The Forger

by Edgar Wallace

Forged notes have started to appear everywhere. Mr Cheyne Wells of Harley Street has been given one. So has Porter. Peter Clifton is rich, but no one is quite certain how he acquired his money - not even his new wife, the beautiful Jane Leith. One night someone puts a ladder to Jane's window and enters her room. It is not her jewels they are after. Inspector Rouper and Superintendent Bourke are both involved in trying to solve this thrilling mystery.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Detective, Thriller

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1927

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

[Ivana Books Are Magic · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Forger hasn't aged well in some ways, but it is still an entertaining book to read. In terms of the writing style, The Forger is a classical murder/crime mystery. Not much attention is given to the characters themselves, there is little if any character development. There is no psychological analysis of character, but there are some clever dialogues that give life to some of the characters, so they are not completely flat. The story starts as a mystery. Someone is forging money and many suspect Peter, a handsome, silent and rich man who has recently married beautiful Jane. Now, Jane finds Peter handsome but knows nothing of him- he didn't make much of an effort in courting her apart from giving her father a rather large sum. However, soon Jane realizes that her husband might be a criminal- but somehow she starts to love him, with no effort on his part. The sudden love does not make much sense nor is it elaborated on in the course of the story. However, on overall I enjoyed this book. I liked its brutal view on mankind as being primarily driven by money.
I liked the subtle irony and sarcasm of this novel - at times so subtle that it might go unnoticed. Furthermore, the superintended Bourke of Scotland Yard is a brilliant character and it would be great if we got to learn more about him. I enjoyed Bourke's description of detective work (to be a good detective apparently it is important to believe in the rottenness of mankind). Moreover, Bourke's growing friendship with Jane was interesting and made her actions more credible. Even if her 'sudden' love for her husband didn't seem credible, it was still moving and I enjoyed the fact that the wife was so proactive- not at all your typical damsel in distress. In that sense, the novel was perhaps a bit ahead of its time. It's a shame that the characters weren't more developed and that the story was a bit predictable in some ways. Still, The Forger was a fun read.

[Vedran Karlić · Rating 2 out of 5]

Možda je malo nepravedno suditi skoro sto godina staru knjigu po današnjim standardima, ali... Likovi su bili užasno loši, bez ikakve boje u njima, a nagla ljubav je gotovo pa potpuno apsurdna, radnja nije bila ništa bolja, a nije pomoglo što nema apsolutno nikakve atmosfere u knjizi. Totalno me nije zanimalo što će se dalje dogoditi, niti tko je za što kriv.

[Larry Piper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is slightly more straight forward than the other Wallace books I've read recently, I suppose, but still somewhat convoluted. But like all the others, we have oodles of characters who might or might not be what they appear to be at first. It's an entertaining read, if not exactly high literature. At one time (the 1920s) Wallace was wildly popular in England, or so Wikipedia tells me.

In this book, the beautiful Jane Leith is induced by her father, John Leith, to marry Peter Clifton, a young man who is very rich, but who seems to have had a shadowy past. Perhaps he has a shadowy present as well, he keeps appearing through the book in sketchy situations. Jane barely knows Clifton before she marries him. She was mostly going along with her father's wishes. She didn't even know if she liked the guy all that much. On the other hand, he was rich, decent enough looking, well spoken, and not repulsive. Such was the state of matrimony back in olden tymes, e.g. some 90 years ago: you could buy yourself a pretty spouse, and hope she was nice enough and compliant enough to make you happy. The women, of course, had few other options, so had to suck it up and hope for the best.

One of Peter Clifton's best friends is the Harley Street physician, Mr. Donald Cheyne Wells. Cheyne Wells is also Clifton's physician. He was also in favor of the marriage, and certified for the purposes of the marriage that Clifton was not a homicidal maniac, as had been Clifton's father, Alexander Wellerson. Jane, naturally, was not told that their might be a stain in Peter's blood lines.

Peter is also very good friends with Scotland's Yard Detective Superintendent Joe Bourke. But then Chief Inspector Moses Rouper is not so fond of Clifton and keeps trying to find reasons to frame him for one crime or another. Fortunately Bourke ranks higher than Rouper, and is also much more smarter. He keeps showing up at the right place at the right time so as to keep Rouper at bay.

Then, we have the problem that there is a mysterious, "the Clever One" lurking in the background. He is a master at printing and passing forged notes, notes in British pounds, U. S. dollars, French francs, whatever. It also appears that Peter Clifton has a hobby of producing etchings, very fine ones too. So might he also be "the Clever One", producing currency as a side line to his works of art? Well, along with the forged notes which appear in the pockets of various people in this book, bodies begin piling up. The amusing Basil Hale, perhaps a rival for Jane's hand, is found murdered in the bushes on the grounds where the Clifton's are having their honeymoon. Later, Clifton's lawyer, is found shot through the head, and Clifton himself is out cold under the bushes outside the lawyer's house.

So, is Clifton a homicidal lunatic? Will Jane, or Mrs. Clifton learn to love her husband? Are Cheyne Wells and Insp. Rouper on the up and up? Well, tune in to find out.

Were one able to give +s and -s, I'd likely rate this book a ***+. It needs not to be throwaway reading to merit 4*s, but none-the-less, it is indeed a GoodRead.

[Elizabeta · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like the story was all over the place. I understand it's a mystery, but it was sometimes too confusing to follow. No detailed explanation at the end.

[Julie Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've got a real weakness for Edgar Wallace and this was his classic style with a twisty plot and a seemingly star-crossed couple. Certainly the bride's attitude going into the marriage was less than ideal. Not too hard to tell who the main villains were but there were some good surprises along the way.

[Sanja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminded me on the classic writing style of Agatha Christie, so characteristically for the early 1900-is. It brought me back to my first crime novels, the first detective characters and has reminded me of where my love for death, or better to say, to this particular writing genre came from.
Although the characters are not fully elaborated, like the ones we have today (today psychological analysis does not lack for any of the crime characters), I still found the action interesting. It should be noted that the lifestyle and communication before 100 years is described. For a reader who has no expectations and can immerse himself in that time, the novel will be a hit.

Counterfeit bills bearing his trademark are the least of the problems for Dr. Cheyne Wells. Except for his wife, Majorie, who can't wait to get him in trouble and gossip in front of the ladies, he's now got police on his back all over again. Fortunately, they did not find out about his link to the suspicious murder of the past. Yet.
Peter Clifton, the rich-hearten gentleman, seems to be lucky for the first time in his life. He got the hand of the wonderful Jane Leith. However, misfortune does not bypass him and his happiness does not last long. He gets involved in multiple murders without even knowing how he got there. More and more memory loses happens, so he wonders: what are the pressing machines in a rented house where he spends his honeymoon (which we can hardly call that way) and where he has been in the past hours? The house is full of events - from counterfeit bills, strange letters to assaults on his newly-married wife Jane... Things are slowly getting out of hand, will he be able to save Jane and get his name cleared?
Jane Leith, at the urging of her father John, agrees to give her hand to Peter for $ 100,000. Although she feels sold by her father, she wants to be a good wife to Peter in every way, but she does not make this marriage easier for him. At first, she thinks he is considered a weakling, although handsome and well educated, but she does not like his confusion while being around her, but as time passes by, she begins to realize the danger lurks on her handsome but gullible husband and begins to protect him, first by giving him an alibi. With the help of Peter's friend, a senior detective from Scotland Yard, named Bourke, Jane tries to solve this mystery that seems to be more complicated by the minute.
Senior Inspector Bourke has been following clues the Forger named "Wise" leaves. His forged bills appear all over Europe, in all denominations and currencies. But when an invitation to his friends wedding results in a murder of someone close to Peter, with the emergence of new counterfeit bills, the detective can't help himself but to have the uncanny feeling that the two events are somehow connected. And despite everything, it looks like someone is setting up his friend Peter. Will his intuition fool him for the first time or will he be able to discover the forgers connection to Peter? The time is running out to fast...

Every character in this novel has a secret from the past, (some even share secrets) and has a motive to kill. Every character. The ones I didn't intentionally mention in this review and the ones mentione. Only Bourke and Jane are objective, even they are overprotective towards Peter from the very beginning. To me, this novel was really exciting, not full of characters, the action was dynamic and, as I said, it reminds me of Agatha indescribably. Although in her books, I would never guess who the killer was, while in this one a writer gives clear hints of whom it may be about.

Quotes:

"Ne mislim da je bio ozbiljno u tebe zaljubljen sve dok se nisi udala... Ali to je njemu slično. Neka osoba ili stvar moraju biti nedostižne da bi zaista postale zanimljive".

"Recite mi, gospodine Bourke, koje osobine mora imati jedan detektiv?
Naslonio se.
- Odnio me vrag ako znam! Pretpostavljam da je najvažnije biti sumnjičav po prirodi i vjerovati u pokvarenost ljudskog roda".

"Problem je u tome što je Peter tako užasno pošten i iskren pa vjeruje da su svi ljudi na svijetu napravljeni po njegovom kalupu".

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of interesting twists and turns to this mystery but still a tight enough plot that everyting wraps up in the end. It takes a couple chapters to meet all the characters and to get the gist of the story but after that it's quite a page turner.

[Andrealenoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the style of this book. I felt like I was listening to old radio theater.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marea sală de consultaţii din Harley Street nr. 903 semăna tot atât de puţin cu alte săli de felul acesta cât şi doctorul Cheyne Wells cu un practician tradiţional.

Ea servea în acelaşi timp de salon şi de bibliotecă. Mobilele erau confortabile, deşi cam uzate. Un divan adânc din piele se întindea în faţa focului. Doi dintre pereţi erau acoperiţi cu rafturi pe care se aflau volume desperecheate ca format şi legătură. Se mai vedeau cărţi pe masă, ziare aruncate pe parchet, dar niciun aparat medical, nici cel mai mic microscop, nici măcar vreo eprubetă.

Aproape de fereastra prin care pătrundea o rază aurie de lumină, o uşă lăcuită se deschidea spre o sală de baie cu dale albe; aici, în locul căzii, se aflau multe poliţe de sticlă şi o masă acoperită de asemenea cu sticlă. În această încăpere erau înghesuite aparatele cele mai stranii, dulapuri bine ferecate, numeroase şiruri de sticle şi alte flacoane conţinând culturi microbiene.

Deşi Peter Clifton era, de patru ani, un vizitator asiduu al casei, nu văzuse vreodată această uşă altfel decât închisă.

El şedea pe braţul unuia dintre marile fotolii, cu faţa sa fină întoarsă astfel încât să privească strada.

Brusc, întoarse capul şi privirea sa se încrucişă cu a bărbatului care stătea în faţa căminului, cu o ţigară între buze.

Domnul Wells era un bărbat plăpând. Faţa sa posomorâtă, brăzdată de o mustaţă neagră, avea ceva aproape sinistru în clipele de repaus. Când zâmbea, ca în acest moment, fizionomia sa se schimba complet.

Peter scoase un oftat adânc şi-şi întinse cele şase picioare[1] de muşchi şi de oase.

― Ce noroc că atunci te-am luat drept dentist!

Râsul său trăda o tensiune nervoasă pe care domnul Donald Cheyne Wells nu o scăpă din vedere.

― Dragul meu, beneficiul este al amândurora, deoarece tu ai fost pacientul cel mai generos pe care l-am avut vreodată. Aşa că eu binecuvântez clipa când m-ai luat drept dentist.

― Tu m-ai ajutat să-mi vindec biata măsea bolnavă.

Doctorul încetă să zâmbească.

[Tim Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the first three chapters, it all looked pretty straight forward. An open and shut case, I thought. But just when I was about to lose interest, things started to happen that didn't add up. Why is everyone so frightened? (This seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I like a clean duel between clever psychopaths, such as The Crimson Circle.) Why should someone, who makes good forgeries of foreign currency, suddenly start to make bad forgeries of Bank of England notes? Is it a set-up or a double bluff? Could the apparently seamless and unbreakable counterfeiting ring have a deadly struggle at its heart?

Above all, why does an intelligent and wealthy woman marry a man she doesn't love? And why does an intelligent and wealthy man marry a woman who doesn't love him? But the past is a foreign country. What seems inexplicable to us was commonplace then.

Sadly, it was far too obvious who did the murder, and after that I really did lose interest.

[Lisa T. Ungerer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gaslight

Who is gas lighting whom? Initially unlikeable, Jane married Peter for his money. But, is Peter sane or insane, a forger of bank notes or a dupe, a murderer or innocent. Are all the cops corrupt? Jane gets a little help along the way and ultimately learns the answers. Recommended

[Maria]

God krim dette!!!

[Chandini · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good for what it is - pulp fiction mystery with some romance thrown in

[Amina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting book with unexpected end.

[Amber]

A.L. Burt, 1927