The Case of the Careless Cupid may be one of the last Erle Stanley Gardner books, but not so’s you’d notice. I mean, it doesn’t show signs of being a rote paint-by-numbers drag through the Perry Mason formula. Well, no more than the other few I’ve read. Which means not much at all. Mr. Gardner is digging on the formula, rather than leaning on it.
The only problem with this one (and it’s a ton of fun) is a lengthy disquisition on the lie detector, which is crap, which is all right, but is also dull, which isn’t all right. Oh, and there weren’t any guns in this one, so Perry didn’t get to do his gun-juggling tricks, but there was evidence to be tampered with, so that’s all right.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.