Although this is the 19th book in his Perry Mason series, Gardner is still trying to figure out his characters. For example, he still hasn't decided if Mason's secretary, Della Street, is an intelligent woman or just a "dizzy dame" infatuated with her boss. At least he doesn't have his characters smoking themselves into an early grave any more.
Frankly, I felt this is the worst of his Perry Mason series which I've read so far. It was overly wordy, far too many coincidences allowed them to leap forward in the investigation, and many of his characters were simply cliches of people in the late 1930s and early 1940s. And I thought the method of communication between the two villains was overly complicated, something that only extremely bored children playing at spying would think up.
And, quite frankly. I could have done without the cutesy dialogue between Mason and Street interspersed throughout the book. But what the heck, maybe that was what was popular in the pulp mystery novels for this period. Or, maybe like the characters in this book, Gardner just wasn't getting enough sleep while writing this.
Frankly, I felt this is the worst of his Perry Mason series which I've read so far. It was overly wordy, far too many coincidences allowed them to leap forward in the investigation, and many of his characters were simply cliches of people in the late 1930s and early 1940s. And I thought the method of communication between the two villains was overly complicated, something that only extremely bored children playing at spying would think up.
And, quite frankly. I could have done without the cutesy dialogue between Mason and Street interspersed throughout the book. But what the heck, maybe that was what was popular in the pulp mystery novels for this period. Or, maybe like the characters in this book, Gardner just wasn't getting enough sleep while writing this.
