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The Case of the Cautious Coquette

The Case of the Cautious Coquette cover image Cover Artist: Silver Studio (cover photograph)
By: Gardner, Erle Stanley
Publisher: Pocket Books, Inc. (1009)
Place of Publication:New York, NY
Catalog #: Kelley Coll. PS3513 .A6322 C227 1954
Contributor: S. Roe

General

Era: 1940s
Author as on Cover: Erle Stanley Gardner
Publication:1954
Original Date: 1949
Setting: urban

Plot Summary

Two different parties confess and pay damages for committing the very same hit-and-run accident There's something fishy about this one. Here's a case that has too many people confessing. It takes Perry Mason, Della Street, and Paul Drake to run down all the loose ends on this one, especially after Perry carelessly leaves his fingerprints on the murder weapon!

Major Characters

Perry Mason "Chief", adult male, tall, well-built, defense attorney

Della Street adult female, 30s, pretty, smart, Perry Mason's legal secretary

Paul Drake adult male, tall, lanky private investigator and owner of the Drake Detective Agency

Lucille Barton adult female, late 20s, saucy blue eyes, molasses-taffy hair, luscious strawberry mouth with even, white teeth, a woman who "knew her way around"

Arthur Colson adult male, Lucille's devoted business partner

Hamilton Burger adult male, big, ponderous, dignified and hostile district attorney, determined to get Perry Mason

Weapons

revolver

Level of Violence

one man is shot (and killed); before the story opens, one man is the victim of a hit-and-run accident and is hospitalized.

Sexuality

not crucial to the plot in this novel

Law Enforcement

local police; in this case, Perry takes the police by the hand to show them the clues. They finally get it.

Subject Headings

Detectives, Private/ California/ Mason, Perry/ Jealousy/ Greed/ Law and Lawyers

Psychological Elements

jealousy, greed