The case of the empty tin

Description

You do not expect to find an empty closed tin between your tins of preserves. But that is what Mrs. Gentrie finds in her basement - and even though she tries to dismiss it, it seems to be important for her sister in law. Meanwhile a man is killed in the house next door (or so it looks - no body is recovered) and another neighbor calls Mason for something that he does not want to disclose. Perry is intrigued so he goes there - and hears a story of old partnership and China, a missing heir and a cranky old man. The client is absolutely annoying - both for the lawyer and for the reader. And something in the story sounds fishy. The code that is found in the empty tin does not help clarify things. Then a call comes. And Perry Mason ends up finding a body (but decides to leave Drake to report it - which the detective is not very happy about). Before long, Della and Mason will find another body and a link to arms smuggling in the Far East (with WWII already started outside of the US, that has long repercussions for the situation in the world). Add a love story (or 2), some innocent love and some not so innocent one, a heiress that resurfaces and dead men coming back from life complete the story of the mystery. Tragg and Mason work together to some extent but because of where Perry shows up and mainly when, they both play their own games. And that almost makes the problem unsolvable. At the end, the truth end up being in front of everyone's eyes - it comes down to one wrong assumption. It is a nicely constructed story - and I want to see where the stories will go when the war really starts.

Subjects

Other Editions

• The case of the empty tinW. Morrow and Company1941-01-01
• The case of the empty tin; Evil under the sun; A pinch of poisonPublished for the Detective Book Club by W.J. Black1942-01-01
• The case of the empty tinPocket Books1949-01-01
• The case of the empty tin.Penguin1963-01-01
• The Case of the Empty TinHardcoverAmereon Ltd1967-06-01
• The Case of the Empty TinPaperbackPocket Books1969-01-01