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The Case of the Velvet Claws
- Perry Mason Series, Book 1
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
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The Case of the Velvet Claws
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Summary
Criminal lawyer and bestselling mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote nearly 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Now, the American Bar Association is bringing back his most famous and enduring novels - featuring criminal defense lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason - in striking trade paperback editions.
Married Eva Griffin has been caught with a prominent congressman, and is ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid hush money to protect the politician. But first Perry Mason tracks down the publisher of the blackmailing tabloid and discovers a shocking secret, which eventually leads to Mason being accused of murder.
This is the first Perry Mason mystery and our introduction to secretary Della Street, detective Paul Drake, and the great lawyer himself.
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Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- AEP
- 17-04-22
Every story has a beginning
I don't like to write reviews just to say I found the story good but not great. However it seems that the only review for this book is quite negative (albeit in a funny, witty way) so I thought I would add some perspective.
This is not the case by which one should judge Perry Mason. His character, his relationship with Della and Paul, the author's skill, all of this is still gestating in this first volume. It is definitely not my favorite and I won't contradict the other reviewer's complaints. I was shocked, disappointed and puzzled because, as a teenager in the 90s, I had a huge crush on white-haired Raymond Burr as Perry Mason, I had also read many volumes, and Perry was never like this.
But if you hang in there, you won't be disappointed as you progress in the series. I think of this version as a younger, harsher, overly arrogant Perry who is still immature and angry at the world. He hates the rich, distrusts the poor, fights his clients, antagonizes the police, despises the DA, he challenges, insults and hits men and women... Then again, that does not make him that different from some well-loved 21st century lawyers such as Suits's Harvey Spector whose Donna may very well be a version of Della.
Thankfully, Perry evolves fast and, a few volumes later, he is almost the man we knew in the TV show.
One still has to wait a bit for amazing DA Hamilton Burger to appear, for Perry's ethics (and emotions) to be defined, for his attitude to become more civil, for Erle Stanley Gardner's writing to truly shine.
But it is nice to see how far these characters have come and, in the end, it makes me love them even more.
Alexander Cendese's narration becomes wonderful as the series progresses but he cannot seem to take seriously anyone who is upset and in the first three volumes, all women except Della sound like deceitful horny idiots. Be warned.
Awesome female characters come along quite early on in the series and, at some point, Cendese starts doing them justice.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- John Grimbaldeston
- 10-05-17
Stomach upset
Probably like many others I came to this book with my preconceptions formed by the TV series, expecting a Raymond Burr type figure, omniscient but still, in a resssuring way, cuddly, and though I did enjoy a couple of the stories as a child they had faded from memory. The Perry Mason in this story remains omniscient, but he is a particularly abrupt and unpleasant chap and treats the adoring and yet efficient Della as a moronic minion to be ordered or dismissed as his whim dictates.
The story is basically simple and the 'twist' at the end extremely predictable as the clues are perhaps too signposted, but worse than that, the reading is, to be kind, curious. The reader spits out the words through clenched teeth, as though suffering a serious case of constipation, and yet the extremely hurried delivery is sometimes hard to follow and indicative, paradoxically, of diarrhoea - one does worry for his digestion. I think a lesser character is meant to be from Scotland, but from this narrator's rendition, it could be South Africa, Wales, anywhere.
Perry Mason is probably best left in the mateus rose hue of misty memory.
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