"e;Dick Donovan"e; was the pseudonym of James Edward Preston Murdock (1843-1934), an author of mysteries, thrillers, and horror stories. For a time, his popularity rivaled that of Arthur Conan Doyle-and he was certainly more prolific than Doyle. Between 1889 and 1922, he published nearly 300 mystery stories (many in series that were collected as books, such as this one.)Many of Muddock's mystery s...