A lawyer is sucked into a couple’s hostile divorce in this mystery with “a stellar ending” from the original detective series that inspired the HBO show (Kirkus Reviews). Edward Garvin is a very successful businessman with a very unhappy ex-wife—who wants his money. So Garvin calls on lawyer Perry Mason to protect his company from her schemes, and ensure the divorce they’d gotten in Mexico is … they’d gotten in Mexico is actually finalized.
But when Garvin’s former spouse is struck down by a killer, Mason’s client becomes the chief suspect. Fortunately, the attorney “comes up with dazzling answers” to the mystery . . . (The New York Times).
This whodunit is part of Edgar Award–winning author Erle Stanley Gardner’s classic, long-running Perry Mason series, which has sold three hundred million copies and serves as the inspiration for the HBO show starring Matthew Rhys and Tatiana Maslany.
DON’T MISS THE NEW HBO ORIGINAL SERIES PERRY MASON, BASED ON CHARACTERS FROM ERLE STANLEY GARDNER’S NOVELS, STARRING EMMY AWARD WINNER MATTHEW RHYS
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I turned back the clock to 1949 to read a new edition of Erle Stanley Gardner’s “The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom.” It’s one of 82 Perry Mason novels that spawned a pair of network television series, 30 television movies, and earlier this year, an offbeat HBO series that I enjoyed.
The number one bestselling author of the 20th Century, Gardner virtually created the legal thriller subgenre of crime fiction. (Yes, I know about Arthur Train of a generation earlier and his novels featuring “Yankee Lawyer” Ephraim Tutt).
Without Perry Mason, would there have been a John Grisham or a Scott Turow? Like Gardner, they were both accomplished trial lawyers when they first started writing fiction, and both were clearly influenced by his work. (Before I wrote my first legal thriller, a Miami judge questioned whether I was already writing fiction in my legal briefs).
“The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom” starts as a civil matter with an ex-wife trying to take over her hubby’s company. When she’s found killed, sure thing, the ex-husband is charged with murder. Mason does much of the gumshoe work himself, aided by loyal P.I. Paul Drake and the shorthand-taking secretary Della Street. Once in the courtroom, sparks fly, and there are the twists and turns and red herrings associated with classic mysteries.
So how does a 70-year-old novel stack up against today’s legal thrillers? One thing going for Gardner’s work: homicide trials and criminal procedures have changed very little. That helps with technical details.
Similarly, Mason’s skepticism of the justice system would not be out of place in today’s legal thrillers: “By the time a witness gets on the stand he’s testifying to a composite of what he saw, what he thinks he saw, what the other fellow tells him he saw, and what he concludes he must have seen.”
Famously, Gardner dictated his novels, and rather quickly. It’s no-frills writing without elegant flourishes. There are no lengthy descriptions of the courtroom’s polished oak wainscoting and very little sense of place. Scenes are short, and even so, the dialogue tends to get windy. There are some unfortunate examples of ethnic stereotypes that were doubtless reflective of the era.
In short, “…Bridegroom” is a time capsule, right down the cylinders of a Dictaphone that portend a plot twist. Like many 1940’s books and plays, the novel is dated but worth considering.
I’ve only read a couple of Perry Mason mysteries but this one was by far the most fun yet. It starts with Perry finding a beautiful woman on his fire escape who is trying really hard not to be seen or identified. He then gets pulled into the kind of case that wouldn’t be nearly such a big deal today. His client has divorced his first wife in Mexico and then gotten remarried. He thought she also wanted the divorce, but now she’s angry and is maneuvering to get control of his company from him and have him arrested on charges of bigamy. While Perry is doing an amazing job of managing this problem, a murder occurs upping the ante tremendously as everyone thinks his client is the murderer.
Now right from the beginning, I think it should be noted that this book didn’t need a murder. The original problem, managing the client’s problems with his (at least in Mexico) ex-wife, was excellent and totally had my interest. I was almost sorry to see the murder because it changed dramatically the nature of the legal problem. But that being said, the courtroom drama was equally fascinating. There’s a humorous element as the prosecutor and his assistant are constantly maneuvering to humiliate Perry (and we, the reader knows Perry is going to win out in the end). They go so far as to (unethically in my opinion) try to get the bar to come down on Perry for doing his job as a defense attorney. But in addition to the normal legal troubles, Perry also (again) has to deal with a client who won’t tell the truth to him, making it ten times as hard for Perry to adequately defend him. Then consider the red herrings… I freely admit that I didn’t figure this one out—but I should have.
Leave it to Perry, Della and Paul to solve even the most puzzling mystery!
Perry Mason is always fun to read.
Really complicated storyline. Shows what an actor Perry Mason was.
As usual, the author includes crisp conversations between Perry Mason, Paul Drake, and Della Street. The logical bent of Mason’s mind is a pleasure to follow. In this book, The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom, the plot twists are more numerous than usual, with many red herrings. At one point it even seemed that Mason had misjudged his client and was defending a guilty man. This is one of Gardner’s best.
competent writing, but outstanding storytelling
It’s Earle Stanley Gardner what else do I need to say.
It’s interesting to read novels that are written in an old fashioned way. Got through the entire book without any curse words.
The original Perry Mason that Gardner created bears no resemblance to the HBO abomination. Thankfully.
Fun read. As usual, a totally convoluted plot twist that only Perry — at the last minute — could figure out.
interesting fast reader
I always enjoy Perry Mason mysteries. This one includes visits to Mexico and twists involving eavesdropping on phone conversations and identifying cars.