Wallace, Edgar - The Green Archer (1923)

Abe Bellamy is a wicked American who has bought an English castle and made preparations to defend it. Jim Featherstone is the young Scotland Yard Commissioner who finds himself drawn in to the investigation of Abe's misdeeds. Valerie Howlett is the adopted child with a rich foster father and a mysterious past, and John Wood is the mysterious Man from Belgium who wants to buy the castle. The supporting cast includes journalists, henchmen and assorted crooks, including the ingenious Julius Savini and his wife Fay, who calls Jim 'Feathers'. But which of them is the Green Archer -- Abe Bellamy's green-clad masked nemesis?

A long novel for Wallace at 255 pages, and a deservedly popular one. The relentless savagery of Abe Bellamy dominates the latter part of the book, and his defiant stand against the forces of the law makes him a very attractive anti-hero. The dungeon scenes are done well and there is a good deal of ingenuity in setting the puzzle of the Green Archer and then unravelling it -- although the solution involves at least a little bit of cheating. Well worth reading. The Green Archer was made into a film starring Victor Jory.

The Green Archer should soon be available from Gutenberg Australia.

Jon.