I'm a big fan of the Perry Mason books: tightly written, idiosyncratic, tense, full of twists and, in most cases, genuine whodunnits. And one positive from this series is that a number of them are now back in print.
However, the style and characters from this series are nothing like those from the book, and if you go into the series hoping for that you'll be disappointed.
However, if this series has been called something else and stood on its own right, I'd be saying its a very well acted, well staged, story exploring the tawdry underside of the Los Angeles of the 30s. John Lithgow is excellent (as usual) and Juliet Rylance gives Della Street more depth than the original novels.
There's nothing particularly wrong with it, I just can't get excited about it either. I found most of the characters quite bland and lacked charisma, I liked Chris Chalk playing the policeman Paul Drake, but I couldn't warm to Perry Mason himself sadly.
I have always been a fan of Perry Mason even as a child age 12. This is a somewhat different format as Perry is not a Lawyer but a Private Investigator but very enjoyable just the same.
Every episode leaves you wanting to watch the next and full of suspense, violent in places so not for the squeamish . Just sent off for the 2nd disc
as 4 episodes, sorry chapters on each disc. I would give it 10 stars if I could.
Can't wait !