Mr J G Reeder, a brilliant and quietly unassuming detective, is a middle aged man whose speciality for more than twenty years has been to deal exclusively with bank robbers and forgers. "I see evil in everything," he declares, "… in dying rose bushes, in horseshoes - in poetry even. I have the mind of a criminal. It is deplorable!"

In these four casefiles, The Poetical Policeman, The Treasure Hunt, The Troupe, and The Stealer of Marble, the sheer genius of Mr Reeder shines forth. Edgar Wallace's succinct and masterful use of prose is an absolute delight.