The Case of the Crying Swallow: A Perry Mason Novelette and Other Stories

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Paper Book, 1971

Status

Available

Call number

813.52

Collection

Publication

New York, W. Morrow [1971]

Description

He announced himself as Mr. Cash. His calling card was ten crisp hundred-dollar bills "My wife has disappeared," he told Perry Mason. "She's in trouble of some sort. I want to find her." Mr. Cash's wife was indeed in trouble of a most serious sort. First, her jewelry disappeared. Then she disappeared. Perry Mason had to find her before the police could arrest her--for murder.

User reviews

LibraryThing member antiquary
This is a collection put together after Gadner's death (1970) including a Perry Mason novelette, which has a few clever clues but ends up putting the murder on a character who hardly appears. The other stories involve pulp characters, Lester Leith and Sidney Zoom, who are American versions of the
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Rafflesian (or Romney Pringlian) gentleman crook who preys on other crooks, and Jerry Bane, a conventional private eye. Leith and Zoom are much less real than Perry Mason, but Jerry Bane is more or less in the believable world.
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LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
The title is the first story in this book. A novelette of one of Perry Mason's cases. It has the twists and turns and surprises of his full length books and all the main characters.

Lester Leith is the main character in "The Candy Kid". Leith was introduced to the public in 1929. A cross between
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Raffles and Philo Vance, whose source of support for his luxurious life style is a mystery to all. Assisted by his valet, Scuttle, are able to solve some very intriguing crimes. By the way, Scuttle isn't a valet by training, but an undercover cop assigned to figure out where Leith gets his income.

Sidney Zoom and his dog Rip prefer the darkness of the docks, as they live aboard his boat in the harbour. A mysterious figure, he is well known to the police and have come to their aid a number of times. "The Vanishing Corpse" is a murder that appears and disappears.

"The Affair of the Reluctant Witness" involves Jerry Bane and his Man Friday, Mugs - another ex-cop with an exceptional memory. Jerry's source of income is from a trust fund, managed by a tight family attourney. This mystery solving duo were introduced in the 1940s. This particular mystery involves the disappearance of jewels.

This was an enjoyable read and introduction to more of Gardner's characters.
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Language

Original language

English

Physical description

192 p.; 22 cm

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