American Library #4

"The Case of the Crooked Candle" by Erle Stanley Gardner follows detective Perry Mason and his associate Della Street as they investigate a murder aboard a yacht. When Burbank's vessel explodes, Mason must untangle conflicting accounts of the night's events, including a crucial footprint found on the yacht's ladder and a mysterious rowboat that appeared near the ship. Through careful analysis of tide tables and witness statements, Mason attempts to reconstruct the crime and prove that Burbank and Carol were not responsible for the murder.