The Case of the Careless Kitten: A Perry Mason Mystery (An American Mystery Classic) Paperback – March 5, 2019

Really enjoyed this Perry Mason story. A good book for all audiences (any age from teen to adult). I'll be reading more of this series by Erle S. Gardner.

This crime novel, first published in 1942, represents Erle Stanley Gardner’s mature style. He has graduated from being a writer of pulp thrillers to a more sophisticated classic mystery style.I came to this book with no preconceptions, never having seen the Perry Mason TV series or the movies based on his novels. How I could have maintained this state of ignorance is a mystery. According to the very interesting introduction, Gardner was the best-selling writer in the history of American literature.Lawyer Perry Mason started out as a hard-boiled tough guy, but eventually became more suave. He is definitely the most dynamic and appealing character in The Case of the Careless Kitten. The other characters struck me as not having much depth. The dialog retains a certain amount of aggression from the hard-boiled school. There is plenty of action. Murder takes various forms.In this book Perry Mason defends his beloved secretary Della Street from a charge of spirting off a material witness in a murder case. He uses the psychology of cats as a key argument in court.The plot is clever, convoluted, and rich in red herrings and misdirection. I probably won’t read another Perry Mason mystery. It’s not my kind of mystery. But I acknowledge the excellent qualities of this book. And I found Gardner’s personality and life, as chronicled in the introduction, quite fascinating.

So perfectly crafted … everyone is a suspect … until the end. I had to read the last chapter twice to make sure I’d gotten everything.

I had read this book more than 60 years ago, when I was in my teens. But I didn’t remember who the killer was, and I certainly had no memory of the surprises encompassed in the solution. And I didn’t really appreciate then the risks Perry Mason took in investigating the crime.

First time reading a Perry Mason book and didn't know what to expect. Very vibrant character, so unlike HBO series. Very cleverly done.

Bonnie L. PlegerI love these kinds of stories. I have many Agatha Christy books both kindle and actual books

One of the best Perry Mason books that I have read. It had so many twists and turns . I could not put it down. The last paragraph s were the whole story laid out. Wow.

Perry, Della, and Paul Drake are the literary equivalent to comfort food. This adventure is one of the best but I didn't figure it out until Perry explains at the end. Hamilton Burger is the Eddie Haskell of the courtroom and he once again, is no match for Perry. Just a fun and quick read.

This is the first Perry Mason story that I’ve read. I remember seeing a couple of the episodes along time ago, probably reruns. In terms of the novels, on which the TV shows were based, this was new to me I didn’t even know they existed. I quite like this story, it has a lot of cute elements. Of course, it’s from another era, and there are certain things that are charming and interesting about that time. I was surprised at the character of Della Street, because I didn’t remember her as being more than just a secretary, but apparently that was in the books but again, maybe I don’t remember the TV episodes very well. I’ll probably read another Perry Mason book to see if I want to continue with the series. It’s a lot of novels from what I understand, something like 50 or more. Anyway, it was a fun read.

Have been a fan of Earle Stanley Gardner since my teenager days and I am now 93. Author of over a hundred books. What an achievement

Machine translated, obviously. Paragraph breaks in the middle of sentences, typos galore, cryptic compressed title showing up at random, is ft (sic) really that expensive to have even a cursory attempt at proofreading? Anyway, Perry and Delta (sic) are back for another case involving poison, murder by gunshot, etc. Not a bad story, but the presentation is lethal.