The Melody of Death

Gilbert Standerton has money troubles, a strained marriage, and a secret life that will unravel both. When a run of daring burglaries baffles the police, the trail leads back toward Gilbert himself and toward the woman he married without fully trusting. Wallace threads the crime plot through a study of a respectable man cornered by his own choices, so the suspense comes as much from what will be revealed as from who did what. Money, love, and desperation pull against one another until the closing pages. It is one of his leaner early thrillers, quick to read and quietly bleak. Free to download here as a PDF and EPUB edition.