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Title: Good start, feeble conclusion
Review: The often reliable Stanley Ellin seems unable to follow through on a sturdy revenge premise here. The first half of the book sets up the protagonist's betrayal by his fellow criminals; when he miraculously comes into a large fortune, we are prepared for a "Count of Monte Cristo" style masquerade and ingenious trap-the-trappers finale. Alas, as soon as our hero shows up (disguised) in his old haunts, inquiring about his previous persona, the villains panic and kill each other off without even a last word or a shock-recognition-regret scene. A lot of careful scene setting and plotting goes totally to waste by the end.
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