This is definitely a book of two halves. The first half is narrated by Dr. Thorndyke's factotum Nat Polton, and tells of his experiences after leaving home, which end fairly disastrously through no fault of his own (or would have done if not for the doctor). The second half, told by Dr. Jervis, involves a suspicious death caused by a fire - it turns out, not surprisingly, that this is connected with the first half in a way that most readers will work out fairly quickly, although the full story is not clear until Thorndyke's final exposition. I think it would be best to read this after most of the other Thorndyke stories, as readers will find Polton's story more interesting after they have already met him a few times. ( )

Mr Polton , assistant to Dr Thorndyke explains his life story as it reflects on a case. That of the burning down of a building and the discovery of a body within. A lot of technical explanations which were not that interesting. But the mystery was of interest. ( )

Good mystery in this 27th entry in the Dr. Thorndyke series but the real attraction for me was we finally get to hear how Mr. Polton met Dr. Thorndyke and came to be in his employ. ( )