Perry Mason novels: #23 and #24

What’s the connection of Perry Mason to the pulps? Well, you should know by now. But for those of you who came in late, it’s all in the author.

Pulp author Erle Stanley Gardner also wrote the Perry Mason novels. He was a prolific writer who honed his skills in the pulp magazines starting way back in 1921. His first Perry Mason mystery was published in 1933, and after that he just kept churning them out until there was a whopping 85 of them. That alone would keep most writers both busy and happy. But Erle Stanley Gardner also wrote a ton of other stuff, both for the pulps and the hardback book trade.

I am proud to say I have read all 85 of the Perry Mason books, and there wasn’t a dud in the bunch. In this week’s blog, I am going to give you a quick look at his 23rd and 24th Perry Mason novels. All in the hopes that this inspires you to seek out and read some of the many Perry Mason books out there.

‘The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito’

For Erle Stanley Gardner’s 23rd Perry Mason mystery, The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito, there’s no courtroom scenes. So there’s no sign of District Attorney Hamilton Burger. But nearly everybody else is there: Perry, Della, and Paul Drake. Lieutenant Tragg gets a good-sized part. Telephone operator Gertie is mentioned. But law-clerk Jackson is absent.

Salty Bowers is an old desert prospector. He hires Perry Mason to help out his partner, Banning Clarke. Things get complicated with lost gold mines, current gold claims, fraudulent gold strikes and who owns the rights to what. But before it all gets straightened out, Banning Clarke is dead. Dead from arsenic poisoning. And dead from a gunshot wound.

This time out, Perry’s not defending someone of the murder. That’s because the police have no idea who did the evil deed. But Perry’s trying to untangle all the legalities of the various gold claims and at the same time discover the identity of the murderer. And before all is said and done, Perry and Della are both poisoned with arsenic, too.

So what’s this about a drowsy mosquito? It’s something that Banning Clarke mentions in his will. The will that someone is trying to hide. And it’s the key to a lost gold claim worth millions.

The scenes out in the desert alone make this story a worthwhile read. Gardner shows his mastery of not only mystery writing but of making a scene come alive. An excellent read!

And as with all the other Perry Mason books, this one was adapted for Raymond Burr‘s television series. It appeared on the Oct. 10, 1963 broadcast, the third episode of season seven. It featured a talented guest cast of character actors whose faces we will never forget: Arthur Hunnicutt, Strother Martin, Gary Walberg, Archie Moore, and Ann Doran. Try to watch this TV episode if you can. You won’t regret it.

‘The Case of the Crooked Candle’

The Case of the Crooked Candle is the 24th of Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason mysteries. And it’s one of my favorites. Probably because it’s got everything I associate with Perry Mason. The entire gang is here: Perry, Della and Paul; Hamilton Burger, Lieutenant Tragg, Gertie, and Jackson. And plenty of courtroom action.

It all starts with a seemingly simple case of a car accident. But the guilty party is too anxious to settle the matter, which means something else is going on. Perry tracks down Fred Milfield, an officer in the company whose truck was involved in the accident. But before you know it, Milfield has been murdered. And the man financing the entire company, one Roger Burbank, is accused of the crime. You see, Fred Milfield was found dead on Roger Burbank’s yacht.

And the crooked candle? That’s the crucial clue in the entire case. Aboard Roger Burbank’s yacht, a candle is found partially burned. A candle stuck to the wood table at a crooked angle. It will take all the cleverness that Perry Mason can muster to correctly interpret the meaning of this strange clue. And interpret it he does in this classic mystery.

And when it came to television, this book made it into the first season. It was adapted for a Nov. 30, 1957 broadcast. Interestingly enough, actor Frank Wilcox played a judge in this show… his third appearance as a judge on Perry Mason, even though this was only the 11th episode. He went on to play eight judges on Perry Mason, and never was it the same judge. Always a different character.

These two novels from 1943 and 1944 are top-notch murder mysteries from a top-notch author. If you haven’t started reading these novels, yet, let’s get with it buster. You won’t do better!