The Angel of Terror (Unabridged)

The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace is a 1922 crime novel by the British writer Edgar Wallace.

Plot summary
When this was written, literary traditions still decreed beauty to be the outward sign of inner saintliness, whereas evil characters tended to be "ugly as sin." Jean Briggerland defies these expectations by being every bit as angelically beautiful as she is sociopathic. So lovely that all around her are blinded to her guilt no matter how blatant her crimes, only Jack Glover, best friend and lawyer of her most recent victim, is aware of her true nature. Can he stop her crime spree and bring her to justice before she murders her way to wealth and happiness? He really, really shouldn't count on it. Despite the book's outrageously implausible plot, it nevertheless manages to keep one in suspense from first page to last. Advisory: Antiquated attitudes and occasional profanity will add unintentional humor to the charms of the story for some listeners but might offend others.

Conventional ideas of beauty are typically associate it with goodness and kindness. However, appearances can be deceptive. Jean Briggerland is exquisitely lovely, but few know that this ethereal, angelic facade hides an utterly immoral and cruel heart within. Her insatiable lust for power and money claim many an innocent victim till one day, a lawyer named Jack Glover is called upon to defend his best friend and cousin, James Meredith in a murder trial. Meredith is alleged to have murdered a young man in a fit of jealous rage because he objected to the man's friendship with Meredith's lovely fiancée. The lady in question turns out to be Jean Briggerland.

The Angel of Terror by Edgar Wallace was published in 1922. Like almost all of Wallace's novels, it was an immediate bestseller. The exciting plot, impeccable writing style and memorable characters make his books timeless classics that are still enjoyed by modern readers the world over. Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace came from an extremely deprived background, but rose to become one of the richest and most widely read English writers of his time. He was also one of the most prolific writers in English, having produced more than 120 novels, nearly a thousand short stories, 18 stage plays and innumerable poems and non-fiction articles.

He developed an extremely efficient writing style which consisted of dictating his works into wax cylinders (Dictaphones) which were then transcribed by a team of secretaries. He would lock himself up in his bedroom with cigarettes and pots of scalding hot, sweet tea for up to 72 hours, continuously dictating his stories. This gave his work the tight plots, their almost seamless narrative quality and their ambiance. Though critics slammed him for churning out endless potboilers, Wallace remained unfazed. His continuous financial problems compelled him to adopt this style, but his unerring eye for detail, dialog and well researched knowledge of police methods and crime investigation set him apart from ordinary pulp writers of the day.