The Case of the Curious Bride

by Erle Stanley Gardner

Book Overview

Perry Mason takes on the case of a woman whose millionaire husband is blackmailed by her former husband, who has turned up alive years after his plane crash. Someone murders the schemer, putting Mason on a collision course with a cold-blooded killer.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345362225
• ISBN13: 9780345362223
• Release Date: June 1989
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

Legal Thriller with a Surprise Ending

"Helen Crocker" visits Perry Mason on behalf of a friend, whose husband has disappeared after an airplane crash. The insurance company won't pay until the body has been recovered. Her friend also wonders about her right to re-marry. Perry gives her his legal advice must go to the client directly (Chapter I). Perry specialized in trial law, where there is little repeat business. Paul Drake drops in to tell what he noticed about the recent visitor - she was being followed! Paul Drake doesn't miss much (Chapter II). The visitor left her purse behind, with a real address. Perry uses this information to trace his visitor (Chapter III). Now Rhoda Montaine finds Perry and explains her problem (Chapter V). Her first husband Gregory Moxley, believed dead, is still alive! The next morning the headlines tell of the murder of Gregory Moxley, Rhoda's first husband. Her present husband Carl visits Perry to ask for help (Chapter VI). Perry moves fast to track down his client and save her. Rhoda tells Perry what happened last night. The 'Chronicle' reporters show up for Rhoda's surrender, and the police arrest Rhoda (Chapter VII). Can the public be affected by by what they read in the newspapers (Chapter VIII)? If fingerprints were obliterated from the murder weapon and door knob, what does that say? Carl Montaine's father visits Perry to convince him to sacrifice Rhoda for the Montaine name! Perry refuses (Chapter X). Chapters XI and XII show Perry doing home repairs of an unusual nature! Paul Drake gets a lead on a possible past wife of Gregory Moxley (Chapter XIII). They question Doris Freeman about the telephone call made before the murder (Chapter XIV), and locate the man who worked with Doris (Chapter XV). Carl Montaine tries to have his marriage annulled on the grounds of Rhoda's previous marriage, which would allow him to testify against his wife. But Perry reveals that Gregory Moxley was married years before. Now that the judge affirms their marriage, Perry asks Rhoda to sue for divorce (Chapter XVI)! Doctor Millsap's nurse comes crying to see Perry (Chapter XVII). Perry quickly accepts the jury, the prosecutor questions each juror closely in hope of finding a "plant", but this upsets the jury (Chapter XVIII)! The jury is sent to examine the scene of the crime. In Chapter XIX the testimony resumes when the next-door witnesses tell about hearing a telephone ring and the ringing of a doorbell. Or was it an alarm clock? In Chapter XX there is the interview between Perry and C. Phillip Montaine, the very wealthy father of Carl. The facts kept hidden are now disclosed in a surprise. The charges against Rhoda are dismissed (Chapter XXI). Perry asks Rhoda to reimburse Doris Freeman for the money taken by Gregory; a happy ending for all. [The very wealthy man is an interesting and unusual character; most of Perry's clients are the self-made businessman.]

Mason's Clients are Never Guilty

This is the 24th Perry Mason novel I've read (the 5th in the series), and it's Perry Mason at his best--or worst. For this is not the sanitized Perry Mason of television. The real Perry Mason routinely manipulates, suppresses, and, in this case, even plants evidence. Two eyewitnesses saw the bride kill her husband. She herself claims she did it. But she's Mason's client, so she couldn't possibly be guilty, right?

Yet Another Great Perry Mason Mystery

I am a big fan of all Perry Mason books but this one is definitley one of the best. There are many twists and turns in the plot. You never know who is lying and who is telling the truth. Some characters are telling the truth but not the whole truth others are totally lying and a couple are telling the whole truth. That makes it a very suspenseful and intriguing book. All in all is a book that keeps you on your toes and you can't put it down.