Today is the birthday of Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason and author of more novels and short stories than I can count (See extended entry for a list of just the novels. And most of them he dictated to a bevy of secretaries, none of whom could likely live up to the standards and loyalty of the inestimable Della.) Anyway, in Mr. Gardner’s honor, here’s my own list of the Top Ten Mystery Writers of All Time:

1. Dorothy Sayers
2. Agatha Christie
3. Rex Stout
4. Ellis Peters
5. P.D. James
6. Josephine Tey
7. Erle Stanley Gardner
8. Arthur Conan Doyle
9. Edgar Allan Poe
10. Anne Perry

# The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Sulky Girl (1933; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Curious Bride (1934; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Howling Dog (1934; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Lucky Legs (1934; Perry Mason)
# The Clew of the Forgotten Murderer (1935, as Carleton Kendrake)
# This Is Murder (1935, as Charles J. Kenney)
# The Case of the Caretaker’s Cat (1935; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (1935; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Sleepwalker’s Niece (1936; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1936; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Dangerous Dowager (1937; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Lame Canary (1937; Perry Mason)
# Murder Up My Sleeve (1937)
# The Case of the Shoplifter’s Shoe (1938; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Substitute Face (1938; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Perjured Parrot (1939; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Rolling Bones (1939; Perry Mason)
# The Bigger They Come (1939; written as A.A. Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# Turn on the Heat (1940; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# Gold Comes in Bricks (1940; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Baited Hook (1940; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Silent Partner (1940; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Empty Tin (1941; Perry Mason)
# Spill the Jackpot (1941; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Haunted Husband (1941; Perry Mason)
# Double or Quits (1941; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Careless Kitten (1942; Perry Mason)
# Owls Don’t Blink (1942; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Drowning Duck (1942; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Turning Tide (1942)
# Bats Fly at Dusk (1942; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Smoking Chimney (1943)
# The Case of the Buried Clock (1943; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943; Perry Mason)
# Cats Prowl at Night (1943; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# Give ’em the Ax (1944; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde (1944; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Crooked Candle (1944; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Golddigger’s Purse (1945; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1945; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Borrowed Brunette (1946; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Backward Mule (1946)
# Crows Can’t Count (1946; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# Fools Die on Friday (1947; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Fan-Dancer’s Horse (1947; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Lazy Lover (1947; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Lonely Heiress (1948; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Vagabond Virgin (1948; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Cautious Coquette (1949; Perry Mason)
# Bedrooms Have Windows (1949; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom (1949; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1950; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Musical Cow (1950; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the One-Eyed Witness (1950; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Musical Cow (1950)
# The Case of the Angry Mourner (1951; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Fiery Fingers (1951; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Grinning Gorilla (1952; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952; Perry Mason)
# Top of the Heap (1952; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)…Buy this book
# The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister (1953; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Hesitant Hostess (1953; Perry Mason)
# Some Women Won’t Wait (1953; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Fugitive Nurse (1954; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Restless Redhead (1954; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Runaway Corpse (1954; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Glamorous Ghost (1955; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Nervous Accomplice (1955; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Sun Bather’s Diary (1955; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Demure Defendant (1956; AKA The Case of the Missing Poison; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Gilded Lily (1956; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Terrified Typist (1956; Perry Mason)
# Beware the Curves (1956; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# You Can Die Laughing (1957; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Daring Decoy (1957; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Lucky Loser (1957; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Screaming Woman (1957; Perry Mason)
# Some Slips Don’t Show (1957; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Calendar Girl (1958; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Footloose Doll (1958; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958; AKA The Case of the Dead Man’s Daughters; Perry Mason)
# The Count of Nine (1958; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Deadly Toy (1959; AKA The Case of the Greedy Grandpa; Perry Mason)
# Pass the Gravy (1959; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Mythical Monkeys (1959; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Singing Skirt (1959; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Waylaid Wolf (1959; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Duplicate Daughter (1960; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Shapely Shadow (1960; Perry Mason)
# Kept Women Can’t Quit (1960; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# Bachelors Get Lonely (1961; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Bigamous Spouse (1961; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Spurious Spinster (1961; Perry Mason)
# Shills Can’t Cash Chips (1961; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Blonde Bonanza (1962; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands (1962; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Reluctant Model (1962; Perry Mason)
# Try Anything Once (1962; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Amorous Aunt (1963; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Mischievous Doll (1963; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Step-Daughter’s Secret (1963; Perry Mason)
# Fish or Cut Bait (1963; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Daring Divorcee (1964; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Horrified Heirs (1964; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Phantom Fortune (1964; Perry Mason)
# Up for Grabs (1964; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Beautiful Beggar (1965; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Troubled Trustee (1965; Perry Mason)
# Cut Thin to Win (1965; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Worried Waitress (1966; Perry Mason)
# Widows Wear Weeds (1966; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Queenly Contestant (1967; Perry Mason)
# Traps Need Fresh Bait (1967; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Careless Cupid (1968; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Fabulous Fake (1969; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Crimson Kiss (1970; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Crying Swallow (1971; Perry Mason)
# All Grass Isn’t Green (1970; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
# The Case of the Fenced-In Woman (1972; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Irate Witness (1972; Perry Mason)
# The Case of the Postponed Murder (1973; Perry Mason