Simon: The Week-End Mystery

“Does the reading of mystery and detective stories lead to cleverness in ferreting out criminals? In this fascinating tale the novelist maintains that it does, and the story is concerned with a young man who took to mystery-story reading to take his mind from the pain of having been jilted. Soon he was making as many deductions from his observations and sizing-up of persons as a ‘Sherlock Holmes.’ He became a guest at a house party given by a wealthy financier. The girl who jilted this young man was present as was also the other young man for whom she had jilted him. The first night the party was assembled the host complained of illness and ordered them all off to an all-night dance at an inn. From that dance his physician was called to his bedside. Next morning the rich man was said to have shot himself, most of the guests had fled back to town, and the coroner was in the house. It was then that the young mystery-story reader set himself at work to find out just what was wrong, and what he does and how he does it is the core of the story. And it makes a very interesting yarn.” (Boston Globe, 1926)

Additional

First published in 1926.