Some of the reviewers have decided that this episode does not meet the usual standards of the Perry Mason show. However, the identity of the real killer could be easily discovered by the various clues which were available.
First, Perry decided early on that whoever was in the clown suit was not the killer, but that the fatal shot came from someone else.
Then it was made clear that the gun held by the clown contained only blanks, since there was no hole in the tent from the clown's first shot.
Then, when the gun was discovered, the only remaining possibility was that the killer was someone who had not been taken down to police headquarters for questioning -- he had to be back at the circus, tampering with the gun and replacing the blank cartridges with real ones. By process of elimination, the number of suspects was narrowed to one.
Too often the explanation only makes sense afterward, when Mason tells Della and Paul how he did it. But in this case the logic was clear for all to see.
First, Perry decided early on that whoever was in the clown suit was not the killer, but that the fatal shot came from someone else.
Then it was made clear that the gun held by the clown contained only blanks, since there was no hole in the tent from the clown's first shot.
Then, when the gun was discovered, the only remaining possibility was that the killer was someone who had not been taken down to police headquarters for questioning -- he had to be back at the circus, tampering with the gun and replacing the blank cartridges with real ones. By process of elimination, the number of suspects was narrowed to one.
Too often the explanation only makes sense afterward, when Mason tells Della and Paul how he did it. But in this case the logic was clear for all to see.