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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Missing Wife Found with Amnesia,
By Acute Observer (N. Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Case of the Crying Swallow: A Perry Mason Novelette and Other Stories (Hardcover)
The Case of the Crying Swallow and Other Stories, by Erle Stanley GardnerThe `Publisher's Note' says this was published after Erle Stanley Gardner's death in 1970. It contains a Perry Mason novelette and three short stories. Two predate the Perry Mason series. The "Crying Swallow" story begins when Della Street brings a pile of money to Perry Mason from a new client. Major Claude L. Winnett, millionaire playboy, aviator, and POW wants to find his new wife who has disappeared. Marcia left a goodbye letter. There had been a burglary the day before Marcia disappeared. Claude heard a swallow crying just before his wife screamed as she saw the burglar. Perry, Della, and Paul Drake will visit his estate and inspect the property. Perry looks into the swallow's nest and finds something; a stored shotgun was not loaded with ammunition. They notice tracks and signs on a road outside of the fence. Perry looks at a trash pile and concludes it was from a man (Chapter 5). Paul Drake's detectives search for the man who bought a lot of groceries early Sat. morning. Their search locates the trailer, but its occupant will not answer any questions. The search for Marcia Winnett locates her by her clothes, and Perry and Della track her to her hotel. Marcia tells how she was blackmailed, and staged a jewel robbery for a payoff to her first husband. Della takes Marcia to a private hospital for her recovery. Perry gathers the facts, and surmises what happened (Chapter 10). Complications are resolved. Unlike many other cases, the murderer is somebody who has not been introduced earlier in the story. This 1947 story is quite shorter than most other cases, as if it was written for a magazine and did not get the usual developed plot. "The Candy Kid" is about Lester Leith, a gentleman who can solve a crime from a newspaper story and then hijack the loot from the robber. Lester imagines how jewels could be hidden in a candy shop. The story tells how Sergeant Ackley plans to frame Leith. A sweet deal? Leith cleverly deduced the solution of the stolen jewels. This amusing story is from the 1920s era. "The Vanishing Corpse" is about Sidney Zoom, who can see well in the dark. Officer O'Hara captures a person in the dim light and finds a young girl! What is she doing by the deserted docks at night? Why does she have a pistol? What is in her handbag? The police investigate to learn her background. Was there a theft and a murder? The missing man is seen dead in his car, but when the police arrive the corpse has vanished from a locked automobile! The case against Mildred Kroom isn't perfect. Sidney Zoom explains why she is innocent. A wild story? A psychological trick catches the murderer. Is it "divine justice"? "The Affair of the Reluctant Witness" introduces us to Jerry Bane, the heir of a spendthrift trust. He sees the picture of a grocery store owner sued for defamation of character. Is it a scam? Will lawyer Arthur Anson take this case? "Mugs" Magoo investigates and learns the facts behind the story. Jerry talks to Bernice Calhoun. She describes the life of an owner-operated business. Jerry comes up with a ruse that will help Bernice and allow her to travel out of state. There is a happy ending for some in this clever story. [Does it mirror "Perry Mason"?]
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The stories are not the caliber of the typical Gardner tale,
By Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: The Case of the Crying Swallow: A Perry Mason Novelette and Other Stories (Hardcover)
These stories are not the caliber of the typical Gardner tale. The Perry Mason story lacks the dynamic courtroom climax; in fact it was so low-key that I didn't even realize I had reached the conclusion until I was three pages into the next story. In the second story, Lester Leith, who is a very subtle crime boss, outwits the police, although the way they are portrayed, it is not hard. The police believe that he is crooked, but they ineptly try to manufacture evidence in order to frame him. This involves trying to hide jewels in chocolate by partially melting it. Of course, it doesn't work and Leith is enriched at the end. The only good aspect of the story is that you do not know that he is a crook until the very end.In the third story, the main character Sidney Zoom is a private citizen who assists the police. Once again, the police are slow afoot and of head, and it is Zoom that puts the pieces together to solve the murder. The plot lines are a little absurd, as it involves a dummy that is taken for a corpse and a woman who poses as a man. A Japanese servant is also heavily stereotyped in behavior and in speech patterns. The fourth and final story involves a spendthrift man with a trust fund who is trying to obtain additional money from the trustee. The spendthrift manages to manipulate the trustee into thinking he is accepting stolen goods and getting away with it. The plot involves a criminal stealing some jewelry and fleeing into a small store. While in the store, the criminal hides the jewels in a can of dog food, a plot device that is not well delivered. This book was published after Gardner's death, in reading the stories; I got the impression that these were stories that Gardner didn't consider to be his best. They lack the style and tension that is a signature trait of Gardner stories.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Missing Wife Found with Amnesia,
By Acute Observer (N. Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: THE CASE OF THE CRYING SWALLOW (Hardcover)
The Case of the Crying Swallow by Erle Stanley GardnerThis story begins when Della Street brings a pile of money to Perry Mason from a new client. Major Claude L. Winnett, millionaire playboy, aviator, and POW wants to find his new wife who has disappeared. Marcia left a goodbye letter. There had been a burglary the day before Marcia disappeared. Claude heard a swallow crying just before his wife screamed as she saw the burglar. Perry, Della, and Paul Drake will visit his estate and inspect the property. Perry looks into the swallow's nest and finds something; a stored shotgun was not loaded with ammunition. They notice tracks and signs on a road outside of the fence. Perry looks at a trash pile and concludes it was from a man (Chapter 5). Paul Drake's detectives search for the man who bought a lot of groceries early Sat. morning. Their search locates the trailer, but its occupant will not answer any questions. The search for Marcia Winnett locates her by her clothes, and Perry and Della track her to her hotel. Marcia tells how she was blackmailed, and staged a jewel robbery for a payoff to her first husband. Della takes Marcia to a private hospital for her recovery. Perry gathers the facts, and surmises what happened (Chapter 10). Complications are resolved. Unlike many other cases, the murderer is somebody who has not been introduced earlier in the story. This 1947 story is quite shorter than most other cases, as if it was written for a magazine and did not get the usual developed plot.
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