I’m surprised that James M. Cain and his editor let Love’s Lovely Counterfeit escape to publication without apparently realizing that the book had major but fixable structural problems.

(1) A major character is introduced very late in the proceedings, having not even been referred to before the middle of the story.

(2) The opening and mid-sections are leisurely paced and detailed, but the finale is rushed and sketchy.

The movie version, Slightly Scarlet (1956), cleans all this up, for which credit must be given to screenwriter Robert Blees. The film makes more sense than the book, and is (I seldom say this) generally superior to it.

What prevents the novel from being a total loss is the compelling central character of Ben Grace, an ambitious organized crime underling who is not slow to seize the main chance. A tall, athletic smooth guy with an edge of danger, smart but capable of making bad mistakes, Ben is a creation that Cain could have gotten more out of. John Payne was ideally cast in the movie.