The Case of the Black-eyed Blonde

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: B00117BNRK
• Release Date: January 1944
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Confusion About Identities

The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde Perry Mason has a visitor: Diana Regis is young, beautiful, well-mannered, wearing a fur coat, and has a black-eye! Diana was hired to read to Jason Bartsler from articles printed years earlier. Bartsler claimed Americans have become too credulous, and blames the messenger for news that turns out to be false. [Has this propaganda function changed since then?] The articles of today make similar promises as in the past. Bartsler's stepson Carl Fretch went out with Diana , became too forward. Their argument became physical; Carl accused her of theft! Diana fled from that home and came to see Perry Mason (Chapter 1). Perry visits the Bartslers, questions Carl and Mrs. Bartsler, then settles the case out of court (Chapter 2). Jason Bartsler visits Perry Mason the next day and we learn the true reason behind Diana's hiring. Perry thinks of a legal theory to handle his problem (Chapter 3). Perry gets a call from Diana: her purse and her money went missing. Later a phone call from her room mate solves the problem (Chapter 4). Perry and Della arrive at that house for a meeting, but no one is home. The police show up and find dead body. Diana's purse with her money in it is nearby (Chapter 5). When Perry takes Della home they get a surprise. Diana is there waiting for them! Her room mate had taken her purse and driver's license, and went to that house. Mildred Danville looks a lot like Diane. Perry uses a ruse to get the truth from Diana. But Della explains how this can backfire! The police show up, and take Diana in for questioning (Chapter 6). Della didn't notice the car following her because its lights were off. Perry dictates a writ of habeas corpus to get Diana out on bail. Following a lead, Perry and Della return to a house and find a young woman stuck in her car: it is the widow of Robert Bartsler, Jason's son (Chapter 7)! In Chapter 8 new complications arise from Mildred Danville's apartment. Sergeant Holcomb arrests Perry and Della on a charge of burglary! Perry explains how the police will feed a smear to the newspapers so the jurors will prejudge a defendant (Sheppard v. Ohio?). Paul Drake tells Perry about activity at the Bartslers (Chapter 10). The murder weapon is found in Diana's apartment. There is a discrepancy in Diana's story, but Perry thinks how it can be resolved (Chapter 11). The preliminary hearing begins in Chapter 12 as the prosecution builds their case. A police officer gives his testimony, but balks when he recognizes the picture of Mildred Danville (Chapter 13). Helen Bartsler testifies, and Perry thinks she is hiding something (Chapter 14). Perry uses a ruse to get information from Diana's apartment (Chapter 15). They find surprising information (Chapter 16). This leads to another person who is involved in this case (Chapter 17). Paul Drake traces this person, Perry and Della visit her (Chapter 19). Next Perry, Della, and Paul race back to see Jason Bartsler. The police arrive, and an ambu

The obvious suspect turns out to be innocent

This story starts simple enough. A woman (Diana Regis) walks into Perry Mason's office fighting mad. The stepson of her employer made unwanted advances to her and when she resisted, he punched her in the eye. Since the stepfather is a wealthy man and has no illusions about the character of his stepson, he immediately pays $2000, of which $500 is Perry Mason's fee. Of course, no story involving Perry Mason is ever that simple. Shortly after the settlement, Diana's roommate is found murdered from a bullet wound in the back of the head and the murder weapon is found in Diana's room with only her fingerprints on it. This involves Perry, secretary Della Street and detective Paul Drake on a hunt for vital clues as to what really happened. Since circumstances caused Della and Perry to be at the murder scene shortly after it happened, they saw a vital clue that allows for the possibility that Diana is innocent. In this episode, everything hinges on timing. Two vitals clues concerning when things happened and how much time elapsed are given. The first deals with the time of the murder being established as after it began raining and the second and most critical deals with the precise time the spoiled stepson threw the punch. The reader is tipped off concerning the discrepancies, although it is not easy to catch them. There is a strong and dramatic ending, where the murderer is revealed. It was not the person that I suspected. I fell for thinking it was the stepson. Perry Mason also locks horns with Sergeant Holcomb, who is basically an idiot, thinking that Mason is only trying to make the police look bad. This story has two ingredients that make a good murder mystery, discrepancies that seem impossible to resolve and an obvious suspect that turns out to be innocent. Together, they kept me riveted for the last thirty pages