"whodunit" conventions, with elaborate puzzle mysteries reminiscent of Agatha Christie or John Dickson Carr. In the 1940s, the stories start to move away from the traditional detective pattern: Puzzle for Fiends is a Hitchcockian thriller, Puzzle for Pilgrims a noir novel, and Run to Death a pulpy spy novel.

The majority of the Webb-Wheeler collaborations feature one of their recurring characters: Peter Duluth, a Broadway