius in Court as he always does with the assistance of his assistant Della Street.

My only complaint is that Gardner cheats the reader in not giving him some crucial information which breaks what Chandler calls " the rules'. The lack of this information stops the reader from logically following the investigation.

But, as with all the Perry Mason stories , its a good time filler and not unenjoyable

3.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, January 14, 2008

By 

Peterack (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Case of the Singing Skirt (Perry Mason Mysteries (Robert Bentley)) (Hardcover)

Perry Mason books are great "pick up, put down" reads, and for the most part this novel was that. Part of the mystery deals with multiple murder weapons and that seemed to get so confusing to me, the reader, that I stopped trying to understand it. Otherwise, a nice visit with fiction's greatest lawyer (apologies to Atticus Finch).