It was the fourth day of October, 19—, and three o’clock in the afternoon. Killingley, my clerk, had just come back from his lunch. I heard him moving about in his room—the first of the three rooms in which I carried on my business in Jermyn Street. As for myself, I was reading a new essay on certain characteristics of Napoleon Bonaparte; it was clever and, in many respects, original, and I had no wish to be disturbed. But just then the outer bell rang.Killingley came in a moment later.“A lady wishes to see you, sir,” he said.“In the usual way, Killingley,” I said, rising.Now, I had a habit, during the comparatively short time in which I carried on the business, of taking care to see my clients before they saw me. I have said that I occupied three rooms; the first was used by Killingley as a sort of office, and contained himself, an American roll-top desk, a typewriter, and Killingley’s collection of light literature; the second was fitted up as a luxurious waiting-room; the third was my own apartment. And between it and the second was a cunningly-devised and quite secret arrangement by which I, unseen, could take minute stock of any person who called upon me. Often I kept clients waiting impatiently in that room while I watched and studied them; I was all the more ready for them when I admitted them to my presence.

Together, Frank Spargo, the Scotland Yard detective, and the young barrister begin to investigate the murder of the elderly man in London's Middle Temple. As they delve deeper into the case, they discover that there may be more to the murder than a simple robbery gone wrong.Joseph Smith Fletcher (7 February 1863 – 30 January 1935) was a highly prolific author who wrote in a range of genres, including detective fiction, historical fiction, and travel writing. He is perhaps best known for his detective stories, which often featured intricate plots, surprising twists, and vividly drawn characters.Fletcher's first detective novel, "The Middle Temple Murder," was published in 1919 and was an immediate success. It introduced the character of Frank Spargo, a journalist who becomes involved in solving crimes, and went on to become one of Fletcher's most popular series. Over the course of his career, Fletcher wrote more than 230 books, including over 100 detective novels. His other notable series included the "Eliot Paul" detective stories, which were set in Paris, and the "Roger West" series, which focused on a Scotland Yard detective. Fletcher's writing was admired for its intricate plotting, engaging characters, and attention to detail. He was also praised for his ability to capture the spirit of the times in which he wrote, whether it was the gaslit streets of Victorian London or the bustling boulevards of early 20th-century Paris.Although Fletcher's work has fallen somewhat out of fashion in recent years, he remains an important figure in the history of detective fiction and a notable contributor to the genre.

A quiet English community is rocked to its core when a stranger comes to town and falls to his death from a gallery of the local cathedral. Was it suicide or was he pushed? Foul play is suspected, but with few clues to go on and no likely suspects, it appears that the bizarre crime may remain unsolved. J. S. Fletcher’s The Paradise Mystery is a classic British whodunit from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. A sophisticated genre author, Fletcher never relies on a larger-than-life detective character to unravel the mystery with a flash of intuitive brilliance. He masterfully builds the mystery, peppering the plot with clues that are out there for the reader to see and to relate to. An author of over two hundred books, The Paradise Mystery is one of Fletcher’s finest.