The Bigger They Come
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The Bigger They Come
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
The Bigger They Come
A private detective searches for a missing person in this "breathlessly dramatic" (Los Angeles Times) whodunnit from the creator of Perry Mason
Bertha Cool is the gruff, tough-talking, corpulent head of her private detective agency, opened after the death of her husband. Donald Lam is her meek, slight, and nervy new hire, who makes up for a lack of boldness with brilliant deductive work. The duo couldn't be any more dissimilar but, with their skills combined, they are an unstoppable force when it comes to solving crimes, as evidenced by their over two dozen successes in the long-running series penned by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner.
In this, their first outing, Donald Lam is tasked with delivering divorce papers to a man who reportedly made a fortune in rigged slot machines. The only problem is that nobody - not even the police - can find him. Before long, Lam's seemingly simple assignment finds him caught up in a web of money, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs every bit as desperate as he is to find the runaway husband.
Reissued for the first time in decades, and originally published under the A.A. Fair pen name, The Bigger They Come is an enjoyable private eye novel replete with puzzling scenarios and a humorous tone. As fast and twisty as anything Gardner ever wrote, the novel (and the series it spawned) is more Paul Drake than Perry Mason, but it is sure to please any fan of the Golden Age whodunnit.
Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.
Series: An American Mystery Classic
View allBook Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Bigger They Come by Erle Stanley Gardner offers a thrilling experience without eliciting much admiration for its characters, but their exciting lives are undeniable. Critics praise the dynamic duo the book presents, highlighting their talent in the detective fiction genre. The narrative is described as original and breathlessly dramatic, possessing its own merits despite similarities to works by Hammett.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781613163566
Publisher: Penzler Publishers
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 04 October 2022
Country: United States
Imprint: American Mystery Classics
Contributors:
- Series edited by Otto Penzler
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 135.0mm
Height: 203.0mm
Weight: 259g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Erle Stanley Gardner (1889-1970) was the best-selling American author of the 20th century, mainly due to the enormous success of his Perry Mason series, which numbered more than 80 novels and inspired a half-dozen motion pictures, radio programs, and a long-running television series that starred Raymond Burr. Having begun his career as a pulp writer, Gardner brought a hard-boiled style and sensibility to the early Mason books, but gradually developed into a more classic detective story novelist, showing enough clues to allow the astute reader to solve the mystery. For more than a quarter of a century he wrote more than a million words a year under his own name and numerous pseudonyms, the most famous being A.A. Fair. Otto Penzler, the creator of American Mystery Classics, is also the founder of The Mysterious Press (1975); MysteriousPress.com (2011), an electronic-book publishing company; and New York Cityβs Mysterious Bookshop (1979). He has won a Raven, the Ellery Queen Award, two Edgars (for the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, 1977, and The Lineup, 2010), and lifetime achievement awards from NoirCon and The Strand Magazine. He has edited more than 70 anthologies and written extensively about mystery fiction.
Also by Erle Stanley Gardner
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