John Maxell is an up-and-coming barrister who has dealings in Morocco with the shady financier Cartwright. Later, when Cartwright's financial empire collapses, it is Maxell, elevated to the Bench, who sends him to jail for twenry years.
Cartwright has a new wife in Paris, a showgirl who knows him only under the name of Benson; and when he vanishes she moves to Hollywood and begins a career as a movie actress. But this too collapses, and she seeks refuge in a loveless marriage to Maxell, now a landed baronet, who has become one of her on-screen admirers. To complicate matters further, Maxell's niece and ward Mary has fallen in love with Cartwright's cousin TAC 'Take a Chance' Anderson.
When Cartwright escapes from custody he and the Maxell couple disappear. Has there been a murder? 'Take a Chance' and Mary follow the trail to Paris and then to Monaco, where at last all is revealed.
This is an unsatisfying book; the motivations of Maxell in particular are barely sketched in. Wallace seems uncertain as to who his hero is, and none of the characters stand out in any way except Cartwright, the attractive villain. Slightly redeemed by some scenes in Morocco and Monaco, it is otherwise run-of-the-mill stuff.
Mr Justice Maxell is available from Gutenberg Australia.
Jon.
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