(7/10 stars)

“I write this in case of emergencies. I have reason to believe that I am in great danger and I cannot say how it will all end.”

The jury is in, and no one expects a surprise. Viola Ross is clearly guilty of murdering her husband Edward. She had the means, the opportunity, and certainly the motive—Edward Ross was suspicious of his younger wife’s relationship with his son Harry. Much to everyone’s shock, however, it’s a hung jury, with one juror refusing to convict.

The lone holdout on the jury is novelist Richard Arnold, who remains convinced of Viola’s innocence. He is determined to find the real killer before Viola’s retrial, even if it means risking his relationship, his reputation, and even his life. Continue reading “The Clock in the Hatbox (1939) by Anthony Gilbert”

(3/10 stars)

“I begin to see why you’re so frightfully interested in him. A diamond millionaire in a Monte Carlo hotel. Trite, of course, but the public doesn’t mind that. All the same ingredients. Who have you picked on for the murderer?”

Julian Marks is a man of mystery. The South African millionaire burst upon the London scene just a few years ago, buoyed by a mysterious fortune. Economic downturns and extravagant spending have brought him down to his last diamond, but it’s quite a stone. Most men would hesitate to travel to the French Riviera with the largest diamond in the world sewn to their waistcoats, but Marks is confident he can handle any kind of trouble.

At the Hotel Fantastique, his fellow guests place bets on how long Marks will manage to stay alive. What no one expects is for Julian Marks to vanish into thin air. Inspector Dupuy must discover what has happened to Marks…and what has happened to his diamond. Continue reading “The Man in Button Boots (1934) by Anthony Gilbert”

(4/10 stars)

“You wouldn’t think I was dangerous, would you? But I am.”

There was a time when Rene Tessier’s arrival in London drew cheering crowds who followed the French film star to his suite at the Ritz. But that was long ago, before Tessier’s son leaped to his death from the Arc de Triomphe. Before the great actor threw away his career in an alcoholic haze. Now, he slips into London unnoticed, holing up in a disreputable hotel. Tomorrow, he’ll be on the front page again—not as a comeback story, but as a suicide.

Glyn, the barrister hired to investigate the death, isn’t so sure. Why would Tessier kill himself when he was on the verge of recapturing his former glory? And what was Tessier’s true relationship to Eve Dulac, who captured Glyn’s heart at first sight? The lawyer soon learns that Rene Tessier’s real life was far more dramatic, and dangerous, than any of his films. Continue reading “Courtier to Death (1936) by Anthony Gilbert”