Red Aces by Edgar Wallace, 1929

 

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This book consists of three short stories featuring detective J.G. Reeder:

The Red Aces

Kennedy, the Con Man

The Case of Joe Attymar

This review is only of the first, The Red Aces.

Major characters:

• George McKay
• Kenneth McKay, his son
• Margot Lynn, Kenneth's girlfriend, niece/secretary to Walter "Benny" Wentford
• Walter "Benny" Wentford, Margot's uncle
• Rufus Machfield, Kenneth's friend
• Walter Enward, lawyer
• Henry Green, Enward's clerk
• Eric Kingfether, bank manager
• Ena Burslem, a Woman of the World
• J.G. Reeder, private detective
• Constanble James Verity

Locale: England

Synopsis: Kenneth McKay is out in the countryside and spots his girlfriend, Margot Lynn, out with another man. She refuses to  introduce them, and soon McKay gets a 'Dear John' letter breaking off their relationship. McKay tells this to his friend Rufus Machfield, who reveals that he is deep in gambling debt, and his bank is missing some funds.

Lawyer Walter Enward and his clerk Henry Green are called out on a snowy night to the cottage of Walter "Benny" Wentford. On the way, they are stopped by Constable James Verity, standing in the road alongside a dead body. Enward identifies the body as Wentford. Private Detective J.G. Reeder comes on the scene, and goes to Wentford's nearby cottage to find Margot inside, awaiting her uncle's return. He also finds two red ace cards pinned to the door. Contable Verity cannot be located, and is later found dead alongside the road.

Review: This was my first J.G, Reeder story and it was enjoyable. It is jam-packed to fit a full length novel's share of plot and characters into 100 pages, so it is quite condensed. There are a lot of characters and inter-relationships to keep track of. For example, Margot is not only Wentford's secretary, she is also his niece. J.G. just seems to be everywhere at once. I was a bit confused as to his position, he is called a private detective at first, then a member of the Public Prosecutor's Office. 

Once the action stops, there is one final chapter, which is quite different from what came before. J.G. himself writes the last chapter, calmly providing a detailed synopsis of the action and tying up all the loose ends. I found this valuable, since I had lost track of a lot of the details along the way. 

Overall, the story reminded me of the Rex Stout triple-volumes, consisting of three short Nero Wolfe adventures. The length is just right for a one-evening read.