Customer Reviews

The Case of the Terrified Typist (Perry Mason Mysteries (Fawcett Books))

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think it is one of the best written by Erle Stanley Gardner. I have heard so much about it and I finally got it from Amazon.com. I could never put it down.

This Perry Mason mystery has an unusual twist, in that one of the principal characters enters Mason's life in a very strange way. The work load at the Mason law office is overwhelming, so Della Street contacts a temporary agency asking for help. Shortly after the request is made, an attractive woman enters the office and she is put to work typing material. She is extremely efficient and Della gives her high praise to Mason. When the woman suddenly leaves and does not return, a phone call to the temp agency reveals that they sent no one over. Furthermore, Della discovers a wad of chewing gum stuck to the bottom of the desk with two large diamonds embedded inside it. The situation is even further complicated when an office of diamond merchants in the same building report that a woman illegally entered their office.
This sets Mason, Street and detective Paul Drake on the path of a murder case where the accused seems to prefer conviction over revealing his relationship with a woman. When the man is found guilty of murder, Mason finally unravels the convoluted story of the murder and why the man had such a lack of interest in defending himself. The conspiracy involved several people, long-distance relationships and even some silly, childish messages.
Hamilton Burger and Mason once again battle in the courtroom and in this case Mason loses. However, even in the loss, he emerges victorious, demonstrating once again his talents for ferreting out even the most convoluted of truths.

With a typist out sick and a huge brief to get ready, Perry Mason and his assistant Della Street call an agency for an emergency typist. A typist shows up. Although she seems terrified, she does a great job on the brief. So great that Mason is ready to offer her a job--until she vanishes without being paid. When Mason learns that the building had suffered a burglary and that the police had been looking everywhere for a certain young woman, he realizes that he, and his office, had fallen for a mistaken identity. When one of the jewel dealers in Mason's building is accused of murder--and the typist clearly implicated, Mason needs to get to the bottom of more mistakes than that one.

The evidence against the jewel dealer isn't strong. A jewel smuggler went missing--but there is no body to show. Still, District Attorney Hamilton Burger seems highly confident--so confident that Mason believes he has an ace up his sleeve.

The story alternates between the streets where Mason, Della Street, and private detective Paul Drake attempt to track down witnesses, and the courtroom where Mason battles the smug Hamilton Burger. This time, though, it seems that the District Attorney really does have the edge. While Mason can make his legalistic arguments, the jury is swayed by a beautiful young woman--the terrified typist.

Author Erle Stanley Gardner throws his lawyer/sleuth a case where even Mason isn't sure what is going on--and where nothing is quite what it seems to be. The story also provides an interesting viewport into the 1950s where working women were referred to as 'girls,' where these women wore gloves and stockings and were judged on their figures as well as on their typing skills, and where professional jobs seemed reserved for men.

This isn't the best of Perry Mason or Erle Stanley Gardner, but it definitely has some enjoyable moments.

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.

Published in 1956, THE CASE OF THE TERRIFIED TYPIST opens with Mason in a quandary: one of his office typists is out sick and the other is too overwhelmed to take on more work, but an important legal brief must be prepared for delivery the next day. An office temporary is the solution, but she behaves very strangely: she arrives in a nervous state, types most of the manuscript, and then quite suddenly disappears! It soon transpires that a nearby office has been burgled, and it seems likely that the woman was involved, but as the matter progresses the circumstances become increasingly peculiar--and when murder rears its ugly head Mason is once more court.

Gardner was at his peak during the 1950s, and while TYPIST doesn't quite make it into the "best of the best" of his work it is still an extremely entertaining read, smartly written and filled with enough double-dealing to both befuddle and entertain. When the truth comes out it does seem more than a little far-fetched, but it goes off with a bang nonetheless. Lots of fun.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

PM 2 in 1 Terrified Typist & Gilded Lilly

These "2 in 1" Perry Mason novels were published in the mid_1970s. They had two novels combined in one paperback at a bargain price. Erle Stanley Gardner was "the World's Greatest Author" in his time, his novels outsold the combined totals of his rivals. Gardner wrote the "Perry Mason" novels from 1933 to 1970, and other works. I think his best stories were from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s, other novels are also good. Gardner, and others, formed "The Court of Last Resort" in the 1940s to investigate the wrongfully convicted. The background of the stories tell of the era. Gardner never put dates in his novels, but the monetary figures date these stories.

"The Case of the Terrified Typist" (1956) begins with Perry and Della working on an important brief. They need a typist and call an agency for a skilled typist. Later a woman walks in and given the work; she is quick and efficient. She takes a break and never returns. They learn of a burglary in the building, the suspect resembles the unknown typist. A partner from the burglarized firm hires Perry to defend the co_owner against a murder charge. Perry tries to find this typist by using a scheme (it recalls A.Conan Doyle's "The Red_Headed League"). Perry also assigns detectives to follow the partner in case he's hiding something. The accused co_owner also refuses to discuss certain things. Perry visits the partner's woman friend, and later finds she skipped town. Could the alleged murder victim (no body found) have absconded with the smuggled diamonds? [Like the stories of Dashiell Hammett, this tells of the techniques used to follow a person, and how to avoid a tail.] The jury returns a guilty verdict against Perry's client, no recommendation of mercy. But Drake's investigators uncover the facts implied by the testimony of the witnesses. So who was the other man in the boat? [This plot seems flawed in having one of the smugglers going to the police to file a murder charge].

"The Case of the Gilded Lilly" (1956) is about wealthy businessman Stewart G. Bedford who recently married Ann, a trophy wife. Binney Denham visited him to ask for a "loan"; he has the police records of Ann. Binney insists on getting the money the next morning. Bedford gets traveler's cheques, then visits Binney and drives away with Geraldine Corning to a motel as part of the pay_off. A drink causes Bedford to fall asleep, as if he was drugged. When Bedford wakes up he finds Corning gone, and Binney shot dead in the next room. Bedford's secretary Elsa Griffin drives to pick him up; she retained Perry Mason. Perry advises them what to do. Paul Drake begins an investigation. Elsa returns to her motel unit to lift any fingerprints left by an unknown visitor. The motel manager accurately described the man and a girl with "that indefinable something". Perry finds out who the unknown visitor was. That person denied being there, but admits to other actions. Against Mason's advice Bedford makes a statement; the police arrest him. Mason talks to Bedford in jail, and listens to his theory of the crime. Drake's operatives get fingerprints from Grace Compton's apartment. The trial starts, the motel manager testifies, and we learn new facts (he saw Binney visit, and a "prowler"). Elsa visits Perry to tell of her suspicions. Elsa testifies about the lifted fingerprints; but they do not match the People's Exhibits! The police fingerprint expert settles this dispute. The motel manager testifies to identify Mrs. Bedford! But Perry asks a few questions to expose new facts. Perry explains the events to his freed client. [This story warns about eyewitness testimony that can't be corroborated, and of substituted fingerprints, as in the Sir Harry Oakes murder trial.]

This novel has the most surprising ending. But unfortunately,"surprising" doesn't always mean "excellent". Because in this novel, too much tricks are used to lead this surprising ending. It might be better if the tricks were used by Mason or by the real murderer(s), but it seems to be Gardner (the author) that uses the tricks. I don't appreciate that very much.