Thu 27 Oct 2022
An Archived Mystery Review by Francis M. Nevins, Jr.: ERLE STANLEY GARDNER – The Case of the Spurious Spinster.
Posted by Steve under Reviews[5] Comments
ERLE STANLEY GARDNER – The Case of the Spurious Spinster. Perry Mason #64. William Morrow, hardcover, 1961. Pocket #4515, paperback, 1963. Reprinted many times since.
This was one of Anthony Boucher’s favorite late Masons, but I found little to praise in it except for Gardner’s never-failing story-telling pace and drive.
The plot has to do with corporation intrigue over a non-productive mine, a shoebox full of dubious cash, the impersonation of the company’s irascible female owner and, as if you hadn’t guessed, a murder.
But all the story elements remain chaotic and incredible by the fadeout, and even the courtroom sequence is weak, with Mason given little chance to shine. Gardner must have dictated this adventure on an off day.
October 28th, 2022 at 5:12 am
With the increasing success of the Mason novels, the series lost much of its pulp roots. Many of the later books, though enjoyable, were missing a certain flair.
October 28th, 2022 at 9:09 pm
The late Mason’s were probably the first I read at a time my attraction to the books was the television series. I read with a more critical eye later, and was pleasingly surprised by the pulp roots of the earlier books, but when I started I was pretty much looking for the Raymond Burr Mason and not the Gardner one.
October 29th, 2022 at 3:47 pm
My working hypothesis, so fat untested or investigated, is that there are three stages to Perry Mason’s career in print:
(1) pulp roots
(2) transitioning to the slicks (Sat Evening Post, Collier’s)
(3) transitioning again to the TV show
withe rougher edges being trimmed down for the larger audiences accumulated along the way.
November 3rd, 2022 at 9:49 pm
Sorry that you didn’t find it interesting enough. It’s one of my favourites of the series.
November 4th, 2022 at 12:24 am
As Mike says in the first line of his review, this was one of Anthony Boucher’s favorites, too. You’re in good company, Neeru!