Amazon Editorial Review:

"I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason is the debut novel in a hip, sexy, smart and, yes, cozy mystery series with a great hook. Think Sex and the City collides with Murder, She Wrote.

All that writer Cece Caruso really wants to do is complete her biography of mystery legend Erle Stanley Gardner, find a vintage 1970s Ossie Clark gown to add to her collection, and fix the doorknob on her picturesque West Hollywood bungalow. Then a chance visit with a prison inmate who knew Gardner lands her right in the middle of a 40–year–old murder and another case where the blood is still warm. In fact, Cece finds the body. This brings her into irresistible contact with her inner personal sleuth and shows how crime and greed can reverberate through several generations of a single family."

Happy reading!! My 7th Bookiversary RABCK Release.

Really? I always thought Paul Drake was much cuter!

Requested for mystery VBB.

Thanks for sending this book from Bookstogive's Mystery/Thriller VBB. It looks like a good book and fun series.

My Review: this was a really fun read. I love old movies so I knew a little bit about what clothes/fashion that Cece was describing. There is a lot of interesting history in Los Angeles. I loved that they tied in real people such as Erle Stanley Gardner the author of Perry Mason mysteries with fictional characters to make an interesting story.

Not sure what I will do with this book yet.

This book is starting in Round 12 of Bookstogive's Mystery/Thriller VBB.

If you have found this book, welcome to Bookcrossing and thank you for taking the time to let us know about its journey. Feel free to enjoy the book and pass it along to a friend, neighbor, family member or co-worker, or simply leave it somewhere for another lucky reader to enjoy as you did! This book isn’t your type of read? No problem, don't feel obliged to read it, just be kind enough to help it on its journey.

Sending to eicuthbertson from Bookstogive's Mystery/Thriller VBB. Enjoy!

Just received. Thanks, JennyC1230.

Well, this was a fun read!
I had no idea Ventura had Earle Stanley Gardner heritage sites.
Raymond Burr who played Perry Mason came from near where I live. And since both my parents liked mysteries (although not the same kinds) we did watch the early Perry Mason shows.
Another reason to visit California soon, besides looking for my lost Smiths.

I am now looking for more of this series.

Releasing at the Lower Mainland Bookcrossing Meetup!

This was a lot of fun. I was never a real fan of Perry Mason, I preferred Nero Wolf, but my Grandmother loved Perry. Erle has been useful for crossword puzzles, as Wikipedia notes.
Cece Caruso has become a biographer as a result of her literature professor ex-husband's refusal to hire a TA and she is currently writing a biography of Erle Stanley Gardner. She is able to lay hands on some of the author's papers, including the files of the Court of Last Resort. Gardner's literary papers are actually held in Texas, but let's not quibble. There is a letter - misfiled - in which a Joseph Albacco asks for Gardner's help as he is in Tehachapi prison convicted of murdering his wife. He reminds Gardner that he had helped the family years before and wondered if he would consider doing so again. Cece sees that Gardner had noted that something about the letter "rang a bell" and asks his secretary to look into it. Cece wonders if the man is still alive and whether Gardner did have a connection to this family. This brings her into connection with Albacco, who is still alive, still in prison, and yes, did have a connection to Gardner.
There are two murders and we meet some very questionable police officers as well as one officer with who Cece has had a connection, both romantic and professional it appears. This is the first book in what appears to be a series, but you could be forgiven for thinking that it was later because there are references to things which occurred earlier. That's actually fine because people have had lives before any author puts them on paper and they shouldn't have to explain everything about themselves and their friends any more than real people do in real life. I enjoyed meeting Cece's daughter Annie, her friend Lael and Lael's numerous children. Really loved Lael bringing along a plastic container for them to pee into when they're doing an illegal night investigation.
You do have to concentrate on who is who and who is connected to whom, but it all makes perfect sense and provides the reader with a whack of information about California and its oil boom.