Cleek: the Man of the Forty Faces

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hanshew, Thomas W., 1857-1914

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Cleek: the Man of the Forty Faces" by Thomas W. Hanshew is a detective novel written in the early 20th century. The story revolves around Hamilton Cleek, an enigmatic master of disguise and criminal genius known to Scotland Yard as "The Vanishing Cracksman." The narrative begins with a thrilling chase, where a police constable accidentally lets Cleek escape while he enacts a staged robbery for a film, setting the stage for further intrigue and crime. The opening portion introduces readers to the bustling streets of early 1900s London and a variety of characters, including the unsuspecting Police Constable Collins, who falls victim to Cleek's clever ruse while trying to assist a beautiful French woman. As the narrative progresses, we learn of Cleek's notorious reputation among law enforcement and the tension surrounding an imminent jewel heist that poses a direct challenge to Scotland Yard. This blend of drama and wit lays the groundwork for a captivating series of events as Cleek navigates his criminal world while inevitably drawing the attention of the police, particularly Superintendent Narkom, leading to a thrilling tale of cat-and-mouse. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Credits:

Produced by Suzanne Shell, Beginners Projects, Mary Meehan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

Notes:

Reading ease score: 78.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.

Release date is 2004-12-12