What do you think?
Rate this book
The Terror
The sensational novel which launched Collins’ Detective Story Club in 1929 was by Edgar Wallace, who wrote more crime stories in the 1920s, and more films, than any other author. This new edition of The Terror, with its original jacket artwork, also includes another classic Wallace text, White Face.
A dangerous gang of criminals is imprisoned after a daring robbery, although the ringleader who masterminded the crime disappears with the loot. Finally released after ten years behind bars, they are out for vengeance on the man who betrayed them, and the trail leads to a lonely house haunted by organ music and the spectre of a hooded figure who prowls its dark corridors.
The Terror began life as a stage play, then a film, and finally the book that began Collins’ Detective Story Club in July 1929.
This new edition also includes White Face, the other crime novel Wallace adapted from one of his own plays. A doctor finds a man murdered in a seedy part of London. The police suspect a notorious master of disguise known as ‘White Face’, and the doctor enlists a reporter to help him track down and unmask the elusive killer.
This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by award-winning crime novelist and mystery genre expert Martin Edwards, author of the acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder.
A dangerous gang of criminals is imprisoned after a daring robbery, although the ringleader who masterminded the crime disappears with the loot. Finally released after ten years behind bars, they are out for vengeance on the man who betrayed them, and the trail leads to a lonely house haunted by organ music and the spectre of a hooded figure who prowls its dark corridors.
The Terror began life as a stage play, then a film, and finally the book that began Collins’ Detective Story Club in July 1929.
This new edition also includes White Face, the other crime novel Wallace adapted from one of his own plays. A doctor finds a man murdered in a seedy part of London. The police suspect a notorious master of disguise known as ‘White Face’, and the doctor enlists a reporter to help him track down and unmask the elusive killer.
This Detective Story Club classic is introduced by award-winning crime novelist and mystery genre expert Martin Edwards, author of the acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1929
7 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Edgar Wallace
2,137 books262 followersRichard 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 30, 2020
Ah, this was such a nice surprise...there are two stories in this book The Terror and White Face.
I seriously should maybe think about reading book descriptions rather than just be seduced by the pretty covers of books.
Anyway, The Terror was your typical Edgar Wallace thriller focused on madness, crime, and darkest London. To me Wallace didn't write noir as much as a special kind of Gothic crime, including damsels in distress, castles, secret passages, ... oh, and a mad monk.
Yes, the plot is silly, the characters are two-dimensional, and many of the other aspect are utterly ridiculous, but this is just the sort of crime caper one sometimes needs. So, what if it made me laugh out loud that one of the characters suffers from insanity for only exactly 2 hours every day? (Or was it 2 hours of sanity? Does it matter?)
I really liked this one. It reminded me a lot of the German screen adaptations of Wallace's work - they are hilariously, charmingly.....dated but they are great guilty pleasures.
White Face took a different approach to the "typical" Wallace story. Yes, this story is also based on organised crime at it's heart, but this one here seemed to be a lot close some of the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a great twist, but there are also elements that seems to portray some of the crimes as the characters only choice, so almost ask for sympathy from the reader.
It was an interesting change from other works by Wallace that I am familiar with and I love that the story was included in this book (edited by Martin Edwards) but the story was also quite long and drawn out, which didn't work well for me.
I seriously should maybe think about reading book descriptions rather than just be seduced by the pretty covers of books.
Anyway, The Terror was your typical Edgar Wallace thriller focused on madness, crime, and darkest London. To me Wallace didn't write noir as much as a special kind of Gothic crime, including damsels in distress, castles, secret passages, ... oh, and a mad monk.
Yes, the plot is silly, the characters are two-dimensional, and many of the other aspect are utterly ridiculous, but this is just the sort of crime caper one sometimes needs. So, what if it made me laugh out loud that one of the characters suffers from insanity for only exactly 2 hours every day? (Or was it 2 hours of sanity? Does it matter?)
I really liked this one. It reminded me a lot of the German screen adaptations of Wallace's work - they are hilariously, charmingly.....dated but they are great guilty pleasures.
White Face took a different approach to the "typical" Wallace story. Yes, this story is also based on organised crime at it's heart, but this one here seemed to be a lot close some of the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. There is a great twist, but there are also elements that seems to portray some of the crimes as the characters only choice, so almost ask for sympathy from the reader.
It was an interesting change from other works by Wallace that I am familiar with and I love that the story was included in this book (edited by Martin Edwards) but the story was also quite long and drawn out, which didn't work well for me.
February 21, 2018
The book contains 2 stories: The Terror, and White Face.
The Terror is about criminals trying to get revenge on the ringleader who double crossed them, running off with the loot from a robbery, while they serve 10 years in jail. The story is centred around a creepy country house with a hooded figure prowler.
White Face is about a white masked criminal who haunts London, while the police are trying to solve murder of Donald Bateman in Tidal Baisin.
I enjoyed reading both stories as I am a big fan of classic crime novels. I would definitely recommend them if you're a big fan too.
The Terror is about criminals trying to get revenge on the ringleader who double crossed them, running off with the loot from a robbery, while they serve 10 years in jail. The story is centred around a creepy country house with a hooded figure prowler.
White Face is about a white masked criminal who haunts London, while the police are trying to solve murder of Donald Bateman in Tidal Baisin.
I enjoyed reading both stories as I am a big fan of classic crime novels. I would definitely recommend them if you're a big fan too.
August 19, 2023
Ein solider Krimi mit klassischem Flair. Der Schreibstil versteht es, den Leser in den Bann zu ziehen. Der Zeit geschuldet, sind einige Dinge vorhersehbar, da man Vieles bereits kennt. Im Buch gibt es auch eine zweite Geschichte namens "Der Klub der Vier", bei der jedes Kapitel sogar eine Kurzgeschichte darstellt. Dieses Konzept funktioniert hervorragend. Die Stories sind sehr dicht erzählt ohne unnötige Umschweife. Im "Mönch" kann es aufgrund der Vielzahl von Figuren anfangs etwas verwirrend sein, da keine ausführlichen Figurenbeschreibungen vorhanden sind. Allerdings sind die Namen dafür sehr einprägsam.
April 17, 2019
Of the two, I enjoyed “Whiteface” much better. Longer, better character development and such.
April 16, 2020
Fun to read. I figured it all out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2025
Had a captivating madness, but it was still a bit too ridiculous.
December 30, 2020
Has both The Terror and White Face. The Terror was Ok but very short whereas White Face was a much more developed story. White Face was a really good read.
August 4, 2022
Good book, read before I saw the movie and both kept me hooked until the end
July 6, 2016
I saw a television adaptation of The Terror about fifty five years ago and it created quite an impression on me. I vividly remember the old sinister country house setting, the mysterious monk and the threatening moan of the organ in the bowels of the building. I also recollect the surprise ending with a nice twist.
The book is similar, quite short and has the feel of one of Wallace's many novels that he knocked out in a week. The plot is less impressive than the atmosphere and I'm still not sure how the robbery, at the heart of the plot, was carried out and I'm a bit mystified how the police managed to sort it all out. Still, in those days (the twenties) the police were infallible.
Entertaining.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen and Two Families at War, all published by Sacristy Press.
The book is similar, quite short and has the feel of one of Wallace's many novels that he knocked out in a week. The plot is less impressive than the atmosphere and I'm still not sure how the robbery, at the heart of the plot, was carried out and I'm a bit mystified how the police managed to sort it all out. Still, in those days (the twenties) the police were infallible.
Entertaining.
David Lowther. Author of The Blue Pencil, Liberating Belsen and Two Families at War, all published by Sacristy Press.
July 20, 2016
My practice of buying a Detective Club Classic whenever I want a new mystery is proving a good one thus far. When you buy The Terror you get a surprise: it's two books in one, a fact not mentioned on the cover. Turns out, when The Terror was originally published they had to bump up the font size to reach a respectable page number (today it attains a mere 94 pages); today, rather than resorting to this dirty trick, the publishers treat you to a bonus section novel, White Face
Both were a speedy and enjoyable read, the first more than the second. Both are adapted plays, and in The Terror one there's a key moment that I can see how it would be more terrifying on stage. Wallace wouldn't exactly be a master wordsmith: mixed metaphors abound, "infer" is used as as synonymous with "imply", etc. but I still enjoyed my purchase.
Both were a speedy and enjoyable read, the first more than the second. Both are adapted plays, and in The Terror one there's a key moment that I can see how it would be more terrifying on stage. Wallace wouldn't exactly be a master wordsmith: mixed metaphors abound, "infer" is used as as synonymous with "imply", etc. but I still enjoyed my purchase.
July 5, 2013
Ich denke, man sollte Wallace mal gelesen haben, gefällt mir gut, ist aber eher etwas für zwischendurch mit gerade mal 105 Seiten und keinen überrraschenden Wendungen..vielleicht ist man verwöhnt von den gewitzten Psychothrillern heutzutage..ein solider Krimi mit altem Charme!
Besonders die uralte Ausgabe die ich von meinem Opi gelesen habe, versetzt einen in eine andere Zeit :-)
Besonders die uralte Ausgabe die ich von meinem Opi gelesen habe, versetzt einen in eine andere Zeit :-)
April 30, 2015
Ich muss der vorangegangenen Bewertung zustimmen; Edgar Wallace gehört mit Sicherheit zu den Autoren, von denen man mal was gelesen haben sollte. Ist ganz nette Unterhaltung für Zwischendurch, reißt mich vor Spannung aber auch nicht vom Hocker.
May 7, 2016
The version of this book contained ‘The Terror’ and ‘White Face’ both of which dealt with criminals double crossing each other.
The two stories were reasonable but the writing / descriptions all felt a bit dated.
The two stories were reasonable but the writing / descriptions all felt a bit dated.
May 15, 2014
Two-and-a-half stars. Fairly predictable. The revelation of who was the "Terror" fell somehow flat.
June 14, 2017
For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...
May 10, 2016
Classical British crime story. Not extremely suprised by the ending but its a good read for morning tube journeys to work.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews