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4.6 out of 5 stars
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Patto
4.0 out of 5 stars It’s always darkest before the dawn
Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2020
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The evidence against Perry Mason's client is so overwhelming that I could hardly stand it. Even Mason is rattled. He has one witness, a nightclub hostess, whose testimony could help, but she disappears abruptly. Mason has nothing, so he goes fishing. This entails spending a fortune in hiring detectives to trail suspects and dig up information. And the expenses come out of his pocket! This is a court-assigned case. No fee for Mason.

I somehow got through the stressful part and onto the fun part. In court, Mason’s cross examinations are particularly brutal and brilliant. Outside of court, there are astounding discoveries and dramatic rescues.

At one point a gorgeous hostess tries to seduce Mason. He’s as wily in the curtained back seat of a limo as he is in court.

First published in 1953, this Perry Mason mystery is a good one. For readers with stronger nerves than mine, it’s a 5-star read. I took off a star for pain and suffering in the beginning.
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S.L. Kotar
2.0 out of 5 stars Not quite right
Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2013
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There is something wrong with this book. Either Gardner was writing on a word count or the characters were not talking to him. In any case every other line seems to have been repeated half a dozen times, the plot was a 5-minute idea that did not work on any level and the attempt at characterization (Dell's and Perry in Las Vegas) with a public report they were to be married was tossed out like a bone. After a brief congratulations from Paul, the matter was utterly dropped. Also, the typesetting or e-book conversion was especially bad. There is no excuse for this type of sloppiness (Harry and Hairy, for example) or dialogue running into the next quote so you cannot follow who is speaking. A poor effort all the way around.
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Kaleberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Perry Mason story
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2014
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I really enjoy these old Perry Mason stories. If nothing else, they, and the early 1960s television series, paint a picture of a particular era in Los Angeles history with its wild cat prosecutors, apartment buildings with desk clerks, night clubs, overnights in Las Vegas, beach front cabins, families with dark secrets and small scale industrialists. Mason is as ever a legal genius, often brought into a scheme and over his head, but he fights his way out with the help of his secretary Della Street and indefatigable private investigator Paul Drake. As usual, a fun mystery.
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JLaurelC
5.0 out of 5 stars A real puzzle
Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2020
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This book starts in a courtroom, and from there turns into a labyrinth of clues that seem to lead deeper and deeper into an impenetrable mystery. While we all know Perry will work his way out of it, there are times when it seems impossible. Very satisfying conclusion.
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CharleyGarrett
5.0 out of 5 stars All Gardner Mason novels are great!
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2018
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I've seen this one on the Raymond Burr version for the TV series. The novels are a tad grittier, and I like em that way.
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Timothy H Johnstone
5.0 out of 5 stars The Hesitant Hostess
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2017
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I enjoyed reading this book. The way Perry Mason would not give up on his client even though he was not being paid to defend him. He knew that was not guilty.
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James M. Rawley
4.0 out of 5 stars Usual fast pace, slightly less plausible than others
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2011
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I'm glad Perry Masons are becoming available on Kindle. Gardner was a Guinness Record holder for fast writing, and when he wrote about the lawyer Perry Mason he was speaking from his own experience as a defense attorney. The result was expert pulp fiction with a touch of honest atmosphere. Long before postmodern cynicism, Gardner was taking it for granted that police would be crooked enough to railroad defendants, conduct torture-interrogations (as Lieutenant Tragg does in this book) and generally send suspects to jail by any means available.

Gardner was a friend and contemporary of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and Perry Mason himself is not always one hundred percent on the right side of the law.

In HESITANT HOSTESS our mind is kept off a not very believable murder scenario by explorations into night clubs, hostesses, and their cynical moneymaking managers. Perry Mason, a pre-feminist two-fisted he-man, looks at the hostesses and their moneymakers closely. As one character puts it, "Everyone sells what he has to sell. Some women ask for a cash price. Some women want security. They settle for marriage in order to get security. Every woman who has a mirror appraises her bargaining position a dozen times a day."

While the reader is recovering from all this erotic giddiness, Della Street, Mason's fabulous secretary, is kidnaped, sirens wail, and a mixed-up plot is exposed and settles everything.

It's not the best Mason novel. The plot is too confused. On the other hand, Gardner, like Balzac, is excellent even when his book isn't. If you're up for a wild ride, who cares if a fender gets crushed?
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J. Whitmire
5.0 out of 5 stars No down times, story rolled along until it hit the down grade, what a ride!!!
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018
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This book had everything a good-story needed. NNo down times, each page kept the excitement rolling. Not many writers could come as well.
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Phil Webster
5.0 out of 5 stars Great courtroom dialogue
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2013
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I've got a weakness for these Perry Mason books, even though they're not exactly great literature. There is not much depth of characterisation and sometimes the plots have weaknesses, but the dialogues - especially the courtroom dialogues - can be brilliant.

"The Case of the Hesitant Hostess" is one of the best. If it's your first, and if you like it, you might find yourself as addicted to Perry Mason as I am.

Incidentally, Series One and Two of the original TV Perry Mason are also available on DVD. They too make for a great bit of relaxing entertainment.
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Book lover
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story as always but terrible editing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2015
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I love all the Perry Mason books and its great to read them on my Kindle. This was a clever, gripping story which I really enjoyed. BUT the transcript from book to kindle format was terrible. I have seen far better edited books for 99p while this one cost 4.99 or more. All the Murder Room editions have many typos but this one was by far the worst.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2016
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arrived on time meet the expectations
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Vahini Epari
4.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling!!!!
Reviewed in India on May 30, 2018
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The story just keeps on rolling till the end. Perry Mason court room stories always stimulate my brain cells. You just need to start reading it to finish it.
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