Golden Age of Detective Fiction

Wealthy and beautiful Sylvia Bain Atwood saunters into Perry Mason’s office on a fine morning and wishes to hire him to defend her family, especially her dying father, from the clutches of a slippery blackmailer named Brogan, who represents an old family friend.

This old family friend, however, has a shady past as an (alleged) bank robber. He says that he fronted Bain some money to start the business that made him rich. However, he also alleges that Bain knew that the money he borrowed was stolen from a high-profile bank robbery, and Brogan has the tape recording to prove it.

Sylvia Bain Atwood wants Perry to check the validity of the tape held by Brogan and to pay off the blackmailer if necessary. However, Mason doesn’t want to play things Atwood’s way, but he agrees to help her trap Brogan by any tricky legal means essential after consulting with Paul Drake that Brogan has slipped out of the law’s clutches for blackmail many times.

Mason and Atwood make an uneasy alliance and meet Brogan at his apartment to listen to the tape. Mason uses every ounce of cunning he manages to record the tape and erase it, side-stepping any further legal action for the dying Mr. Bain, Atwood’s younger sister who is engaged to be married, and the young Mr. Bain, who spends his days digging up cities in far-flung corners of the globe.

Brogan is more challenging to scrape off than a barnacle; Mason, Della Street, and Atwood are invited back to his apartment and walk into a deadly trap. The man who hired Brogan is dead in the apartment, and Brogan has successfully managed for his guests to be the prime suspects in his murder.

Through precise wordplay and quick thinking, Mason manages to get them all out of police questioning, but Atwood is a real live wire and thinks she knows what is best and soon starts a risky solo investigation. Her meddling soon leads to her sister being arrested for murder and Mason being carefully watched by the police as an accessory in the murder plot.

Mason is up to his eyeballs in this deadly case because one beguiling, strong-willed, green-eyed sister can’t keep from meddling. It’s one jam after another, with a lengthy courtroom scene to cap off this escalating game of cat and mouse between Perry Mason and the edge of the law.

The Review

The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister is Erle Stanley Gardner writing at the height of his powers. He positions Perry Mason at the furthest reach of the law and delightfully dances him right up to the edge of what is right so he can successfully represent Sylvia Atwood’s interests. She takes matters into her own hands and goes completely rogue.

A client barely on the right side of the law is a fun departure from the usual Perry Mason clientele- damsel’s in distress- and he plays Atwood’s game until it’s no longer feasible and cuts her loose when she’s officially out of danger. However, her morally gray shenanigans tighten the noose around her poor, sweet sister, who is just trying to take care of her dying father, keep her boyfriend from being seduced by her sister, and stop a blackmailer by appealing to his better nature (spoiler: he doesn’t have one) before being ratted out by Sylvia as the most likely suspect since she saw her visiting the blackmailer soon before his death.

Now Mason and Erle Stanley Gardner are doing what they do best, defending an innocent woman from death in a gross miscarriage of justice, especially in light of the unsavory victim. The beginning of the book is filled with barely legal tricks, scheming, and diplomatic silence, but one Mason is tasked with defending Sylvia’s gentlewoman sister, and he takes up the mantle of a white knight. The trial, which takes up a more lengthy portion of the book than others I have read, is fantastic. The District Attorney and the police are on top of their game and pulling no punches for the sister. They honestly suspect that Mason may have committed misconduct terrible enough to get him disbarred.

It’s exciting to see Mason’s moral and legal obligations crisscross and get pushed to the limit by both a client and an adversary. This is one of the first books I’ve read of the series where he drops a client- although it may be argued that he never really had her as a client, more as an ally. The blackmailer, Brogan, is a great villain. He knows how to ratchet every situation up to eleven while keeping his hands clean. Brogan, however, is just an amuse-bouche to the slow, agonizing battle of wits between Mason and the DA.

I was having so much anxiety about Mason being caught on the wrong side of the law while also having so much fun on this rollercoaster of a case beautifully crafted by Gardner that I almost lost sight of the mystery. Who killed the blackmailer? The trial kind of refocuses the reader on this task during the trial, and I had two main suspects. Through Mason’s timeline analyses (which makes it seem boring, but it wasn’t), he uncovers the killer.

Perry Mason wins his case but stays curiously silent about the killer or their apprehension. That’s not his case, and if this book taught me anything, Mason knows every inch of his purview and knows when silence serves Justice best.

The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister is an entertaining mystery that combines many elements of a good Perry Mason mystery: a problematic client, a devilishly tricky timeline, an excellent courtroom scene, Mason’s ethics on display, a strong adversary, and a no-holds bar DA, who has reasonable cause to want to nail Mason to the wall.

It’s a delightful Perry Mason mystery, and I highly recommend it, especially for readers new to the series.

Spring 2024 TBR Announcement

Spring 2024 TBR #1: Behind the Green Door by Mildred a Wirt

Spring 2024 TBR #2: The Applegreen Cat by Frances Crane

Spring 2024 TBR #3: The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood

Spring 2024 TBR #4: Death-Wish Green by Frances Crane

Perry Mason Series Reviews

Perry Mason # 10: The Case of the Dangerous Dowager (1937)

Perry Mason # 11: The Case of the Lame Canary (1937)

Perry Mason # 76: The Case of the Beautiful Beggar (1966)

Perry Mason # 84: The Case of the Crimson Kiss, Short Story, (1948)

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.