‘The Books of Bart’ is an interesting entry in Wallace’s body of work as it is not a thriller or a mystery, it is in fact surprisingly up front about itself. The story centres on several unapologetically terrible people, who attack each other not with weapons but their words. The whole plot is one large double cross, littered with smoke and mirrors and betrayal at every corner. It does maintain many features typical of Wallace’s work however such as it’s fantastic cast of characters which power the story to great heights and his brilliant world building. For anyone that loved ‘Knives Out’ this book is for you.
Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was an English writer, poet and journalist. He was such a prolific writer that his publisher claimed his work could account for a quarter of all books sold in England. He wrote countless books, screenplays, poems and historical non-fiction, spawning over one hundred and sixty films based on his work. He unfortunately passed away suddenly before he could see his most famous creation ‘King Kong’ come to life. It has been adapted several times over the years, notably by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame, and more recently in ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ starring Millie Bobby Brown.