The Case of the Fenced-In Woman

It was during one of my ramblings in the Starmark section of the South City Mall that I came across the titles of Perry Mason by Earl Stanley Gardner. Though the name of the creator and his creation was not new to me but never had I have the chance of going thru any of the novels previously. So a rapid cyber search got me introduced to the character but much of it remained unsaid till I bought this book and finished it in a hurry. Actually I bought this from a second-hand store as I'm quite doubtful about my experimentation with the 1st sample of any new series. So though I longed for the 'Velvet Claws' which I gather is the 1st Perry Mason story but I'd to be content with this among the limited inventory of the store's display. That this was a posthumous publication was only known to me after another of my cyber searches and so my ideas may not conform to that of the readers of Mason novels as I hold the belief that so late a novel might not reflect the true character of the dynamic lawyer as a saturation is bound to come at that period.

The story starts in Perry Mason's office where the US defence lawyer, famous for his investigations in murder mysteries, is presented with a rather unusual case by a Morley Eden. It was learnt that Mr. Eden had purchased a plot from some Lorring Carson and had employed the latter in constructing a building in the same plot. But no sooner than he started living, the ex-wife of Carson, Vivian was found to occupy a certain part of the house and seperated herself by a barbed wire fence running through the house so as to divide the same and the rest of the plot in two parts. This not only intrigued Eden but also annoyed him. It was then revealed that the portion where Vivian is now living was actually hers legally and Lorring Carson seemed to make a fraud sale to Eden. A frustrated Eden requested Mason's intervention and Mason, following his own line of enquiry thought it better to charge Lorring in a fraud case. But on the same day as the case was to be filed, Lorring Carson's stabbed body was found in the Eden side of the house and thus the case turned bizarre than ever. The problem seemed to multiply with the police accusing both Morley and Vivian in the murder and Perry found himself at sea when both his clients refused to divulge any information that may show him some light. If that was not all, Mason himself found to be trapped with indications of framing him during the course of events. Thus on the day of the hearing both his clients and Mason was tensed and the prosecuter seemed to have a solid case with piled up circumstantial evidences to hammer in the verdict against Morley-Vivian. Thus the stage is set for Perry not only to save the clients but also to unearth the mystery and guarantee a satisfactory ending.
The problem with this story is that the ending seemed a bit abrupt and less dramatic than what I had hoped. Also the final deductions seemed to be somewhat forced and a bit less convincing. Also Mason's urge to save his clients even when they might be at fault did not personally please me. Also Della Street and Paul Drake, the two persons without whom Pason novels lose completeness, didn't seem to be involved much in the story and so can't gather much about their character.