Here Perry Mason does a crossover with the Love Boat, as he deals with a murder on a cruise ship. Also, both Perry's associate lawyer & detective use the N-word, in the same idiom as before ("n-word in a woodpile"). Did Gardner just learn this phrase and decided to keep working it in? Yes, the past is a different country, etc etc. ( )

"Substitute Face" has Perry and Della on a cruise ship returning from Hawaii when a woman comes to Perry for advice: she thinks her husband has embezzled money from his company. That night, the man is murdered and his body tossed overboard--with Della as a witness to Perry's client supposedly doing the deed! ( )

Apparently the second attempt of a vacation succeeded (albeit being called a business trip so Mason can research the law in far away lands) and Della and Mason had been away from LA. We catch up with them on the last leg of the trip - between Hawaii and the mainland. And this is where he meets Mrs. Newberry, her husband and their daughter Belle. Before long, one of the passengers falls in the water, a shot is heard and the new friends of our favorite lawyer are in trouble.

The story and the ship soon arrive on shore and Mason's client is accused of murder. And Della, Perry and Drake (and his agency) are off trying to figure out what happened and what is the truth. Of course, it turns out out that there is a lot more than just the missing person (as a body is never found) - fake names, weird pictures, missing money, entrance in society and an eyewitness tie the story badly. Until Mason pulls one of his regular tricks of course.

One of my biggest issues while reading the book was that Mason seems to be missing clues he usually would have seen immediately. I was ready to chalk the novel down as one of the weakest ones... until Mason remarked on that. Was it the vacation? The company? Something else? Who knows - but with the problem being addressed, the novel now actually works - showing that even Mason is not on the top of his game all the time.

Most of the series novel are highly formulaic but I still enjoy them. They work, even 80 years later. Part of it is the charm of the years and the times I never lived in (when all the women were dames and all the men were drinking and smoking and when the world was young and people actually had to go to a pay phone to make a call and when credit cards did not exist...). Whatever it is, it seems to be exactly what I need at the moment. ( )

Perry and Della travelling together? Do tell. Perry even hints of marriage, but Della turns him down flat. Actually, a pretty good story. Clean, crisp plot line. Typical 30's patter (and un-PC-ness). Overall, very entertaining. ( )

Original price: $0.25 ( )