Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: When department store owner John Racer Addison picks up hitchhiker Veronica Dale, pays for a hotel room for her and gives her a job, his intentions are pure. He just wants to make sure the 18-year-old is safe. However, before too long, attorney Perry Mason needs to protect his long-time client from a blackmailer who wants to make the act of charity into something more scandalous. To make matters worse, Addison's business partner, Edgar Ferrell, is found murdered and Addison's hitchhiker incident proves he was near Ferrell's house at the time of death, making him the top suspect. Review: After a short break from Perry Mason novels, I started reading this book this past weekend. It turned out to be easy to read and I was able to get through it in only a matter of a couple days. Overall, I have to say I enjoyed the book. I think the thing I liked most about this book was the mystery surrounding the "vagabond virgin," Veronica Dale. As Perry Mason himself ...

Synopsis: After losing their jobs on the London police force, Slim and Tubby seek to redeem themselves by capturing the murderous Mr. Hyde. Who's in it? The movie stars Bud Abbott , Lou Costello , Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens and Helen Westcott. Review: I came across this movie on Peacock TV a couple weeks ago and, realizing I had never seen it, put it on my "must-watch" list. I finally had a chance to do that this weekend and, overall, I was glad I did. This is one of the comedy duo's last films together and, much like many of their older movies, it wasn't quite as good as their earlier films. But, despite that, the film still proved to be better than expected. While some of the comedy routines were a little predictable, they still managed to be entertaining. I especially liked the scene involving Tubby (Costello) being turned into a mouse then, later, getting drunk in an attempt to recreate the incident for the authorities. My only real complaint when it ca...

As I prepare to celebrate my upcoming 45th birthday, I feel obligated to share some pieces of wisdom and insight I have gathered over my 4 1/2 decades on this planet: Image by  C B  from  Pixabay   1. Intelligence is a relative term. 2. Getting lost can sometimes lead to an unexpected, joyful discovery. 3. Often, the difference between success and failure is the willingness to accept and learn from your mistakes. 4. George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm  should be required reading in all public schools. 5. The two most important senses are common sense and a sense of purpose. 6. Never underestimate just how comforting a routine can be. 7. Always ignore criticism about an act of kindness. 8. The lesser of two evils is still evil. 9. Always question the motive behind unsolicited relationship or parenting advice. 10. Just because something is a remake doesn't automatically mean it is worse than the original. But some movies shouldn't be remade regard...

Synopsis: Getting his start in burlesque, Lou Costello quickly rose to world-wide fame by partnering with Bud Abbott to form Abbott & Costello. However, his personal life was plagued by tragedy, financial issues and health problems. Review: I came across this book at the library last week and, being a big Abbott & Costello fan, I decided to check it out.  Since the book was written by his daughter, with the help of Raymond Strait, I did have some concerns about the book being a bit too slanted. But, after reading it, I did find it was an interesting well-balanced account of a man who was talented and had a big heart, especially when it came to his family but, at the same time, had his flaws too. I think the thing that really surprised me about this book was the way it managed to create a wide range of emotions while I was reading it. Some of the stories were humorous, such as the stories about him sneaking off with movie props while the films were still being made and l...

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 ...

Timing is everything when it comes to nature photography. Some days (like yesterday), I'll go for a walk and not see anything worth taking a photo of. Other days (like today), I'll walk around a corner and there will be a snake with a frog in its mouth.

After a bit of a hiatus, I decided to grab my camera and hit the nature trails again today. As I expected, many of the trails were underwater from the recent rain and there were a ton of mosquitoes. But I still managed to get a few photos while I was out.

Synopsis: Daniel Pecan Cambridge is an ordinary American, except for the fact he is afraid of 8-inch-high curbs, can't hold a job because of a counting obsession, secretly drugs is upstairs neighbor, is romantically obsessed with a local realtor he has never spoken to, needs to have a grand sum of 1125 watts of light in his apartment and was once a suspect in a murder. Review: I ended up checking out this book from our local library a couple days ago mostly because I am a big Steve Martin fan and, until recently, had completely forgotten he had written books. I didn't really know what to expect from this particular novel, but, after finishing it, I have to say I enjoyed every page. I think the thing that really drew me in when reading this book was I didn't quite know what it was going to be about. It's a first-person account from Daniel's perspective and, as a result of that, a lot of the pages are nothing more than him rambling a bit and not seeming to have much...

Synopsis: Still sporting a black eye from a fight at his sister's wedding, a cynical journalist travels to Pittsburgh to interview children's television star Fred Rogers for a puff piece about heroes. Believing Mr. Rogers isn't as clean-cut as he would have people believe, he attempts to dig deeper but ultimately winds up being drawn in by the TV star's genuine warmth. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Hanks , Matthew Rhys , Chris Cooper , Maryann Plunkett and Susan Kelechi Watson . Review: I've had this movie on DVD from Netflix for a few weeks now and just never seemed to find the motivation to watch it. However, my wife and I had some free time yesterday evening and, mostly so I could send it back, we decided to finally watch it. I wasn't really sure if I would enjoy this movie, to be honest. In fact, that is a large part of the reason why we took so long to watch it. After seeing it, I can honestly say I didn't hate it. However, it also wasn't...

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: Still in mourning, Libby,  a widowed mother of two, moves to her aunt's goat farm hoping for a fresh start. At her aunt's insistence, she reluctantly begins to run the farm with the help of her aunt's divorced farm manager, James O'Connor. Who's in it? The movie stars Leslie Bibb , Josh Duhamel , Nora Dunn , Isiah Whitlock, Jr . and Sharon Lawrence. Review: My wife came across this film on Netflix yesterday afternoon. Normally, it's the type of movie she would enjoy and I would avoid watching. But, since we couldn't decide on anything else and I had to make dinner anyway, I told her to just put it on. Overall, it turned out to be better than I was expecting. I'll start out by saying this movie is misclassified as a romance film. Yes, there was, predictably, some sparks between Libby (Bibb) and James (Duhamel). However, the majority of the film centered more on Libby's efforts to get over the guilt of her husband's death while coming ...

Synopsis: On Halloween night, a group of college friends decide to visit an "extreme" haunted house. They think it will be a great way to spend the evening and score some laughs but, about halfway through, they realize their lives are in danger. Who's in it? The movie stars Katie Stevens , Will Brittain , Lauryn Alisa McClain , Shazi Raja and Schuyler Helford . Review: I was a bit surprised to get this DVD through Netflix because I didn't even realize it was on my movie list. I'm not saying it wasn't. I just don't remember adding this film. And, because of that, I did find myself having some doubts about this movie. As it turns out, the movie was better than I was expecting it to be. Well, more specifically, the first three-quarters of the film were better than expected. At least in the beginning, the movie has a lot going for it. The plot is relatively believable with the friends learning about the open house via a flyer, being asked to sign a waiver ...

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...