Kate plus 10

About the book

A missing pearl necklace brings Inspector Michael Pretherston into an aristocratic household, where he finds more than the minor theft he expected. The efficient young secretary is Kate Westhanger, whose intelligence serves an accomplished criminal circle. Michael knows her abilities, and their conversations become a contest over both evidence and the morality of their respective occupations. Kate's ambitions extend beyond a single household, requiring elaborate planning, assumed roles, and the cooperation of people whose loyalty cannot always be taken for granted. Wallace combines criminal ingenuity with social comedy, allowing polished manners to conceal predatory intentions on either side of respectability. The attraction of the contest lies in watching two alert minds anticipate, misdirect, and reassess one another.

• Criminal strategy
• Respectability and deception
• Adversarial attraction

Why read it

Meet one of Wallace's resourceful female schemers in a thriller built around wit as well as audacious plans.

English text of Edgar Wallace's 1917 novel