Order of Book Series
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Perry Mason Books in Order

Perry Mason contains 90 books, published between 1933 and 2022. The first book is The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933) and the newest is The Case of the Baited Hook (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
90
Published
1933–2022
Confirmed
90 of 90 titles
Pages on record
8,812 in 46 of 90 books
Reading time
147–220 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,812 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 46 of 90 titles with a page count on record.

See all 90 books in order Printable Perry Mason checklist

Perry Mason is a legal mystery series by Erle Stanley Gardner, named for the character Perry Mason. The series runs to 90 books, opening in 1933 with The Case of the Velvet Claws and The Case of the Sulky Girl, then The Case of the Lucky Legs (1934), The Case of the Howling Dog (1934) and The Case of the Curious Bride (1934). Story collections such as The Case of the Murderer's Bride and Other Stories (1955) also appear. The Case of the Baited Hook (2022) is the newest listed title, and the series is dormant. Two later books, The Case of Too Many Murders (1989) and The Case of the Burning Bequest (1990), are credited to Thomas Chastain. Subjects include murder trials and Los Angeles.

How many Perry Mason books are there?

Perry Mason has 90 books, released between 1933 and 2022.

Perry Mason Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 90 Perry Mason books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Case of the Sulky Girl by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 2 of the Perry Mason series (1933)
  2. Cover of The Case of the Crimson Kiss by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 2 of the Perry Mason series (1970)
  3. Cover of The Case Of The Crying Swallow by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 3 of the Perry Mason series (1971)
  4. Cover of The Case of the Howling Dog by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 4 of the Perry Mason series (1934)
  5. Cover of The Case of the Curious Bride by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 5 of the Perry Mason series (1934)
  6. Cover of The Case of the Counterfeit Eye by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 6 of the Perry Mason series (1935)
  7. Cover of The Case of the Caretaker's Cat by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 7 of the Perry Mason series (1935)
  8. Cover of The Case of the Stuttering Bishop by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 9 of the Perry Mason series (1936)
  9. Cover of The Case of the Dangerous Dowager by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 10 of the Perry Mason series (1937)
  10. Cover of The Case of the Substitute Face by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 12 of the Perry Mason series (1938)
  11. Cover of The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 13 of the Perry Mason series (1938)
  12. Cover of The Case of the Perjured Parrot by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 14 of the Perry Mason series (1939)
  13. Cover of The Case of the Rolling Bones by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 15 of the Perry Mason series (1939)
  14. Cover of The Case of the Baited Hook by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 16 of the Perry Mason series (1940)
  15. Cover of The Case of the Haunted Husband by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 18 of the Perry Mason series (1941)
  16. Cover of The Case of the Empty Tin by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 19 of the Perry Mason series (1941)
  17. Cover of The Case of the Drowning Duck by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 20 of the Perry Mason series (1942)
  18. Cover of The Case of the Careless Kitten by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 21 of the Perry Mason series (1942)
  19. Cover of The Case of the Golddigger's Purse by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 26 of the Perry Mason series (1945)
  20. Cover of The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 27 of the Perry Mason series (1945)
  21. Cover of The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 29 of the Perry Mason series (1946)
  22. Cover of The Case of the Lazy Lover by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 30 of the Perry Mason series (1947)
  23. Cover of The Case of the Lonely Heiress by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 31 of the Perry Mason series (1948)
  24. Cover of The Case of the Vagabond Virgin by Erle Stanley Gardner, book 32 of the Perry Mason series (1948)
  1. 1
    The Case of the Velvet Claws1933 · confirmed 3/4
    1933–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Case of the Sulky Girl1933 · 230 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1933230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    The Case of the Crimson Kiss1970 · confirmed 3/4
    1970–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 3
    The Case of the Lucky Legs1934 · confirmed 3/4
    1934–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 3
    The Case Of The Crying Swallow1971 · 160 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1971160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 4
    The Case of the Howling Dog1934 · confirmed 3/4
    1934–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 5
    The Case of the Curious Bride1934 · 185 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1934185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 5
    Four Cases of Murder1989 · confirmed 3/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 6
    The Case of the Counterfeit Eye1935 · 45 pages · confirmed 3/4
    193545
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 7
    The Case of the Caretaker's Cat1935 · 218 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1935218
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 8
    The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece1936 · confirmed 3/4
    1936–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 9
    The Case of the Stuttering Bishop1936 · 207 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1936207
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 10
    The Case of the Dangerous Dowager1937 · confirmed 3/4
    1937–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 11
    The Case of the Lame Canary1937 · confirmed 3/4
    1937–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 12
    The Case of the Substitute Face1938 · 250 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1938250
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 13
    The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe1938 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1938224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 14
    The Case of the Perjured Parrot1939 · 194 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1939194
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 15
    The Case of the Rolling Bones1939 · 198 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1939198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 16
    The Case of the Baited Hook1940 · 224 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1940224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 17
    The Case of the Silent Partner1940 · 215 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1940215
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 18
    The Case of the Haunted Husband1941 · confirmed 3/4
    1941–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 19
    The Case of the Empty Tin1941 · confirmed 3/4
    1941–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 20
    The Case of the Drowning Duck1942 · confirmed 3/4
    1942–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 21
    The Case of the Careless Kitten1942 · 211 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1942211
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 22
    The Case of the Buried Clock1943 · confirmed 3/4
    1943–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 23
    The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito1943 · confirmed 3/4
    1943–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 24
    The Case of the Crooked Candle1944 · confirmed 3/4
    1944–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 25
    The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde1944 · confirmed 3/4
    1944–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Perry Mason Books in Chronological Order

By publication date, the Perry Mason books run from The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933) to The Case of the Baited Hook (2022), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Perry Mason in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.

Do you have to read Perry Mason books in order?

You should read the Perry Mason books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Perry Mason book also stands alone.

Where to start with Perry Mason

Start with The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Perry Mason book?

The Case of the Baited Hook (2022) is the newest Perry Mason book released so far.

Is there a new Perry Mason book coming?

No next Perry Mason book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Perry Mason at a glance

Paused
No new Perry Mason title has appeared for 4 years. The last was published in 2022.
Release pace
Perry Mason books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
8,812 pages across the 46 of 90 books with a recorded length, a median of 210 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Perry Mason books, 27 of 90, were published in the 1950s.
Attribution
Of the 90 titles, 88 are credited to Erle Stanley Gardner and 2 to Thomas Chastain.

What the Perry Mason books are about

78 of the 90 Perry Mason books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: trials (murder) is tagged on 48 of 78. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.