Resumen
Resumen de Four Square Jane
Para quién es
You will love this if you enjoy a clever thief, a calm detective and a puzzle that keeps its answer to the last page, or if drawing rooms, disguises and quick, witty talk are your idea of a good evening.
De qué trata este libro
Four Square Jane is a crime story by Edgar Wallace, the British writer whose thrillers filled the bookstalls of his day. It follows a thief nobody can catch. After every theft she leaves a small printed label behind, marked with four squares and the letter J, and the police have named her after it. She robs the rich, she fools the clever, and she sends part of her loot to hospitals. Against her stands Peter Dawes of Scotland Yard, a calm man who loves a puzzle more than a prize.
In this summary you meet a sudden fever, a stolen painting that never leaves its room, a wedding that falls apart at the altar, and a murder that does not fit the thief's habits. You also get a sharp picture of a London of financiers, lords and ladies, where money buys favours and a good name can be bought as well. Let us begin at a house party in Buckinghamshire, where a banker hires a lady detective and gets more than he bargained for.
En este resumen
- 1A house party and a convenient feverFree
- 2A hospital receives a stolen armlet
- 3Dawes studies the thief and loses a painting
- 4A rich girl, a will and a wedding
- 5Murder at the office on St James's Street
- 6Justice, disguise and the sting of the puzzle
Idea clave 1 de 6
A house party and a convenient fever
Joe Lewinstein is a financier who rose from nothing and wants the right people to owe him favours. He is giving a ball and shooting party at Adchester Manor House in Buckinghamshire, and rain pours down on his prize lawns. His wife Miriam worries about something else. A burglar called Four Square Jane has been emptying the jewel boxes of the wealthy, and she leaves a small label behind with four squares and the letter J. Lord Belchester lost his wife's emeralds to her only a month after buying them.
Joe answers the danger by hiring a detective. A young woman arrives calling herself Miss Caroline Smith, a lady detective from the Ross agency, with rimless glasses, a soft southern drawl and a smile that comes and goes. She asks to go where she likes in the house and refuses to dine with the guests, since a dinner partner would only distract her. She tells Lewinstein not to find anything she does strange, because she has set her heart on catching Four Square Jane. Mrs Lewinstein, listening from the doorway, plainly does not approve of pretty lady detectives.
At dinner the table sparkles. Lady Ovingham, a pale woman who puts her money into diamonds, wears bracelets from wrist to elbow. Near the end of the meal the butler whispers that the young lady has been taken ill after a cup of tea. Lewinstein finds her shivering under an eiderdown and begging for a doctor. The village doctor is away in London, but a young man named Setheridge has just come to the door to borrow petrol, and he agrees to look at her.
His verdict is scarlet fever. Lewinstein is horrified, for the house is full of aristocrats, so the two men agree to move the girl out quietly. An ambulance will come at three in the morning, when the guests are asleep. Lewinstein checks the sickroom three times and feels very pleased with himself. Meanwhile a slim figure is already moving along the dark guest corridor, and what Lewinstein finds on the floor outside his wife's door shows him how cleverly he has been handled.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Four Square Jane
What is Four Square Jane about?
It is a crime story about a lady thief who robs wealthy men and leaves a label marked with four squares and the letter J. Peter Dawes of Scotland Yard tries to find out who she is and why she strikes.
Who is Four Square Jane in the book?
She is the mysterious thief whose name comes from her calling card. Few people have seen her face, because she appears in disguise and veiled. Her identity is the central puzzle that Peter Dawes tries to solve.
Who is Peter Dawes?
Peter Dawes is a chief superintendent at Scotland Yard, calm and fond of unusual crimes. He studies the thief's methods closely, admires her cleverness and tries to guess her next target before she strikes.
Why does Four Square Jane give money to hospitals?
Many of her victims made their money by dishonest means, and she sends part of the proceeds to hospitals and charities. The police at first see this as a quixotic wish to help the poor at the expense of the grossly rich.
Is Four Square Jane easy to read?
Its chapters are short and its scenes move fast, built mostly from dialogue and clear clues. Each theft is a small puzzle with a neat answer, so the book suits an evening of easy, lively reading.