{"id":13067,"date":"2013-11-16T16:04:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-16T21:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/?page_id=13067"},"modified":"2026-02-10T13:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:40:18","slug":"perry-mason-novels-1970s-and-stories","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/perry-mason-novels\/perry-mason-novels-1970s-and-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"Perry Mason novels, 1970s and stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Go to main Perry Mason page.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry Mason novels from the 1970s, and stories that were shorter than novel length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

81. The Case of the Fenced-in Woman<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Morrow: Sept., 1972<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published posthumously. Gardner did not do his usual final revision of the book. In spite of that, this remains one of my favorite Mason books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurring characters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perry Mason, Della Street, Paul Drake, Gertie, Lt. Tragg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamilton Burger does not appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plot devices:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1. Divorce: In one of the more bizarre set-ups Gardner ever dreamed up, Loring Carson, a real estate developer, sells a lot to an unsuspecting man named Morley Eden. But Carson in the middle of a divorce, and it turns out Vivain Carson, his beautiful wife (a former model), owns half of the building lot, with the new house straddling the two lots. Vivan Carson gets a restraining order, and takes possession of half the house. Della Street explains the set-up to Perry Mason:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018A beautiful woman has run a five-strand barbed-wire fence through the middle of his house,\u2019 Della Street said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMason’s eyes searched her. \u2018Is he kidding you, or are you kidding me?\u2019 he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Neither. There’s a five-strand barbed-wire fence running directly through his house, with an attractive woman living on the other side of the fence. She apparently has a striking figure, takes sunbaths, but\u2014\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Real estate: Loring Carson is a real estate developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Gambling: Loring Carson likes to gamble in Las Vegas, and has developed an intimate relationship with one of the hostesses working in a casino \u2014 and probably uses his gambling as a means of confusing his assets during the divorce proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Gambling \/ Cheesecake: While tracking down evidence in the case, Mason goes to Las Vegas, gambles a bit, and has two attractive casino hostesses come on to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Attractive women \/ Cheesecake: Vivian Carson gets some of her beautiful friends to put on a lingerie show, to try to tempt Morley Eden into violating the terms of the restraining order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Frame-up: Someone plants incriminating evidence on Mason while he’s staying in a Las Vegas hotel. He manages to get himself out of the frame-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. After the acquittal, Lt. Tragg arrives at Mason’s office while he’s talking with his clients (Vivian Carson and Morley Eden, who have become lovers). Tragg asks for help in solving the case. Mason gives Tragg the solution to the case. The grateful clients write a check for $50,000 ($420,000 in 2025 dollars).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal matters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1. Mason explains the terms of the restraining order to his client, Morley Eden:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis whole thing is an elaborate trap. Technically you are claiming under Loring Carson. Therefore you come within the provisions of the restraining order relating to his agents and assigns. If you interfere in any way with the possession of that other side of the house, your goose is cooked\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Miranda rights: When Vivian Carson becomes a suspect, Tragg notifies her of her Miranda rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Right against unreasonable search: Contrasted to the Mason books from the 1930s, the police acknowledge constraints on their activities while investigating murder. When Mason informs Lt. Tragg that he will accompany the police officer through the house where a murder has been committed, Tragg responds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Well, your client’s wishes don’t control me in the matter.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018All right then,” Mason said, \u2018I’ll put it up to you this way. Do you have a search warrant?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018I don’t need one. There’s been a murder committed and I can look around for evidence.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018That’s quite right,\u2019 Mason said, \u2018and you have a right to keep all people away who may obscure or remove the evidence, but when you leave the vicinity of the murder and start prowling around the premises without a search warrant, the legal representative of the owner of the premises is entitled to\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018All right, all right,\u2019 Tragg conceded irritably, \u2018I’m not going to argue with you. Come along, but don’t interfere and don’t try to remove or suppress any evidence.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. There is no preliminary hearing in the book. The case goes to a jury trial. Mason gets his clients acquitted with a persuasive closing argument.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

82. The Case of the Postponed Murder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Morrow: 1973<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published posthumously. Gardner did not do his usual final revision of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurring characters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Plot devices:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Legal matters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A. The Case of the Crying Swallow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The American Magazine, Aug., 1947<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurring characters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Plot devices:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Legal matters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

B. The Case of the Crimson Kiss<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The American Magazine, June, 1948<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurring characters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Plot devices:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Legal matters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

C. The Case of the Irate Witness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Collier’s, Jan. 17, 1953<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recurring characters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perry Mason, Della Street, Paul Drake.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The action takes place in Ivanhoe County, not Los Angeles, so neither Lt. Tragg, Sgt. Holcomb, nor Hamilton Burger appear in the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plot devices:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1. Mining: The robbery takes place in a company town; the company’s owns a mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Eccentric character: George Addey is an eccentric character who collects trash in the town where the robbery takes place. He doesn’t use a bank, and holds on to his money. Paul Drake describes him like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018An old coot by the name of George Addey lives five miles down the canyon. He has a hog ranch and collects the garbage. He’s supposed to have the first nickel he ever earned. Buries his money in cans.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Embezzlement: The manager of the mining plant has been embezzling money from the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legal matters:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Nothing of interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Go to main Perry Mason page. Perry Mason novels from the 1970s, and stories that were shorter than novel length. 81. The Case of the Fenced-in Woman Morrow: Sept., 1972 Published posthumously. Gardner did not do his usual final revision of the book. In spite of that, this remains one of my favorite Mason books. … Continue reading “Perry Mason novels, 1970s and stories”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3552,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13067","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13067"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13161,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13067\/revisions\/13161"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danielharper.org\/yauu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}