The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse

It starts with an auto accident where an elderly Mexican woman is injured. Perry Mason and Della Street witness the accident and stop to lend assistance to the woman. She refuses their aid and another Mexican man takes her away. This begins the story and the event is included later, but is incidental to the main plot. A woman (Lois Fenton) was a very successful fan dancer but she was getting married. In those times, a woman did not work after marriage and certainly not as a fan-dancer. Therefore, she filled out and signed a paper that allowed another woman with a nearly identical build to take over her bookings and name. However, there was an exit clause that she could take back her name at any time if the marriage did not work out. There were serious problems in the marriage and the real Lois Fenton was trying to get her name and fan-dancing career back. At a time when there was a confrontation with her soon to be ex-husband, he is murdered by being stabbed through with a Japanese sword. The real Lois is charged with the murder and it took place while the murdered man was under surveillance by Paul Drake's operatives working for Mason. This drags Mason into the case at a time when he is trying to get out of it. There are many contradictory clues and the two similar Lois Fenton's lead to what appears to be solid evidence of the real Lois Fenton's guilt. The situation is further complicated by some deceptive practices on the part of the police. In typical Mason style, he has a sudden revelation and probes in the right direction to determine the identity of the real killer. This story moves along at a fast pace and there are many convolutions that obfuscate the path to the real killer. However, if you, as Mason himself points out, take the proper point of view on one aspect of the case, then everything else falls into place and the identity of the killer is clear. It is one of the better Perry Mason stories, although once again the inclusion of deceptive work on the part of the police seems contrived.

Perry Mason's at it again, trying to save the hide of a beautiful fan dancer accused of murder. If you've never read a Perry Mason novel, here's what they have going for them: Terrific pace (a couple of pages in and you're embroiled in a mystery), good dialogue, complicated plot, a decent amount of suspense (especially in the court room scenes) and best of all, a very quick read. A lot like the TV show. All the Perry Mason novels I've read (about 10) are pretty much the same, which is really the one main drawback. Six months from now, I doubt I'll remember much about this book. Still, a lot of fun. Again, a lot like the TV show.