Bertha Cool is the gruff, tough-talking, corpulent head of her private
detective agency, opened after the death of her husband; Donald Lam is
her meek, slight, and nervy new hire, who makes up for a lack of
boldness with brilliant deductive work. The duo couldn't be any more
dissimilar but, with their skills combined, they are an unstoppable
force when it comes to solving crimes, as evidenced by their over two
dozen successes in the long-running series penned by Perry Mason creator
Erle Stanley Gardner.
In this, their first outing, Donald Lam is tasked with delivering
divorce papers to a man who reportedly made a fortune in rigged slot
machines. The only problem is that nobody--not even the police--can find
him. Before long, Lam's seemingly-simple assignment finds him caught up
in a web of money, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs
every bit as desperate as he is to find the runaway husband.
Reissued for the first time in decades, and originally published under
the A.A. Fair pen name, The Bigger They Come is an enjoyable private
eye novel replete with puzzling scenarios and a humorous tone. As fast
and twisty as anything Gardner ever wrote, the novel (and the series it
spawned) is more Paul Drake than Perry Mason, but it is sure to please
any fan of the Golden Age whodunnit.
Includes discussion guide questions for use in book clubs.
