One of Wynne’s earliest efforts. As usual it starts off with a dramatic scene and travels at a brisk pace. Before the reader reaches page 10 there is an attempted murder and a botched suicide. Then there is a flash forward of several years, two dead bodies turn up and an arrest is made. As usual with Wynne the murder victims appear to have died from two different causes. Plot involves a young doctor who was blackmailing his former two timing fiancé. A truly outrageous solution unveils the murderer as someone in disguise who took years to create an elaborate revenge plot and frame the accused for several murders. A three chapter long monologue in which the killer reveals this plot and how the stunt was pulled off is the crowning glory in this “detective fiction opera.” I don’t think Wynne tops this one in his later years at all. A character in Harry Stephen Keeler’s The Amazing Web mentions reading this book and it is obvious that Keeler has some admiration for the intricate web-like plot. I give it five stars for sheer hutzpah! ( )