The Case of the Sulky Girl,

Seven intriguing mysteries featuring the talents of the inimitable Perry Mason.

The Casebook of Sidney Zoom is the first book-collection of the Zoom stories, showing Gardner's pulp style.

One of Perry Mason's trademarks is his ability, in court, to switch the physical evidence in a case. He generally does this with guns or bullets, and it confuses the jury, to his client's advantage. In this case, Perry offers a coroner's inquest two parrots, one of which swore like a muleskinner and was found near the body of a millionaire hermit who had been murdered.

Lost for more than 75 years, The Knife Slipped was meant to be the second book in the series, but shelved when Gardner’s publisher objected to (among other things) Bertha Cool’s tendency to “talk tough, swear, smoke cigarettes, and try to gyp people.” But this tale of adultery and corruption, of double-crosses and triple identities—however shocking for 1939—shines today as a glorious present from the past, a return to the heyday of private eyes and shady dames, of powerful criminals, crooked cops, blazing dialogue, and delicious plot twists. Donald Lam has never been cooler—not even when played by Frank Sinatra on the U.S. Steel Hour of Mystery in 1946. Bertha Cool has never been tougher. And Erle Stanley Gardner has never been better.

Paul Pry, one of Gardner’s least-known and strangest characters is showcased here. He picks ‘Mugs’ Magoo out of the gutter and forma a partnership which makes the big shots of the underworld look pathetic.

While enjoying a leisurely ocean cruise in the company of secretary Della Street, Perry Mason is approached by a passenger who is worried about the well-being of her husband. Not long afterward, her husband is seen jumping off the ship, an apparent suicide-but when the body is recovered, it turns out that he was shot. Accused of murder, the wife puts her fate in the hands of Perry, who in the course of piecing things together unearths the fact that the husband had once accepted a huge bribe while serving on a jury. The case takes many shocking twists and turns before revealing its surprising conclusion. With the reissue of this iconic series--many titles of which have not been in print for years--it is our hope at Ankerwycke to introduce a whole new generation of reasers to the investigative brilliance of Perry Mason and the masterful storytelling of Erle Stanley Gardner, drawing together a new and connected family of fans throughout the world.

"In his will, Peter Laxter guaranteed his faithful caretaker a job and a place to live for life. But Laxter's grandson Sam says the deal doesn't include the caretaker's cat. When Perry Mason takes the case, he finds there's much more at stake than an old man's cat -- a million dollars to be exact. And as he investigates, he finds a web of greed and treachery among the heirs. But which one actually pulled off the almost perfect crime?"--bn.com.