Dark Masquerade

New York: Green Circle Books. Very Good+ in Good dj. (c.1936). First Edition. Hardcover. (price-clipped) [solid copy, a bit soiled on top edge, property stamps of Ross's News Store, Scranton, Pa. on front pastedown and ffep (no other markings of any kind); jacket is worn and soiled, with tiny bits of paper loss at several corners and edges]. "A startling novel of love, crime and redemption, by an Illustrious Anonymous Author." OK, now hold it just a minute -- is it really possible to be both "illustrious" and "anonymous"? I mean, really, what's the point in THAT? Anyway, this seems like a thoroughgoing potboiler, about a "prominent criminal attorney, well versed in the art of fixing juries," who falls in love with a debutante, who is also loved by "daring young news photographer" Jimmy Cronin. The flies in the ointment of this three-way romance are gangster brothers Butch and Larry McCabe, disgruntled clients of the aforementioned lawyer, and the ensuing plot involves "an avalanche of masterfully portrayed incidents including a jail-break and the appearance of a mysterious nun on an ocean voyage." That's right, a mysterious nun. .