000 02788cam a22003493u 4500
001 77737
003 UtSlPG
005 20260610134812.0
006 m
007 cr n
008 260607r20261930utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d
010 _a30021776
040 _aUtSlPG
041 7 _aen
_2iso639-1
050 4 _aPR
100 1 _aLe Queux, William,
_d1864-1927
245 1 4 _aThe rat trap
264 1 _aSalt Lake City, UT :
_bProject Gutenberg,
_c2026
300 _a1 online resource :
_bmultiple file formats
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
500 _aRelease date is 2026-01-19
508 _aan anonymous Project Gutenberg volunteer
520 _a"The rat trap" by William Le Queux is a novel written in the early 20th century. Set amid Continental hotel glamour that shades into menace, it follows well-off cosmopolitan Frank Aylmer as he becomes entangled with the captivating Eileen Quentin, her older, courteous “husband” Richard, and their unsettling companion Martyn. A bold jewel robbery and the arrival of an overbearing American millionaire widen the social circle and hint at a deeper web of jealousy, deception, and crime that is likely to extend from Ostend to London. At the start of the novel, Aylmer and his younger friend Claude Peyton meet Eileen, Richard Quentin, and Richard’s dour friend Martyn at Ostend’s Hôtel Continental, where Aylmer is swiftly captivated. Eileen and Aylmer dance, Martyn shows thinly veiled hostility, and Quentin remains placidly indulgent. A daring dinner-hour jewel raid robs a bejeweled widow and strips Eileen’s room, prompting Aylmer to suspect an inside accomplice. The brash millionaire Cyrus J. Whitefield appears, openly flirts with Eileen, and departs after promising a future London visit, while Martyn scowls and Quentin stays unruffled. Aylmer then witnesses Eileen in tears after a private clash with Martyn and decides to stay, as Peyton shrewdly deduces that Martyn loves her and she fears him. In a confidential walk, Eileen reveals the central twist: she and Quentin only pretend to be married—an arrangement born of his guardianship and her need for protection, with a promise he will free her if real love arrives. She asks Aylmer to be her friend, hints at a coming invitation to their Hampstead home, and he leaves England resolved to help her, their next meeting already secretly planned. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
534 _pOriginally published:
_cNew York: The Macaulay Company, 1930
653 _aDetective and mystery stories
653 _aRobbery -- Fiction
653 _aHotels -- Fiction
653 _aGangs -- Fiction
856 4 0 _uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77737
999 _c118457
_d118457