The Murder Book of J.G. Reeder

Edgar Wallace

Known to his admiring public as the "King of the Thrillers," Edgar Wallace was among the most popular mystery writers of all time. Confessing that his sole purpose was to entertain, Wallace was tireless in filling the ever-increasing demand for mystery fiction, completing 173 books and 17 plays in his lifetime and earning the right to be listed among the most prolific writers of the twentieth century. During his two-decade period of popularity, in the 1920s and '30s, it was estimated that one out of every four books read in England, excepting only Bibles and textbooks, was authored by Wallace. Edgar Wallace's popularity is no doubt attributable to his delightful sense of humor and uncanny ability to create an aura of suspense. These characteristics are nowhere more clearly displayed than in *The Murder Book of J. G. Reeder*. This book, a collection of eight short stories, exhibits Wallace's usual wit and craftiness, and presents his most memorable character: the honorable Mr. J. G. Reeder of the Public Prosecutor's Office, London. "Mr. Reeder wore whiskers and a frock coat - he always carried an umbrella - his strongest expression was 'Dear, dear!' - but he spread grim death through London's underworld." Indeed, Mr. Reeder's name was anathema to bank robbers, forgers, counterfeiters, and perpetrators of fraud and other more heinous crimes. This seemingly mild-mannered British gentleman of old-fashioned sensibilities and wardrobe was always one step ahead of London's evildoers, and largely responsible for their incarceration. In Mr. Reeder's own opinion his successful sleuthing technique was the direct result of his possession of a "criminal" mind - a mind that detected foul play in any situation which was the least bit suspicious. Whatever the source of his piercing powers of deduction, the stories contained in *The Murder Book of J. G. Reeder* will invite the amateur detective in every reader to puzzle out the surprise endings, matching deductive prowess with the incomparable Mr. Reeder.