I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason stories
suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though similar.

The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end justifying
means. Almost every character is lying about something and some seem to
lie about everything but by the end of each book Perry Mason is one step
ahead as he has a superior knack for identifying falsehood.
There are interesting references to now outdated things such as using a
choke on a car and the value of small sums of money stands out as well
as the abrupt manner in which he addresses his secretary. I will be
reading more.

Titus G <noone@nowhere.com> wrote in
news:snrms0$h8p$1@dont-email.me:

> I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason stories
> suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though similar.
>
> The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
> principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end
> justifying means. Almost every character is lying about
> something and some seem to lie about everything but by the end
> of each book Perry Mason is one step ahead as he has a superior
> knack for identifying falsehood. There are interesting
> references to now outdated things such as using a choke on a car
> and the value of small sums of money stands out as well

I had to keep reminding myself how much even a few bucks was worth in
the 30s, when the early ones were written.

Another very common theme (shared with the TV show) is that the
murder victim, far more often than not, "has it coming," but the real
murderer still gets punished (except on the rare occasions when they
don't).

> as the
> abrupt manner in which he addresses his secretary. I will be
> reading more.
>
I'll be getting back to them when I run out of new stuff to read.
Just discovered there's a new Instinct book by Patterson (and a third
one coming in February, even).

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration
(May 2019 total for people arrested for entering the United States
illegally is over 132,000 for just the southwest border.)

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

On Friday, 26 November 2021 at 22:25:08 UTC, Titus G wrote:
> I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason stories
> suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though similar.
>
> The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
> principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end justifying
> means. Almost every character is lying about something and some seem to
> lie about everything but by the end of each book Perry Mason is one step
> ahead as he has a superior knack for identifying falsehood.

Did I mention before, I encountered the argument
of "the zealous advocate", that a lawyer should do
whatever it takes (if ethical) on the behalf of
their client... in
<https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/She-Hulk_Vol_3_4>

In which Daredevil, a lawyer and a superhero, recalls
a defence case - probably just invented for this story -
where he represented Black Cat in court /and/ changed
into Daredevil to go and find evidence to save her.

Wherefore, Jennifer Walters, also a lawyer and superhero,
changes into (or, goes on being) She-Hulk to go and find...
her client, who was abducted from the courtroom in the
previous month's issue by Victor Von Doom, evil genius
tyrant of Latveria, his adoptive father.

She confronts many Doom-bots!

On 2021-11-26 3:25 p.m., Titus G wrote:
> I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason stories
> suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though similar.
>
> The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
> principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end justifying
> means.

Perry Mason is a defense attorney in 1930s Los Angeles. That mans he's
up against police and prosecutors who are very unscrupulous in their
methods and have an enormous advantage in position with their authority
and willingness to abuse it. Mason's little tricks are there to even
the odds. Gardner actually toned down Mason in later decades to match
the reforms to California policing in the 50s and 60s.

In article <snrms0$h8p$1@dont-email.me>, Titus G <noone@nowhere.com>
wrote:

> I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason stories
> suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though similar.
>
> The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
> principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end justifying
> means. Almost every character is lying about something and some seem to
> lie about everything but by the end of each book Perry Mason is one step
> ahead as he has a superior knack for identifying falsehood.

As I have mentioned before, the first 16 or so Perry Mason novels was
the shyster era. He would had been disbarred if his stunts were
discovered (saved by incompetent police work). After Tragg showed up in
the 17th title, Perry had to be much more careful (he mentioned that to
Della by the way). In the later novels, Perry's relationship with the
District Attorney's office became very hostile. Their intense desire to
convict any of his clients caused cases to blow up so spectacularly,
that I would expect newspaper editorials asking for Hamilton Burger to
resign (with such sentences as "His obsession over Mr. Mason is an
embarrassment.").

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

David Johnston <davidjohnston29@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:sns5vc$b80$1@gioia.aioe.org:

> On 2021-11-26 3:25 p.m., Titus G wrote:
>> I have now read about 4 or 5 of these 1930's Perry Mason
>> stories suggested here and finding them enjoyable even though
>> similar.
>>
>> The Golden Rule is loyalty to client. Loyalty ranks higher than
>> principle so ethics and morality can be ignored with the end
>> justifying means.
>
> Perry Mason is a defense attorney in 1930s Los Angeles. That
> mans he's up against police and prosecutors who are very
> unscrupulous in their methods and have an enormous advantage in
> position with their authority and willingness to abuse it.
> Mason's little tricks are there to even the odds. Gardner
> actually toned down Mason in later decades to match the reforms
> to California policing in the 50s and 60s.
>
He is very much a man (and lawyer) of his time. One of the things
that really stands out is the casual corruption of the police. One
of the earliest books, he needs to get an address for an unlisted
phone number without the person knowing it, so he bribes a friendly
police detective with $25 (which, in today's money, would be over
$500) to get it quietly, in the middle of the squad room with other
detectives around. In another, he needs a confession from the guy
he's investigating (who is later murdered, naturally) to bring
criminal charges, and the buddy the detective suggests a rubber
hose, but brass knuckles would be going too far (presumably because
it would leave marks).

--
Terry Austin

Proof that Alan Baker is a liar and a fool, and even stupider than
Lynn:
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.