Book Review: The Case of the Queenly Contestant by Erle Stanley Gardner (1967)
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 ...