The Crimson Circle

A blackmail gang known only by the mark it leaves, a crimson circle, preys on the rich and kills without hesitation when its demands are refused. After old James Beardmore is shot down on his own grounds, his son Jack wants justice, and two very different investigators take up the hunt: the intuitive private sleuth Derrick Yale and the plodding, patient Inspector Parr of Scotland Yard. Circling all of it is Thalia Drummond, a cool young woman whose light-fingered habits and shifting loyalties keep everyone guessing. Wallace, writing at the height of his popularity in 1922, hides the gang’s true head in plain sight and springs a finish that few readers see coming. Free to read as a PDF and EPUB edition.