1. The Poetical Policeman

Mr JG Reeder has the mind of a criminal.

He uses it to uncover the peculiar circumstances surrounding a bank robbery, the death of the night watchman - and the part in the plot played by his beautiful daughter.

This first of four stories provides useful insight into the past of Mr JG Reeder, whose novel methods bring the criminals of 1920s London to justice.

Abridged by Neville Teller.

Read by David Horovitch.

Edgar Wallace is best known for his popular detective and suspense stories which earned him the title, "King of the Modern Thriller."

Although created at roughly the same time, Mr JG Reeder is the diametric opposite of Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe and Mike Hammer. He is a shabbily dressed, diffident civil servant who prefers a cup of tea and a slice of seed cake to a shot of something stronger.

Reeder is a uniquely English detective. An apparent fuddy-duddy working in some obscure capacity in the Public Prosecutor's office, he actually has a razor-sharp intellect and is a super-sleuth. He solves his mysteries because he fully understands the "criminal mind".

Producer: Gemma Jenkins

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in October 2007.