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The Case of the Velvet Claws  By  cover art

The Case of the Velvet Claws

By: Erle Stanley Gardner
Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
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Publisher's summary

Criminal lawyer and bestselling mystery author Erle Stanley Gardner wrote nearly 150 novels that have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Now, the American Bar Association is bringing back his most famous and enduring novels - featuring criminal defense lawyer and sleuth Perry Mason - in striking trade paperback editions.

Married Eva Griffin has been caught with a prominent congressman, and is ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid hush money to protect the politician. But first Perry Mason tracks down the publisher of the blackmailing tabloid and discovers a shocking secret, which eventually leads to Mason being accused of murder.

This is the first Perry Mason mystery and our introduction to secretary Della Street, detective Paul Drake, and the great lawyer himself.

©1945, 2011 Erle Stanley Gardner (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

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What listeners say about The Case of the Velvet Claws

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enter Perry Mason

I'd never read a Perry Mason novel before, nor have I seen the TV show. Still, as a law student, I figured I should at least try the first one out.

I was pleasantly surprised by the mystery, and especially surprised by the fact that a lot of the law quoted here is actually real! This novel doesn't have any courtroom scenes, but a good defense attorney wins most cases during investigation, so even that was accurate.

Also, the narrator does a great, hard-boiled, film noire, detective voice. If you're on the fence, this is a really fun trip. Enjoy!

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17 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The true Perry Mason, hard boiled detecting at its finest!

This is the first Perry Mason book and it’s as hard boiled as a two dollar steak. This is the true Perry Mason, not just courtroom lawyer but a guy who does his own detecting, and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. He is as hard boiled as they come. Think of Phillip Marlowe with a law degree. If you love the 30s hard boiled lone wolf detective story, you are in for a treat. And there are many many more!

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16 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Horrible Narration but Good Story

What did you love best about The Case of the Velvet Claws?

Classic whodunit.

Any additional comments?

Cendese is the single worst narrator I've heard. I've listened to several Perry Mason's now.
His choice of voices are normal, Kentucky Colonel, bad Jimmy Stewart impersonation, mob muscle thug, breathless airhead female and a couple of others. All except "normal" are extreme and usually the voice does not go with the character. The judge might get the mobster voice, and Paul Drake usually gets the high pitched breathless voice. He totally misses the subtle voice changes for different characters used by other narrators.

That said, I've listened to several and keep listening. I just accept that Perry Mason in general is formula, campy and anything but deep literature, and try to ignore the narration. Cendese also improved (some) as the series progressed.

Bottom line. The stories are fun and worth listening too, just accept crappy narration as part of the package.

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8 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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I Expected Better

I once attended a lecture where the premise was -- if you enjoy detective / legal stories, there are 2 types of people -- those that love "Law and Order' and those that enjoy "Perry Mason." I fall in the L&O crowd, but my husband loves the Perry Mason series on TV. On a recent trip, I loaded up this first in the Perry Mason series for us to enjoy on the drive. Our expectations were not met.

I knew the story would be dated since this first book in the series was written in 1933, but was hoping for some charm. Nope -- the characterizations are incredibly weak and dialog is absolutely unbelievable. I thought Gardner would be a great author, but not so much in my opinion. My problems are much more than the dated format and mannerisms. His opinion of women is outrageous and during one of the witness interviews, the "N" word was used to our complete horror. We tuned out at that point. The narrator did not improve this terrible book.

Listen at your own risk.

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7 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

perry mason as sam spade

good yarn with some good curves, very hard boiled noir, with 1930s gangster vibes. Hardly any law in it... so not a trial story. fun, but nothing like Raymond Burr.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Perry Mason

Perry Mason is an excellent book to listen to. I found this book is interesting as Raymond Burr's portrayal of Perry Mason. this is the first book out of 150 books of Perry Mason.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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Unlistentoable

I have been listening to audio books since 1982. Candese is the worst narrator I have ever experienced. Bar none. His narration belongs in a cartoon spoof. (Although Daffy Duck was more entertaining). I had looked forward to listening to the whole series but now I am not sure I can make it through one, but the story makes you somehow persevere.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great Story

For a story set in L.A., everyone sounds like they are from New York except those specifically from Georgia. Still, the performance was great, just funny to someone from the West Coast. I would still listen because the voice actor did a good job.
As usual, the Perry Mason series is interesting with twists and turns. It made it hard to complete chores around the house because of how interested I was in the story.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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A Hard-Boiled Lawyer

Like many first novels in a long and popular series, this one is rough around the edges. At times it comes perilously close to parody, though I couldn’t tell if it was the writing, the reading, or some unfortunate combination of both.

There’s almost no letup to the hardboiled tough talk. Attempts at the classic noir simile sometimes miss their mark. Perry Mason gets up on his soapbox a little too often. And the situation isn’t eased by Alexander Cendese’s overly edgy performance.

But the story, featuring not the standard hard-boiled detective but a hard-boiled lawyer who uses the services of a not-so-hard-boiled detective, is great. Granted, I’d like to get the opinion of a ballistics expert as to whether Perry’s solution is possible. But for all the undeniable defects, this is engaging and enjoyable.

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Some racist language

This contains some racist language that was typical of when and by whom it was written.

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