The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (A Perry Mason Mystery) Mass Market Paperback – March 13, 1991

Perry Mason is on a yacht as an attorney in a business deal. At midnight he goes for a stroll on deck when he hears a splash and a shot. Then the scantily clad wife of one of the businessmen runs up to him with a pistol from which one shot has been fired. She is arrested for murder and despite all the evidence pointing to her guilt, Perry takes on her defense.The is a good Perry Mason novel with the usual characters and interesting and witty dialogue. At first I didn't like the way this story was going. To prove his client's innocence Perry comes up with a hair brained scheme that really seemed to defy all logic and was barely supported by the facts. Then it starts to appear that he is right. Evidence is falling into place backing up his deductions of the scheme so he calls in Lt.Tragg to be with him when he exposes the plot. Lo and behold, he is dead wrong. All his assumptions are explained away and Perry looks very foolish. That certainly is different from the usual Perry Mason novel and really caught my attention. Well done, Mr. Gardner.

The best books in the Perry Mason series have all the things fans have come to expect and love and a little unexpected twist. After all, we KNOW that Perry will find out whodunit, so we need a road block or two thrown in his path just to keep things interesting.In this story, WWII is not long over. Families are mourning their dead, newly-minted civilians are dealing with the wounds (physical and otherwise) of battle, and the economy is booming. A rising economy means that land is being bought and sold and that opens a ripe field for con artists. A widow wants to sell an island and a millionaire wants to buy it, but there's a question of oil rights to be settled. The millionaire invites all parties onto his yacht to try to hammer out a settlement. Perry is invited along to keep everyone honest. Sounds like a perfect setting for a murder, doesn't it?The twist here comes in the form of a very attractive, very shrewd, very persuasive real estate agent. Perry is convinced he knows what happened, but when he ropes in the LAPD to help prove it, the evidence disappears like smoke. Perry's left looking foolish and Lt. Tragg is pardonably smug.It all works out in the end, naturally. There's a lovely scene of Perry and Della picnicking in a rural spot, his head in her lap while he dreams out loud of buying a quiet place for them and settling down. Della humors him, but knows him too well to believe it. Although I normally dislike romance in a mystery, Della and her boss are an endearing pair. It's a very satisfying book.

Lots of plot lines cross, Tragg is fooled by villains, Ham Burger comes near to thwarting Perry, who daydreams of a hideaway with Fella.

As Perry would say....Let's go over the facts before we vote. Nice storytelling, looking for the flaw in how Perry can always come out on the winning end,

This is a great story. No would believe that she had not killed her husband. The only one believed her was Perry Mason and was not going to give up until he proved it.

The Half-Wakened Wife is one of the better Perry Mason stories I’ve read over the years. It has some particularly nice moments between Perry and Della that make it memorable. While the caveat of Gardner’s dialog, sometimes much too formal — having characters speak on paper as they never would in real life abounds — exists as always, it’s overcome by some nifty plotting, and those romantic moments between Perry and Della.It all has to do with a woman named Jane who wants to sell an island and share the wealth with her sister Martha and Martha’s daughter, Marjorie. Oil rights to the island are in dispute because of some tricky business, however, and it may hold up the deal. Perry joins all the participants in the negotiations on a yachting outing designed to hash out the problem. When he hears a scream on the fog-shrouded night at sea, however, and a woman runs smack-dab into him holding a gun, it can’t be long before someone is charged with murder — even if they can’t find the participant who went overboard.In some unusual twists, Perry and Paul get sued, and Perry gets fired by his own client, whom Paul Drake believes is absolutely guilty. What leads to the lawsuit is a wet blanket and shoes which prompts Perry to accuse someone, and end up with egg on his face — right in front of Tragg! As usual, the plot’s all a bit complicated, but in the end it all makes sense. Before we get there, we have one of the most romantic moments in the long-running series, as Della sits on the grass with Perry’s head in her lap, remaining awake beneath the stars while Perry sleeps. It’s a rare tender moment, but a second surprising one at the end reveals a wistfulness of the heart for the lawyer and his secretary. They are considering purchasing a property in Della’s name, for a day yet to come. Knowing what we do now, one has to wonder if this wasn’t a reflection of Gardner’s own life.Only the unnatural formality of dialog in a few spots — especially a scene with Paul Drake rattling on and on from his bed while Perry and Della sit and listen — mar a terrific entry in the series. It’s a minor distraction from a great story and entry in the series. It adds a rather unfortunate sense of artificiality to the story that pulls us away from complete immersion. It’s a minor caveat, however, and I’m still giving this one five stars because it’s got so many good moments to offset the few less than stellar ones. A really great one in the series.

I love Perry Mason! These stories are timeless and riveting, with dramatic twists and surprises. The Half Awaken Wife will keep you reading all night long

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