tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post5812706013482014560..comments2024-03-27T10:50:17.270-05:00Comments on Rough Edges: Forgotten Books: The Case of the Hesitant Hostess - Erle Stanley GardnerJames Reasonerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18049917964433932612noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-61196192417584437332016-08-19T19:01:54.799-05:002016-08-19T19:01:54.799-05:00This one should show up eventually in the new edit...This one should show up eventually in the new editions that the American Bar Association are publishing. Hopefully soon; sounds like another good one.<br /><br />One thing, though ... maybe things were different in California back in the 1950s, and I'm certainly not a lawyer, but I thought that when an attorney was assigned a case by the court he was paid by the State. Not a lot, but still paid. Who knows ...Shadowpdfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13312289546026254438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-74926983551265305882016-08-19T16:17:46.844-05:002016-08-19T16:17:46.844-05:00I was 12 when I read my first Mason novel, The Cas...I was 12 when I read my first Mason novel, <i>The Case of the Vagabond Virgin</i>, and was instantly hooked. I immediately binged on another dozen titles in the series, after which I couldn't take another one for at least six or seven years--though during early binging I wrote a couple of my own Perry Mason stories which I haven't had copies of for decades, and which is probably a good thing.<br /><br />In any event, <i>Hesitant Hostess</i> sounds like a good one I'll have to look for.Barry Erganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04305184548497082776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-83208757785253939872016-08-19T15:41:19.597-05:002016-08-19T15:41:19.597-05:00I agree that the 1950s Perry Mason novels are gene...I agree that the 1950s Perry Mason novels are generally excellent. Gardner drives the stories at a killer pace. Compulsively readable. Richard Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13770090814220403413noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-46804842763648154922016-08-19T15:12:35.461-05:002016-08-19T15:12:35.461-05:00Rick, I can remember when I first discovered myste...Rick, I can remember when I first discovered mystery fandom in 1975-76 and was going on another binge of reading. (The first was 1971, when I read most of Christie and other British women). Checking my database, I see my memory is correct. I read: <br /><br />6/7/76 Lovesey, Peter. A case of spirits <br /> Beeding, francis. Death walks in eastrepps <br /> Browne, douglas G. Too many cousins <br />6/8/76 Gardner, erle stanley. The case of the sleepwalker's niece <br />6/9/76 Gardner. The case of the lame canary, <br /> Gardner. The case of the shoplifter's shoe<br /> Sapir, Richard & murphy, warren. Created, the destroyer <br /> Gardner. This is murder (orig. by charles j. kenny) <br />6/10/76 Fair, a.a. (e.s. gardner). The bigger they come<br /> Gardner. The case of the baited hook<br /> Gardner. Murder up my sleeve Terry Clane <br /> Fair. Spill the jackpot <br />6/11/76 Blochman, lawrence g. Bombay mail<br /> Lee, gypsy rose. The g-string murders<br />6/12/76 Pentecost, hugh. Cancelled in red<br /> Gardner. The case of the empty tin<br /> Simenon, georges. Inspector maigret and the strangled stripper (Maigret in montmartre) <br /> Simenon Maigret hesitates <br /><br />I only wish I could read that fast these days.Jeff Meyersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00093411926030586355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-39953649405548660442016-08-19T14:07:22.145-05:002016-08-19T14:07:22.145-05:00Gotta find this one!Gotta find this one!Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-69397387042810462872016-08-19T12:07:20.782-05:002016-08-19T12:07:20.782-05:00Rick, when you're stuck in an airport for hour...Rick, when you're stuck in an airport for hours you can get a lot of reading done. At the time I was reading PERRY MASON novels, I was working for a consulting company that sent me on gigs all around the country. I always had a bunch of paperbacks with me so when the plane was grounded or there was some other problem I had plenty of reading material.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-69071556001553714862016-08-19T10:53:24.860-05:002016-08-19T10:53:24.860-05:00Those guys read way too fast! "Two or three a...Those guys read way too fast! "Two or three a day"…"a dozen a week". Sheesh! It takes me at least a couple of days to get through one of these, as it did this one, which I liked a lot. I liked the tricks Perry and Paul pull in this one, and the way it works out. A good one, absolutely.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-44605032440699078422016-08-19T10:34:30.756-05:002016-08-19T10:34:30.756-05:00Like Jeff, I read ESG's PERRY MASON books in b...Like Jeff, I read ESG's PERRY MASON books in batches--a dozen a week. I keep meaning to go back and read the entire PERRY MASON series in order. I think I still own all of the volumes. Nice review of a 1953 book! I think some of the best PERRY MASON novels were published in the Fifties.Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7527967.post-22765611529885749922016-08-19T06:12:55.260-05:002016-08-19T06:12:55.260-05:00I keep meaning to go back and catch up with some o...I keep meaning to go back and catch up with some of the Masons I missed when I was racing through them - often 2 or 3 in a day - back in the early 1970s, but so far I haven't. Whenever I read Gardner these days (which isn't very often) it is more likely to be one of his short story collections or an A. A. Fair book about Cool and Lam. <br /><br />I read this in July of 1973, though I'm sure I could read it today without any but the vaguest memory of the plot.Jeff Meyersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00093411926030586355noreply@blogger.com