The Case of the Terrified Typist (A Perry Mason Mystery)
by Erle Stanley Gardner
Review by Matt (Buffalo Savage)
A sharp mind with the speed of light, a cloud of flim-flim and a hearty “Objection.” Perry Mason. “Incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial!” With his faithful helping companions Della and Paul, the daring and resourceful attorney for the common guy, led the fight for law and order in the middle part of the twentieth century. Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
If you recognize the reference, you’re of age enough to like Perry Mason novels. If you don’t, read them anyway for the fast-paced narrative and the good guys winning.
Della and Perry hire a temp from an agency to type briefs. An agitated woman appears in the office and types “like a house afire.” But she disappears even before collecting her pay. Perry and Company are nonplussed as they find that another office in their building – diamond importer – has been ransacked and that in their office stuck under a the temp typist’s desk is a wad of gum with two diamonds. Perry is hired by a large diamond company to defend one of its employees in the local office, who has been accused of killing the smuggler who snuck the gems into the country but whose corpse has never been found. With a client that’s economical with the truth Mason doesn’t know how to proceed.
Featuring many twists and turns, this puzzler will satisfy both fans of the Mason stories and readers wondering which Mason novel would be representative of the 80-some book canon.
