"Sanford Quest," he pronounced at last, "is the greatest master in criminology the world has ever known. He is a magician, a scientist, the Pierpont Morgan of his profession..."

With many entertaining plot twists, The Black Box is an amusing introduction to Oppenheim's more than 150 published novels and collections.

Sanford Quest, master criminologist, after witnessing an anthropoid ape skeleton and a living inhuman creature, half monkey, half man, destroyed by fire, has just entered a life-and-death struggle with a mysterious master criminal.

Who will triumph in the end?

EDWARD PHILLIPS OPPENHEIM (1866–1946) was a highly prolific author of mystery and espionage thrillers, an internationally popular British author of novels and short stories dealing with espionage and intrigue. One of Oppenheim's pastimes was to frequent the cafes and restaurants of London, and study the different types of human character.  His fellow-writers often wondered when he wrote, for he was never seen at work. He used to spend long hours golfing. Among his best-known works are The Evil Shepherd, The Double Traitor, Stolen Idols, and The Malefactor.