Book Review: The Case of the Crimson Kiss by Erle Stanley Gardner (1948)

Synopsis: Secretly jealous of her soon-to-be-married roommate, Fay, Anita Bonsal is forced to settle for a business-like relationship with the married Carver Clements. When she finds Carter dead on the floor of his apartment with a crimson lipstick mark on his forehead, Anita decides to frame Fay for murder. She is successful, but didn't realize Fay's aunt is friends with Perry Mason's secretary, Della Street.


Review: When I checked out The Case of the Cautious Coqueutte a couple weeks ago, I didn't realize this book was a throw-in under the same cover. After discovering it, I was quick to find time to read it. After doing so, I can understand why it wasn't even listed on the cover of the book.

On the surface, I think this has the potential to be a good murder mystery. The problem, however, is Erle Stanley Gardner just reveals too much information right off the bat.

The best Perry Mason mysteries, in my opinion at least, are the ones where you don't know if his client is innocent or guilty. That uncertainty adds a little extra something to his case, partly because you don't know when his client is telling him the truth about certain facts in the case (often leading to surprise evidence).

Had this book done that, rather than tell the reader Anita was framing her roommate, I think it would have been considerably better.  Instead, since I already knew the truth, it was actually kind of dull. Heck, the book didn't even bother to spend a great deal of time describing his client. All I really knew about her was she was attractive, engaged and had a roommate who was a backstabbing bitch.

There wasn't even much courtroom suspense. I correctly predicted how Mason would prove his client was innocent and, once that did happen, relatively early on, it pretty much wiped out the case against her. In all honesty, compared to what I'm used to reading from this author, this book had a "first draft" feel to it.

Final Opinion: It's not necessarily a bad book and, in a pinch, does make for a quick read. I just feel, when graded on a curve, it doesn't live up to the standards set by other books from this author.

My Grade: C-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kwik Trip Kitchen Cravings Tailgater Pizza

Image
  When my wife and I decided on pizza for dinner last night, I stopped at Kwik Trip with the intention of just buying a cheap, frozen, cheese pizza for our daughters since we already had another pizza in our freezer. However, as I was walking up to the checkout counter, this particular pizza caught my eye and, even though I wasn't crazy about spending $8.99 when I already had another option at home, I was intrigued enough to make the purchase anyway. We ended up making the pizza in the oven when I got home. After trying it, I have to say it is one of my favorites. One of the things, in particular, that really stood out for me when it came to this pizza was the toppings. The combination of sausage and cheese curds was both unique and delicious, especially since the curds were fresh enough to still squeak when we were eating them. The pizza also proved to be surprisingly filling, both because of the thicker crust and the generous amounts of toppings and cheese.  Normally, when ...
Read more

Movie Review: Damsel (2024)

Image
Synopsis: Elodie, the oldest daughter of Lord Bayford, reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage with Prince Henry in the far-off land of Aurea because her bride price will provide much-needed relief to the starving residents of her homeland. When they arrive for her wedding, Elodie quickly warms up to the idea after seeing Aurea's beauty and even falling in love with Henry. However, soon after the wedding, she discovers it has all been a farce and she instead is thrown into a cave as a peace offering for the dragon living inside. Who's in it? The movie stars  Millie Bobby Brown ,  Ray Winstone ,  Angela Bassett ,  Robin Wright  and  Nick Robinson Review: My wife and I decided to watch a movie late yesterday evening and after striking out on horror films lately, ended up changing things up a bit with the fantasy adventure, Damsel . My wife thought it looked good from the trailer and I enjoyed Millie Bobby Brown in the Enola Holmes movies, so we had cau...
Read more

Movie Review: Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie (2023)

Image
Synopsis: Despite showing improvement after solving his wife, Trudy's murder, the pandemic caused Adrian Monk to regress, and he now plans on killing himself after Trudy's daughter, Molly, is married. However, a day before the wedding, Molly's fiancé, Griffin is killed while bungee jumping. While a coroner's inquiry determined it was an accident, Molly believes Griffin was killed by Rick Eden, a billionaire and wannabe astronaut Griffin was about to expose for murder. Even though he isn't convinced by Molly's theory, he delays his suicide so he can investigate and bring her closure. Who's in it? The movie stars Tony Shalhoub , Traylor Howard , Ted Levine , James Purefoy and Caitlin McGee. Review: I used to be a huge fan of the television series Monk and still occasionally watch reruns when I can't find anything else on TV. So, when I heard there was going to be a movie based on the series, I was intrigued albeit a bit skeptical. I finally had a chan...
Read more