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Erle Stanley Gardner

Dealing with debtors turns deadly for a prickly PI in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason and author of Bats Fly at Dusk.

A hot-headed widow and a glass-jawed ex-lawyer, Bertha Cool and Donald Lam seem like an unlikely duo of private detectives. Even so, they’ve managed to solve the most difficult of mysteries—when they’re together. With Donald now on a European vacation, Bertha is hesitant to accept any new business—but money is money, and this new case seems routine enough …

Bertha is hired to get sales engineer Everett Belder out of a $20,000 problem. Unfortunately, his troubles soon multiply. His wife is receiving poisoned-pen letters accusing him of infidelity. Then she disappears. And there’s also the matter of the body in his cellar. With everything spiraling out of control, Bertha must determine who is behind this deadly game of cat and mouse before another murder comes into play.

“No one has ever matched Gardner for swift, sure exposition. ” —Kirkus Reviews

“The best American writer, of course, is Erle Stanley Gardner. ” —Evelyn Waugh

MysteriousPress.com/Open Road

The Bertha Cool and Donald Lam Mysteries

Cats Prowl at Night

An odd couple of detectives descends on New Orleans to search for a missing heiress in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason.
 
 Bertha Cool is a bulldog of a woman with an attitude to match. Donald Lam is a handsome ex-lawyer who makes up for in brains what he lacks in brawn. Together, they’re an unlikely pair of private detectives on a mission to find Roberta Fenn, a missing model and heiress in New Orleans. It’s a seemingly simple case of lost and found . . .
 
 Except, Donald can’t help but wonder why someone would hire a firm out of Los Angeles instead of one based in the Big Easy. Also, locating Roberta proves surprisingly effortless. Keeping track of her is not. She disappears, leaving a body behind in her apartment. Now Cool and Lam must find Roberta and a killer, before someone makes them disappear as well . . .
 
“Cool and Lam are an amusing and endearing pair—perfect foils for one another.” —Monica Muller, 1001 Nights: The Aficionado’s Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction
 
“No one has ever matched Gardner for swift, sure exposition.” —Kirkus Reviews

Owls Don't Blink

A hot-headed PI’s missing person case leads to murder in this mystery by the creator of Perry Mason and author of Owls Don’t Blink.

Bertha Cool and Donald Lam make for an unlikely pair of private detectives. She’s a fifty-something-year-old widow built like a longshoreman with a mouth to match. Donald is a wiry ex-lawyer in his thirties with a face that’s a magnet for fists. Fortunately, he’s whip-smart. His brains have gotten him and his partner through the toughest of cases. However, with World War II on, he’s recently enlisted in the navy, leaving Bertha flying solo with her next client …

A blind beggar is searching for a young lady who disappeared after being hit by a car. Bertha’s certain she can handle a missing person case on her own, especially after her client asks her to break a hundred-dollar bill. But when her search yields murder, Bertha is suddenly flying blind. Now she must quickly locate a killer before everything comes crashing down.

“No one has ever matched Gardner for swift, sure exposition. ” —Kirkus Reviews

“The best American writer, of course, is Erle Stanley Gardner. ” —Evelyn Waugh

Bats Fly at Dusk

Following a money trail leads a PI into danger in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason and author of Turn on the Heat.

Brainy private detective Donald Lam is always one step ahead of the bad guys—but he’s also smaller than them and typically gets beat up. That’s why his boss, the ever-irascible Bertha Cool, has hired a martial arts master to teach him self-defense. The first class isn’t easy for Donald, but he is rewarded with a new client …

Henry Ashbury is concerned about his daughter’s recent spending habits. He wants Donald to find out where her money is going, without letting on that he’s a detective. So, going undercover as Ashbury’s trainer, Donald soon learns the story behind the daughter’s finances. But when his investigation also turns up a dead body, the diminutive detective must teach the killer a lesson in justice …

“Lively wit and machinegun dialogue. ” —Ralph E. Vaughan, author of Murder in the Goblins’ Playground

“Gardner has a way of moving the story forward that is almost a lost art: great stretches of dialogue alternate with lively chunks of exposition, and the two work together perfectly, without sacrificing momentum. ” —Booklist

Gold Comes in Bricks

The search for stolen jewels and a missing woman yields deadly trouble for an LA detective duo in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason.

Side by side, Bertha Cool and Donald Lam make quite the odd couple of private investigators. She’s a fifty-something-year-old widow, built like a bulldog, with the personality to match. He’s a wiry, ex-lawyer in his thirties with a lightning-quick wit that always helps him out of a jam, including the one he finds himself in with their latest case …

After Dr. Milton Devarest discovered his wife’s jewelry stolen from their safe, they noticed his wife’s secretary was also missing. Certain of what happened, Devarest asks Bertha and Donald to locate the secretary and persuade her to return the jewelry, no questions asked. But when Donald heads to Devarest’s home to get some answers, all he finds are more questions—and a body …

“The best American writer, of course, is Erle Stanley Gardner. ” —Evelyn Waugh

“Gardner has a way of moving the story forward that is almost a lost art: great stretches of dialogue alternate with lively chunks of exposition, and the two work together perfectly, without sacrificing momentum. ” —Booklist

Double or Quits

The diminutive detective and his bulldog of a boss head to Las Vegas to find a runaway bride in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason.

Donald Lam and Bertha Cool make for a couple of unlikely detectives. Donald is a charming ex-lawyer in his thirties who may lack brawn but makes up for it in brains. Bertha, meanwhile, is a fifty-something-year-old widow who won’t take lip from anyone. She certainly won’t let a bout of illness keep her down. After a stay at the sanitarium, she and Donald are off to Las Vegas for their latest case. Who needs rest?

Mr. Whitewell needs Donald and Bertha to find his son’s fiancée and learn why she abruptly left town. Donald quickly gets to work with just a mysterious letter as his only lead. Soon he uncovers a scheme to swindle casinos, along with a brutal murder. Now he must determine what’s going on before someone ensures he’s the next member of the agency to have a long hospital stay—or worse.

“The best American writer, of course, is Erle Stanley Gardner. ” —Evelyn Waugh

“Gardner has a way of moving the story forward that is almost a lost art: great stretches of dialogue alternate with lively chunks of exposition, and the two work together perfectly, without sacrificing momentum. ” —Booklist