Riddles Read

This publication is a collection of detective stories titled *Riddles Read* by Dick Donovan, published by Chatto & Windus in London, 1896. The volume contains eight stories: "In the Shadow of Sudden Death," "The Doom of the Star-gazer," "The Strange Story of some State Papers," "The Problem of Dead Wood Hall," "Trapped," "The Riddle of Beaver's Hill," "A Railway Mystery," and "A Desperate Game." The lead story opens with a first-person narrator describing his acquaintance with Monsieur Eugene Fourbert, chief superintendent of Paris police, presented as a master detective of exceptional analytical ability and talent for disguise. The narrative provides commentary on French versus English police methodology and criminal detection systems, praising French investigative practices. The stories belong to the detective fiction genre characteristic of late Victorian adventure literature.