Twenty Years a Detective in the Wickedest City in the World

The author recounts two decades as a detective in a major city, describing investigations into widespread frauds, gambling, prostitution, and organized criminal enterprises. He exposes the workings of swindles—fake investments, bogus insurance and mail-order schemes, bucket shops, quack medicines, matrimonial and fortune-telling scams—and outlines techniques used to detect and prosecute perpetrators. Interleaved are case studies, practical rules for identifying grafters, reflections on juvenile delinquency, vagrancy, penal reform, and public-health concerns related to vice and dangerous goods. The account combines procedural detail with preventive advice aimed at protecting individuals and aiding law enforcement.