The following is a list of the Perry Mason novels and short stories by Erle Stanley Gardner, published from 1933 to 1973. Many Perry Mason novels were first published in magazines, most often The Saturday Evening Post, some with different titles. Sixteen appeared in the Toronto Star Weekly in condensed form. All books were first published by William Morrow and Company, New York. Most were published simultaneously in Toronto. Six of the novels were adapted for a series of Perry Mason films produced in the 1930s. Many of the novels and short stories were adapted for the CBS television series Perry Mason (1957–1966); details are available at the list of episodes for the TV series. The Perry Mason series ranks third in the top ten best selling book series, with sales of 300 million. R. L. Stine's Goosebumps series is ranked second, with over 400 million; J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is first, with over 500 million.

Novels

1930s

1940s

1. The Case of the Baited Hook (1940) William Morrow and Company, March 1940 Mason is given a third of a $10,000 bill to represent a masked woman in the future. It takes him almost until the murder trial to find out which cheating woman is his client.
2. The Case of the Silent Partner (1940) William Morrow and Company, November 1940 A dynamic young businesswoman is in danger of losing control of her flower shop, and someone sends poisoned bonbons to a nightclub hostess. Mason must reacquire some stock and defend the businesswoman. This novel is the first to feature Lt. Arthur Tragg, who was introduced as a replacement for Sgt. Holcomb. Gardner felt that Tragg, though plenty tough and smart, had a smoother approach than the rough-and-ready Holcomb character, and gave the police a better image. Holcomb would continue to appear sometimes as a secondary character, though.
3. The Case of the Haunted Husband (1941) William Morrow and Company, February 1941 A cigarette girl in San Francisco leaves her job and the city abruptly, and hitchhikes to Los Angeles. She gets in a car wreck with a would-be Romeo, waking up in the hospital to find herself charged with his death.
4. The Case of the Empty Tin (1941) William Morrow and Company, October 1941 A snoopy spinster discovers the passing of coded messages sealed into empty tins, but it is someone else who is killed in the basement.
5. The Case of the Drowning Duck (1942) William Morrow and Company, May 1942 Perry Mason and Della Street are on a vacation in Palm Springs when a wealthy businessman asks for advice about his daughter's boyfriend, a chemist who drowns ducks and becomes a murder suspect.
6. The Case of the Careless Kitten (1942) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, May 23 – July 11, 1942; William Morrow and Company, September 1942 Mason defends Della Street, who is accused of helping a material witness or possible murder suspect vanish from a crime scene. Key clues in the murder case are the behavior of a greedy kitten and the impersonation of an elderly crippled woman.
7. The Case of the Buried Clock (1943) William Morrow and Company, May 1943 A returning war veteran stumbles across a buried clock that is apparently keeping sidereal time. A murder victim is found in a rural area where, it seems, all the neighbors go out for walks at night.
8. The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943) William Morrow and Company, September 1943 A wealthy prospector is camping in his own back yard, someone tries to poison Perry and Della, Paul Drake poses as a drunken prospector, and the clue to the murder is the sound of a mosquito flying in lazy circles.
9. The Case of the Crooked Candle (1944) William Morrow and Company, May 1944 A key element in a complicated story of a body found on a beached boat is a candle that stands at a steep angle. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime: "The details of the boat grounded at low tide with a corpse in the cabin are superbly handled, and the rest of the story—motives and characters—is both believable and reasonably straightforward; … It is an absolutely first-rate job."
10. The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde (1944) William Morrow and Company, November 1944 A beautiful blonde gets a fist in the eye from her employer's son, and Mason must defend her when her roommate is murdered.
11. The Case of the Golddigger's Purse (1945) William Morrow and Company, May 1945 Mason is surprised to hear that someone wants to consult him about a sick goldfish, and the case also concerns a crooked partner, a secret formula, and a gold-digging ingenue accused of murder.
12. The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1945) William Morrow and Company, September 1945 A shady promoter is blocking the sale of a valuable island when he comes up with an oil lease, but when he is murdered on a pleasure cruise, it is his wife who stands trial for murder.
13. The Case of the Borrowed Brunette (1946) William Morrow and Company, November 1946 A young woman is hired to impersonate someone because her measurements and coloring match a very specific list. It is a tricky ploy in a divorce, and it soon leads to a murder charge against her chaperone.
14. The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse (1947) William Morrow and Company, June 1947 There are two gorgeous fan dancers with the same name, two blood-soaked ostrich fans, a samurai sword, and a horse with a very unusual addition to its saddle.
15. The Case of the Lazy Lover (1947) William Morrow and Company, October 1947 A man tells everyone that his wife has run away with his best friend, who seems to have a strange lack of enthusiasm about the affair. The case leads to murder and a trial that hinges on multiple sets of footprints.
16. The Case of the Lonely Heiress (1948) William Morrow and Company, February 1948 Mason is hired to find the identity of an "heiress" who ran ads in a lonely hearts magazine. Later, he defends the heiress against a murder charge.
17. The Case of the Vagabond Virgin (1948) William Morrow and Company, July 1948 A man picks up an innocent young hitchhiker and gets into even more trouble when his partner is found murdered. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime: "Despite the fact that compelling evidence of virginity is not offered, the lady vagabond is well done, and the plot is better-than-average Gardner; indeed, it is surprisingly good when one considers the deluge that had already gone over the dam by 1948."
18. The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom (1949) William Morrow and Company, February 1949 First Mason gets his face slapped by a beautiful burglar in his office building, then a Tijuana wedding trip leads to a murder.
19. The Case of the Cautious Coquette (1949) William Morrow and Company, May 1949 At the behest of Mason, who is representing a young man hit by a car, Paul Drake places an ad in the paper asking for witnesses to the hit and run. To Mason's astonishment, two different drivers are identified, one by a mysterious letter enclosing a key. The 1949 first edition has just this story. Morrow issued a later hardcover edition marked "Book Club Edition" in a taller format which included two Mason short stories: The Case of the Crying Swallow and The Case of the Crimson Kiss. This later edition has a jacket that includes a blurb for the two included stories, while the true first edition jacket does not.

1950s

1. The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1950) Serialized in Collier's, September 17 – October 22, 1949; William Morrow and Company, January 1950 A young woman swims to Mason's canoe to escape a vicious watchdog, then is accused of jewel theft and murder. But it is the dog who provides the key to the murder.
2. The Case of the One-Eyed Witness (1950) William Morrow and Company, November 1950 When a mysterious woman hires Mason over the telephone, he must defend her in a case that involves an adoption racket and her husband's murder. A woman in an eyepatch is a key witness.
3. The Case of the Fiery Fingers (1951) William Morrow and Company, May 1951 Mason defends a woman twice—once on theft charges, and then on murder charges.
4. The Case of the Angry Mourner (1951) William Morrow and Company, October 1951 A playboy is murdered in his lakeside cabin and a mother and daughter, who had both been there, start to suspect each other so call on Perry Mason for help.
5. The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952) William Morrow and Company, April 1952 A waitress in a favorite restaurant of Mason's runs out in the middle of the lunch rush, leaving behind her moth-eaten mink, and is hit by a car. Later, a message in lipstick helps Mason disprove the murder case against her framed boss. This novel was the basis for the script for the pilot episode of the CBS television series.
6. The Case of the Grinning Gorilla (1952) William Morrow and Company, November 1952 Mason buys the diary of a drowned woman at an auction, and after a murder he finds himself confronted by a hypnotized gorilla.
7. The Case of the Hesitant Hostess (1953) William Morrow and Company, April 1953 A hostess at a nightclub seems determined to convince a jury that Mason's client committed armed robbery, so he goes over her story in painstaking detail on the stand.
8. The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister (1953) William Morrow and Company, November 1953 Mason, hired to protect a family from illegitimate blackmail, ends up defending a woman who the police claim murdered the blackmailer. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime: "One of the tightest knit and richest in gimmicks and characters. (Mason's) fiddling with tape recorders is excellent, and the dialogues in and out of court show what can be done with backchat to create drama."
9. The Case of the Fugitive Nurse (1954) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, September 19 – November 7, 1953; William Morrow and Company, February 1954 When young Steffanie Malden, recently widowed by the death of her husband, the very successful surgeon Summerfield Malden, consults Mason, she wants the $100,000 her husband and nurse hid from his wife and the IRS in a love nest, but changes priorities when the authorities prosecute her for murder.
10. The Case of the Runaway Corpse (1954) William Morrow and Company, June 1954 Mason defends a woman accused of poisoning her husband--even though witnesses saw the corpse climb out the motel window.
11. The Case of the Restless Redhead (1954) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, September 13 – October 30, 1954; William Morrow and Company, October 1954 Mason helps a young defense attorney get an innocent verdict for a woman accused of theft. Later, he defends her in a murder case with a large number of twists. This novel was the basis for the script for the first episode of the television series.
12. The Case of the Glamorous Ghost (1955) William Morrow and Company, January 1955 A scantily-clad woman claims she has amnesia, and cannot remember anything about the jewel smuggling or the murder.
13. The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary (1955) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, March 5 – April 23, 1955; William Morrow and Company, May 1955 Mason defends the daughter of a man convicted of armed robbery who first loses her trailer, all her clothes and her diary.
14. The Case of the Nervous Accomplice (1955) William Morrow and Company, September 1955 Mason is hired by a woman whose husband is having an affair to wreck it, then defends her on a murder charge.
15. The Case of the Terrified Typist (1956) William Morrow and Company, January 1956 After a temporary typist who enjoys trick photography has left Mason's office in a tearing hurry, he and Della find some diamonds stuck in chewing gum on the bottom of her desk. Her involvement in a murder trial features an ending unique in the Mason series.This was the only case in the series Gardner wrote, where Perry Mason lost the case.
16. The Case of the Demure Defendant (1956) Serialized as "The Case of the Missing Poison" in The Saturday Evening Post, December 10, 1955 – January 28, 1956; William Morrow and Company, May 1956 A woman confesses to murder during a therapy session, and her doctor consults Mason as to the legal ramifications. Later Mason defends the woman in court.
17. The Case of the Gilded Lily (1956) William Morrow and Company, September 1956 Mason defends a man thought to have killed his blackmailer.
18. The Case of the Lucky Loser (1957) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, September 1 – October 20, 1956; William Morrow and Company, January 1957 Mason defends a man previously convicted of killing a man with an automobile while intoxicated. When the body is found to have been killed with a gun, Mason argues double jeopardy as a plea, but eventually clears his client of all crimes.
19. The Case of the Screaming Woman (1957) William Morrow and Company, May 1957 Mason defends a woman accused of murdering a doctor running an illegal adoption agency.
20. The Case of the Daring Decoy (1957) Serialized as "The Proxy Murder" by the Chicago Tribune-New York News syndicate, September 8 – October 19, 1957; William Morrow and Company, October 1957 Mason defends a man embroiled in a stock battle who is accused of killing a business rival's secretary. Was the woman in a nightgown with a mudpack on her face trying to keep the gun herself, or palm it off?
21. The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958) Serialized as "The Case of the Dead Man's Daughter" in The Saturday Evening Post, August 10 – September 28, 1957; William Morrow and Company, January 1958 Mason defends a woman accused of murdering the man who murdered her father, and does so by juggling identical guns until no one knows what is what and involving the car dealer and his newlywed son.
22. The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll (1958) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, February 1 – March 22, 1958; William Morrow and Company, May 1958 Mason defends a woman against charges of two murders—she has already stolen $4,000, stabbed a man with an ice pick, and fled a fatal accident, but he is convinced she is innocent of murder.
23. The Case of the Calendar Girl (1958) William Morrow and Company, October 1958 Mason masterfully defends a man accused of murdering a corrupt politician by shoving the blame onto a model. When the model is accused of murder using the evidence Mason uncovered, Perry defends her.
24. The Case of the Deadly Toy (1959) Serialized as "The Case of the Greedy Grandpa" in The Saturday Evening Post, October 25 – December 13, 1958; William Morrow and Company, January 1959 A boy with a toy printing press and a .22 leads Perry Mason to a murder trial where his mother is on trial for the murder of his father, and his wealthy grandfather will do anything to get her convicted.
25. The Case of the Mythical Monkeys (1959) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, May 2 – June 20, 1959; William Morrow and Company, June 1959 Gladys Doyle, secretary of underworld moll turned bestselling novelist Mauvis Meade, keeps an appointment in her employer's stead at mountaintop Summit Inn, but gets stuck in the mud on her way back and spends the night with a man who vanishes. A crucial clue is a scarf printed with the three mythical monkeys whose poses say, "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil."
26. The Case of the Singing Skirt (1959) William Morrow and Company, September 1959 Mason's client is framed for theft and fired because of her refusal to assist in cheating a casino patron. Then she is accused of murder, and the gun juggling begins. Jacques Barzun and Wendell Hertig Taylor, A Catalogue of Crime: "The court scene is excellent; the characters, though thin as usual, are amply credible; and the pace never flags."

1960s

1. The Case of the Waylaid Wolf (1960) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, September 5 – October 24, 1959; William Morrow and Company, January 1960 A woman defends herself from date rape by stealing his car. When her would-be rapist is found dead, Mason defends her on the murder charge and does some spectacular misdirection with the evidence.
2. The Case of the Duplicate Daughter (1960) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, June 4 – July 23, 1960; William Morrow and Company, June 1960 Perry is unsure which woman, wearing only a nightgown, was running away from a garage that has become the scene of a murder, and as a retainer, he asks for title to all the money found in the garage.
3. The Case of the Shapely Shadow (1960) William Morrow and Company, October 1960 A secretary, convinced her boss is being blackmailed, hires Mason to secure evidence. But when her boss is found murdered, she needs him to defend her on murder charges.
4. The Case of the Spurious Spinster (1961) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, January 28 – March 11, 1961; William Morrow and Company, March 1961 A shoebox full of cash and an elderly mine owner who disappears, wheelchair and all, leave a secretary charged with murder.
5. The Case of the Bigamous Spouse (1961) Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, July 15 – August 26, 1961; William Morrow and Company, August 1961 Gwynn Elston, door-to-door saleswoman, finds herself implicated in the murder of her best friend's new husband.
6. The Case of the Reluctant Model (1962) Published as "The Case of the False Feteet" in the Toronto Star Weekly, October 7, 1961; William Morrow and Company, January 1962 Mason gets involved in a case of slander when an art dealer questions the authenticity of a painting by fictional artist "Phellipe Feteet" (whose backstory closely follows that of American painter Edgar Leeteg). When Mason goes to the apartment of the main witness, all he finds is a very dead body.
7. The Case of the Blonde Bonanza (1962) Serialized in the Toronto Star Weekly, April 7–14, 1962; William Morrow and Company, June 1962 Mason believes it is crazy that someone is paying a beautiful girl $100 a week to put on weight, but she may be a missing heiress—or a murderess. When Mason finds out what is behind it all, he discovers that the scheme is crazy - like a fox.
8. The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands (1962) William Morrow and Company, October 1962 An interesting legal point arises about an embezzler who gambles on the ponies and wins, and an interesting murder trial centers on some trout packed in dry ice.
9. The Case of the Mischievous Doll (1963) The Saturday Evening Post, December 8, 1962; William Morrow and Company, February 1963 Mason is hired to identify a woman based on an appendix scar, as she fears being a look-alike to an heiress may be a setup for her arrest. Mason later defends the heiress on murder charges.
10. The Case of the Stepdaughter's Secret (1963) William Morrow and Company, June 1963 Blackmail leads to murder on a yacht and a cash-filled purse on the bottom of the ocean weighted down with a gun. Paul Drake investigates by driving a speedboat surrounded by bikini-clad beauties who take turns water skiing. Mason comments he picked the wrong business.
11. The Case of the Amorous Aunt (1963) William Morrow and Company, September 1963 After a young woman hires Mason to prevent her aunt from throwing away her money on a con man, he ends up defending the aunt on a charge of murder.
12. The Case of the Daring Divorcee (1964) William Morrow and Company, February 1964 A purse containing thousands of dollars and a twice-fired gun is left in Mason's office, but his potential client has disappeared.
13. The Case of the Phantom Fortune (1964) William Morrow and Company, May 1964 Mason is hired to protect a man's wife from an unknown blackmailer. However, while Mason's ingenious plan to ruin the blackmailer works, he ends up having to defend the man after he is prosecuted for murder.
14. The Case of the Horrified Heirs (1964) William Morrow and Company, September 1964 Mason defends a woman twice; once on drug smuggling charges, and once on murder charges.
15. The Case of the Troubled Trustee (1965) William Morrow and Company, February 1965 Why would a talented investment advisor embezzle a quarter of a million dollars from his client "for her own good?" Mason first advises him, then defends him as the case becomes murder.
16. The Case of the Beautiful Beggar (1965) William Morrow and Company, June 1965 When her wealthy uncle disappears, his niece has no money, except his check for $125,000. Did she poison his Chinese food after she kidnapped him from the asylum?
17. The Case of the Worried Waitress (1966) William Morrow and Company, August 1966 A pretty waitress is accused of stealing $100 from her wealthy aunt's hatbox, and a blind pencil-seller earns enough to come to work in a taxicab.
18. The Case of the Queenly Contestant (1967) William Morrow and Company, May 1967 Mason is hired to stop a news story about an old beauty pageant. Later, he ends up defending the former contestant on murder charges.
19. The Case of the Careless Cupid (1968) William Morrow and Company, March 1968 Mason defends a wealthy widow who is accused of murdering her husband.
20. The Case of the Fabulous Fake (1969) William Morrow and Company, November 1969 Trying to protect her brother, a woman tries to handle the person blackmailing him—only to be implicated in his murder.

Posthumous

1. The Case of the Fenced-In Woman (1972) William Morrow and Company, September 1972 Mason becomes involved in the bizarre case of a house split right through the living room with a barbed-wire fence—and a body in the pool.
2. The Case of the Postponed Murder (1973) William Morrow and Company, 1973 A young woman asks Mason to find her sister—but what does she really want? And did the corpse sail the yacht away after he was shot?

Short stories

Pastiche

After Gardner's death, Thomas Chastain wrote two Perry Mason novels licensed by the author's estate, "based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner". Both follow the made-for-TV movies in the use of Paul Drake, Jr.