Not bad. By this point, ESG had matured as an author. ( )

This book was a fun read. ESG really kept Perry on the verge of losing the case until the book was nearly ended. The cover rather gives a vital clue, however I just thought the artist made a huge mistake when painting it (the murder weapon was a revolver, not an automatic). It wasn't until the end that I realized why the artist painted the automatic handgun. ( )

I read 2-3 Perry Mason books when I was a kid. I saw this one for a dollar and picked it up. Erle Stanley Gardner started writing the Perry Mason series back in the 30's and this one was one of the last ones he wrote in the middle 60's. Paul is still worried that Perry is going to get his license revoked with his shenanigans and Perry is not near as worried about losing his license as he is about losing the case. Erle Stanley Gardner can still write about the courtroom and all of it's drama without you skimming past all those pages to get back to where there is more action. Della gets to be sexy in this one and Erle Stanley does not really even try to resolve the romantic element between Perry and Della or even the defendant and the girl he loves. Erle Stanley just ends the book when the case is solved. The TV show would have had the final fade out where the defendant and his true love were walking off stage left, arm in arm. Not Erle Stanley .... the case is over, let's move on. ( )