The Case of the Careless Kitten (Perry Mason Mystery) Mass Market Paperback – June 14, 1989

Love the book. Mr. Gardner is a good writer & after watching Perry Mason on tv - I hear his voice (as well as Della, Paul, etc). as I'm reading. Almost like an audio book.

We love the Perry Mason books -

good

Classic Perry Mason. Great characters and a fun read although we know that Perry Mason always solves the crime at the end. Another in a long list of satisfying books.

This 1942 novel is good reading. It varies some from the TV production, and you get a better idea of the kind of guy Erle Stanley Gardner had in mind as Perry Mason.

Two Perry Mason Novels: Rolling Bones; Careless Kitten If all you know about "Perry Mason" is the television series from the 50s & 60s, read the original novels and rediscover "The World's Greatest Author" whose books outsold his combined competitors.The Case of the Rolling Bones: A Murder Mystery with False IdentitiesOne morning Perry Mason is visited by three people. Phyllis Leeds is the niece and secretary of Alden Leeds. Emily Milicant is the girlfriend of Alden Leeds. Ned Barkler is a friend and fellow Klondike prospector. Phyllis Leeds thinks Uncle Alden wrote out a big check, and this could be used to have Alden declared incompetent by the other relatives who want to get their hands on his fortune. They want Perry Mason to investigate this financial transaction. Paul Drake found the name of the girl who cashed that check, but she left town in a hurry. Drake traced Maria Whittaker to L. C. Conway, who also moved away. But Phyllis Leeds calls with a crisis: one relative has taken Uncle Alden for a ride and put him in a sanitarium! Perry will serve a writ of habeas corpus on Jason Carrel, the nephew. Perry and Drake talk to Marcia Whittaker, who was used to cash that big check.Chapter 4 has the habeas corpus hearing. The other side of the family has their lawyer. Alden Leeds was hospitalized against his will. Judge Treadwell goes to make a personal examination, but they find Alden Leeds has fled! When Perry is stopped for speeding, he tells the cops he’s going to a fire - in his office! It’s true (Chapter 5). They learn that Emily Milicant had been a Klondike dance hall girl 30 years earlier. Alden Leeds isn’t at home, but knows how to take care of himself. In Chapter 7 Drake’s operatives are watching L. C. Conway’s apartment, and they note who showed up, and the time they left. Perry gets a call from Marcia Whittaker, and the identity of L. C. Conway is revealed. Her boyfriend, John Milicant, will never be angry again.The Case of the Careless Kitten: Animal Instinct Points to the TruthHelen Kendal receives a phone call. The strange voice identifies himself as her long-lost Uncle Franklin Shore, and tells her secrets to verify his identity. Helen is to contact Perry Mason, bring him to a hotel, and ask for Henry Leech. Helen lives with her Aunt Matilda Shore, whose husband ran off ten years earlier. But her kitten takes sick, and is rushed to the vet (a mysterious poisoning). Later she meets Perry Mason and goes to the hotel. A message redirects them to a place in the hills; when they arrive there they find a dead body in an automobile, and call the police. It is not the uncle; his death would leave a large sum to Helen. Helen returns home alone, as her aunt was taken to the hospital. When she and her boyfriend hear a noise, they investigate. Shots ring out, and her boyfriend is hit. Perry is notified.When Perry and Della visit the Shore residence, Perry is taken inside where the police ask him to produce the long missing Franklin B. Shore. Della finds Tom Lunk, the gardener, and drives away with him. Lunk tells Perry that Franklin visited his home earlier to spend the night. But they find Franklin has disappeared again. Perry wants Lunk to hide in a hotel, and Della takes him there. But the police find out, and arrest Della for hiding Franklin! Della escapes conviction for hiding Franklin, a material witness, because of the actions of the kitten at Lunk's shack! Lunk can't appear again as a witness because he is killed in a hit-and-run accident. But this results in solving the three murders. The clue again is eye-witness testimony that can't be corroborated. This story shows the variety of events and surprises that will mark future novels.What is the significance of the kitten jumping to another bed? You will understand that if you ever lived in a house that did not have central heating.

This is a good classic mystery with a very complicated plot with lots details with twists and turns. Helen Kendal gets a call from her Uncle Franklin, who disappeared 10 years previously. He tells her to hire Perry Mason, go with him to the Castle Gate Hotel and ask for Henry Leech who would lead them to him. Helen is living with her aunt Matilda who was married to Franklin and told her that he ran off to Florida with another woman and she hates him. His will has left money to Helen and Franklin's brother Gerald, but until he is known to be dead, they can't get it. Helen tell Gerald about the call, and he wants to be included in the search for Franklin. Meanwhile, Helen's kitten is sick; she take her to the vet who tells Helen the kitten has been poisoned. Helen takes the kitten to the gardener, Lunk to take care of him while she goes out.When Perry Mason, his secretary Della Street, Gerald and Helen get to the hotel, Leech isn't there. There is a typed message of where to meet him which is way out of town. When they reach the site there is a car with a man who has been shot. Mason calls Lieutenant Tragg, who immediately suspects them of the shooting. Lunk claims he has given Franklin a room in his house, but when the police arrive, no one is there. The police arrest Della Street for removing Franklin, a suspect and Mason must defend her at a trial with a lot of circumstantial evidence, but Mason uses the instance of the kitten finding a bed to sleep in in his final argument.The big questions are who killed Leech; whether Franklin is alive or dead; and if he's dead who killed him? The last chapter is Mason telling Della Street everything that happened and who is guilty of what. However, Tragg is going to have to figure it out by himself!