The Case of the Lucky Legs (Perry Mason) by Erle Stanley Gardner

Marjorie Clune is one lucky lady. Or so she thinks. She’s won a contest that has judged her legs to be the “best in show” and now she’s set upon a fine modeling and movie career. Unfortunately, it doesn’t play out that way due to the shenanigans of movie promoter Frank Patton who turns out to be a con man. Famous lawyer Perry Mason is hired to defend Marjorie, a job which gets much more difficult when he decides to visit Patton in his apartment and discovers his dead body.

This is the fifth Perry Mason novel I’ve read so I am by no means an expert considering there were 82 novels and 4 short stories penned by Mr. Gardner. However, I’ve sampled them throughout the series and it now seems evident that Perry Mason evolved quite a bit throughout the run. This is only the third novel published and, like the first two (which I also read), it depicts a much harder Perry Mason than the character we usually think of. He is a forceful and direct man, given to barking orders to everybody around him and expecting instant compliance. Even his utterly loyal secretary, Della Street, isn’t immune to his commanding nature. Often, soon after issuing a curt command to an associate, he follows up with “And make it snappy!”

This behavior can be a little off-putting for those who come to these novels only after absorbing the TV series starring Raymond Burr. However, it is consistent with the times in which they were written and with other series characters being published. He absolutely matches his own description as described in the very first book, "The Case of the Velvet Claws": “You'll find that I'm a lawyer who has specialized in trial work, and in a lot of criminal work...I'm a specialist on getting people out of trouble. They come to me when they're in all sorts of trouble, and I work them out.” In this novel he proves his mettle and even risks putting himself in severe legal peril. If his hunch is wrong he will be indicted for accessory after the fact…for murder.

But one thing does certainly remain consistent throughout the long run of the series: Perry Mason’s unerring ability to get to the heart of the crime, no matter how convoluted the scheme. These early books in the series don’t even include a courtroom scene. The case never gets that far. Perry acts more like a ferocious PI than a lawyer but his profound understanding of the law (thanks to the author’s extensive experience with more than 20 years as a practicing attorney) gives him a leg up on other PIs and police.

I enjoyed this one just fine, but I am hoping for the more traditional Perry Mason novels in my future reading. The best ones always include exposing the truth through piercing cross-examination on the witness stand after all seems lost. While this one didn’t include such a scene, the reveal of whodunnit at the end was expertly crafted and as fulfilling as I’d hoped for.