The Bigger They Come (American Mystery Classics)

The Bigger They Come (American Mystery Classics) by Erle Stanley Gardner (Writing as A.A. Fair)

Bertha Cool is the gruff, tough-talking corpulent head of her private detective agency, which opened after the death of her husband; Donald Lam is her meek, slight, and nervy new hire, who makes up for a lack of boldness with brilliant detective work. The duo couldn't be any more dissimilar. However, with their combined skills, they are an unstoppable force in solving crimes, as evidenced by their over two dozen successes in the long-running series penned by Perry Mason creator Erle Stanley Gardner.

In this, their first outing, Donald Lam is tasked with delivering divorce papers to a man who reportedly made a fortune in rigged slot machines. The only problem is that nobody -- not even the police -- can find him. Before long, Lam's seemingly simple assignment finds him caught up in a web of money, mysterious safety deposit boxes, and a gang of toughs every bit as desperate as he is to find the runaway husband.

Erle Stanley Gardner (1889 - 1970) was the best-selling American author of the 20th century. His Bertha Cool and Donald Lam books were originally published under the A.A. Fair nom de plume.