The Big Bow Msytery is reported to be the first 'locked-room' mystery novel - a detective story that follows the rules of 'fair play' by providing the evidence for the solution, with clues imbedded in the text. It also supplies alternative solutions and suspects, and a classic 'red herring' approach, with a 'least-likely' suspect as the villain. The plot involves the murder of a well-known 'Union Agitator,' his throat having been cut in his East End flat on London's Bow Street. His door was locked and bolted from the inside, and the windows were inaccessible. No weapon was found in the room, hence it appeared to not be a suicide. An obvious suspect has a good alibi when the murder was committed. The details are revealed in an amusing coroner's inquest comes up with a strange open verdict: "It seems clear that the deceased did not commit suicide. It seems equally clear that the deceased was not murdered."