Edited by Joseph Lewis French, this collection of 9 riddle stories includes “The Mysterious Card” and its sequel by Cleveland Moffett, “The Oblong Box” by Poe, “A Terribly Strange Bed” by Wilkie Collins, “The Lost Room” by Fitz-James O’Brien and others selected as masterful examples of the genre by the editor. He says in the introduction:
A distinguished American writer of fiction said to me lately: ‘Did you ever think of the vital American way we live? We are always going after mental gymnastics.’ Now the mystery story is mental gymnastics. … The stories of this collection cover a wide range and are the choice of reading in several literatures.”