Title: Jack O' Judgement 

Author: Edgar Wallace

Reviewed by: Bhavana

'Snow' Gregory a young man was found shot dead in the gutter. They find on him a playing card, Jack of Clubs. He was closely associated with a gangster Colonel Dan Boundary in a certain business enterprise. Since the police couldn't prove that it was the Boundary Gang's work; they walk free. One morning Boundary receives a letter in which he finds the playing card Knaves of Club, signed Jack O' Judgement. From then on Jack O' Judgement proves to be a terror to the Boundary Gang with every crime they commit. But who is Jack O' Judgement? 

Boundary was the most notorious scoundrel in London. The presence of Jack O' Judgement shook the entire Boundary gang. There have been a lot many interesting occurrences in a few pages read. There are surprises over surprises, romance, treachery, cunningness, murder, kidnap, deceit, More bodies tumble, unexpected twists and the mystery gets deeper and deeper about Jack O' Judgement. I found it to be an Unputdownable book. Every single page proved to be interesting and I couldn't guess for sure who Jack O'Judgement was, till his identity was revealed in the end. 

What I found funny about the book was that some of the members of the gang were in love...; the gangsters trusted... without doubt; they could be fooled easily; they got intimidated easily...; so much so I liked the character Dan Boundary the chief gangster; ultimately I found them to be soft at heart to an extent in spite of the crime they had committed. I couldn't hate any of them. That doesn't mean that they were all jokers. But they happen to be far more softer than the hard core criminals portrayed in the present day novels. I wonder if the criminals of London during the 19th century were all like the Boundary Gang. 

This happens to be my first Edgar Wallace novel. I am glad I came across an interesting work on mystery after a very long time. It turned out to be a medium paced read and a total page turner. 

Rating: 4.5 on 5