The Case of the Sulky Girl by Erle Stanley Gardner is the 2nd book in his highly successful Perry Mason series. The TV show “Perry Mason” was a staple in my house during my growing up years, so I was quite surprised that the book gave me a totally different view of this character. In the book, Parry Mason isn’t quite as upstanding and honest as the TV character, while he doesn’t cross the line, he certainly skirts the edges. The book gives us an edgier Perry Mason, but I couldn’t help but still see Raymond Burr as the lawyer.

This book was classic Perry Mason with a murder case that involved trust funds and blackmail. Perry Mason is defending a young couple in a case that looked pretty bleak for them, but once he got to the court, he knew exactly how to handle the jury, the judge and the prosecutor. It is obvious that the author knows the rules of law as the trial portion of the book was very realistic and although I had a very good idea of who the real murderer was, the courtroom reveal was dramatic and like the rest of the book, well crafted and clever. ( )

"The dirty crooks," he said. "The D.A. always howls to high heaven about the crooked criminal lawyers who manipulate the facts. But whenever the D.A. uncovers any evidence that gives the defendant a break, you can bet something happens to it." ( )

Frances Celane and her husband (secretly married) are accused of murdering her uncle to obtain her trust fund. Perry Mason finds and exposes the killers in a courtroom scene. ( )

I was actually pretty impressed with the mystery itself - it's nicely twisty and the ending makes sense in terms of motivation. Again, it's very much a product of its times so you have to ignore the casual misogyny, but if you can get past that it's a good read. ( )

Perry Mason reads are refreshing though nothing that hasnt been done before.
And yet the plots are pretty tightly knit and keeps the reader thinking.
Good read but the way of narration could have been a lot better. ( )