The angel of terror by Edgar Wallace

 I like Wallace’s books, they always have interesting characters even after so many years. His description are mostly of people, of their character, he does not spend too much time with every detail of his surroundings, and this I like.

In this specific story, though, I wasn’t very fond of any particular character. Still, I liked the book well enough.

The main protagonist of this story is Jean Briggerland, a girl who grew up poor and since he was a teenager she started scheming with her father to get money out of people. They have killed three men already when this story starts. There is the ‘terror’ part. The ‘angel’ of the title comes from her appearance. She is beautiful, so extraordinary beautiful that everyone, men and women, think of her as an angel; men either fall in love with her or are so enchanted by her beauty that the simple idea that she might have committed such acts is ridiculous to them. 

Lydia, a girl that becomes the object of her scheming soon enough, is also one of those that think she looks so much like a beautiful angel that it is impossible to believe ill of her.

This story starts with Mr Meredith convicted of a murder he did not commit, but only his lawyers Glover and Rennett believe in him. Everyone else believes Jean’s testimony.

Jean is Meredith’s cousin. He has lots of money and no other relations, so at first she tries to marry him, then when that fails she tries to have him hanged.

Jean’s father shot Bulford, and her testimony only condemned Meredith.

Meredith is not hanged, thanks to Glover’s appeal to the court I think, but he is sentenced to life in prison. Glover manages to give him a leave to the hospital for a fake operation, and Meredith escapes to reach Rennett’s house.

Glover and Rennett looked hard for a girl with no relations and also money trouble, and found Lydia. When her father died, she promised to honour all his debts, so now she works hard to that purpose. She works for a paper, and does drawings.

Glover and Rennett take her to Rennett’s house and explain to her their plan: they want her to marry Meredith, then Meredith will go back to prison and she will have a lot of money to pay all her debts and live well. 

She accepts and they marry right away. Meredith does not go back to prison because he dies as he exits the house.

Jean’s father shot him, not knowing he had already married, so the Briggerlands are not the heirs anymore.

Glover tries to warn Lydia of Jean’s dangerous character, but Lydia refuses to believe such a thing. Jean’s scheming to get rid of her starts, because since the girl has no other relations, they are her heirs (as her only relatives-in-law).

Lydia is almost run over by a car, after Jean and her father have moved a little away.

Jean tells two men who have already been to prison many years about Lydia’s money, where her apartment is and her habits.

Jean’s father helps a crazy man out of the asylum and sets him on Lydia.

Jean takes a child, terribly ill with smallpox, up to Lydia’s bed.

Jean’s father tries to shoot her from a distance while she is at sea, but misses her (not by much, but enough).

Marcus Stepney lives by cheating at cards and tricking people, and he tried it with Lydia without success. Jean convinces him to marry her and share the money she’ll give him for the divorce once she realises the mistake. 

(This plot wasn’t too clear to me)

Anyway, it is soon clear to him that she would never marry him willingly. He is not a violent man, though, he cheats people out of their money but he has never killed anyone or assaulted anyone, so he lets go that idea as hopeless.

Jean has Lydia write a suicide note under the pretense that she is writing a story but her poor wrist hurts and she needs Lydia’s help, and she also has her write Glover’s address.

At this point Jean was desperate for money, she had almost none left, so Jean writes another letter using a typewriter and forging Glover’s signature, and also a check from Lydia’s book and she sent it via some people to Rennett, who has it paid. Mordon and a girl take the money and Mordon gives it to Jean. Mordon does all this because of course he is not just her chaffeur, he is in love with her, and Jean promised to marry him, but in truth she hates him after he kisses her once.

Jean convinces Lydia to go on a road trip and stop at a specific place. Mordon is to drive her there and Jean sends her father to kill them. He shoots Mordon dead, then shoots Lydia and she falls in the sea and they think she’s dead.

Marcus was out on a boat when he hears the shots and sees a woman falling and he immediately jumps to save her. He realises what happened and leaves Lydia safely at a hotel, but he does love Jean so he escapes with her.

Glover reveals that he was Old Jarrs, the ‘old man’ who had saved Lydia’s life more than once, and they plan to get married. Lydia is still fond of Jean.

He intends to marry her, of course, if they can reach a safe place, but she doesn’t want him. She doesn’t tell him that obviously, and they reach Morocco. 

They meet Hafiz, a contender for the throne of Morocco (I think) that Jean had met before and they had discovered to be very alike. 

He offers her a place in the hills where he is lord and therefore she could be safe. She does not care for Marcus, so he is sent on his way alone, although he still had the money she had stolen from Lydia. 

This is how it ends.

A bit anti-climatic, in a way. Glover had very little space in the book, much less than I hoped, and his story with Lydia is barely there.

The fact that Jean ends up ‘protected’ by Hafiz makes sense, since they were so very alike, although we don’t know what it will really happen to her. Will they be together? Will she have money like she always wanted? It’s anybody’s guess.