Honest Money and Other Short Novels [Hardcover]

Erle Stanley Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1991

204 Pages...First Edition in Hardback of these Ken Corning Collected 6 Stories that originally appeared in Black Mask

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published in 1932 and 1933 by Black Mask magazine and starring the young crime-fighting lawyer Ken Corning and gutsy secretary Helen Vail, the six stories collected here provide the prototype for the late author's astoundingly successful Perry Mason crime novels. Action-heavy and loaded with archaic slang (a woman is a "jane"; a gun is a "rod"; an order to shut up is "can the chatter"), these unsatisfying stories are typical of the hard-boiled pulp once cranked out by Gardner as well as Hammett and Chandler. Too slight to merit the designation of "short novels" bestowed by the publisher, the tales are based mainly on tricks that newcomer Ken pulls in order to hoodwink the corrupt York Citystet political machine. Another early Gardner Black Mask character, Ed Jenkins, the "Phantom Crook," appears in the collection Dead Men's Letters , published last year.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The latest trip to the Gardner vaults--dead for 20 years, the man is more prolific than most living authors--discloses half a dozen long stories from Black Mask (1932-33) about Ken Corning, a crusading defense attorney determined to take on the political bosses in York City, who seem to have a finger in every felony. The stories, preceding the debut of Perry Mason by only a few months, are just as formulaic as Gardner's recently resurrected tales about Ed Jenkins, the Phantom Crook (Dead Men's Letters, The Blonde in Lower Ten), but, here, the formula allows more genuine mystery--as in the deft, efficient title story, in which a police raid against an inoffensive little speak-easy leads to a tangle of murder, lying witnesses-- usually the witnesses turn out to be the killers--and the obligatory political fix, all neatly handled by Corning and his Della Streetish secretary Helen Vail, who reveal more clearly than any other characters Perry Mason's hard-boiled roots while showing Gardner on the verge of mastering his brand of mystery-shenanigans. Not as good as a new Perry Mason, but the next best thing. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub (July 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088184683X
• ISBN-13: 978-0881846836
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,513,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Forerunner to 'Perry Mason', July 27, 2004

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Acute Observer (N. Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Honest Money and Other Short Novels (Hardcover)

These short stories about a crusading lawyer who fought injustice in a corrupt city were first published in the early 1930s. Ken Corning protected the rights of the unjustly accused who were framed by bribed city officials and their crooked police. Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970) then went on to create the immensely popular Perry Mason novels that inspired movies, and a radio and television series. Gardner was a noted attorney who investigated miscarriages of justice in his Court of Last Resort. He was well read in psychology, criminology, forensic medicine, and penology.

Justice is not served in the ideal, but Corning's clients walk. These stories are about municipal crime and corruption, and are similar to the stories of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and others. They reflect popular interests of the time. Since the 1950s these kind of stories have been scarce. (I suspect censorship and the rise of powerful corporations that now control the media.) There is one difference between the above authors and fantasy heroes. Sam Spade, Phillip Marlowe, and Perry Mason all make sure they get their money up front. Fantasy heroes (The Lone Ranger, Superman, etc.) don't seem to need money, as if they were on a government payroll. Does this reflect the loss of small owner-operated businesses?

'Honest Money' is the story of a woman who had a minor auto accident. She knows too much, and is arrested for a felony; her husband is assassinated. After Ken Corning investigates, she is released and paid off.

'The Top Comes Off' begins with a wife looking to clear her husband of a murder charge; she shot her boyfriend in the latter's office. But there is a complication: the lights went out before the shooting. Ken Corning finds out what really happened, and her husband is cleared.

'Close Call' tells how the editor of an anti-administration newspaper was deliberately killed by a nit-and-run car. This car was stolen, used for the killing, then put back as forged evidence. The driver of the hit-and-run car may have been the witness against the reformer. But the guilty flee when no man pursues.

'Making the Breaks' tells how stolen money is planted for a frame-up. Lawyer Corning defends a man accused of murder; he thinks it was a frame-up, and needs a witness. If Corning can't catch a break, he makes a break.

'Devil's Fire' is about a murder on the street. A fleeing man is arrested, Corning defends George Pyle. A witness says Pyle threw away a gun. But Corning uses a contest to pick out the best female shooter. The contest leads to the real killer, and frees George Pyle.

'Blackmail with Lead' tells how Sam Driver is found with a dead body in his car. A witness saw two men put something into Driver's flivver. But after she is arrested for possessing booze her memory fails. Corning's investigation leads to the reason for the killing, and the cover-up. The case against Driver is then dismissed.