The Case of the Lucky Legs: Perry Mason Series, Book 3

Perry Mason solves another one! He knows the law and how to push it as far as he can, bending it to the benefit of his innocent (naturally) client without actually breaking it. He is scrupulous in a just-shy-of-unscrupulous way. Ends justifying the means, perhaps?Ethical questions notwithstanding, Gardner is ever entertaining. His language is crisp, plots endlessly twisting, and characters deliciously villainous or improbably naive. Forgive him his stereotypes (racial, gender, or whatever) because he was a reflection of his times.Despite Gardner's frequently sexist portrayals of damsels in distress, one of his strongest and most interesting characters is none other than Della Street. She ran the show but was wise enough to not let on to her single-minded boss who would rattle off a litany of orders, confident she would get them all down on her steno pad, finish them on an impossibly short timeline, and never have a hair out of place. She was his defensive tackle who ran interference for him without ever showing a single ruffled feather. The soul of discretion, she would make the most secure information vault pale in comparison to her secret-keeping abilities. No wonder she remained 'Miss Street' all those years--there way no way she had a life outside that office. But we loved her for it.These books from Earl Stanley Gardner are kind of a time capsule. You might enjoy references to 'expensive $5.00 ties,' or dropping a nickle into a pay phone. And no matter how dangerous the world seemed to them, it feels nostalgic and safe to visit now.So if you want a (somewhat predictable) brain teaser, interesting (though somewhat stereotypical) characters, and a hero who is equal parts anti-hero, you'll enjoy these books. Take them for what they are and enjoy!

What a wonderful book! Erle Stanley Gardner has done it again with this third installment of the Perry Mason series. This case deals with the murder of a shady promoter of good-looking young women. Young women win a "legs" contest and are promised a Hollywood career and attendant fame. This is, of course, a scam, and the girls are left fame-less and penniless. The promoter, of course, is murdered and Mason represents the girl and man who are the prime suspects. The plotting is intricate; the pace is fast and the end is surprising. Through it all, Mason is calm, deliberative, ingenuous, and brilliant. I highly recommend this book.

I don't usually write reviews about books by relatively well known and famous authors but, I will in this case. This is one of the earliest Perry Mason books. I found it delightful and amazing! The things Perry Mason did back then were remarkable. But the most amazing part of this book was reading about Della Street -speed demon. I had no idea that Della was such an aggressive driver!If you want to read a good mystery book this is one for you-one that has lots of twists and turns-both in the cars and in the plot, this is one for you.

Not one of the more interesting ones. I'm partial to those where we get to see Perry solve the mystery in court, in front of a jury, fighting for his client's life.This one happened more behind the scenes, with a lot of Detective work, moving people around and playing musical hotel rooms. I did catch on to who 'did it' about half way through, but it did keep me reading. Mostly because Perry crosses a line (like he usually does) but could get caught at it. Not good to have a lawyer have to do time! So wanting to see how that played out kept me interested.

Slowly reading through the Perry Mason series, I am still in the middle of this one. It is a light escape from the chore of reading about Ptolemeic Egypt as translated from papyrus and the Rosetta Stone. Erle Stanley Gardner, with his particular vices (look it up), is an often copied story teller from whom I hope to learn something. His stories seem quite formulaic and often worked well as screenplays. I'll probably read another 3 or 4 in the series.

This is the first Erle Stanley Gardner book I have read. I watched Perry Mason for years in my youth and currently record the reruns to view again! Perry Mason was tamed down for TV. I enjoyed reading how the original lawyer was written. I was surprised to find misspelled and misused words occasionally, but of course this was before computers and spell-check! If you are a Perry Mason fan, I highly recommend you read these books and meet the original Perry Mason!

Fun, formulaic, typical Erle Stanley Gardner fare is dated in the language and settings but still a good, quick read. Perfect for reading while waiting for appointments or when one needs to read something that can be picked up, put down, and later resumed.The audio versions of these books is a waste of time and money because the automated voice is terrible. Read it for the pleasure of actually reading.

Seems all actions were disjointed, it did come together as i read on. Keeping story simple did not happen. I read on, case was won with actions Perry ,s mud on the wall stuck.