A kék kéz

by Edgar Wallace, Oszkár György (Translator)

Jim Steele, secretary to solicitor Septimus Salter, sees himself as an amateur detective and is fascinated with one of Salter's cases. The case involves the Danton fortune of Jonathan and Lady Mary Danton, held in trust for their daughter Dorothy. Twenty years ago, the Dantons had gone to America, Lady Mary dropped out of sight, and daughter Dorothy may have been lost in a boating accident but no one is really sure. Under the Danton will, if Lady Mary and Dorothy do not show up after twenty years, the fortune reverts to Jonathan's sister, Mrs. Jane Groat. The clock is running down on that, and Jane's pompous son, sinister doctor Digby Groat, wants to be sure he gets his hands on the fortune. RM

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Classics, Detective

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1925

About the author

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals.

Over 160 films have been made of his novels, more than any other author. In the 1920s, one of Wallace's publishers claimed that a quarter of all books read in England were written by him.

He is most famous today as the co-creator of "King Kong", writing the early screenplay and story for the movie, as well as a short story "King Kong" (1933) credited to him and Draycott Dell. He was known for the J. G. Reeder detective stories, The Four Just Men, the Ringer, and for creating the Green Archer character during his lifetime.

Reviews

[Márta Péterffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A végső fejezetek túl sokáig húzódtak, ám összességében szórakoztató regény. Edgar Wallace is népszerű volt valamikor, ma régies nyelvezete miatt nehezebben olvasható.
Ötletekben, fordulatokban nincs hiány, ha a néhol mosolyogtató vadromantikát leszámítjuk, akkor olyan, mint egy mai thriller.
Krimi, thriller, romantika keveréke-vannak a szuperszépjók és velük szemben a gonoszok:)

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Edgar Wallace with adventure, mystery, dastardly villains, heroes in love, and a spunky damsel in distress. We figure out the big question of the missing heiress before we even know the question (plug in the heroine when it comes up). And we never fear that our hero will rescue her against overwhelming odds. But the journey is really fun, the thrills are over the top, and I liked the twist about the "blue hand" - even though that was significantly less important than one would think from the title. Good, clean fun.

[Rick Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Major characters:
Septimus Salter, solicitor
Jim Steele, his secretary
Eunice Weldon, Jim's girlfriend
Lady Mary Danton, the missing heiress, widow of...
Jonathan Danton, deceased
Dorothy Danton, their daughter
Mrs. Jane Groat, Jonathan's sister
Digby Groat, Jane's son
Madge Benson, a nurse

Locale: London

Synopsis: Jim Steele, secretary to solicitor Septimus Salter, sees himself as an amateur detective and is fascinated with one of Salter's cases. The case involves the Danton fortune of Jonathan and Lady Mary Danton, held in trust for their daughter Dorothy. Twenty years ago, the Dantons had gone to America, Lady Mary dropped out of sight, and daughter Dorothy may have been lost in a boating accident but no one is really sure. Under the Danton will, if Lady Mary and Dorothy do not show up after twenty years, the fortune reverts to Jonathan's sister, Mrs. Jane Groat. The clock is running down on that, and Jane's pompous son, sinister doctor Digby Groat, wants to be sure he gets his hands on the fortune.

Jim's girlfriend, Eunice Weldon, takes a position as secretary to Mrs. Groat. Eunice is unnerved by Digby's medical experiments on animals, and she receives anonymous notes, signed by "Blue Hand", warning her to leave the position; along with a blue handprint smeared on the wall each time. Meanwhile, Jim tracks down Dorothy Danton, but before her can get her, she is kidnapped by Groat who attempts to get her to France via car, train, boat, and airplane; none of which work.

Review: Jim Steele takes the James Bond role in this thriller, which has everything thrown in: mysterious mansions, people being tied up, several secret identities, wills being burned, poisons, a missing heiress, an evil doctor, drugs, car chases, train chases, boat chases, and airplane chases. With all these transport options, one would think they could get across the English Channel. The only thing missing is a secret passage. The action is nonstop, and is surprising it is pulled off with such a small cast of characters. Three amusing henchmen (Villa, Fuentes, and Bronson) appear late in the book and are all dealt with quickly. Pro tip: If you are a passenger in an open-cockpit airplane, be sure your seat belt is fastened.

I was a bit confused for a time on the status of Jonathan Denton, but well into the book it is stated that he is long-ago dead and that Lady Mary is his widow.

Animal lovers will note there are several references to Groat's vivisection experiments, but nothing graphic.

For additional reviews indexed by author, please visit The Mystillery Blog and try The Mystillery Reading Challenges!

[James Hold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an example of not basing your expectations fro a book based upon the movie. The movie was made in Germany and starred Klaus Kinski. Nothing in it anything like the book other than the title. The book is the usual Wallace fare. If you like his other stuff you'll enjoy this as well. It concerns the search for a lost heiress and a scheming scoundrel (named Digby Groat--???) who is trying to win her over; or not so much win as abduct. Not a lot of mystery but with Wallace it doesn't have to be. His easy prose wins you over. When you close the book you're left wondering why they didn't film it the way it was instead of making the old-dark-house thriller to which they attached the title.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a typical Edgar Wallace crime novel. But that's OK, because I like typical Edgar Wallace novels. The Blue Hand includes elements of mystery, romance, and more than a little melodrama. One of the elements of this story that I find intriguing is Wallace's efforts to include nearly every kind of transportation in use at the time this story was written -- walking, automobiles, trains, biplanes, seaplanes, yachts, steamers (ships), bicycles -- they're all there! And I've probably left out a few. A fun read with a happy ending.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some remarkable coincidences early on don't mar this ripping yarn. Not many surprises, it's blinding obvious who the missing heiress is from the start and the blue hand only plays a fairly minor part and is forgotten well before the end. An excellent villain and plenty of dramatic if far fetched incident make this a very good and a very typical Wallace.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the melodrama, with a villain (complete with mustache, although he does shave it off eventually), a strong and manly hero, a young and innocent heroine, a mysterious woman in black... Fun read!

[Amber]

A.L. Burt, 1923