Golden Age of Detective Fiction

Welcome to my second post for this week’s celebration of crime fiction published in 1937. You can read my first post which discusses Erle Stanley Gardner’s Perry Mason book The Case of the Dangerous Dowager here. The #1937club is hosted jointly by Kaggsy’s bookish ramblings and Simon at Stuck in a book.

Today we’ll be tackling Erle Stanley Gardner’s second release for 1937….

The Case of the Lame Canary

Perry Mason is unwillingly sucked into a divorce case- which he swears he never handles- all because a young woman named Rita Swaine walks into his office with a lame canary in a cage. Its claws have been clipped too close on one foot, and now it’s got a sore foot. Rita Swaine sells Perry Mason a cock and bull story about how she met her lover James Driscoll at her sister Rosalind Prescott’s house. The nosy neighbor caught them “necking” and will tattle to Rosalind’s cold, cruel husband, Walter Prescott, which will cause a massive blow-up because James Driscoll had previously been in love with Rosalind and urged her to leave her husband and take her large fortune with her.

Whether James Driscoll is advising Rosalind due to love or money remains to be seen…

Perry Mason knows he’s being taken for a ride, yet he just has to see how the canary figures into this whole affair, so he accepts Rita Swaine’s request to represent Rosalind Prescott if things go sour.

Things go sour indeed.

Walter Prescott is found dead, shot three times in the heart, and the coroner estimates that he was laying dead in the house when James Driscoll was kissing, whichever sister he was kissing- there’s some debate about that, and the clue that sets the whole thing in motion is the poor canary, which the nosey neighbor having its right claw trimmed – twice, once by Rosalind Prescott and again by someone wearing her dress.

When it’s revealed that Rita Swaine impersonated her sister and is the only one without an alibi during the window, it’s up to Perry to save Rita and Rosalind from the gallows while fighting off a young attorney named Cuff, representing James Driscoll.

As Perry Mason digs deeper into Walter Prescott’s life and death, he uncovers insurance fraud, a mysterious man with two names, a secretary who lives a double life, and a lot of trouble.

The Review

The Case of the Lame Canary was just mediocre for me. I liked the opening gambit where Erle Stanley Gardner uses the strange encounter with a young woman and her injured canary as bait for Perry Mason and the reader- we are lured into spinning wild tales about why someone would lug a canary around. Perry Mason’s and our grand storytelling is cut painfully short by the cold, hard fact that Rita’s sister Rosalind is fleeing to Reno and will want her bird in a month.

Sometimes, a bird is just a bird, and in this case, it’s the first clue on the trail that leads Perry to Rosalind Prescott, James Driscoll, and Rita Swaine to their lair in Reno. It’s a good hook, but ultimately, it doesn’t really go anywhere and doesn’t help solve the case in any meaningful way.

Perry seeing the error of his thoughts about the enigma of the canary, resigns himself to rue the day he broke his no divorce cases rule, because they are messy, and populated with totally seedy people who will tear each other to shreds to save face, and possibly the biggest bummer of all, they are boring.

The Case of the Lame Canary is dreadfully boring, which honestly is a real feat since there is a man driving around California with two names and a bad case of amnesia, a notorious arson gang, a snoopy neighbor who loves spying on Prescott’s tortured marriage, and a terrible car crash outside Prescott’s house the same day the trio took flight.

I think there are a bit too many cooks in the kitchen. All of these elements are interesting and mysterious, and just when the reader feels the book is committing to one of the storylines, Erle Stanley Gardner pulls out another twist, leaving the thread half-fleshed out and not tied in until the end. All of these things are connected in Erle Stanley Gardner’s convoluted style. Still, unlike other stories, which feel like they are going further into the naturalist to the heart of the problem, Gardner seems to be delighting in obscuring everything until the final reveal, which basically turns the whole thing on its head and what the love story gone wrong isn’t the focus of the story at all.

For me, the twist felt tired and flat. Mason waves away the bait and switches, saying the whole case has been like a sleight-of-hand magic trick. While the perpetrators have had our attention in one direction, the actual case has been happening quietly in the shadows. The narration and Perry Mason also focus on the love story angle until Perry pieces it together on the last possible day.

The love story really drags on because Rita, Rosalind, and James Driscoll are three terribly unpleasant people running away from an even more unpleasant husband in Walter Prescott.

Supposedly.

We never actually see Walter Prescott as a terrible and cruel husband because he’s always dead. I would have loved one really dastardly scene with him before his death.

The first highlights in this book include Perry Mason sparing with this young gun of a lawyer, Cuff, who almost gets the better of him in court and almost proves his theory that James Driscoll cannot be the killer and that the only logical suspect left is Rita Swaine. Cuff really gets Perry Mason’s hackles up, and it’s great to see him really have to work hard to prove his case against a worthy adversary.

The second highlight of The Case of the Lame Canary is the sweet love story between Perry Mason and Della Street, culminating in a marriage proposal. It’s tender and hilariously forthright and brings forth a sense of kindness, friendship, and love not shown by the other main characters who supposedly love one another.

The Case of the Lame Canary disappointed me with characters I found loathsome and just an okay mystery. Still, even a subpar and slightly confusing book by Erle Stanley Gardner is miles better than most mysteries. Fans of the series will enjoy Perry, Della, and Paul Drake ferret out the culprit.

Erle Stanley Gardner Biography

Erle Stanley Gardner was an American author and lawyer, best known for creating the fictional lawyer Perry Mason. Born on July 17, 1889, in Malden, Massachusetts, Gardner’s early life was marked by various jobs and experiences, including working as a salesman, a cowboy, an advertising copywriter, and a traveling lawyer. He eventually settled into the practice of law, passing the California bar exam in 1911.

Gardner’s experiences in the legal field heavily influenced his writing. He began his writing career by contributing stories to pulp magazines, but it was the creation of Perry Mason that brought him widespread success. Mason, a brilliant defense attorney with a knack for unraveling mysteries and exposing the real culprits, became the central character in over 80 novels, short stories, and even a radio and television series.

Gardner’s writing style was known for its fast-paced plots, clever legal maneuvers, and surprising twists. He was a prolific writer, often producing several novels a year. In addition to the Perry Mason series, Gardner wrote under several pseudonyms and created other memorable characters, such as the crime-solving duo Bertha Cool and Donald Lam.

Despite his success as a writer, Gardner continued to practice law until the late 1930s. He was known for his dedication to his craft, often conducting extensive research for his novels and ensuring that his legal scenarios were accurate and believable.

Erle Stanley Gardner passed away on March 11, 1970, leaving behind a rich legacy of mystery and legal fiction. His works continue to be celebrated for their intricate plots, memorable characters, and enduring popularity across various media formats.