British novelist, playwright, and journalist who produced popular detective and suspense stories and was in his time "the king" of the modern thriller. Wallace's literary output 175 books, 24 plays, and countless articles and review sketches have undermined his reputation as a fresh and original writer. The author was a wholehearted supporter of Victorian and early Edwardian values and mores, which are now considered in some respects politically incorrect. In England in the 1920s Wallace was said to be the second biggest seller after the Bible.

This selection specially chosen by the literary critic August Nemo, contains the following stories:

- The Cat Burglar

- Circumstantial Evidence

- The Ghost of Downhill

- The Poetical Policeman

- Red Aces

- The Four Just Men

- The Shadow Man