tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post2197291443090809225..comments2024-03-28T14:38:25.395-07:00Comments on Bitter Tea and Mystery: Gold Comes in Bricks: A.A. Fair TracyKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-55859763583794115042018-04-25T12:44:47.470-07:002018-04-25T12:44:47.470-07:00Well I hope you find one someday and give it a try...Well I hope you find one someday and give it a try, Col. You never know what will show up. I don't have a lot of luck with British authors at the book sale, but sometimes I find them. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-4438947816026298022018-04-24T22:21:09.198-07:002018-04-24T22:21:09.198-07:00I just saw a review by James Thane on another one ...I just saw a review by James Thane on another one of these and it interested me as well. Twice in one day, is more than coincidence - some sort of cosmic message, surely? I doubt I'm going to cross paths with anything by Fair when browsing my local charity shops or bookstores, but you never know....col2910https://www.blogger.com/profile/06422138069939709043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-46466972772490433022018-04-20T13:08:37.633-07:002018-04-20T13:08:37.633-07:00Thanks for the link to your review of THE KNIFE SL...Thanks for the link to your review of THE KNIFE SLIPPED, George. I especially liked your comparison to the Nero Wolfe books. That seems like it would have been a good approach. I want to read THE KNIFE SLIPPED soon, but I just got a copy of THE BIGGER THEY COME, #1 in the series, and I cannot decide which to read first.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-74187926947941126902018-04-20T05:48:27.715-07:002018-04-20T05:48:27.715-07:00I like Bertha Cool a lot. She is very strong in T...I like Bertha Cool a lot. She is very strong in THE KNIFE SLIPPED which might be one reason it wasn't published back in the 1940s. My review of THE KNIFE SLIPPED can be found at: http://georgekelley.org/forgotten-books-406-the-knife-slipped-by-erle-stanley-gardner/Georgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546161337366365635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-33564309430215433012018-04-16T20:23:05.174-07:002018-04-16T20:23:05.174-07:00I think I like both of the series of books by Gard...I think I like both of the series of books by Gardner because of the characters, Yvette. The plots are often too convoluted for me, but I pay more attention to the main characters. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-55467107009737715862018-04-16T10:25:50.145-07:002018-04-16T10:25:50.145-07:00I've never read these, Tracy. But I do remembe...I've never read these, Tracy. But I do remember reading a bunch of Perry Mason books when I was a teen. Sad to say, I tried going back to one of those more recently and just couldn't get through it. P.S. Don't think I ever got over the name Bertha Cool and maybe that's why I didn't try the books. :)Yvettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08919246184376538331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-28202100422606815882018-04-14T12:36:26.861-07:002018-04-14T12:36:26.861-07:00Gardner's books are definitely worth revisitin...Gardner's books are definitely worth revisiting, Mathew. I am sure I liked the Perry Mason books when I was a teenager for different reasons than now, and I was less demanding, but I still find things to like.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-49378554790092397992018-04-14T08:33:47.224-07:002018-04-14T08:33:47.224-07:00Afraid I'd be inclined to buy the book for its...Afraid I'd be inclined to buy the book for its cover, too. That's, um, quite a cover. I read an A. A. Fair novel or three when I was vastly younger than I yam now, because my lawyer loved Gardner--for the Perry Mason book--and had a few Fairs in his little paperback bookcase, as well. Don't remember which ones I read, or, in fact, anything about them, but you've whetted my interest in revisiting Gardner/Fair, Tracy. It's been awhile. Mathew Pausthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06157135006791553019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-4826784862810373162018-04-13T22:34:01.786-07:002018-04-13T22:34:01.786-07:00I hope you find one to try, June. Have you ever re...I hope you find one to try, June. Have you ever read the D.A. series? I haven't read any of those nor seen them at book sales.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-18006287597382700522018-04-13T22:32:24.661-07:002018-04-13T22:32:24.661-07:00That sounds great, Keishon. I wish I had found som...That sounds great, Keishon. I wish I had found some like that. I hope you found some good ones. You would think with all the books McBain wrote that his would be easy to find.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-17501504695887984132018-04-13T22:30:49.506-07:002018-04-13T22:30:49.506-07:00I like that the Mason books center around the cour...I like that the Mason books center around the courtroom, Rick, at least most of the time. The last Mason book I read (The Case of the Rolling Bones) really lost me with a complex plot about prospecting in Alaska and multiple aliases. But I always like that Mason is working to clear his clients.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-26709396416286338542018-04-13T13:48:56.307-07:002018-04-13T13:48:56.307-07:00Thanks for this Tracy, a Gardner series I wasn'...Thanks for this Tracy, a Gardner series I wasn't aware ofJune Lorraine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11931362318131971566noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-81866468863004441242018-04-13T12:45:53.070-07:002018-04-13T12:45:53.070-07:00Well, someone got rid of a collection of Perry Mas...Well, someone got rid of a collection of Perry Mason books and they had the plastic on them and were in very good condition. I bought a few and hope to read them sometime this year. It's really interesting what people hang onto because I can't find very many Ed McBain books either. The Mason books were a great find. --Keishon Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-23463099801965065862018-04-13T08:19:33.393-07:002018-04-13T08:19:33.393-07:00I like the Mason books better, but that just a mat...I like the Mason books better, but that just a matter of the personalities of the characters. Bertha Cool never clicked with me.Rick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07978136287154214297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-61804500470099244902018-04-12T18:53:51.304-07:002018-04-12T18:53:51.304-07:00Lucky you, Peggy. I don't run into A.A. Fair b...Lucky you, Peggy. I don't run into A.A. Fair books often, although I did find two at the last book sale. Sorting through book sale books would be way too tempting.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-49929225026037979862018-04-12T14:23:27.433-07:002018-04-12T14:23:27.433-07:00Tracy, I had never even heard about these A.A. Fai...Tracy, I had never even heard about these A.A. Fair books before just recently. In sorting for the library book sale I’ve come across several. I put one in my box of books so I could try one, but I might have to go back and get a couple more! I love this cover.Peggyhttp://peggysporchsite.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-28253349143071823282018-04-12T13:02:00.960-07:002018-04-12T13:02:00.960-07:00There were over 8o Perry Mason books, Margot. Unbe...There were over 8o Perry Mason books, Margot. Unbelievable. And I have never even tried his D.A. series. TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-44939908164192575922018-04-12T12:59:51.246-07:002018-04-12T12:59:51.246-07:00I would have to read more of both of the series be...I would have to read more of both of the series before deciding, Jerry. I haven't read much of the Perry Mason series lately. But I have read several reviews and articles recently that preferred the Cool / Lam books.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-14603107327075088402018-04-12T12:56:31.187-07:002018-04-12T12:56:31.187-07:00I am sure I won't ever get to all of them eith...I am sure I won't ever get to all of them either, Moira, but they are shortish and fast reads. I have about 6 of them unread now. The Knife Slipped with be the next Cool / Lam that I read.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-39100173305881227582018-04-12T12:35:45.240-07:002018-04-12T12:35:45.240-07:00Kay, I read a lot of Perry Mason mysteries in my e...Kay, I read a lot of Perry Mason mysteries in my early teens, but of course I remember nothing. So far any books by Gardner that I have read have been fun, but some get very complex.TracyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303342674824383688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-63189379318514217992018-04-12T08:44:29.868-07:002018-04-12T08:44:29.868-07:00It is amazing, isn't it, Tracy, how prolific G...It is amazing, isn't it, Tracy, how prolific Gardner was. This series never got the attention that the Perry Mason series did, so I'm very glad you reviewed one of them. It reminds me I need to dig into this side of Gardner's writing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-5395249940567995972018-04-12T06:04:47.839-07:002018-04-12T06:04:47.839-07:00During Gardner's lifetime, readers (and critic...During Gardner's lifetime, readers (and critics -- including Anthony Boucher, it seems) preferred the Cool-Lam books more than the Perry Mason books. Despite this, Perry Mason remained the cash cow for Gardner. I enjoyed both series but have to give the edge to Bertha Cool and Donald Lam.Jerry Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09482856733981933159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-34186094936681711352018-04-12T05:32:36.201-07:002018-04-12T05:32:36.201-07:00That is a fabulous cover! Like you I am astonished...That is a fabulous cover! Like you I am astonished to find there were 29 books - he was so productive. I really enjoyed the Knife Slipped, will be interested to hear what you think. I am intending to read more of the series, but that 29 figure is a blow! Cant be reading all of them...Clothes In Bookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14680610242823846662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4167054806459662988.post-42435765051287535652018-04-12T04:29:26.130-07:002018-04-12T04:29:26.130-07:00I have a read a few of Erle Stanley Gardner's ...I have a read a few of Erle Stanley Gardner's books - long ago in my youth - but they were all Perry Mason books. Not sure I'm up for reading these, but I appreciate getting to hear a bit about them. Kayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495669354860191042noreply@blogger.com