This book is made up of eleven short stories. I have read the last five stories in other collections.
The first story is used as the name of this book. A weak-will man who was low in financial water was arrested for murder. He told his solicitor that his live-in partner would give him an alibi. But the lady in question denied it. She in fact took the trouble to put up a convincing show to force the jury and all in court to wrestle out a reluctant admission out of her that he came home at the time he claimed. As a result he got off.
The Red Signal explores the field of premonition and insanity. It is not unheard of that some could sense some danger ahead and thus could escape unscathed. For the uninitiated, it may not be easy to pick up a cunning insane mind. Fortunately, the insane person killed himself in the struggle. His wife finally could go to the deceased's good friend.
In The Fourth Man, we find a lawyer, a canon, a mental specialist and a man who grew up in the same home as a woman who was found with multiple personalities. It was through the fourth person's special knowledge that the other three could guess at what actually happened to lead the woman in question to strangle herself to death.
In S.O.S. a chanced visitor to an isolated cottage was an answered prayer to an adopted daughter of the family. A murder was planned to the last detail to kill off the target so that the biological daughter could claim an inheritance. Indeed the love of money could lead to evil.
Where There is a Will is a story of how a young man plotted and planned his way out of a huge fortune. Should he be able to leave the old lady alone, she could have died within a short time. It was ironic that one who set a trap did fall into it himself.
I find it difficult to believe The Mystery of the Blue Jar could be a true story. But with a beautiful girl and a cunning "mental specialist", I suppose anything is possible.
In Sing a Song of Sixpence, we have a retired lawyer used his experience to solve a murder. The answer is tied to a new coin that was mentioned by one of the witnesses.
We have The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl in which a young man was ripped of everything in his apartment.
In Philomel Cottage a woman was able to save her own life from being taken by her husband, a serial killer.
In Accident, someone who was able to recognise a repeat killer was killed in trying to prevent a further murder. Or so he thought! In fact the murderess did not want to kill her husband but had to kill again to prevent her identity from being uncovered.
The Second Gong was rewritten into a longer story: A Mirror cracked from Side to Side.
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