I have been watching the new Perry Mason series on HBO and have found it to be a very different take on the Mason character. It takes place in the early 1930s and Mason is an investigator for an attorney getting involved in a very noirish kidnapping and murder case. The series is very dark and so unlike the Mason that I grew up with -- the TV series starring Raymond Burr -- but I am enjoying it very much and look forward to each new episode.
A few years ago, I bought several hardcover Perry Mason novels at a thrift store for about a dollar apiece. Since I am enjoying the HBO series, I thought I would read one of these to see how they compare. Buried Clock was the oldest of these books written in 1943 during the height of WWII so decided to read it. This is the second Perry Mason that I have ever read (I did read a Mason novel back in the 70s that I really don't remember too well, The Case of the Fabulous Fake).
Buried Clock was very enjoyable but it definitely was more along the lines of the old Raymond Burr series than the current HBO version. Mason gets hired by a wealthy banker, Vincent Blane, when his son-in-law, Jack Hardesty, embezzles $90,000 from a bank where Blane had given him a position. Hardesty is subsequently murdered in a mountain cabin and his wife, Milicent, Blane's daughter, is a suspect. Before the murder occurred, Blane's other daughter, Adele, was visiting the cabin with her friend, Harley Raymand, an injured war veteran and an alarm clock was found buried near the cabin. So what was the clock doing there? Was it somehow tied to the later murder of Hardesty? This is a rather baffling clue for Mason and his PI, Paul Drake. Along with the Blanes, there are other locals that could also be suspects in the murder. It takes Mason pretty much the whole book up to the last chapter to figure out what happened and how the buried clock fit in to the murder.
I enjoyed this one. I liked that it was written during the WWII time period and there were several things that fit into that time period including rationing of automobile tires which turned out to be another clue. Also it was mentioned that they were on Pacific War Time. I guess this was similar to Daylight Saving Time because the time had been moved forward an hour from regular "sun" time. The cars all had clutches and one was started by rolling it down a hill and popping the clutch. I remember doing that when I was in high school in the 60s when my battery had died. Also, they had to drive to find a pay phone. All of this was rather nostalgic. I'll be looking forward to reading more of Gardner's Mason series.
A few years ago, I bought several hardcover Perry Mason novels at a thrift store for about a dollar apiece. Since I am enjoying the HBO series, I thought I would read one of these to see how they compare. Buried Clock was the oldest of these books written in 1943 during the height of WWII so decided to read it. This is the second Perry Mason that I have ever read (I did read a Mason novel back in the 70s that I really don't remember too well, The Case of the Fabulous Fake).
Buried Clock was very enjoyable but it definitely was more along the lines of the old Raymond Burr series than the current HBO version. Mason gets hired by a wealthy banker, Vincent Blane, when his son-in-law, Jack Hardesty, embezzles $90,000 from a bank where Blane had given him a position. Hardesty is subsequently murdered in a mountain cabin and his wife, Milicent, Blane's daughter, is a suspect. Before the murder occurred, Blane's other daughter, Adele, was visiting the cabin with her friend, Harley Raymand, an injured war veteran and an alarm clock was found buried near the cabin. So what was the clock doing there? Was it somehow tied to the later murder of Hardesty? This is a rather baffling clue for Mason and his PI, Paul Drake. Along with the Blanes, there are other locals that could also be suspects in the murder. It takes Mason pretty much the whole book up to the last chapter to figure out what happened and how the buried clock fit in to the murder.
I enjoyed this one. I liked that it was written during the WWII time period and there were several things that fit into that time period including rationing of automobile tires which turned out to be another clue. Also it was mentioned that they were on Pacific War Time. I guess this was similar to Daylight Saving Time because the time had been moved forward an hour from regular "sun" time. The cars all had clutches and one was started by rolling it down a hill and popping the clutch. I remember doing that when I was in high school in the 60s when my battery had died. Also, they had to drive to find a pay phone. All of this was rather nostalgic. I'll be looking forward to reading more of Gardner's Mason series.
