This is a wonderful period piece and does a good job of introducing one of the most under-rated 'golden age' characters still read by aficionados of detective fiction. The sparse dialogue, poetic description, and blunt, yet understated, depiction of tense situations became hallmarks of Bailey's Fortune & Clunk stories. The effort put into reading these and subsequent stories can be greatly rewarding to the open-minded reader. It is unfortunate that HC Bailey's mystery fiction is not more widely available; few volumes are posted on-line and most of the titles are out of print.