Picked this one up for 25 cents, and it's worth every penny! Especially for this exchange printed on the book's back cover:

"'Could this letter,' Mason asked Della Street, 'have been written by the woman herself? I want to get the feminine angle.'

"Della laughed. 'There aren't any feminine angles--they're curves.'

"Fast curves!"

Definitely has retro appeal, with its terminology like "frame-up" and "slick flimflams" and I think, at some point, someone must have referred to women in this book as "broads" (though it probably wasn't Perry Mason, since he's such a stand-up guy). Also, for future reference: I love the saying "What the deuce?"

A quick read, great for mystery lovers and Perry Mason fans (I must admit, I had never read any Perry Mason books before this one, nor even seen the TV show). Not the best mystery I've ever read, but definitely not the worst. Besides, it reminded me of all the silly "Cat Who..." books I used to read when I was a kid, and makes me want to try writing a mystery/detective novel of my own.

There's just one more thing... why the deuce is Perry Mason, a lawyer, always getting mixed up in the crime-solving element of the case? It don't add up. Thoughts?

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What a tangled mess! Intertwined this way and that, and so many schemers. And poor Perry Mason stuck in the middle. I dearly loved his sending a crate w/airholes out of the building while he stayed inside until the reporters left. I laughed very hard at that. I also enjoy the differences between the two main cops--Mason drives both nuts and both and are sarcastic, but one is reasonable and the other is trying to show off.

I enjoy the older mystery writers, such as Gardner and Christie. They are less easily described as "fluff" than modern cozies. There is a solid plot and action going on, along with the good dose humor tossed in. (What's the feminine angle, Della? There is no feminine angle, just curves!) But the core of the book is the mystery--the humor is just part of fleshing it out.

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