'The bestselling author of the century ... a master storyteller' New York Times

She pulled herself out of the water and into a canoe and gasped, 'I don't know who you are ... but you'd better paddle like hell!' Flashlights appeared on the shore. Someone shouted 'There she is!' but Perry Mason was doing as he was told for a change, paddling into the night, with a strange girl, towards the hottest water he had ever been in.

By morning, Mason was in all the papers - wanted for robbery. By afternoon, he had a second client - in jail. Then murder arrived and he was precipitated into the tensest battle of his career.

"Millions of Americans never seem to tire of Gardner's thrillers" - NEW YORK TIMES

"For fans of classic hard-boiled whodunits, this is a time machine back to an exuberant era of snappy patter, stakeouts, and double-crosses" - LA TIMES

"No one has ever matched Gardner for swift, sure exposition" - KIRKUS

"You know Perry Mason ... and that is what makes the Perry Mason stories worthwhile" - NEW YORK TIMES

"Amazing originality" - NEW YORK TIMES