This is the sixth and last major collection of the Pontine series. However much the reader may regret bidding goodbye to a cherished friend of more than forty years' constance, the ten tales presented here make for a fine and fitting exit.

The range and variety of the puzzle-problems are wide. There is the classic flight-and-pursuit motif of the espionage thriller, The Adventure of the Orient Express. The strangeness of The Adventure of the Benin Bronze and the grim search in The Adventure of the Missing Tenants are matched by the long and tangled web behind The Adventure of the Red Leech.

Whether enjoyed as pure entertainment, or for the exercise of nimble minds in an attempt to outwit Solar Pons, the reader will find in these pages an additional reward: the easy flow of a prose style that is the hallmark of a superior craftsman.