The Case of the Screaming Woman, by Erle Stanley Gardner

Perry Mason has to deal with a client who is lying to him; the client’s wife who is telling different lies; and a shifty criminal attorney who tries his hand at blackmail.

The case involves a doctor who had been running an illegal baby adoption ring before being murdered. When Perry ends up with a book containing the names of those who have adopted babies through the doctor, he realizes he has a document that can ruin a lot of innocent lives if it’s turned over to the authorities. But the book is also stolen property, so hanging on to it creates an ethical conundrum. At his client’s preliminary hearing, Perry has to use the technical rules of evidence to frustrate the D.A. from bringing up the book’s existence while also figuring out who the real killer is. One of the pleasures of this one is watching poor Hamilton Burger (who is convinced he has Perry over the barrel THIS time) dissolve in barely suppressed anger as Perry foils him with one well-placed objection after another.