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Sergeant Trevor Dene #2
The Clock Ticks On: A Trevor Dene Mystery
When a series of armed jewel robberies ends in murder, the police arrest and try a young American, Gerry Cloan. Trevor Dene, however, is unconvinced of the young man's guilt and, with the blessing of his Scotland Yard superiors, travels to New York in the hope of uncovering the real culprits amongst the city's criminal underworld. With only 72 hours until Cloan's execution, Dene must work fast, whilst also avoiding the bloodthirsty attentions of the city's gun-toting gangs. The clock is ticking...
Originally published in 1933, this exciting thriller by British crime writer Valentine Williams is memorably set against the background of prohibition-era New York and is the second of four novels to feature Trevor Dene.
Originally published in 1933, this exciting thriller by British crime writer Valentine Williams is memorably set against the background of prohibition-era New York and is the second of four novels to feature Trevor Dene.
- GenresMystery
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1933
About the author
Valentine Williams
82 books5 followersAka Douglas Valentine (1 work)
George Valentine Williams (1883 - 1946) was the son of G Edward Williams, Chief Editor of the Reuters News Agency. After being privately educated in Germany, he joined Reuters as a sub editor in 1902. In 1909, Williams became a reporter for the Daily Mail (then the most popular British newspaper and the first to achieve a daily circulation of one million copies). In this capacity, he reported on international events such as the Portuguese Revolution of 1910 and the Balkan Wars of 1912 - 1913. During the early stages of the First World War, reporters were not permitted direct access to the Western Front. Williams therefore obtained a commission with the Irish Guards in December 1915. He saw action during the Battle of the Somme, where he was seriously wounded in 1916, and was awarded the Military Cross. Williams then joined the small group of accredited war correspondents based at British General Headquarters and continued to serve as the accredited correspondent for the Daily Mail until the end of the War. After the War, Valentine Williams was in charge of reporting the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 for the Daily Mail. In addition to journalism, Williams also became a popular writer of mystery fiction, publishing a series of 28 books from 1918 until his death in 1946.
George Valentine Williams (1883 - 1946) was the son of G Edward Williams, Chief Editor of the Reuters News Agency. After being privately educated in Germany, he joined Reuters as a sub editor in 1902. In 1909, Williams became a reporter for the Daily Mail (then the most popular British newspaper and the first to achieve a daily circulation of one million copies). In this capacity, he reported on international events such as the Portuguese Revolution of 1910 and the Balkan Wars of 1912 - 1913. During the early stages of the First World War, reporters were not permitted direct access to the Western Front. Williams therefore obtained a commission with the Irish Guards in December 1915. He saw action during the Battle of the Somme, where he was seriously wounded in 1916, and was awarded the Military Cross. Williams then joined the small group of accredited war correspondents based at British General Headquarters and continued to serve as the accredited correspondent for the Daily Mail until the end of the War. After the War, Valentine Williams was in charge of reporting the Versailles Peace Conference in 1919 for the Daily Mail. In addition to journalism, Williams also became a popular writer of mystery fiction, publishing a series of 28 books from 1918 until his death in 1946.
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February 14, 2016
Trevor Dene is Valentine Williams's man from Scotland Yard in The Clock Ticks On (1933). Dene is a young detective who is just certain that his superior officer has made a grave mistake and an innocent man has been sentenced to death in the Oldham Priory Case. The public and the police alike have taken a dim view of the jewel robbers who murdered the butler in cold blood in the process of relieving his employers of their finery and it doesn't help that Gerry Cloan refuses to speak on his own behalf. When a message from an American lawyer comes to the Yard, Chief Inspector Manderton, takes little notice but Dene asks for leave to start off on his own to follow up the mysterious clue.
After a thrilling search through the speakeasies and New York City's under world as well as the stratosphere of New York society that involves beautiful girls and notorious gangsters, he is no nearer to solving the Oldham Priory case and becomes entangled in a new murder--that of his star witness! The clock is ticking...Cloan is due for execution within 72 hours from the moment Dene sets foot in American and he will be hard-pressed to find the proof he needs now that the lawyer is out of the picture.
Valentine Williams had me mighty confused for the first few chapters--and it had nothing to do with the mystifying nature of the story. As mentioned above, his protagonist is a young Scotland Yard man. So, quite British, right? And, not only that, Dene would seem to be an educated policeman of sorts--having been to Cambridge and all. But as he's traveling across the ocean towards the evidence in America, he and his fellow British passengers sound more like they've been raised alongside American gangsters than Cockney cabbies or British aristocrats.
Since I didn't know much about Williams, I took to the internet to see if perhaps he were an American writing about British folks. Not so. Williams was a British journalist. My friend Curtis over at The Passing Tramp does tell me that Williams was very interested in his American audience and mentions in his post (see link) that Williams seems to have set most of his Dene novels in America. Perhaps he was trying to make the books more appealing to an American audience by including more of our slang during the '30s. After the somewhat disconcerting beginning chapters, Dene settles down to a more English demeanor and sound when mixing with the Americans.
The story is a quite exciting one--mixing a bit of good old deduction and clue-finding with a dash of gangster-filled, high-speed chases and the threat of machine-gun toting hitmen. There is also a damsel in distress and the hint of romance for our hero...if the lady is on the up and up and isn't taking him for a ride. Once the story settles down in the States, it is a fun read. Not fair play, but plenty of action and adventure. ★★★ and a half.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
After a thrilling search through the speakeasies and New York City's under world as well as the stratosphere of New York society that involves beautiful girls and notorious gangsters, he is no nearer to solving the Oldham Priory case and becomes entangled in a new murder--that of his star witness! The clock is ticking...Cloan is due for execution within 72 hours from the moment Dene sets foot in American and he will be hard-pressed to find the proof he needs now that the lawyer is out of the picture.
Valentine Williams had me mighty confused for the first few chapters--and it had nothing to do with the mystifying nature of the story. As mentioned above, his protagonist is a young Scotland Yard man. So, quite British, right? And, not only that, Dene would seem to be an educated policeman of sorts--having been to Cambridge and all. But as he's traveling across the ocean towards the evidence in America, he and his fellow British passengers sound more like they've been raised alongside American gangsters than Cockney cabbies or British aristocrats.
Since I didn't know much about Williams, I took to the internet to see if perhaps he were an American writing about British folks. Not so. Williams was a British journalist. My friend Curtis over at The Passing Tramp does tell me that Williams was very interested in his American audience and mentions in his post (see link) that Williams seems to have set most of his Dene novels in America. Perhaps he was trying to make the books more appealing to an American audience by including more of our slang during the '30s. After the somewhat disconcerting beginning chapters, Dene settles down to a more English demeanor and sound when mixing with the Americans.
The story is a quite exciting one--mixing a bit of good old deduction and clue-finding with a dash of gangster-filled, high-speed chases and the threat of machine-gun toting hitmen. There is also a damsel in distress and the hint of romance for our hero...if the lady is on the up and up and isn't taking him for a ride. Once the story settles down in the States, it is a fun read. Not fair play, but plenty of action and adventure. ★★★ and a half.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Displaying 1 of 1 review