Pete Wennick Series by Erle Stanley Gardner
Pete Wennick #1
Leg Man
Erle Stanley Gardner
"Leg Man" (1938), is a tale with some decent plot twists. It is notable for its
extreme cynicism of tone, especially about marriage and divorce. It contrasts
with the pious tone of moral uplift which dominates the Perry Mason tales (after
the first few hard-boiled ones), many of which contain little mini-sermonettes
on the proper attitudes needed for making it as a businessman and being a
success in life. Gardner explores in depth complicated scenarios involving
divorce and blackmail, back before the age of no-fault divorce.
Gardener then has Wennick intervene with a Rogue-like scheme, to stop the
blackmail.
So far, none of this has involved any mystery. But Gardener then adds a
murder mystery puzzle, that takes up the last section of the tale. It builds on
everything that has gone before.
An idea about matches found in the non-series tale "Snowy Ducks for Cover"
(1931) is turned into a full, fair play clue in "Leg Man". There are also two
other indications of the killer.
"Leg Man" includes bugging equipment, used to listen in on an adjoining room.
This will return in the non-series tale "Death Rides a Boxcar" (1944). In both
stories, the equipment is part of the story-telling, rather than a component of
the mystery puzzle.
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