Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: When Stephanie Falkner comes to Perry Mason to discuss an offer she's been made on a casino she inherited from her murdered father, Mason's long-time client Homer Garvin, Sr., asks the attorney to also meet with the prospective buyer, both to protect Stephanie and to represent his 15 percent stake. The buyer, George Casselman, is later found murdered, Stephanie becomes the primary suspect with Garvin charged as an accessory, putting Mason in a position to defend both, something that becomes more complicated when Mason's attempt to create confusion over the murder weapon backfires and has him facing potential charges as well. Review: I wasn't able to obtain a copy of The Case of the Long-Legged Models when I first read through Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series. So, when I was able to finally get it through my local library, I made sure to have it in time for my three-day weekend. Unfortunately, while I have enjoyed most Perry Mason books, this on...

Synopsis: Fran Celane comes to attorney Perry Mason for his help with her inheritance, a sum of about $1 million left to her by her father. As a result of Fran's compulsive nature and bad temper, the money is in a trust under the control of her strict uncle, Edward Norton, and with a provision that allows him to dissolve the trust and donate the majority of the money to charity if she marries before the age of 25. When attempts to have a conversation with Norton fail, Mason agrees to represent her if she contests the will. However, when Norton is killed soon after, Mason finds himself defending both Fran and her secret husband, Robert Gleason against murder charges. Review: When I read through Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series, there were some books I wasn't able to read because of a lack of availability. This included The Case of the Sulky Girl . I was finally able to get a copy through my library this week and once I started reading it, I had a hard time putting ...

Synopsis: While Perry Mason and Della Street are out for lunch, Adelle Hastings came into the office seeking an appointment but left after a few minutes and didn't return. Soon after, her purse is found in the outer office and inside is a gun that has been fired. A phone call from an opposing attorney alerts Mason to the fact Hastings was looking for someone to represent her in a divorce settlement. However, when he and Della travel to Vegas in search of their client, she claims she wasn't the woman who came to visit them. As Mason correctly suspects, Hastings' soon-to-be-ex-husband is later found murdered, and all evidence points to her. Review: The Case of the Daring Divorcee wasn't available at my library when I was reading the Perry Mason series in order, so I wound up skipping it. Once the other books were read, however, I decided to try to locate it, and my library was finally able to acquire a copy from another library. I finished reading it and it was worth th...

Synopsis: After approaching a man who has been following her and threatening to slap him the next time she saw him, widow Selma Anson consults with attorney Perry Mason to find out the potential legal consequences of following through with her threat. A curious Mason has Paul Drake investigate and learns his client is close to marrying one of her deceased husband's best friends, the wealthy Delane Arlington. This doesn't sit well with George Findlay, a man who is planning on marrying one of Delane's nieces and doesn't want to risk losing out on the potential inheritance. Findlay is so determined to prevent the marriage, in fact, he is helping prosecutors prove Selma murdered her first husband. The evidence seems to support that accusation, and Selma doesn't help her case by attempting to flee under an assumed name. Review: I requested a book through my local library and, since they needed to have it sent from another library first, I checked out The Case of the Car...

Synopsis: Twenty years earlier, Ellen Calvert won a beauty contest, trip to California and a screen test. However, in addition to her movie career not taking off, she became pregnant via an affair with the son of a wealthy business owner in her midwestern hometown. When she was given $1000 to have an abortion, she instead decided to change her last name to Adair and disappear, arranging for her son to be secretly adopted by a couple she did housecleaning for. When people from her hometown begin searching for her, she seeks advice from lawyer Perry Mason. Then, when she learns the father is dead and her son stands to inherit millions, she asks Mason for help in that endeavor. Unfortunately for Mason, the lone witness that can verify Ellen's story is found dead and the evidence points to his client as the murderer. Review: After taking a short break from Perry Mason books to focus on the books I received as birthday gifts, I checked The Case of the Queenly Contestant out from my ...

Synopsis: While out dining with Della Street, Perry Mason learns a new waitress, Kit Ellis, has traded with another server to have his table. Suspecting she wants a consultation, Mason leaves her his card and when she visits his office the next day, she tells a strange tale about her Aunt Sophia, who lives like a pauper despite having thousands of dollars hidden away in hat boxes. Agreeing something is amiss, Mason advises Kit to leave the house immediately. Only, it is already too late. When his client returns to get her things, she is accused of stealing $100 and not long after, her aunt is assaulted, and Kit becomes the primary suspect for attempted murder. Review: After being reintroduced to Perry Mason books several days ago with The Case of the Beautiful Beggar , I decided to get the next one in the series,  The Case of the Worried Waitress . This required a short wait because our library had to order a copy, but I had it in time for the weekend. Unfortunately, while I didn'...

Synopsis: Confidential secretary Janice Wainwright comes to Perry Mason with an ethical dilemma. Her employer, Morley Theilman, has asked her to deliver a suitcase to a train station locker and not look at its contents. However, she believes her boss is being blackmailed and the suitcase is full of money. Mason accepts a $1 retainer from her, helps her confirm her suspicion of the contents and, after recording the serial numbers on some of the bills, helps her deliver it. Later, when both Theilman and his client disappear, Mason believes he was an unwitting pawn and his client and her married both ran away together. However, when he finds her in Las Vegas with Theilman's 1st wife and later learns Theilman has been murdered, Mason finds himself defending his client against the charges. Review: I picked out this Perry Mason novel from the library a few days ago and managed to finish it yesterday evening while outside barbecuing. Overall, I have to say it was an enjoyable mystery. ...

Synopsis: When Carter Gilman disappears from the breakfast table, his daughter, Muriell, investigates and discovers a broken chair, spilled paint and $10,000 on the floor of the garage. Per her father's previous instructions, she avoids calling the police and, instead, reaches out to Perry Mason . Mason learns Carter is unharmed but also comes to believe his second wife, Nancy, is being blackmailed by a detective over the legitimacy of her daughter, Glamis. When the detective is found murdered, Carter becomes the primary suspect and Mason is tasked with defending him. However, Mason's hands become tied when Carter refuses to tell him the full truth because he believes one of his family members is the real killer. Review: This was one of the books I picked up at our local library last weekend and, thanks to having time to read while barbecuing, I was able to finish it last night. To be honest, I didn't think I'd enjoy the book when I first started reading it. This is b...

Synopsis: When Major Claude Winnett's new bride, Marcia, goes missing, he hires Perry Mason to help find her. Suspecting the disappearance has something to do with the theft of jewelry around the same time, Mason investigates and eventually discovers a murder scene involving Marcia's blackmailing ex-husband. Review: Much like The Case of the Crimson Kiss , this book was included when I checked out The Case of the Curious Coquette . I had an opportunity to read it over the weekend and, while I liked it better than the Crimson Kiss, did find it was still somewhat lacking. I actually don't have any real issue with the case itself. I actually enjoyed that part of it. There was a missing wife who apparently had some sort of sordid past and, more importantly, missing jewelry that the husband seemed not to think was important even though the theft and disappearance happened at right around the same time. It made me wonder if he was hiding something. When Mason eventually finds ...

Synopsis: When Perry Mason receives two separate $2500 checks from Lola Allred, he suspects something is amiss. When the bank confirms one of the checks is a forgery, he investigates and, when Mrs. Allred's husband is murdered, ultimately winds up defending her from allegations stemming from a witness that had been pretending to have amnesia. Review: I do enjoy most Perry Mason books I read, but, every once in a while, I come across one that just isn't quite as good as the others. This one fell in that category. I think my biggest problem with this book was the murder mystery itself. Despite the book doing its best to make it seem like Mrs. Allred might by guilty by having her change her story multiple times and, at one point, even tell Mason she was the one who committed the murder, it wasn't too difficult to figure out who the real killer was. And, I didn't even need the evidence Mason had to find in order to come to the same conclusion. Also not helping this book ...

Synopsis: When Perry Mason recovers a pair of ostrich-plume fans following a car accident and attempts to return them to their rightful owner, he ends up representing a successful fan dancer accused of killing her estranged husband. Review: I started out reading a non-Perry Mason mystery a few days ago but, after losing interest after only a couple chapters, pulled out this book instead. I finished it on Saturday morning and, overall, found I enjoyed the book. There were a couple things I found I really liked about this mystery. One of the main ones was the fact everything seemed to be stacked against his client. She was identified by one of Paul Drake's detectives, a witness saw her burying evidence and multiple witnesses picked her out of a lineup.  Also adding to this mystery was his client's actions, which seemed to indicate her guilt. This included her stealing Mason's car and trying to flee from both him and the police. In fact, had it not been for the police insis...

Synopsis: When Eva Martell is selected, based solely on her appearance, for a mysterious job, Perry Mason is hired by her friend to make sure the job doesn't involve Eva doing something illegal. As Mason is investigating, things take an unexpected turn when the man who hired Eva, Robert Dover Hines, is found murdered by a gun that had previously been in the possession of Eva's chaperone, Adelle Winters. Review: For the most part, my efforts to read Perry Mason books have been a bit hit or miss. There were some I really enjoyed, others I didn't like all that much, and others that were, at best, average. After finishing this book early this morning, I now think of it as one of my favorites. I think the thing that really caught my attention with this book was the way Mason got himself involved with a murder case purely by accident. He and Della Street were casually driving when he happened to notice multiple brunettes standing on street corners that were similar in appearan...

Synopsis : After being fired as a hat check girl and not wanting to go back to her rich but controlling uncle, Stephane Olger decides to change her name to Stephane Claire and hitchhike to Hollywood for a fresh start and a shot at being a movie star. However, before getting to her destination, one of the men driving her decides to cross a line and, as she's defending herself from his amorous assault, he crashes into oncoming traffic.  She comes out of the crash with minor injuries but wakes up to find the driver has fled and left her behind the wheel of what was reported to be a stolen vehicle. With authorities reluctant to believe her story, it is up to attorney Perry Mason to prove she wasn't the one responsible for the fatal accident. His job becomes even more difficult when the man he believes was driving the car is found murdered. Review: When I started reading this book Saturday afternoon, while cooking some chicken and zucchini on the grill, I wasn't expecting to f...

Synopsis: When Perry Mason witnesses Sarah Breel being accused of shoplifting, he decides to intervene on her behalf. When she is later hit by a car and sent to the hospital, he eventually finds himself defending her against a murder charge. Complicating matters is the defendant's insistence the accident caused her to have amnesia and she has no memory of whether or not she actually committed the crime.   Review: To be honest, when I first started reading this book, I found it a bit hard to stay interested. In fact, there was a moment when I considered just skipping to the end to find out what happened. This is mostly because I thought the book took a little too long to get to the main mystery, leaving me in doubt as to who Mason was supposed to be defending and why. However, once the book finally got going, I have to admit, I did enjoy it.  There are a couple things about this book that I really liked. The main one was the seemingly insurmountable wall Mason had to overcom...

Synopsis: After traveling the world with his secretary, Della Street, attorney Perry Mason is anxious to get back to work as soon as the cruise ship docks at home. He doesn't have to wait that long, however, because another passenger, Mrs. Newberry, wants to hire him to investigate a possible embezzlement by her husband, Carl, and protect her daughter, Belle, from the possible scandal. Things get more complicated when Carl goes overboard and the police suspect his wife of murder. Review: Our local library re-opened today, meaning I can finally visit in person. But, in the mean time, I am still working my way through the books I got through the mail from them, including this Perry Mason mystery. At first, I wasn't really sure what to think of it, especially since I was able to correctly figure out at least part of what actually happened to the victim while on the cruise ship. But, overall, this did end up being an interesting mystery. I think the thing I liked best about this p...

Synopsis : When Rita Swain asks Perry Mason to represent her sister, Rosalind Prescott, in a divorce matter, he isn't interested. However, he is curious about the seemingly injured canary Rita happens to be carrying and agrees to take the case in exchange for learning more about why. At first, he is disappointed by her story. But, when Rosalind's husband, Walter, is found murdered, he eventually winds up defending Rita against the charges. Review: When I decided to take advantage of our local library's COVID-related mail-order service, I opted to double down on Perry Mason and checked out this book as well as The Case of the Dangerous Dowager . After finishing the latter, I immediately started on this book and, overall, I have to say I enjoyed it. To tell you the truth, I did have a moment where I felt like I had to force myself to continue. The introduction of the book was a little on the dull side and I was admittedly a little confused about what, exactly, Mason was bein...

Synopsis : When Matilda Benson wants to hire attorney Perry Mason to help negotiate a payoff of her granddaughter Sylvia's gambling debt to Sam Grieb, he reluctantly agrees. However, when Grieb is eventually found murdered, Sylvia becomes the primary suspect with Mason facing charges as an accessory. The attorney must work quickly to prove his client's innocence before the police arrest him. Review: Our local library is still closed because of this COVID pandemic. However, they did start allowing people to have books mailed to them and I took advantage of that. Since I didn't really know what I wanted, I figured I would give Perry Mason another try. And, as it turns out, this book became one of my favorites from the series. Overall, this is a great locked-room mystery. There are a bunch of potential suspects, including Grieb's partner, Charlie Duncan. However, the fact there was only one entrance and eye witnesses laid out a timeline that implicated either Sylvia or M...

Synopsis: Attorney Perry Mason is hired to help wealthy Peter Kent navigate through an ugly divorce and an attempted takeover bid by his crooked business partner. However, when one of Kent's house guests is stabbed and the bloody knife is found under his pillow, Mason must also defend his client against murder charges. The only evidence he has in his favor is Kent's niece, who claims her uncle sleepwalks. Review: I took a short break from Perry Mason books following The Case of the Caretaker's Cat , but decided to check another one out while I was at our local library last week. I was able to read this book in a relatively short amount of time and, for the most part, did enjoy it. The mystery itself, to be honest, was a bit weak. I was able to figure out who the murder victim was going to be long before he was actually dead and, based on who that victim was and the "casual" circumstance that was meant to make his murder seem to be a case of mistaken ident...

Synopsis: When one of Peter Brunold's custom-made glass eyes is stolen, he hires lawyer Perry Mason because he feels someone plans to use the eye to frame him for a crime he didn't commit. When a wealthy businessman, Hartley Bassett, is later murdered and is found clutching Brunold's missing eye, Mason must figure out who the real killer is. Further complicating things is a missing witness, who the police and a brash new district attorney believe Mason is hiding. Review: After reading my first couple Perry Mason books, I found I was hooked. And, as a result of that, I did wind up checking out this book the last time I was at the library. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I think my biggest problem with this book isn't the story itself as much as it is the story when compared to other books from this series. Other than the part about the missing eye, there wasn't much about this story that was really an...