Go to the main Perry Mason page.
Summaries of Perry Mason novels from the 1960s.
62. The Case of the Duplicate Daughter
Serialized: Saturday Evening Post, June-July, 1960
Morrow: June, 1960
Recurring characters:
Mason, Della Street, Paul Drake, Lt. Tragg, Hamilton Burger.
Plot devices:
1. Blackmail
2. Mistaken identity
3. Gambling: a trip to Las Vegas
4. Lie detectors: Mason has one of his clients take a lie-detector test; although it won’t be used in court, he wants the results released to the newspapers to drum up public support. During the lie detector test, Mason finds out a key piece of evidence, one that he was not expecting.
Legal matters:
As usual, the trial is solved by Mason during the preliminary hearing.
63. The Case of the Shapely Shadow
Morrow: Oct., 1960
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
64. The Case of the Spurious Spinster
Serialized: Saturday Evening Post, Jan.-Mar., 1961
Morrow: Mar., 1961
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
65. The Case of the Bigamous Spouse
Serialized: Saturday Evening Post, July-Aug., 1961
Morrow: Aug., 1961
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
66. The Case of the Reluctant Model
Published: Toronto Star Weekly, Oct. 7, 1961
(Periodical title: “The Case of the False Feteet”)
Morrow: Jan., 1962
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
67. The Case of the Blonde Bonanza
Serialized: Toronto Star Weekly, April, 1962
Morrow: June, 1962
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
68. The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands
Morrow: Oct., 1962
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
69. The Case of the Mischievous Doll
Published: Saturday Evening Post, Dec. 8, 1962
Morrow: Feb., 1963
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
70. The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret
Morrow: June, 1963
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
71. The Case of the Amorous Aunt
Morrow: Sept., 1963
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
72. The Case of the Daring Divorcee
Morrow: Feb., 1964
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
73. The Case of the Phantom Fortune
Morrow: May, 1964
Recurring characters:
Mason, Della Street, Gertie the receptionist, Paul Drake, Lt. Tragg, Hamilton Burger.
Sgt. Holcomb makes a very minor appearance. Alexander Redfield, the ballistics expert, is a witness during the trial.
Plot devices:
1. Fingerprints: To get fingerprints of unsuspecting people, Mason hires Paul Drake to be a caterer. Mason tells his client: “This dummy caterer’s truck, which is really a fingerprint laboratory with several trained assistants, costs five hundred dollars for an evening in addition to the catering charge.” (In 2025 dollars, the charge would be $5300 for the base charge, plus $265 – 370 per person for the catering.)
2. Blackmail: An ex-con blackmails Mason. Mason finds a way to turn the tables on the ex-con, using a faked Identikit sketch.
3. Cooperating with Tragg: By helping Tragg behind the scenes, Mason is able to protect the privacy of his clients.
Legal matters:
During a preliminary hearing, Mason cross-examination of the ballistics expert reveals that the latter gave testimony that had been carefully rehearsed with the D.A. Then Mason’s cross-examination of Lt. Tragg reveals that Tragg had not thoroughly searched the murder scene.
74. The Case of the Horrified Heirs
Morrow: Sept., 1964
Recurring characters:
1. In chapter 22, Arthur Tragg trusts Mason enough to go along with him to interview a key witness; the case is solved. But we are assured that the police department will make sure Tragg winds up getting credit for solving the case (though Tragg himself is honorable enough that he will not try to grab the credit).
2. Perry Mason and Della Street have a mildly romantic interchange in chapter 20. Mason’s dialogue in this scene tends towards the stilted:
“‘Your hands,’ he said, ‘are wonderfully reassuring. You have competent hands, feminine hands but, nevertheless, strong hands.'”
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
75. The Case of the Troubled Trustee
Morrow: Feb., 1965
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
76. The Case of the Beautiful Beggar
Morrow: June, 1965
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
77. The Case of the Worried Waitress
Morrow: Aug., 1966
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
78. The Case of the Queenly Contestant
Morrow: May, 1967
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
79. The Case of the Careless Cupid
Morrow: Mar., 1968
Recurring characters:
Plot devices:
Legal matters:
80. The Case of the Fabulous Fake
Morrow: Nov., 1969
This is the last Perry Mason book Gardner wrote, though two other novels were published after his death.