Books › The case of the counterfeit eye
The case of the counterfeit eye
First published 1935 · 600 pages
A fast-talking, tangled Los Angeles legal mystery where bizarre clues and desperate clients pile up by the hour.
What it feels like
Reading this classic 1930s legal mystery feels like stepping into a sun-baked, cynical Los Angeles where trouble walks through the door before lunch. The narrative moves at a propulsive clip, stacking bizarre clues, desperate clients, and sudden violence into a tightly wound puzzle. It carries the distinct, matter-of-fact tone of vintage detective fiction, where the prose is punchy and the focus remains squarely on untangling a web of deception and framing. The atmosphere is thick with urban intrigue and hidden motives, pulling the reader through a maze of legal maneuvering and high-stakes jeopardy. It is a perfect fit for readers who devour fast-paced, hardboiled mysteries and delight in watching a sharp legal mind outmaneuver a seemingly impossible setup.
- Mood
- tense
- atmospheric
- cynical
- intrigue-laden
- Tone
- wry
- matter-of-fact
- suspenseful
- hardboiled
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- legal maneuvering · urban crime · deception and framing · hidden motives
- The writing
- Direct, punchy, and focused on rapid-fire dialogue and unfolding action.
- The arc
- Starts with curious intrigue and accelerates into a tangled web of high-stakes murder and legal jeopardy.
- Who it's for
- Fans of classic 1930s detective fiction who love a fast-paced, tangled legal mystery set in vintage Los Angeles.
Content notes
- murder
- embezzlement
- domestic captivity
About the book
Perry Mason's office. L.A. Usual kinda day. In walks Peter Brunwold who hires Mason because someone has replaced his precious, skillfully made glass eye with a cheap imitation, so, Brunwold suspects, the stolen eye can be planted at the scene of a murder. Later, Bertha McLane asks Mason to return some money to high roller Hartley Basset which her brother embezzled from him. When Mason goes to Basset's house, the guy's wife Sylvia stows away in Mason's car so she can tell him her husband is holding her prisoner. That's just the first day. Wait till day two when Basset is found murdered, clutching -- you guessed it -- a glass eye
Description from Open Library.
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