Frances Celane has good reason to pout. Thanks to a provision in her late father’s will administered by her uncle, she’s caught in the middle of a family feud between matrimony and money. If she chooses marriage, she loses a million. But beautiful young Frances has a strong will of her own she’s not afraid to use. One way or another, she means to hear wedding bells and cash registers making beautiful music together. Her first move: hire Perry Mason to orchestrate things.
Unfortunately, stubbornness runs in Frances Celane’s family, as Mason discovers when he confronts her Uncle Edward. After Perry’s powers of persuasion fail to penetrate Norton’s hard head, someone decides the only way of cashing in is by bashing in the uncooperative uncle’s skull. But when the blood spills, so do the secrets. Then it’s Mason’s turn to brood, as he tries to figure out if a girl as pretty as his client could have a hand in something so ugly …
Unfortunately, stubbornness runs in Frances Celane’s family, as Mason discovers when he confronts her Uncle Edward. After Perry’s powers of persuasion fail to penetrate Norton’s hard head, someone decides the only way of cashing in is by bashing in the uncooperative uncle’s skull. But when the blood spills, so do the secrets. Then it’s Mason’s turn to brood, as he tries to figure out if a girl as pretty as his client could have a hand in something so ugly …
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Reviews
With Perry Mason, Erle Stanley Gardner introduced to American letters the notion of the lawyer as a hero - and detective - which were remarkable innovations. He even gave defense lawyers a good name to boot. His Mason books remain tantalizing on every page and brilliant
For fans of classic hard-boiled whodunits, this is a time machine back to an exuberant era of snappy patter, stakeouts, and double-crosses
Millions of Americans never seem to tire of Gardner's thrillers
The bestselling author of the century ... a master storyteller
Gardner has a way of moving the story forward that is almost a lost art: great stretches of dialogue alternate with lively chunks of exposition, and the two work together perfectly, without sacrificing momentum
No one has ever matched Gardner for swift, sure exposition
