Review of "The Case of the Horrified Heirs," by Erle Stanley Gardner

 Review of

The Case of the Horrified Heirs, by Erle Stanley Gardner

Four out of five stars

Convoluted tale with many valid suspects

 The story opens with a wealthy woman named Lauretta Trent becoming sick with gastric distress once again. Fortunately, she recovers, but her doctor tells her that this is her third major issue in the last eight months and her heart is being put under great strain. Seemingly unrelated to this, legal secretary Virginia Baxter is arrested in an airport for attempting to smuggle narcotics. The arresting officer is acting on a tip, with Virginia’s cooperation in allowing her bags to be searched, the arrest is easy.

Puzzled at the turn of events, she calls the office of Perry Mason, and he rushes to her aid. It is clear to Mason right away that the arrest was one where Virginia was set up. After some rather easy legal maneuvering and establishment of factual chain of custody of the bag containing the narcotics, Mason manages to get the charges dismissed, as it is clear that the drugs were planted without her knowledge.

 Mason also concludes very quickly that Lauretta Trent was poisoned with arsenic leading to a situation where there have been repeated murder attempts as well as an attempt to frame another woman. The cases are related as there are one or more nefarious people trying to murder Lauretta and keep Virginia out of the way, for she has knowledge about the will of Lauretta Trent. There are many suspects, from the doctor to the chauffeur to several direct relatives.

 The two original threads are tied together as Mason does his usual sifting through the information with the help of Paul Drake. In the best Gardner fashion, the main mind behind the attempted murder and other machinations is well hidden until the end. Gardner puts forward many logical suspects with some evidence pointing towards their guilt. It Is a good story of the mind and methods of Perry Mason going up against the law, interacting with the judiciary, which in the case is very capable, and seeing that justice is properly served.

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