Customer Reviews

The Agony Column

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I reviewed another edition of this book, but the review didn't seem to transfer. The other edition has a big ugly gun on the cover. So if you prefer a quieter cover, you can go with this publisher.

The Agony Column pre-dates the Charlie Chan novels, but the author's dashing wit is already in evidence.

Geoffrey West falls in love at first sight with a girl in a hotel breakfasting with her father. They're all Americans, but the scene is London on the eve of the Great War. Both Geoffrey and his ladylove Marian are reading the Agony Column of the Daily Mail.

That gives Geoffrey the idea of courting her through a message in the Personals. She responds in the Personals by setting him a task: write a series of seven letters that will prove he's a man worth knowing. Amazingly, as he writes the letters, he finds himself embroiled in a murder case with overtones of espionage. To say more about what transpires would spoil the fun.

The lightness of the story contrasts interestingly with the grim mood of England as Germany mobilizes.

This publishing house must be low budget. They use the same cover for a variety of books. I rather admire that!