The title of this one grabbed me while shopping in a local used bookstore. I had never read this author before, but the title just sort of tickled my reading funny-bone and so I picked it up. I was NOT disappointed. Cece Caruso's is a biographer by trade. As our story opens she is working on biographical material on Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason as well as the private eye team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam. (He also did quite a bit of pulp writing under a number of pen names- and I am interested in tracking down one of his stories about a "human fly" who solves crimes. Anyway, she has a serious case of writer's block when she stumbles onto a mis-filed letter to the author, who once was active in a type of "innocence" project - helping review and investigate hopeless cases of folks who claimed innocence but were sitting in prisons, or even on death row. This leads her to an investigation of a decades old murder and she does so with gusto.As the story progresses, our heroine stumbles back and forth between working on proving the convict's innocence, the need to continue her biographical work, as well as dealing with her daughter's marital problems. Okay, the daughter's situation could probably have been left out and the novel might have been a bit better.Another part of the story (apparently it will pay a key part of this series) is the heroine's fashion sense. She is a fashionista, and many references are made to styles, fashions, designers, accessories, etc. Honestly, this distracted me-- because I felt that the story was much better when the author was exploring the biographical background. In fact, this book was most interesting because of its description of Mr. Gardner's life, activities, and places where he lived and worked. It excelled when describing the locales that the heroine was visiting or the episodes of Perry Mason, or simply the plethora of titles mentioned and a brief description of Gardner's ability to create wonderful titles that offered both an exciting cadence and a catchy wording. Eventually, the author is forced to move the characters into some odd situations, and some things that normal people wouldn't do (sneaking into an actual crime scene at night).. but I think the historical background, etc. keeps this one rolling along, past the fashion nonsense, etc. to a fitting conclusion, with a well-written mystery and enough interesting characters to hold the reader's interest to the end.
I'm a fan of the original Perry Mason show and have read a number of Earl Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books so I enjoyed all the biographic and geographic references as the main character Cece Caruso pursued writing her ESG biography. The mystery part was sort of generic but OK for a murder mystery. Cece and her cast of characters were interesting but a little busy - she's a writer/biographer, and she's into fashion, and shopping, and she has a whole cast of characters including family, friends and shopkeepers. Like a dish with a little too much seasoning. It looks like the series deals with other mystery writers I like so I'll give them a try, too.
Do You like book I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason (2005)?
This is the first book in this series and like the later Hitchcock-themed book that I read first, it is a fast-paced, slightly madcap romp through a few days in the life of our heroine. I'm not sure it's a full "4", but I'd rate it at least a "3.5". The author does a pretty credible job of weaving in the backstory of Cece and her friends and family to the main plot. It feels far less forced than other books I've read that have a colorful "supporting cast". But it's no television ensemble show, Cece is clearly the center of the story.The author seems to have created her blend of biography, art (and clothing/fashion), detection, and Cece's personal life full-blown. Except for the inevitable differences of a Perry Mason-style story versus a Hitchcock suspense tale along with their associated trivia and "progress" in Cece's life, the books seem very alike. A great boon to those who seek series that hold true to a pattern. Often I like to see how the author evolves over time, but when one starts out with a good offering as in "I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason", it's clearly hard to improve on the original.I'm ready to pick up the next book in this set in a few days. If you like a bit of lighter fiction (with great research ), try out this one and see for yourself!
—Mike
I picked this up at the local book exchange with mild hesitation that it might prove annoying rather than fun light reading. Fortunately, it proved to be a reasonably entertaining example of its genre. The main character is a Los Angeles divorcee who has developed a career of writing biographies of famous crime writers, and in this book she's writing about Erle Stanley Gardner. Much to her surprise, this leads to investigating an actual cold-case murder. The book can be considered a cozy, although not a traditional one. It's lively and often amusing, and while I doubt it'll become a classic, it's pretty good fun.
—Spotsalots
I started this series out of order and read Not a Girl Detective first. I've actually never been exposed to Perry Mason or Erle Stanley Gardner before. (Though I think I'm going to check him out next time I'm at the library.)This book isn't going to be a life changer nor is it inspirational but it was exactly what I was looking for, a funny cozy mystery. I love Cece Caruso. I love how spunky, smart, and not-perfect she is. I enjoy Kandel's voice and it was a very smooth read. It was a good mystery that kept me entertained the whole way through.
—Laura
