Tag / Erle Stanley Gardner

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Book 8 (of 52) – The Case Of The Green-Eyed Sister

The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister – Erle Stanley Gardner

Catching up on the books I read while in Hawaii while on vacation.

When a blackmailer comes after the Bain family, threatening to implicate them in a crime if they don’t pay, a daughter hires Perry Mason to negotiate the deal.  When the blackmailer is found dead and his client is arrested for murder, Perry, along with Della Street and Paul Drake, have to get to the bottom of the case.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister, originally published in 1953, is the 42nd entry in his Perry Mason series, the fourth of six novels re-released two years ago in conjunction with the new adaptation on HBO, and the sixth that I’ve read.  This entry spent more time in the courtroom than some of the others and felt more in-line with the classic television show we all know and love.  I look forward to seeing the TV adaptation from the Raymond Burr version of the show, the 21st episode of its first season, so I can compare the filmed version with the original.

This was the last Perry Mason novel I had waiting to be read.  A second season of the HBO program should be released later this year, so hopefully they re-release another batch of novels along with it.

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2021: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2021, my first full year remote working, I managed to read a whopping 54 books, an increase of 31 books over last year and my first year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total in mid-June, passed my best years, 2015 and 2016, in late August, and completed book 52 with two weeks left in the year.  I read (or listened) to 18,670 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the second time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, 16 were non-fiction and, of the 36 novels, 10 were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 43 e-books and 4 audiobooks.  For the first time since I was a kid, I got myself a library card, which helped me procure 14 of the books.

Just less than half of the books I read this year were by authors I have read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

  • Tegan Quin
  • Sara Quin
  • Lucy Foley
  • Jenna Fischer
  • Matt Haig
  • Eric Nusbaum
  • Jon Taffer
  • Charlotte Douglas
  • Susan Kearney
  • Fredrik Backman
  • Jeff Pearlman
  • Minka Kent
  • Alan Cumming
  • Megan Goldin
  • Molly Bloom
  • Barack Obama
  • Ali Wong
  • Timothy Ferriss
  • Issa Rae
  • Walter Tevis
  • Tess Gerritson
  • Gary Braver
  • Andy Weir
  • Matthew Walker
  • James Clear
  • Grady Hendrix
  • Simon Sinek
  • Jason Fung
  • Julia Spiro
  • Jon Pessah
  • Ruth Ware

Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Kubica, Jeffery Deaver, Andy Weir and Karin Slaughter were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2021.

6 of the books I read were released this year, while 5 of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1933.

Finally, the breakdown by month, which was fairly consistent across the entire year.

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Prolific Authors Wrap Up

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we wrap things up with a look back at the 77 authors I’ve read more than once.

Largest Increase (since 2019)

The Knife Slipped – Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner – 5
Jeffrey Deaver – 3
Karin Slaughter – 3
Tom Perrotta – 3
Riley Sager – 2
Greer Hendricks – 2
Sarah Pekkanen – 2

Largest Increase (since 2011)

Deadly Heat – Richard Castle

Richard Castle – 13
Jeffrey Deaver – 10
Erle Stanley Gardner – 9
J.K. Rowling – 7
Mary Kubica – 6
David Mack – 6
Karin Slaughter – 6

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Book 50 (of 52) – The Case Of The Gilded Lily

The Case Of The Gilded Lily – Erle Stanley Gardner

When a blackmailer is found dead in a motor lodge, Perry Mason tries to stay a step ahead of the police while trying to determine if his client, or his client’s wife, were responsible.  After his client is arrested, Perry, along with Della Street and Paul Drake, have to get to the bottom of the case: who killed the blackmailer, who was his partner, and who is framing his client and his wife.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Gilded Lily, originally published in 1956, is the 50th entry in his Perry Mason series, the sixth of six novels re-released last year in conjunction with the new adaptation on HBO, and the fifth that I’ve read this year. This was not the best entry in this series that I’ve read, but does spend plenty of time in court, where Perry Mason and Hamilton Burger are much more adversarial than they are in the classic TV series.  I look forward to seeing the TV adaptation from the Raymond Burr version of the show, the 34th episode of its first season, so I can compare the filmed version with the original.

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Prolific Authors – 9 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we continue with the two authors I’ve read 9 times.

Michael Jan Friedman

Known primarily for licensed works, Friedman first entered my world in 1990, thanks to a trio of Star Trek: The Next Generation novels.  There were another two in 1992 and then he reappeared in 1996 with another trio of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman tie-ins.  That was it until he reappeared on my radar earlier this year, with yet another Next Gen entry.

Erle Stanley Gardner

I’ve been aware of Gardner as the creator of Perry Mason for years, but had never read any of his work until 2015, when Hard Case Crime released the first of their republishing of his Cool and Lam series, written under the penname A.A. Fair.  Since that time, five entries of the series have been released.  Thanks to the new HBO interpretation of Perry Mason, a number of those books have been republished as well, four of which I’ve read over the past 2 years.

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Book 38 (of 52) – The Case Of The Dubious Bridegroom

The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom – Erle Stanley Gardner

When Perry Mason catches a woman on the fire escape outside of his office, he becomes entangled with the a businessman whose first wife is trying to steal his company out from under him as payback for his getting a Mexican divorce and quickie re-marriage.  When she turns up dead, Perry has to defend his client for both bigamy and murder, unless he can figure out who the true killer is.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom, originally published in 1949, is the 33rd entry in his Perry Mason series and the third of six novels re-released last year in conjunction with the new adaptation on HBO.  Things were going along well, until the abrupt ending, where Perry figured out what really happened.  Rather than him showing it in court, which is what usually happens in the TV show, it just ended, with the trial still happening and without a definitive ending.  I look forward to seeing the TV adaptation from the Raymond Burr version of the show, released during its second season, so I can compare the filmed version with the original.

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Book 26 (of 52) – The Case Of The Lonely Heiress

Erle Stanley Gardner – The Case of the Lonely Heiress

When a publisher comes to him to investigate a woman who has placed a questionable ad in his magazine, Perry Mason gets himself involved in a contested will and, ultimately, a murder case.  When his new client is charged with the murder of the one witness threatening to scuttle her claims on an inheritance, he needs to figure out who the real killer is without putting his own neck on the line.

Erle Stanley Gardner’s The Case of the Lonely Heiress, originally published in 1948, is the 31st entry in his Perry Mason series and the second of six novels re-released last year in conjunction with the new adaptation on HBO.  While this tale wasn’t my favorite of what I’ve read so far, it was adapted for an episode of the Raymond Burr version of the show during its first season, so I’d like to catch that sometime soon and compare the filmed version with the original.

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Book 14 (of 52) – The Case of the Terrified Typist

The Case Of The Terrified Typist – Erle Stanley Gardner

When a temp typist goes missing, Perry Mason finds himself drawn into a mystery involving a multi-national diamond company, a jewel heist, a dead smuggler, and, ultimately, a client who refuses to cooperate.  When Perry’s client is found guilty of murder, he comes up with a unique way to get out from underneath the verdict, keeping his record clean.

The Case of the Terrified Typist is the 49th entry in Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series and the fifth of six novels rereleased last year in conjunction with the new HBO adaptation.  This story was adapted for an episode of the Raymond Burr version of the show during its first season, so I’d like to catch that sometime soon and compare the filmed version with the original.

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Book 2 (of 52) – The Case Of The Lazy Lover

The Case Of The Lazy Lover – Erle Stanley Gardner

When 2 separate checks arrive at Perry Mason’s office from a woman he has never met and with no explanation as to what they are for, the lawyer gets dragged into an investigation, searching for the woman and trying to find out why she has hired him.  When her husband winds up dead and she is charged with the crime, Perry has to find out what really happened in order to set his client free.

The Case of the Lazy Lover is the 30th entry in Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason series and is much closer to what would eventually show up on screen in the 1950s series than in the first entry, which was the only other one I had read.  Because of this, I managed to hear Raymond Burr’s voice in my head as I read the book, which I’m sure helped to enrich my experience.  Turns out that this story was adapted for an episode of the show during its first season, so I’d like to catch that sometime soon and compare the filmed version with the original.

Thanks to the new HBO series, a number of the old Perry Mason novels have been republished.  This is the only one I have picked up to date, but I’ll have my eyes open for more.

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2020: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2020, a year where I should have been setting records due to the pandemic and stay at home orders, I managed to read only 23 books, a decrease of 5 books over last year.  Of those 23, 8 were non-fiction and, of the 15 novels, only 2 were tied to a TV show.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer and 15 were e-books.  I read just over 7,800 pages, my seventh highest total of all time.

For the first time in years, a majority of the books I read this year were by authors I have read before. The 11 authors that I read for the first this year were:

  • Ken Harrelson
  • Jeff Snook
  • Liz Phair
  • Megan Abbott
  • Greer Hendricks
  • Sarah Pekkanen
  • Cameron Esposito
  • Rich Lindberg
  • Sara Schaefer
  • Alex Trebek
  • Trevor Noah

Tom Perotta, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Karin Slaughter were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2020.

6 of the books I read were released this year, while 5 of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1933.

Finally, the breakdown by month.  My vacation to Hawaii in February and being off in December certainly helped pad its totals a tad bit. Continue reading →