| Title | : | The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (Perry Mason, #6) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0345331958 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780345331953 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 201 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1935 |
Did it belong to the mysterious intruder who had attacked the young woman on the couch? But the only person who could help Parry Mason clear his clients had promptly disappeared. There were more complications to come for Mason. At one point, the brilliant lawyer-detective looked like he would soon land in jail himself after he used one eye too many in this baffling case.
The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (Perry Mason, #6) Reviews
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The murder of a wealthy client who had previously hired the services of lawyer extraordinaire Perry Mason to look into the wide spread theft of his finances by an employee leaves the unconventional lawyer in a bind; not only was Mason representing the now deceased client, but that of the alleged thief too.
Further complicating matters is another one of Perry's clients, a man with a false eye who hired the services of the renowned criminal lawyer to protect his interests SHOULD he find himself on the list of suspects for a crime he didn't commit.
Already the fingers point towards the client with presumption of guilt but, as this is a Perry Mason book, nothing is as simple as what it seems.
I didn't think The Case of the Counterfeit Eye had the same polish as the other Perry Mason book I've read but it did have all the courtroom antics and complicated plotting of which the author, Erle Stanley Gardner was renowned. Additionally, the court room thriller aspect was cleverly executed and not laden with legal jargon, as is a staple of these books.
My rating: 3/5 stars. To me, it felt like each character introduced had a sinister motive which immediately turned them into a suspect for Perry Mason to consider; this made the book feel more complicated than it needed to be.
Review first appeared on my blog as part of my Pick Up A Pulp series:
http://justaguywholikes2read.blogspot... -
This is an early Perry Mason novel. As is the case with most of these books, the plot is very convoluted and only a wizard like Perry Mason could ever explain it. The case begins when a man loses his glass eye and show up in Perry's office, asking Perry to represent him. He is afraid that his lost eye might turn up at the scene of a murder that has not yet been committed and needs Perry's protection. Most attorneys, of course, would be completely flummoxed by such a request, but Perry takes it in stride and accepts the case.
Within hours a murder will be committed and the prime suspect will be a one-eyed man whose artificial eye is found clutched in the hand of the murdered victim. Perry will have to pull a lot of rabbits out of the hat to save his client this time, but as everyone knows, he never fails.
This book is significant because it introduces Hamilton Burger, Perry's long-time nemesis, as the new D.A. There's a great scene where they meet for the first time in Perry's office and pledge their mutual respect for each other along with their commitment to justice. That, naturally, will last for about five pages. -
The case of the Counterfeit Eye by Erle Stanley Gardner is the 6th book in the Perry Mason Mystery series. Perry Mason is consulted regarding a substitution of an artificial eye and becomes involved in a murder when a man is killed found clutching the eye. An early Perry Mason book which becomes quite confusing with all the twists and complications but builds to an exciting ending. This is the book where we meet Hamilton Burger. An interesting and fast paced mystery.
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Too many suspects. Too many red herrings and intertwined motives. Mason is more of a detective here, taking a lot of chances even for my taste. This is the book where Hamilton Burger makes his debut and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he has been shown as a plausible, conscientious, intelligent lawyer. In most of the books I have read featuring Burger, he was more of a belligerent bull-headed caricature than a Chief Public Prosecutor. Even Paul Drake had more to do here and is very able and competent. I think, as Mason started enjoying more and more popularity (as a fictional character as well as in the stories),Gardner made the books all about Mason, with every other character playing a kind of second fiddle or a supporting role. More akin to a 'One Man Show'. But for the convenient coincidences, this was a enjoyable mystery.
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3.5 stars
Enjoyable cosy mystery delivered by super lawyer Perry Mason. Artful and mischievous as always this plot is pretty complicated building to an excellent conclusion.
These stories are fast-paced, addictive and lots of fun. -
Perry walks a fine line
Hamilton Burger is the new DA and will be Perry's main sparring partner through the rest of the series. Nearly everyone smokes. A really fun read -
A really fun read. These early Perry Mason novels (this one is from 1935) feel more like hard-boiled detective thrillers than courtroom dramas. This story was like a fast paced rollercoaster with plenty of twists and turns in the plot. And I enjoy the 1930's LA setting with rapid fire, wisecracking dialogue peppered with that era's slang. Erle Stanley Gardner did a great job with these novels, and this was one of his best.
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First Perry Mason for me. Solid characters, solid mystery, but the mood was fairly dull. I'll try another at some point and see if I feel the same.
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Still enjoying these. I'm not one to write plot summaries and enough of the reviewers do to make any summary by me superflous. This book marks Hamilton Burger's first appearance and perhaps sets the stage for Sgt. Holcomb's retirement. Perhaps to make the way for Lieut. Tragg.
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Written in 1935 during the golden age of detective fiction. Very complicated plot with lots of suspects. Enjoyable read.
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A thrilling early entry from 1935 that marks the first appearance of DA Hamilton Burger. Perry Mason is in hot water up to his eyeballs having managed to get his prints on both a gun and bullets at the crime scene. Perry is almost arrested twice, including a breathtaking chase while posing as a window washer to get to a witness. Even at the time of trial, Mason is nearly held in contempt of court, placed into custody, and called before a grand jury. The only way out? Find the real murder before the court goes into recess.
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This is my first experience with Erle Stanley Gardner but it won’t be my last. With the first sentence the book is into the plot and remains there until the end. The first half was great reading with plenty of forward momentum. The second half was slightly less engaging but that may have been due to me having to take a break from it for a week. The answer to the mystery was completely logical but I was unable to solve it.
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Este ha sido mi primer acercamiento a un personaje tan famoso como Perry Mason (con más de 300 millones de libros vendidos y populares series de televisión), y he de decir que me ha gustado mucho. La narración me ha parecido ágil e intrigante, y no he perdido el interés en ningún momento. Una lectura francamente divertida, perfecta para pasar un buen rato. Muy recomendable.
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A fast-pace story about murder, mayhem, & a cunning attorney, Perry Mason. There's no extra input except for a few grammatical errors but overall, a book full of the anecdotes used by a very Knowledgeable and crafty attorney.
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Helmet Burger makes his first appearance in this book and ESG writes what I think is his first solid mystery and the most fun court scenes to date. This book feels like the one the tv series built it’s formula on.
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Perry Mason picks up two cases. A man with a glass eye comes in and says someone stole his glass eye and replaced it with a cheap version and my be trying to get him falsely arrested. Then a young woman comes with her brother who says he had embezzled some money from a man he worked for. When Perry goes to the employer, he finds a young woman being tended to after being accosted by a man running from the inner office with a mask showing one empty eye socket. As you can imagine, the two cases seem to be related, but with a very complicated plot. The story is clever and complicated!
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AFTER READING THE FIRST BOOK OF PERRY MASON I HAD TO CONTINUE READING ABOUT HIM
The first book was great and this one did not dissapoint. -
Brilliant! Another masterstroke by ESG. When i had read the previous few books in the Perry Mason series, i had found the plot to be straightforward (a bit) at the beginning, completely complicated in the middle, and then what always followed was a fascinating explanation that tied up the loose ends. This one baffled me from the start, the middle was exceptionally convoluted which resulted in an exciting build up for the bombshell to be dropped at the finale!
I’m not even sure how to write a blurb for this plot but i will try my best.
Hartley Basset, a wealthy businessman ( a loan shark who often charged a humongous vig) has killed himself, or has he?! There is a suicide note though, and three guns in the room! Basset’s wife wanted an out, his adopted son hated his guts, and his former accountant owed him four thousand dollars of embezzled money. And there’s a man with a glass eye who hired Mason regarding his missing eye orb- which later was found clutched in a dead body’s hand. This time it might seem that Perry Mason have taken up more than what he can chew, yet he never gives up on a client- cause he’s a paid gladiator! The feisty trio - Perry Mason, Della street (his confidential secretary) and Paul drake - a sleuth who gets results even after going without sleep, together they’ll have to keep about their wits, and piece together this likely unsolvable puzzle of mayhem, deceit, lies, and murder!
I have mentioned before how Mason acts more like a detective rather like an attorney, though his skills and reputation as the latter are unmatched! From the get-go Mason starts pulling his threads and makes fast paced decisions to create clues or plot lines that might make the evidence against his clients circumstantial. What i found very interesting in this particular book was the fact that one of the the notorious ‘manoeuvres’ of Perry Mason, that are normally very extraordinary and brilliantly thrilling, blows up in his face and could have had land him in front of a grand jury if he was made out by the police. A new district attorney is introduced in this story, and something tells me about Hamilton Burger that he’s going to stay as the DA for the next books in the series as well. This is an interesting and a fast paced mystery, with twists and turns that’ll make a high speed roller coaster ride seem like a remote control miniature car for kids! -
I’ve read Erle Stanley Gardner once before but I’ve never read his Perry Mason books – which is remarkable since (1) I liked the TV show, and (2) my mom had a bunch of them on her bookshelf when I was a kid. Now that (somewhat hilariously) the American Bar Association is reprinting the Mason series, I decided it was time to try one. This is one of the earlier ones, which starts with a one-eyed client who claims someone stole his glass eye and he wants Mason to provide him with insurance in case the eye should be used to frame him – which is exactly what happens when wealthy businessman Harley Bassett is found dead with a glass eye in his palm and three guns near the body. The style is somewhat pulpish and occasionally cornball (such as when Mason introduces himself to people as “I'm Perry Mason, the lawyer”), and sometimes it’s unintentionally funny (honestly, almost everyone who comes to seek Mason’s services in this book seems to expect him to help them without confiding anything to him). And yet it’s pretty entertaining if you like dialogue-driven mysteries and courtroom drama (which I do) – it’s a fast-paced page-turner with solid characters, and while Mason’s strategy to win the case is pretty over-the-top, it’s an entertaining enough tale that it seems churlish to complain.
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Perry Mason👨🏻⚖️ se enfrenta esta vez a un caso en el que recibe la visita de un hombre👨🏻 que tiene un ojo de cristal y sospecha que en uno de los tantos que tiene le han dado el cambiazo.
Nada más salir este hombre del despacho entra una pareja👩🏻🧑🏻🦱 para encargarle otro caso al abogado. Dos casos que no tienen nada que ver en apariencia, pero la cosa se enreda, ya que el ojo👁 que sospecha el cliente de Perry que le han robado para darle el cambiazo por uno de peor calidad es encontrado en la escena de un crimen.
El crimen de un hombre muy rico💵 Hartley Basset, que estaba rodeado de enemigos, y que aparece con el ojo👁de cristal robado en la mano y varias armas🔫🔪, lo que hace descartar desde el principio el suicidio. Nuestro abogado👨🏻⚖️ tendrá que enfrentarse a un caso donde todo indica que sus defendidos lo tendrán difícil, pero no será así porque los defiende el mejor. Si queréis saber más cositas, la reseña completa está en nuestro blog. -
The Perry Mason series never fails to disappoint and Counterfeit Eye is yet another excellent read. The books may be short but Gardner packs a lot of twists and turns to keep things interesting. It seems. Like a simple murder but it quickly evolves into something else entirely and each character has a motive for wanting the man dead.
Mason isn't just a lawyer but he could also be a detective and is clever enough to keep two or even three steps ahead of the police. The dialog may seem a bit dated but the story itself isn't. There's a reason these novels are so addictive and Gardner is constantly tweaking the formula to keep things fresh and exciting. The characters themselves are interesting and are there to keep the plot moving while being an intricate part of the book.
The series never fails to disappoint and it continues to be a series I always come back to. -
One of my favorites so far. You do learn more than you'd want to know about glass eyes, though. I'm temporarily a mini-expert before my memory fails me again. Hamilton Burger is introduced for the first time, and as fans of the show or books know, he becomes the main competition in the courtroom. Perry smashes him but soothes it over with an olive branch at the end. I'm sure this goodwill won't hold. A funny thing about this one is Perry is representing almost every character in the novel in some shape or form.
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I picked this up as a daily deal. I have never read any of the Perry Mason books, just grew up on the reruns of the TV show.
Still i was not prepared for how good this was and just how interesting the character of the detective-lawyer Perry Mason was. The show presented some of this, but once again the book is always better. -
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