The Case of the Angry Mourner is one of Earl Stanley Gardener's best works in his Perry Mason series. The premise of the book is very simple, the action is straightforward and suspenseful, and plot keeps you guessing until the very end. The book is a real piece of classic detective fiction because the reader is never lied to and is given all the evidence so that a cunning reader could potentially solve crime before Perry Mason. In fact, Gardener repeatedly gives clues to the ending, but uses his literary genius to present them in such a way that the reader jumps to a false conclusion. In The Case of the Angry Mourner, Perry Mason finds himself on vacation when his rest is suddenly disrupted by a murder. The millionaire Arthur Cushing, who was an infamous playboy, was murdered in his own home. A woman from a neighboring cottage, Belle Adrian, calls upon Mason to defend her daughter Carlotta, who she believes shot Cushing after he became too insistent during an intimate dinner. Carlotta believes that her mother killed him in a vindictive fury and police agree with her conclusion. Its is up to Perry Mason to sort of the clues and determine which woman, if either, killed Arthur Cushing. This book is a great murder mystery because of its presentation of the evidence. Unlike many Agatha Christie and Murder, She Wrote mysteries, the reader does not have to spot a single line of dialogue where the killer slips up and reveals himself or herself. Instead, The Case of the Angry Mourner depends heavily on circumstantial evidence. Gardner laying out a set of clues that can be interpreted in numerous ways and quickly deflates the "experts" who narrowly interpret the evidence against his client.

Background: The stylistic heritage of the Perry Mason mysteries is the American pulp magazines of the 1920s. In the early Mason mysteries, Perry - a good-looking, broad-shouldered, two-fisted, man of action - is constantly stiff-arming sultry beauties on his way to an explosive encounter that precipitates the book's climactic action sequence. In the opening chapters of these stories, Gardner subjects the reader to assertive passages that Mason is a crusader for justice, a man so action-oriented he is constitutionally incapable of sitting in his office and waiting for a case to come to him or to develop on its own once it has - he has to be out on the street, in the midst of the action, making things happen, always on the offensive, never standing pat or accepting being put on the defensive. These narrative passages - naïve, embarrassingly crude "character" development - pop up throughout the early books, stopping the narrative dead in its tracks, and putting on full display a non-writer's worst characteristic: telling the reader a character's traits instead of showing them through action, dialogue, and use of other of the writer's tools.

Rating "Ground Rules": These flaws, and others so staggeringly obvious that enumerating them is akin to using cannons to take out a flea, occur throughout the Gardner books, and can easily be used (with justification) to trash his work. But for this reader they are a "given", part of the literary terrain, and are not relevant to my assessment of the Gardner books. In other words, my assessments of the Perry Mason mysteries turn a blind eye to Erle Stanley Gardner's wooden, style-less writing, inept descriptive passages, unrealistic dialogue, and weak characterizations. As I've just noted, as examples of literary style all of Gardner's books, including the Perry Mason series, are all pretty bad. Nonetheless, the Mason stories are a lot of fun, offering intriguing puzzles, nifty legal gymnastics, courtroom pyrotechnics, and lots of action and close calls for Perry and crew. Basically, you have to turn off the literary sensibilities and enjoy the "guilty" pleasure of a fun read of bad writing. So, my 1-5 star ratings (A, B, C, D, and F) are relative to other books in the Gardner canon, not to other mysteries, and certainly not to literature or general fiction.

"The Case of the Angry Mourner": A+

"The Case of the Angry Mourner" is Gardner's masterpiece, one of the two or three best pure detective story he ever wrote. He is at his deftest in presenting the actual murderer's motive and opportunity in such a way that the reader is looking the other direction for the villain. Against the rural setting of this story, he plays by all the "rules" of detective fiction, never lying to the reader, and above all never hiding evidence that is crucial to the solution of the puzzle. He even one-ups us by repeatedly returning to important clues to the solution, but returning to them in such cunning ways that we constantly misinterpret them to arrive at the wrong conclusion.

The story is straightforward enough. Perry is on vacation at a cottage in the woods when a woman from a neighboring cottage calls upon him to defend her daughter against the charge of murdering a playboy who had become a bit too insistent after an intimate dinner at his rural retreat on the other side of the lake. The scene of the crime is positively cluttered with clues suggesting how the wheelchair-bound bounder met his end. Gardner uses one of his favorite detective story devices: a forensic "expert" who reads the clues and weaves them into a net that snares Perry's client. In this case the expert has two stages on which to strut his stuff: the interior of the murder cottage, and the back-road where the snow around the automobile abandoned by Perry's client tells the expert who came and went on the fateful night. Gardner truly enjoys laying out a set of clues that can plausibly be interpreted in a number of different ways, and his own guilty pleasure is in gently making fun of these experts and deflating the pomposity and closed-mindedness with which they typically deliver their chiseled-stone-tablet conclusions.

Fine stuff all around, with the only letdown being minor: the courtroom scenes are quite good in their own right, but they don't pack quite the punch of some of Perry's urban encounters.

Very well plotted mystery entangled with discord among heirs, missing property, suspicious death of the millionaire, two murders and the caretaker's cat. Mason often uses unconventional tricks to make a cat's-paw of authorities, and the trick he uses in this book is extremely superb.

Della and Drake try to stop Mason from skating on thin ice. Mason retorts "What a hell can a man lose? He only has a lease on life. All that really counts is a man's ability to live, to get the most out of it as he goes through it, and he gets the most kick out of it by playing a no-limit game." Anyway, Perry Mason gets a lot out of life; he lives a full life and he really enjoys it. How I envy him!

Once again, the lawyer-detective solves the mystery. This is a classic with a slightly unusual ending for a Perry Mason novel. I cannot say more without ruining the mystery. David Stern

I loved this book! I hadn't read a Perry Mason book in several years (although I re-read all of Gardner's books written under the AA Fair name every couple of years), and I was caught offguard. A great plot that had some twists that really surprised me, an unusually suspenseful (for Gardner) opening, and a dash -- just a soupcon! -- of romance between Perry and Della. Mm-hmm! I think it's time Perry Mason got remade into a good movie, keeping the 1940s or 50s setting, but with new actors. The Perry in the book was tall, granite-faced, and wore a three-piece suit -- but wasn't afraid to use a little muscle now and again. Plus he knew how to keep Della warm on a cold night! Sounds like a role for Pierce Brosnan! (Can he do an American accent?)

this was the first perry mason book i've ever read (i'm only 13), and i think it is one of the best books i have ever read. i haven't read any others, so i wouldn't know what to compare it with. this book had a lot os twists and surprises. i plan to read as many perry mason books possible.

Typical Perry Mason mystery with the speedy and thrilling development and the superb revelation of the real murderer at the trial. And Mason's character as "a cross between a saint and a devil" is well described in this book. He does everything he can to save the poor redhead girl who can't pay the fee at all. On the other hand, he uses a devilish tactics and stirs up the trial into a complete mess. D.A. Burger get furious as always. Even the judge loses his temper and they accuse each other. That's unusual and very amusing.

This book is exciting. It was just as exciting as tha tv show. Evelyn Bagby is accused of killing Harry Marow. She asks Perry Mason to defend her. I would recommend this book.

or so he thought. Burger's legal aruguement was sound, but then he got the shock of his life, when Mason turned it against him. With Burger pleading to get a look at documents Mason produced, he put Mason on the stand against his own client. However, Mason was both clever enough to avoid a criminal charge... and use his own testimony to get his client aquitted...

Typical Perry Mason mystery with the eccentric opening, the thrilling development and the pleasant victory. Mason is severely cornered; the circumstantial evidence shows that the murderer is either Mason himself or his client, the sunbathing girl. D.A. Hamilton Burger cannot restrain himself from laughing triumphantly. Although I know it is Mason who laughs last, I enjoy the thrillingness very much.

This is a very quick and enjoyable read. It is clear almost to the point of being textbook, but with a humor that makes it fun rather than dry. Each spice gets a chapter. Infomation on each spice includes history and legend, current medicinal uses, crafts and household uses, as well as other interesting factual tidbits about the spices such as the coffe rituals of Arab cultures. And, of course, there are recipes that you can nearly taste as you read them. I checked this out of the library and now I am buying it for my own reference collection of cookbooks. It would be a great gift for anyone who cooks (or wants to learn).

You can tell that Maggie Stuckey is both a gardener and a cook. And, while the recipes, of which there are 200 for the 30 Spices listed, are enticing, it is her sense of history that I thoroughly enjoyed. Written concisely and clearly, her storytelling takes us back to the the lands and people who first enjoyed these spices.  We came across this book while looking for information on Cardamom and were hooked by the time we reached the entry for Elettaria Cardamomum. The spices ,and the recipes for those spices, included in this book are: Allspice, Anise, Caraway, Cayenne and Chili Peppers, Cinnamon, Cloves,  Coriander, Cumin, Dill Seeds, Fennel, Fenugreek, Ginger, Horseradish, Juniper Berries, Mace, Mustard Seeds, Nutmeg, Paprika, Pepper, Poppy Seeds, Saffron, Sesame Seeds, Star Anise, Tumeric, Vanilla. Also, conveniently included are the recipes for Curry Powder and Five-Spice Powder.

In the late 19th century, economist and social philosopher Henry George achieved international fame by calling for the abolition of all taxation save that upon land values -- a tax reform that would reconcile the conflict between economic liberty and social justice. So persuasive were George's arguments that landed elites, desperate to protect their vested interests in unearned wealth, set out to undermine George's immense popularity.

In "The Corruption of Economics," the precise manner in which Henry George was neutralized is uncovered by professor Mason Gaffney. That manner -- which later became known as neo-classical economics -- was to corrupt economic science. How? By blurring the traditional distinction between capital and land (and hence between earned and unearned income), by glossing this blurred distinction with jargon and abstract models, and by recasting economics generally to make free-riding by landowners seem just and moral.

Unable or unwilling to address Gaffney's arguments head-on, some economists are fond of dismissing this book out of hand as nothing more than a "conspiracy theory." In reality, it's a scholarly analysis of the anti-Georgist origins of the neo-classical school of economics, and how this school made an artform out of justifying landed privilege. Every single one of its claims in that regard are supported by credible references.

"The Corruption of Economics" is a must-read for anyone who suspects there is something inherently flawed with "mainstream" economic theory -- particularly when it comes to reconciling the seeming conflict between economic liberty and social justice -- but is unsure as to what that flaw is.

Anyone who has ever spent a half a day in a university getting lectured on economics should read this book. To academics it is a must. To ordinary folks it reads like a crimi. Best insight book on the market as why economics is such a muddled science and why lawyers, historians, politicians and journalists have no clue about todays whereabouts. Or did you ever wonder why you work like a slave and get stripped down to nearly nothing by the state and its "social" agencies. Ever wondered why we face so much sprawl, poverty, blight? This book explains neatly what happened to the once grand sience of political economy and the real effects on todays world.

The author, who happens to be a judge, writes from the unique point of view of the child's interest -- not the mother's, father's, attorney's or GAL's (the latter two who usually run the show in family court). While it's well-known that most divorces are won by whoever has the most money and the best-connected lawyer (still, about money and paybacks to courts and judges - yes, it's a fact!) -- it's wonderful to discover that there are still a few wise people out there who care about the children involved.

A *must read* for parents, judges, GALs, and child psychologists.

The thesis of Berkeley Law Professor Mary Ann Mason's highly readable and powerfully argued The Custody Wars is that the U.S. legal system fails to provide adequate representation and concern for the interests of children in custody disputes. Judiciously articulated irony abounds, as when Mason exposes the court system's vulnerability to the cynically utilized self-interest of many middle/upper class fathers and mothers for whom parenting is on the back burner. On the other hand, it is equally ironic that parents of both genders who practice self-sacrificism (not healthy, involved parenting) are sometimes the most childishly selfish in insisting upon their entitlement, regardless of the child's feelings. We learn of children whose lives are ridiculously fragmented and enervated by joint custody shuttlings, and yet we also hear of children who have benefited from the arrangement, thanks in large measure to the parents' maturity. As evidenced by the specificity and nuanced analysis in her case studies, Mason's scrupulous fairness and flexibility in offering parameters of judgment about custodial fitness are rooted in compassion for the child's well-being. She simultaneously seeks reasonably objective standards while realizing how difficult they are to determine, especially on ideological battlefields. Hers is wisdom unavailable to radical relativists or the theologically impaired. To note only two of many fine examples of her clear thinking about how the court system can be changed to make custody decisions more child-centered, Mason proposes that judges be educated in child development and that reviews of custody arrangements be mandated when the child is 7 and 12. Professor Mason has much of interest for various potential readerships. There are chapters on the unwed father, stepparents, domestic violence, gay and lesbian parents, and "test tube troubles." Mason's argument merits serious attention from a broad spectrum of policy-makers, academics, and warring couples and ex-couples. In fact, as a friend of mine, a single mother faced with absurd demands from a father with an abysmal track record, declared, "This book should be required reading for every couple considering marriage or children."

Your right Fort, this is a real good book . Another in a long line of real good books by my favorite Author ""William J. Johnstone.. LOL I wonder how many people could tell right away who wrote this book just by reading it? I often wonder why William wrote this under another name though? Being as most of his books are bestsellers now and have been reprinted quite a few times. Oh well ....

I read this book sometime ago.It gets better each time i read it.Good solid book,all the way.The other book by William mason,is dam good also.(EAGLE DOWN)By the way ,one other thing.The guy writes just like WILLIAM W JOHNSTONE.THAT IS BECAUSE HE IS ONE AND THE SAME.