Perry Mason and the Case of the Howling Dog: A Radio Dramatization

I've read all the Perry Mason mysteries, a quarter of them quite recently. I think this is the best of them for lots of reasons.1. Perry Mason is a rascal. This is especially obvious in the books written in the thirties. In HOWLING DOG from 1934, the fourth Mason novel, he is more of a rascal than in any other Mason book. He draws a line on a desk blotter, and then says to detective Paul Drake, "That's the line of the law. ... I'm going to come so domn close to that line that I'm going to rub elbows with it, but I'm not going to go across it."That's way the best place for Mason to be. In the later books, especially after the tv series had cleaned him up, he was more spectator than actor. That's not as good at all.2. I'm going to avoid giving a spoiler here, but if I DID give that spoiler, you could see that Mason's way with his client rubs elbows with the law in ways no other book does. And that's worth an even higher rating than Mason's rascality in general.3. The plot is super-complicated, as in all Mason's novels. As in most of the novels, Mason figures it all out while the reader is gasping, trying to remember what everybody already knows, and in no condition to figure out anything new. But here each step of the plot is laid out plainly, much more plainly than in the general run of Mason's novels.In a way this is amateurishness. When the plot twists seem impossible, it may be cleverer to hide them -- but here they get stressed, and the reader is never disoriented, though she may be unbelieving. For me, that makes the book superior to other Mason novels.4. Entire chapters are devoted to Mason's philosophy of life as a defense attorney. He says things like, "Lots of times the lawyer for the defendant gets a little too clever, and people condemn him. They overlook the fact that the district attorney is as clever a lawyer as the state can find. And the lawyer for the defense has to counteract the vigor of the prosecution by putting up as shrewd and plausible a defense as he can." Mason says similar things in other stories, but never covers the ground so thoroughly as he covers it here -- and of course, the book is a blisteringly fast read at the same time, just like all the other Mason novels.The point of all this is that Mason is risking his career because of his own daredevil character, and because he's been paid ten thousand dollars -- more than a hundred thousand in today's money -- to defend a client about whom he knows nothing. Does she lie to him? Of course. Who really did it? Read the book and find out. That's the very best part of what I say is Gardner's very best book.

Not really, but there is an extended discussion between the two of them regarding whether Perry is truly acting in the client's best interest. If you read that exchange between any Secretary and attorney, you would probably think she was belligerent and disrespectful and heading toward dismissal. But in this case, it is Della and Perry, you know she will end up overawed by his brilliance. One of the best courtroom scenes in this series, especially since here Perry is arguing in front of an actual jury instead of during a preliminary hearing. Lots of entertaining shenanigans with actresses impersonating taxi riders, Perry writing letters to newspapers, private eyes flying to Florida and a red faced spluttering district attorney. One of the best

It's an early Perry Mason, and a tad noir. His determination to win for his client (who may or may not be innocent) shows him taking some steps that while legal are...twisty. I got where one of the plot twists was going pretty quickly, and liked the way he went about getting someone else to do something he needed done (although, again, questionable tactics to bring out the truth) and wasn't disappointed. I thought he was setting us up for another plot twist that did not occur, but kept me thrown off for a bit.There are some definite period notes, mostly to do with the Chinese cook, but nothing out of the ordinary. The characters are instantly recognizable and enjoyable.Well worth the read!**SPOILER**The plot twist I thought he was setting us up for was that the wife had never disappeared, but that the same woman was playing wife and secretary, which turned out to not be true. Still well-played.**SPOILER**

Another five –star delight from Earl Stanley Gardner! This masterpiece focuses on trial preparation and trial of a criminal defense case. This time, Perry Mason represents a woman accused of murdering her husband, who had run away with her good friend. Oddly, her friend's husband retains Perry Mason to represent her and then disappears. Perry Mason's tactics in his representation are designed to defeat various aspects of the circumstantial case and stretch to the limit the permissibility of an attorney's conduct. The ending is phenomenal and will make your heart race and your breath quicken. I cannot recommend these books too highly. Earl Stanley Gardner was a genius in writing this compelling , exciting and certainly never boring series.

Starts well, with an interesting premise. Mason is never dull, but here he sounds mostly like a rather young boyscout version of legal ethics except when he's looking for someone to punch in defense of his client.

Mason anticipates the manipulation of witnesses by the prosecution. He so cleverly counters these actions. A smile lingers on the reader's face. Gardner's next book in on line waiting to be downloaded.

Perry Mason just kills it. Or do I mean Gardner? Now I know why my Dad (a law graduate) would lay all day on the couch reading his book when the rest of us had to go to church.

Each story written stands alone and the reader must weigh the value of the pen. I say this was by far the testament to a fine writer AND a master wordsmith. Great story.