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Title: The Case of the Fugitive Nurse

Subtitle: Perry Mason, Book 43

Author: Erle Stanley Gardner

Narrator: Alexander Cendese

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-17

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Aspiring actress Stephane Olger just wants to be in pictures. But she may end up in mug shots instead when she gets herself caught up in a crime. Shortly after quitting her job and moving to Hollywood, she is picked up by a well-dressed man while hitchhiking. The man loses control of the car and they end up in a horrible accident. Both Stephane and the driver escape unscathed but the strange man flees the scene leaving Stephane to face a charge of manslaughter.

Stephane's rich uncle hires Perry Mason to defend her and he and the private detective, Paul Drake, immediately start gathering evidence. It turns out that the car, of course, was stolen, and belongs to a Hollywood producer who has been in contact with the mystery man who is from San Francisco. A woman has been promised a job by him, but is given one my Perry Mason instead. She, too, disappears, and in another room of the hotel her luggage is found with a man who has been shot. In the courtroom Perry Mason discovers many other facts, but in the meantime the film producer's chauffeur is murdered, making his task much harder.

It's up to Perry Mason to find the truth behind a suspicious scenario starring a menacing movie mogul, a hoodwinked housewife, and a man no one has ever seen - alive!

Members Reviews:

God pity the poor defense attorney

Defense lawyers speak often and passionately about the basic right of EVERY ACCUSED PERSON to the best legal representation. You wonder if they're trying to convince us or themselves. Even if the accused is innocent of murder (and all of Perry Mason's clients are) he or she is still unlikely to be a paragon of virtue. Maybe I should just say "she" since this is my third in the series and once again the plot centers around a young, lovely woman accused of murdering her husband. I suppose that this creates sympathy for the accused, since it would be a damned waste for a young hottie to end up in the electric chair. Or maybe the author (a long-time husband himself) feels that most readers will sympathize with a wife offing her husband. Certainly having a young woman as the accused simplifies matters for Perry Mason if he needs to have his loyal secretary Della Street impersonate her to pull a fast one on D.A. Hamilton Burger.

In this case the murderee is a very successful doctor and surgeon. (In 1954, medicine wasn't as rigidly specialized as it is now.) The good doctor has TWO gorgeous women in his life - his wife and his office nurse/mistress. Juggling two women and a busy medical practice is tough on a middle-aged guy and he likes to relax by getting away in his small plane. He takes caffeine tablets and washes them down with whiskey to ward off drowsiness when he's flying the plane by himself. No, it didn't sound like a good idea to me, either.

This one's got more twists and turns than a goat trail in Appalachia. The IRS wants to know what's happened to the cash that the doctor's office has been collecting and not paying taxes on. Perry Mason's client has an answer for them. She says HE stole it! And the much-put-upon Hamilton Burger goes off the deep end and takes a swing at Perry Mason. Like I said, the defense lawyer gets it from both sides.

Two things puzzle me. First, this one is filled with British expressions and spellings.