The most polished of author G.T. Fleming-Roberts' magician detectives, Jeffery Wren battled crime in the pages of Dime Detective for seven adventures. Included in Volume 1 are the first three stories: "No Haunting Allowed," "The Spirit Was Willing," and "A Sleight Case of Murder," along with a bonus Fleming-Roberts story from the pages of Dime Detective: "Dig a Grave for Me." Rounded out by an all-new introduction by Fleming-Roberts' son, James, this marks the first time this series has been collected.
I'm always a sucker for magician detectives, so I picked this one up, even though I'd never heard of Jeffrey Wren before.
Different than most magicians, as Wren rarely resorts to any tricks, even though all of his cases involve some sort of phony spiritualist. He's a lugubrious, wise-cracking chap who owns a novelty shop, but rarely actually works there. He's got a none-too-bright sidekick, and a lady cop as his contact with police, which is very different for the time period.
Also included is an unrelated mystery, and an essay on how to avoid the trite in writing.