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Series: Sergeant Trevor Dene #3
About the author: Valentine Williams (1883–1946) was an English journalist and writer of popular fiction. Williams was awarded the Military Cross as a soldier and wrote two autobiographical books about his war-time experiences. In the aftermath of war, he travelled widely as a reporter. It was during this period that he began writing thrillers and around 1926 he gave up his post at the Daily Mail to pursue a full-time career as an author. (Wikipedia)
Major characters:
- Henry and Margaret Tallifer, local patriarch/matriarch
- Jenny Tallifer, their daughter
- Anthony Tallifer, Jenny's cousin
- Brent Hordern, millionaire developer
- Major Ivan Ivanoff, Hordern's chauffeur
- Constance Barrington, flashy widow
- Randolph and Barbara Waverly, the party hosts
- Ezekiah Harding, newspaper publisher
- Paul Kentish, newspaper editor
- Trevor Dene, of Scotland Yard
- Nancy Dene, his wife
Locale: Long Island, New York
Synopsis: Trevor Dene and his wife Nancy are in Laurel, a small town in Long Island, New York, to attend a gala pageant party given by Randolph and Barbara Waverly. All the locals are invited - but one is definitely excluded, developer Brent Hordern.
The locals despise brash Hordern, who has been buying up property in town. The locals are also suspicious of flashy widow Constance Barrington, with her expensive clothes and sports car. Constance wants to get her hooks into Hordern, but he wants young Jenny Tallifer, daughter of Henry and Margaret Tallifer, highly respected old-money in town.
The night of the gala arrives. There is to be a masked procession into the ballroom, and at midnight the guests will unmask. When the procession enters the room, Holdern is found dead in the sedan chair; and all circumstances point to newspaper editor Paul Kentish, who is the boyfriend of Jenny. He had plenty of motive: Haldern wanted Jenny for himself, and bought out Kentish's newspaper as well.
Review: An enjoyable visit to Long Island society and a huge gala, which is a bit overdone with 500 guests (!) and elaborate costumes. I always enjoy stories with the underdog newspaper people up against evil. In this title, Trevor Dene takes a back seat to the investigation with Paul Kentish doing the honors.
The requisite love triangle consists of Paul Kentish, Jenny Tallifer, and of course, Brent Hordern who corners Jenny in the golf course pavilion and pressures her to marry him.
A hated millionaire New York City developer who bullies everyone, spends most of his time golfing and chasing young girls, and just does whatever he damn pleases? In my mind's eye there is only one person who fits this description - You Know Who That Is. I couldn't get his face out of my mind while reading this character.
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