Book Description

Everybody in Los Angeles has problems.

Former New Jersey beauty queen Cece Caruso has a ton. In addition to a bad case of writer's block and trying to save her daughter's marriage, she's become obsessed with Gardner's literary courtroom magician, Perry Mason. And said obsession has led her to a prison inmate who once pled his case to the late great mystery writer.

Suddenly, solving a forty-year-old murder has become her primary concern -- that and finding a 1970 silk chiffon Ossie Clark to add to her collection of vintage clothing. But by channeling the inner sleuth she never knew she possessed, Cece may be stirring up a killer who's no character from a dog-eared paperback, but all too real ... and coming all too close for comfort.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
It started with a case of writer's block. Pretty, vivacious Cece Caruso turned to a life of crime after her divorce. But she's neither breaking and entering nor running cons. Instead, she's writing biographies of famous crime novelists, and now it's Erle Stanley Gardner'a turn under Cece's magnifying glass.

While the creator of Perry Mason had an exciting life, including his own share of courtroom dramatics as a lawyer, it was his Court of Last Resort that fascinated Cece. The Court of Last Resort was a place where those wrongly convicted could petition Gardner to find enough evidence to reopen their cases. Cece was researching the Court in the hope it would give her enough material to propel her through her unfinished chapters. In a last-ditch effort to procrastinate -- while pretending to work -- she goes to visit an elderly prison inmate whose desperate appeal she finds misfiled and unexplored among the otherwise meticulously organized files of the Erle Stanley Gardner Archives.

From there, it's a surprisingly short step to working the long-neglected case, just to get a feel for what Gardner did so often. That's the first step down a slippery slope that soon pulls Cece into a case closed 40 years ago, when a man was sent to jail for killing his wife. And that cold case suddenly turns hot when the murdered woman's sister is knifed to death shortly after Cece interviews her. Inspired by the thought of Perry Mason at her side in her quest for justice, ex￯﾿ﾽbeauty queen Cece straightens her stocking seams (she's a vintage clothing buff) and sets out to untangle mysteries, solve two murders, and finish her manuscript on time.

L.A. Times art critic Susan Kandel is sure to delight readers with her innovative fictional exploration of a fascinating facet of the history of crime fiction. Sue Stone

FROM THE PUBLISHER

All that writer Cece Caruso — a thirty-nine-year-old former beauty queen from New Jersey — really wants to do is finish her biography of Erle Stanley Gardner so that she can finally stop obsessing about Perry Mason. Well, that and find a 1970 silk chiffon Ossie Clark to add to her collection of vintage clothing. And fix the broken front doorknob on her West Hollywood bungalow. But first she has to help save her daughter's foundering marriage, which is more than Cece could manage for her own.

Everybody's got problems. In a last-ditch effort to kick a bad case of writer's block, Cece pays a visit to a prison inmate who had once corresponded with Gardner, pleading his innocence. Her impetuousness lands her smack in the middle of a case worthy of Perry Mason himself — a double-edged mystery linking a forty-year-old murder to one where the body is still warm. Propelled by tenacity, curiosity, a sense of humor, and an understanding of human nature's dark side, Cece will channel the inner sleuth she never realized she possessed to find a killer who is all too real — and all too close.

I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason is hip, sexy, and smart. Susan Kandel has created an unforgettable cast of characters planted firmly in terra California. Join Cece as she breaks into crime scenes, outfoxes lawyers, rekindles a romance with a police detective, and — oh, yes — finally makes her peace with Perry Mason.

FROM THE CRITICS

Marilyn Stasio - The New York Times

… Cece's bright personality, along with her clever analysis of Gardner's classic mysteries, make future adventures a promising prospect.

Publishers Weekly

All former Jersey beauty queen Cece Caruso really wants to do is finish her biography of Erle Stanley Gardner, "creator of the brilliant, unflappable Perry Mason," but in art journalist Kandel's entertaining, often witty debut, she must contend with a few distractions, including murder. Once he became a famous writer, Gardner for a while took on "hopeless cases." In the Gardner archives, Cece stumbles across a misfiled 1958 letter from Joseph Albacco, who had recently been convicted and imprisoned for murdering his wife. Claiming his innocence, Albacco begged Gardner to intervene and track down the real killer, but the author never did. Intrigued, Cece is determined to find the truth in a scenario complicated enough to challenge Perry Mason himself, and soon finds herself involved in a fresh murder linked to the long-ago crime. Meanwhile, she worries about her daughter Annie, whose marriage seems about to implode, and never misses a chance to add to her sizeable collection of vintage clothing. Though the denouement is a bit over-the-top, readers should give Cece a warm welcome to the legion of perky female sleuths. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra. (June 1) Forecast: The words "Perry Mason" in the title are sure to attract older browsers who fondly remember the popular TV show starring Raymond Burr, not to mention Gardner fans. Blurbs from Carolyn Hart and Rochelle Krich won't hurt. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Los Angeles denizen and vintage clothing collector Cece Caruso writes biographies of mystery authors. While working on a life of Erle Stanley Gardner, she discovers an old letter that involves her in a 1950s murder case-for which a man may have been wrongfully incarcerated. Cece's adventures take her from prison to a Montecito mansion, from wronged prisoner to lustfully attractive house restorer. When murder strikes a woman closely connected to the case, Cece's search becomes desperate. This lively and slightly idiosyncratic heroine, the sometimes exotic California surrounds, and the complicated plotting make this series debut essential. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Cece Caruso is an entertaining amateur detective who writes biographies of mystery writers for a living, collects vintage clothing, and lives in a West Hollywood bungalow. Thirty-nine and divorced, she has a 21-year-old daughter who works on a "Star Trek clone" TV show, as well as two brothers ("both cops") and a quirky mother living nearby. Her current project is a biography of Earl Stanley Gardner, who besides being a writer was a Southern California lawyer specializing in strangely marginal cases. In the process of going through some of his documents, Cece discovers what appears to be an unsolved case that has left an innocent man in jail since the 1950s. While investigating this case and researching her book, she travels the Southern California highways. One of Kandel's strengths is her ability to bring back to life the lost towns, social scenes, and landscapes of the past. Cece's knowledge of the area's social and economic history turns out to be a key in unraveling the long-dormant mystery. The protagonist is bright, funny, and hip, with upscale but unconventional tastes and a literary talent. This is an author and a heroine who will appeal to fans of Jennifer Crusie and Janet Evanovich, and to those who enjoy the California settings and lighter aspects of Sue Grafton's mysteries.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews